Finished Teapots

These teapots (and maybe one or two others) will be making an appearance at the Armory Art Center's Mad Hatter's Event on March 3, 2011. The event raises money for the resident artist program.

Apology Letter

Dear Florida,

I am sorry for all of the bad things I said about you during the 2007-08 academic year when I was acclimating to the heat. You are a beautiful state that gives its residents blooms and fragrances when the rest of the country is digging out of their driveways.

Much love,

Chandra

I took this picture on my morning walk! Amazing!

Finish Every Sentence

If you pick up any of my 30 or so sketchbooks lying around my apartment, you will see that there are always 4 or 5 pages of effortful drawings before the darn thing turns into a collection of random notes, glaze recipes, addresses, grocery lists, doodles, and always always sketches of pots. Some of the information within is so time-sensitive, it becomes a useless waste of space. (To-do lists from the summer of 2008).

I have purchased three new sketchbooks in the last 6 weeks. Each of them once held such promise within its blank pages. The little blue sketchbook, perfectly sized for my messenger bag, fell victim to a coffee spill while I was on the go. Its most recent entry is a scribbly reminder to buy toilet paper and envelopes at the store.

I was talking with a student/fellow artist last week about the direction his sculptural vessel was taking. My advice to him was, "finish the sentence." Despite his initial cross-eyed reaction, he showed me the piece a few days later and he had, indeed, finished his sentence.

I have never finished my own sketchbook sentence. What I mean is, I have never committed fully to effortful drawings cover - t0- cover. Because of convenience peppered with a lack of organization, my sketchbooks fall victim to grocery lists.

Because this blog is a virtual sketchbook, I operate under the assumption that I am writing to the public. I have not put many of my own pen and paper sketches in here: it's been more about ideas. However, I would like to make a public commitment to finishing the sentence in my real sketchbook like I do in the virtual one. Not every drawing needs to be masterpiece - worthy. It's a sketchbook, after all. However, I need to finish what I start and give enough dignity to my visions to see them through. I vow to update regularly on this commitment and risk public shame if I let the grocery list monster in.

My newest prize, a goldenrod colored flexi-sketch, contains 300 perfect 8"x8" pages. This book is ripe with promise. I even purchased 3 new ink pens to draw with. Sigh. The drawing here is on page #2 . . .

Works in Progress: Teapots and Covered Jars

I have been working on some more complex forms the past few weeks: lidded jars and teapots. Man, is it slow-going! All recent graduates strive to synthesize the information collected over three years of graduate school and I am so grateful for this residency and the opportunity to do just that. I look at the work I have created over the last five years and I see the progression into these forms (even though I am still working out many kinks). I am looking forward to making the surface and color decisions to put these babies to bed and on to the next round!

Legacy of a Thousand Years: the Ceramics of Tonala'

Over the holidays, I had a chance to once again visit the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center. I was blown away by the current exhibit, "Legacy of a Thousand Years: the Ceramics of Tonala'." The pieces in the exhibition were made by contemporary potters working in the Tonala tradition, using ancient Pre-Columbian techniques and imagery, but in a fresh, lively and conceptual manner. I was especially impressed by the work of Jose' Luis Cortez Hernandez, who combined color, imagery and form in a way I've only dreamed of doing on my own pots.

I hoped to purchase an exhibition catalog so I could study the designs and the represented artists further, but when I found none available, I resigned to internet searches. To my dismay, the artists represented do not seem to have much of a web presence. I did find a nice tour blog which had great pictures of the work of Salvador Vazquez Carmona and his studio. The state of Jalisco and the town of Tonala' are definitely on my short list of places I want to visit.

Website -GO!

Finally got my website up and running through Other People's Pixels (Thanks Helen for the nudge)! Check it out: chandradebuse.com

Word of the Day: Slather

I have been yearning for more depth in my surfaces and wanted to share a recently fired tumbler. This cup is all about the layering process. I brushed on horizontal stripes of terra sig, waxed the whole tumbler, incised vertical lines and inlayed a red iron oxide wash before bisque firing. After the bisque, I applied circular stickers and dunked the tumbler in two separate transparent glazes. After firing to cone 6 in an electric kiln, I decided to take it to temperature again which encouraged more running and dripping of the blue transparent glaze. I really slathered everything on this cup. I think I am getting closer to the kind of surface depth I want to achieve. Now to learn to control the effects of this process, successfully combine it with my imagery and develop a more personal color palette. I know what I'm going to be doing for the holidays.

"Three terra sigs, two transparent glazes, one black underglaze and a partridge in a pear tree"

Happy December!