Interview: Judi Tavill

The first ceramics survey comes from Judi! If you'd like to take the survey, check out this post for more info. A different ceramic artist / potter will be featured every Monday.

Vital statistics (name, age, location, website)?
Judi Tavill, 40, Rumson,NJ, jtceramics.com

Where do you work in clay?
In a studio in my home

Do you have another job?
Mom (2 boys, 12 1/2 and 9)

Are your studio and occupation decisions made by choice or necessity?
My decisions are made by choice for the most part.

How do you budget your time (in the studio and out - family, errands, etc)?
Not very well...When I'm working I tend to think of all of the other "stuff" I need to do and when I'm not working, I tend to think about needing to get work done.... Trying to be more PRESENT... having trouble.

Why do you make pots (or sculptures)?
I love to work with clay....I am drawn to it... I NEED to "express" myself through visual and I am totally addicted.

How concerned are you about environmental issues? Does this affect your work?
I'm concerned. I could be more concerned... I am trying to recycle more and more and be very careful with my use of energy.

What do you do when you're having a bad day in the studio?
Cry? Scream? Take a break...go for a walk...Yell at my kids?

Do you create art in other mediums?
I used to design clothes for a living and sewed and then I painted...mainly using oil paint sticks... and drawing but ever since clay...I sketch a bit... I knit....I don't really make art with my knitting however... although I have made some bracelets out of knitting sterling silver ....more like art...

Where do you sell your work?
I mainly sell my work on Etsy, out of my studio and at some smaller shows...have some wholesale and consignment stuff on the back burner...

How did you approach those venues about selling your work?
I try to have a positive attitude and believe presentation is key.

Do you have any questions you're dying to ask other ceramic artists, or artists in general?
Hmmm.... How they balance their time....and completely focus on what they are doing WHEN they are doing it....

Ceramic artists interview

Since I've been setting up my own home studio I've had a lot of questions about what to do and how to go about things, and only a handful of them I've asked here on my blog. What I would like to do is survey the ceramic artists / studio potters reading, similar to the way Tiny Choices features a survey with questions based around personal living / environmental choices every Friday. So here it is... send me an email (ceramicerin at gmail . com) with your answers and I'll post one artist's survey each Monday:

Vital statistics (name, age, location, link to website/blog)?

Where do you work in clay?

Do you have another job?

Are your studio and occupation decisions made by choice or necessity? Please explain.

How do you budget your time (in the studio and out - family, errands, etc)?

Why do you make pots (or sculptures)?

How concerned are you about environmental issues? Does this affect your work?

What do you do when you're having a bad day in the studio?

Do you create art in other mediums?

Where do you sell your work?

How did you approach those venues about selling your work?

Do you have any questions you want to ask other ceramic artists, or artists in general?

NEW question: If you could change one property of clay, what would it be? (optional question; from potter John Bauman in the second Monday survey)

Please also include a photo of your work and/or yourself in your email.

Michael Keene at Zip 37 in Denver

Have you heard of Michael Keene? He's a contemporary ceramic sculptor who creates human and animal characters with graphic elements using texture, crisp black lines, and bright colors. For those in the Denver area, you can see his work at the Zip 37 Gallery on Navajo Street now through May 24. Here's more info: Denver Galleries.

Look for me on Twitter if you want to hear about other random bits I find that might interest you (I promise not to tweet about my lunch unless it's something so delicious that you should know about and try).

Summer dinner party

Have you ever noticed the treasuries on Etsy? You get a sample of them every time you visit the homepage... they're a collection of 12 different items curated by Etsy members, selections of whatever the member likes. I just created one based around ceramic ware that would enliven your table this spring/summer. It will only be up for a few days, expiring on Thursday - Summer Dinner Party.

Featuring the work of:

• juditavill
• scrumdidlyump
• JDWolfePottery
• mostlyart
• NewMoonStudio
• pagepottery
• ColoradoArtStudio
• Misspottery
• justmare
• SweatpeaCottage
• khphillips
• terraworks

How to make a wedging table?

As much as I would love to buy this sturdy, simple wedging table from Bailey Ceramic Supply, I don't have $770 to shell out. I don't even have $50, but I would at least be willing to put $50 on my credit card to make something right now. I'm always afraid I'll piss off the neighbors or even my roommates when I'm making a racket slamming clay onto the unsturdy, loud table I have, and the wire wedging process would go so much smoother if I had a wire attached to the table.

I'm thinking of building one from 100% wood, thinking that will be the cheapest and easiest, but honestly I haven't a clue. I would prefer to not have one made with plaster because I would hate to have small bits of plaster come off into the clay over time. Any advice is welcome. What do you use for a wedging table?

Searching for a title

I have an exhibition coming up in August coupled with a documentary photographer. Stephanie Burchett's body of work is titled "Scavengers," and documents Nicaraguan citizens digging through trash dumps to find "valuable" items - recyclables for which they can get money. My work is based around things I want in my life - comfort, stability, beauty, sustenance, and peace. Our work is quite different, but our common link is a grant which we both earned last year. One of the requirements of the grant is a public exhibition, so we decided to exhibit together in one of the few galleries in Greeley. Anyway, we need a title for our show and perhaps one of you could help me. Do you have any ideas? I was thinking "Searching for ..." something. Searching for what though?

NCECA 2009

It's been awhile since I got back from the NCECA conference... about time I blog about it, right? I'm afraid you'll have to wait a bit longer because it's already 2 in the afternoon and I haven't been in the studio yet today. I've been busy uploading photos though, so if you'd like to see what I saw on day 1 in Phoenix, check out my flickr set. Since I was volunteering, I arrived two days before the conference started, and I was able to leisurely wander around the city to check out a few galleries and the Arizona Art Museum while nothing else was happening that Monday.