.Warren Mackenzie.

“Pots are the communication between the person who makes them and the person who uses them.” Warren Mackenzie

1:11-3:00 is something I need to hear in my head everyday in the studio.

.Grayson Perry.

Grayson Perry. Grayson Perry. Grayson Perry. Grayson Perry.

Is AMAZING.

I am just...I am just...at a lost of words with my excitement.

WHERE THE FUCK HAVE I BEEN?? WHY DID I NOT KNOW ABOUT THIS MAN YEARS AGO?
Under a rock...?
well...working a production job under I-95...so...yes.

But...Now! 
I have found an individual who links traditional ceramic arts, digital age intelligence, and performance...not so much pieces...but he is theatrical in presence...

I am extremely excited about finding more about this individual.

.

Life happens.
Sometimes it feels like bliss.
Sometimes it feels like hell.
But...
Life happens.
Moments pass.
Be present.
And...
Presents will be present.
(did you see what i did there...ha)

Roussillon, Vaucluse

The ocher cliffs of Roussillon, Vaucluse in the Luberon were breathtaking.
Mortimer and I walked many miles in the town...oohhhing and aaaawwwing at the locally sourced colored homes.

Utility is useless without the User by Ashley Lin Ames

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmGm8kphO68

**I am not sure why the video is cut in half. If you click the link above it will direct you to the youtube page. I will be able to download the original version before Friday evening.**

 

“I do not consider pots finished when they emerge from the kiln, but only when they have been christened with their first mouthful.”– Sandy Brown

         Utility is Useless without the User is an interactive pottery performance piece.   Pottery is not intended to be an idle pedestal piece; it is made to be used and enjoyed.  I will have forty 6-ounce vessels that incorporate a bell chamber[1] on display. Participants choose a cup and I fill their cup with water.  After they celebrate the moment, they may take their vessel home or I place the cup in a canvas bag and break the cup.  

           

       I am a child of the eighties brought up in the boom of the nineties and graduated college during the recession.  “The more one can get for less is best” became the motto.  America consumes bubbled-wrapped products from outsourced and often exploited factory workers, not knowing their faces, hands, and way of life.  During my performance, I want people to have chance to put a face and personality to the vessel in their hand and enjoy a one of-a-kind product.  Handmade pottery is about being with people and engaging with them in the material world.   
          
          Destroying any vessel does not mean death but rebirth. The shards will be donated to a community mosaic program.

...And some will make my mosaic urn...obviously.

On a side note:
It is a metaphor for life.  There are moments when one will think, "Wow, I love to blank!" With passion and dedication they strive and work diligently to fulfill their goals but ....it doesn't work out.
Alone in a mental mist their dusk begins. 
...Finding footing in unknown scenery...
They fall.
They tumble.
They break.

At least I did.  

But, you stand. 
You mend.
You walk to the dawn.

And you learn how to live a different life in a new light. 

---

[1] My drinking vessels include a chamber in the foot of the pot that makes a chiming noise when used

!!! Now the Work really Begins.

After two and a half months of online searches, bike adventures, trips around town in the car, negotiating, feeling high, and feeling low I have finally found a studio!

Now the Work really Begins. 

The space Mortimer and I decided upon is in the Ravenswood Corridor!
We will be nestled in a community full of artists, green space, and tasty restaurants. Not to mention the neighborhood is bike friendly, easy access to the Brown El Line, plenty of parking (if I need to drive) and just..awwe..just great!

For the last two months I have not allowed myself to think about ceramic form and function, color schemes, and pattern on pattern schemes, because I just didn't know when or where and how and when..when..when..when..I would be able to work.

Now the Work really Begins.

Back to the pages to sketch out studio lay outs and pottery. !

Now the Work really Begins.

Here are a Few of My Favorite Things!



.The Ceramic Arts. (Naomi Cleary,Tammy Marrinuzzi, Kyle Houser, Me)

Moments of Leisurely Activity..(Boldini.Me.Cooper)


..Friends.

.Giggles. (MulletPony.com)

.Sensitivity and Sweetness.

.Swings.Sets.
.Shots.of. Espresso.

.Mysterious Characters.

(Nosferatu and Shadow)

.. Playful Characters.

(George Ohr and A Funny Little Bunny)

19th Century Story Telling..
.Iconography.

(Calascione and Carravagio)
Innuendoes..

(Mapplethorpe)

Ladida..I'll List More Later...