Support Your Local Economy, Buy Handmade Art!

This Saturday and Sunday the Covert Potters will be at Deja Vu Fashions in Claremont Ca. On Foothill near Towne. We have much to offer in Holiday cheer and gifts. Stop on by!  A gift of a handmade ceramic piece shows you care, support the arts, support the local economy, come on out and buy some pots!

Finding Treasure

FYI!

Sometimes I find something and think, I should tell someone. On a whim I bought the book Ceramic Design Course - principles, practice and techniques: a complete guide for ceramicists by Anthony Quinn. On one hand this book is geared to “ceramicist” or people who design pots and have them massed produced by others, but what great tidbits of information. Oh, and the photos are lovely and inspiring. Beginners will be given plenty to think on and old timers may learn something new, but you will definitely be reminded of what is good.

-Sally Anne

Is there a book you treasure?

Get Inspired

The show opens tomarow night!  You can get a little preview here, but you really should try to come out to the opening.  Several of the Covert Potters have work in the show, Sally Anne Stahl, Celeste Iida, Chris McCormick and Evan Vieser.  Wre are all looking forward to what promises to be an amzing show!

Dont Forget!...

To come up to Xiem Clay Center for thier annual Falliday Ceramic Sale!  The Covert Potters will be there, sharing two booths!  Be sure to stop and say hi, you wont be able to miss us!  Hope to see you!

 

And Now Another Installment of... Ask a Potter!

What?!?! I’m sorry, I couldn’t hear you over the noise... hehehe. Or maybe I’m just not listening to you... No, just kidding. I often wonder: What do you listen to while you pot?
Chris:
I usually like to listen to more ambient sounds with deep rhytyms like Shpongle, can never go wrong with David Bowie, the Yoshida Bros, Zero Seven
Evan:
Rock and Roll, Jazz, Blues, all at the same time
Celeste:
I listen to the radio. I prefer jazz and oldies
Sally Anne:
If I'm at home: NPR. Love the weekend programming. Or music - Angry chick music mostly. I pot outside so I don't sing along… want to keep the neighbors friendly. At the studio: other people. It's a community place and It's nice to connect.

Do you listen to anything while you work? Do you prefer silence? Is there something you wish you could listen too?

We’d love to hear your questions for the Covert Potters. Please leave a comment with any questions you may have and we will try to get them answered as quickly as possible! Thank you… read on.

Make It A Handmade Holiday

With the Covert Potters!  We will be showing our latest creations on the annual Fall Sale at Xiem Clay Center.  The sale opens friday night November 12th from 6 till 9 then 10:30 till 4:30 on Saturday November 13th.  Stop by our booth and say hi.  Free gift with every purchase!  Hope to see you! Follow the link for more info on the Xiem Clay Center

Ask a Potter ~ The Power of Attraction

Sometimes you just have to ask a potter to get an answer. So we will be putting members of the Covert Potters to the test. Check in with us from time to time or click “Get The Feed” down to the left to subscribe to get all the juicy tidbits on life, pottery and the pursuit of clay…

Let’s start at the beginning. Very good place to start… I’ll stop before the doe, rae, me – or not. Today’s question is: Do you visualize your Art before creating? Do you know what it will look like before you begin? What's your process?

Chris: I sit and let it flow. Rare is the occasion where I sit down with a preconceived idea and work it out.

Sally Anne: I usually visualize new forms/shapes before I create them. I first try to see it completely in my head, working out how it is to be made. Do I need supports? What clay? What glaze? What techniques? I like to have it worked out in my mind before hand, than as I work, I might have to change or re-think something to conform to the reality of the situation.

I like to think about new pots as I drive, at my day job or when I go biking. It gets me through the day. I see the thinking process as the arty part of what I do. And I can do it pretty much any where. But once I get with clay, I’ve pretty much know how I’m going to proceed with what I’m making. Then again, I tried to make my baskets by throwing the bodies and altering them. That was a grand mistake. I realized I could get what I wanted by cutting/darting and forming the bodies and handles.

Celeste: When I create sculpture or carved work, yes I visualize the piece from the start. I do not use thumbnail sketches because I don’t want to spoil the creative process and I often change the silhouette if the carving or the form does not want to adhere to my preconceived idea.

We’d love to hear your questions for the Covert Potter. Please email us with any question you may have and we will try to get them answered as quickly as possible! Thank you

Ask A Potter...Is It Love?

Ok, we’d all love to say we do this for the sheer love of art and clay, but let’s be real, one has to pay the bills. So, we sell what we love and home it goes to a happy place where it’s used and loved. Right? Today’s question is: Does getting paid for your art work embarrass you? If so, why? If not, why not?

Chris: Not at all. If your art is functional or non functional all that matters is that someone derives joy from what you made. If you create something that so moves someone else as to spend their money on it how can that be embarrassing?

Sally Anne: It’s weird for me to charge my friends. If I could, I’d just give it way to them for free, but then there’s the reality of clay, studio time, workshops… I get over it pretty quickly. I sell to make back my money and to get rid of pots. The more I have in my closet, the less I feel like making. And it’s nice to see what people will spend their money on, especially in these tough economic times. It makes me doubly appreciative of what I do sell. I’m not inexpensive like Crate & Barrel.

We’d love to hear your questions for the Covert Potter. Please email us with any question you may have and we will try to get them answered as quickly as possible! Thank you… read on.

Covert Potter Spotted In Nature

Enjoying a cup of tea?  Yes, look closely at the end of this clip and you will see a Covert Potter enjoying a morning cup of tea.  In a handmade cup! Enjoy handmade functional pottery anywhere!

ART From The Ashes ~ INSPIRE

Being a mostly functional potter, I really enjoy the nudge to just be creative and explore through clay. I usually do this when I wood fire. I have no set objects that I make for the anagama kiln. I start to play and see where I end up. I wish the firings were more frequent, so that I could push things farther in the process...

And then an other Art from the Ashes exhibit comes along.  Last exhibit I made two large hanging wall tiles. I had tried this before with horrible results: cracking in the bisque firing. I changed scale and the clay and made more. This time it worked so close to perfect. The tiles had small boxes to put artifacts from the Deukmejian Wilderness Park burn site. I chose wood, metal, bone and glass. I really enjoyed making.

The founder of AFTA, Joy, told me during the last show that she hoped to do another truly highlight all the talents of the AFTA artist. I was on it and got a few pod pieces into the wood kiln. The closed thrown forms fired amazingly well. I have inset copper flashing and glass into them. 

The thrill of the up coming “Inspire” show, is that we also get to exhibit non-AFTA themed work.

I went back to my wall tiles for one piece. I made a series of tiles based on my love of trees. I once again changed the scale. They are smaller: 6.5”x6.5”x1.5” I carved trees, branches, leaves and bark. I use oxides on the carved areas and glazed on a reserved area. I tried to invoke, sky, sun, night, snow and life with the glazes I chose. I’m really happy with the results.

I also included into the selection process some of my wood fired leaf bowls. And to round it all out, a tea set.  I’d like the viewing public to get a fell for all of my pots, and maybe a bit of me.

~Sally Anne Stahl

Xiem Clay Center Fall Sale

Handmade Bowls, Homemade Ice Cream & Toy Trains

It's summer time and with the first heat wave of the season, we have been trying to figure out ways to cool off. What better way than ICE CREAM! A childhood favorite that must be indulged. We are pairing hand-made ice cream bowls with the home-made delights of the lovely Valerie Campbell who is opening her home ...and churning the maker for us! Come join us...Sunday August 22nd from 12 to 4 at 917 Alma St, Glendale, Ca. 91202.  Pre-order and save!!  tickets are $17.50 in advance, $20.00 at the door.  Just click HERE!
Lots of great flavors and toppings! Pick a bowl, handmade by a Covert Potter, enjoy some ice cream then take the bowl with you!

What are the flavors you ask?... We have all chosen one for Valerie to make;
Lavender Sorbet
Mexican Chocolate
Rum Raisin Vanilla
Pistachio
Watermelon Sorbet
Very Berry Strawberry
Margarita Sorbet

OOOoooooohhhhhh. Pretty! Ask A Potter

OOOhhhhhh. Pretty. Have you ever wondered what kind of pottery potters have in their house? Well I do? And I had to ask: What is your favorite pot that you own?

Sally Anne: When I thought about this question, so many pots went through my head. I have 94% my pots, 5% other peoples pots and 1% store pots. I have to admit, sadly, I am my favorite potter. I like to think it’s a good thing...hehehe. And as I thought about this question, I realized that I tend to love the last pots out of the kiln as my favorite. I’m in love with a little black mountain with a drippy korean blue Celadon glaze. It’s has a crazy stamped design and a beautiful round body. It’s perky. And it reminds me to make more, to push the decoration and to be true to myself.

Chris: Like many people/potters I collect.  So I have all these tea bowls, mugs and tumblers that I use on a daily basis. I enjoy choosing which to use on a particular morning.  It makes the morning routine a bit special.  There's a tea bowl from Tom Coleman, a Birdie Boone and many others.  And yes there is one of mine!  These are some of them.  This morning I enjoyed my Heidi Brandenburg!

Evan: The blue falcon.

So, what is your favorite pot/art work that you own?
We’d love to hear your questions for the Covert Potters. Please leave a comment with any question you may have and we will try to get them answered as quickly as possible! Thank you… read on.

What's Your Muse? Ask A Potter

Inspiration! It can be the muse that lets your mind run wild and your leads your hands to create with joy. It can knock you over, whisper in you ear or leave you high and dry. We’d like to know: What, if anything, do you consistently draw inspiration from?
Celeste: I am inspired by nature and by works created during the art nouveau movement.
Sally Anne: Food. Sometimes it’s what I’m hungry for or food I’ve been eating and I think: How would I serve this. And sometimes it’s just a need I have. I need plates or a butter dish. I’ll get on a kick and then walk away until I get excited about that form or idea again Nature. The clouds in the sky, bark on a tree, leaves, mountains, rocks, etc. I’m a big fan of seed pods. I like to keep track of the changing of the season’s via pods.  Conversations/interactions with people. Sometimes things happen between me and someone else and I will put a response in clay.  I’ll steal. Sometimes I see someone doing something or a piece in a shop and I think: I can do that better. And I’ll process it out in my head and do it.
And life in general.
Chris: The smell of the salt air as you approach the beach, orange blossoms in the morning or the innocence of the children at work
Evan: Nothing's consistent.
Is there anything in your life that always puts a creative thought in your head?
We’d love to hear your questions for the Covert Potters. Please leave a comment with any questions you may have and we will try to get them answered as quickly as possible! Thank you… read on

ART From The Ashes

The opening of the show is coming up, save the date!!  Saturday June 19.  Covert Potters Chris McCormick, Sally Anne Stahl, Celeste Iida and Evan Vieser have all created works of art for this event.  Hope you can make it!

Other Mediums? Ask A Potter

I don’t know an artistic person that sticks to their medium solely. There is so much out there to be seen, worked with and known. We just have to ask: What other mediums do you work in?
Celeste: Food. Fabric. I used to sew all of my evening clothes until I met clay.  Since meeting clay, my wardrobe has down graded to sweats and jeans but I don’t mind.
Evan: My art is mainly contained to clay but occasionally I'll paint and photograph roads.
Sally Anne: Glass. Just started to fuse, but I'd love to learn how to blow. I play with photography and yarn. I'd would love to learn how to weave.
Chris: I like to paint and sculpt though it has been a while.  I have to say I am increasingly intrigued by and drawn to glass and am looking forward to taking some classes and “getting on the torch” as it were.
So what materials are making your heart sing and your hands move?We’d love to hear your questions for the Covert Potters. Please leave a comment below with any questions you may have and we will try to get them answered as quickly as possible! Thank you… read on.