Anita's Beautiful Raku

thebuddabuilder
I was amazed at what Anita created and wanted to know how she got started making raku Buddhas.
It is no easy task getting the raku glazes to come out just right. She is talented and thoughtful about the way she creates her work.

Here is a link to a beautiful bowl: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=33691562

Anita had already been a working potter specializing in making musical instruments out of clay (for nearly 30 years), when two serendipitous events occurred at the same time. One, a Zen meditation friend asked if he could use her studio to make clay Buddhas. She watched, and offered technical support for the next two weeks as he worked. Then when he left, she thought she might give it a try. She's still giving it a whirl. Secondly, she rediscovered her love of fire, drama, and unpredictability, which naturally all coincided in the technique of raku firing. When the smell of smoke dissipates from her studio, she knows it's time to do some more raku!What does this work mean?Merging over 30 years each of ceramic art and Zen training, Anita Feng’s raku sculptures are meant to embody the immediacy and vitality of in-the-moment meditation. Each sculpture is formed out of a unique partnership between clay, fire and artist. The clay is sometimes thrown initially and then altered. Or…it is literally thrown across the studio floor to create a visible flow in the clay. Additionally, Anita likes to balance the full range of time in a sculpture. Some elements, such as a robe, are made and finished in a minute, while other parts (particularly faces) evolve over the course of several days of meticulous work. For far too many years, the iconic images of Buddha have been tied to traditional Asian imagery. Now that meditation and Zen have taken root in the spiritual and popular culture of the West, Anita brings these images up to date, again balancing elements of traditional features with new explorations in race, gender, age and conventional beauty. But ultimately each one is a figure of meditation, peace and equanimity, just as ancient figures of Buddha have always been.Anita hopes that her work will inspire you and cast a glow of peace on your life.She loves etsy.com as a world-wide gallery in which to showcase her work. She also sells her work in galleries around the US, and from her studio near Seattle, WA.

Some new pots I took to the show

Lime Green Anyone?

I have this bowl in my etsy store but I am so tempted to keep it. Everything I used just blended so well and did not run past the foot ring. Its a nice change from Blue and bluegreen. I am calling it Lime but its actually lighter with streaks.

Maybe I should call it Streaking Lime?

Photos of the show in Syracuse

The Ceramics Guild Show in Syracuse was great. Its nice to get out of the shop and mingle a bit. I was happy Roundrabbit bka Nancy was there. Only about 12 artists were able to do the show, maybe next year there will be more. The work was beautiful as usual.

The long lost blog

Its been months since I posted anything so I guess I should update.
I have tried some new experiments in the kiln, some of them look ok and some are just not working for me. Its a real challenge to decide on color combinations so keeping it interesting by experimentation is the only way to go. I will get so bored by the same thing and color all the time so I have to switch up. So far I've tried red or oxblood with other colors and blue in combinations of other blues and greens. I feel color starved anyway.
I need turquoise! A turquoise blue to blend with sky blue and a very pale green. For now I will have to work with what I have and be happy or at least be able to dream about the possibilities.

Today I made something that I have never made before.

I started with butter which we all know is the root of all evil or the root of all that is yummy. After the butter there was batter, blueberries, ricotta, cream cheese, lemon zest, milk, sugar, powdered sugar, more butta, whipped cream, oh and flour. Can't forget the flour and a pinch of salt.

All this started because I was watching Hubert Keller a few weeks ago. He was making a crepe cake. It looked so delicious, I wanted to make one. I am not fond of crepes, I prefer pancakes or waffles. Crepe is kind of tasteless to me maybe that is why they are used for a variety of dishes.

The best part of it all was the blueberry mixture. Those boiled berries with sugar were so yummy. I'll be doing that again for my pancakes.

This whole thing was in three steps: making the blueberry filling, the crepes, the ricotta-cream cheese mixture and then the layering of the cake. I added whipped cream on the top to make it more interesting. It was all so sloppy, runny and sweet but not too sweet just mildly sweet like a cross between breakfast and dessert.

It was light because you only use a knife to smear on the ricotta mixture and spoon on the blueberry glaze. The butter is 2teaspoons in the crepe mixture and a little to cook the crepes. I was supposed to put some in the blueberries while they cooked but I forgot. I didn't need it anyway.

It was good...Not crazy good like had hoped. I think if I make that again I will make the blueberry mixture and put it in the crepes, roll it up and top with blueberries and a little bit of whipped cream. I would skip the ricotta and cream cheese mixture all together.

Pottery Fair at Stone Quarry Hill Art Park

I have been busy working on my pots for the Pottery Fair. I am so excited because after spending so much time making pots in the studio, I get to go a beautiful park where the view is just spectacular. The air is clear and the sky and clouds create a dreamy atmosphere complete with the sounds of wind chimes, music and excitement of friendly interaction with the public.
This will be my second year at this show. The participants in the show are all friendly folks with an interest in sharing their work and expanding their knowledge of the arts.
The guild members are so generous with their time and all pitch in to put on a huge show so artists can get their work showcased to the public. I was amazed last year at how efficient and helpful they are to new artists. Thank you Syracuse Ceramic Guild for all your help and support.

The 29th Annual Pottery Fair 2009
Stone Quarry Hill Art Park
Cazenovia, NY
Aug. 15 & 16th Saturday 10am to 5pm and Sunday 10am to 4pm
For a list of participating artists, visit our website:
www.ceramicguild.com

Favorite Color Combinations

My favorite color combination is deep lilac almost purple, its that shade that still has a little pink left in it. If its on a background of green, I just love it. Its like candy, its like happiness, its so yummy pretty. Ok what the hell is yummy pretty... well its that color combination that makes your eyes widen and you go WOW that's beautiful.
If you don't really know what combination you love, ask yourself if you like it enough to wear it, decorate with it, buy things in those colors to give to friends, or paint the outside of you house in it or maybe just the basement. Or maybe you would buy accent pieces in those colors just to brighten up another complementary color scheme.
If that does not help you then try combining 2 colors together by using solid pieces of scrap material. Use different shades of some of the same colors and be sure to use some bright colors. Don't forget there are different hues of the same color. My neighbor has a beautiful purple flower in her yard. On closer inspection it is a tad on the pink side. Not dark purple at all, but bright and cheerful. Although its not fuchsia but closer to that. Behind that flower is a bunch of green leaves. Boy does that pop out at me as I am driving by. Right now I am thinking of ringing her bell to ask if I can take a photo of it. But she will probably think I am some kind of weirdo, flower stalker.
So I am off to the nearest flower nursery to buy some flowers and some green stuff to put in a pot on my little porch. I guess it does not take much to make me happy after all. Good friends and companions, loving family, beautiful flowers, time to make the pots I like to make all combine to make the day successful.
Hummm, maybe I will just take a nap.

In this photo she is sleeping peacefully in her Mom's arms.

As the to do list gets longer and longer I long to see my grandkids. They are getting bigger by the day. The youngest one had her Mama's cell phone, pushed a button and my phone rang. I could tell it was her giggley babble. She is now sitting up and trying to crawl. She is 6 months old. Her sister is 4, and their cousin is 3 going on 4 years old in November. I just can't wait to get them all here to make pots with me. There are 9 of them all together going on number 10, so I just might have enough of them to run a family studio after all. Well.. all of them are going to be potters of course! I guess it will be summer camp at Grandma's pottery in a few years. Pray for me!

Pots of Comfort and Inspiration

Some things just change your life forever. Some songs keep you company through the rough times. When the Jackson 5 came on the scene I was just a young teenager complete with Afro and attitude. My best friends were my cousin Bern and my up the block neighbor Karen. Karen died a long time ago. She and I shared the pain and laughter of growing up in broken households, and surviving the adults that were not always nice to us. The music helped. We learned all the words, she was so much better at it. Michael was a part of all that growing up.

"Just call my name and I'll be there".

"Never can say Goodbye".

I can't type much because if I start to cry I may not be able to stop anytime soon. I am remembering a challenging time in my life when his music gave me something special to hold on to. I went to see the Jackson 5 in Hawaii. I stood out there waiting for the limo to pass by. It did, I waved, it went by, and I could not see inside the car. Oh well thats it, my brush with fame.

I am going to share 2 pictures. One is of a teapot my friend made. I am going to comfort myself by having a cup of tea later. The other photo is of a vase that I threw on the wheel and another friend glazed for me. They are both in my Red Pot Collection. I hope they bring you some happiness, comfort or inspiration.