Good Morning Cats and Kittens.

FY…I now have an Etsy store to sell all those not quite perfect ceramic oddities that i continue to save (and unfortunately produce). How honored I am that my friend Kate Binghaman -Burt of Obsessive Consumption did one of her Daily Drawings of the Strawberry cups she bought from me on Etsy?

What a great gal this Etsy is. Lots of terrific handmade objects to choose from and by eliminating the middle person they are extremely accessible. If you need a gift I highly recommend a lengthy browse.

I think that Etsy is making history and I am interested in how the DIY generation is breathing new life into “craft”. I would say that there is a new “Crafts Movement” one of which the majority of us overeducated MFA’s are not a part of.. Garth Johnsons “Extreme Craft” has quite a few posts on this very topic and a link to a conversation (can i call it that?) started out on the Imogene blog. What ensued was a VERY lengthy, but yummy exchange between DIY’ers, artist/writer Bruce Metcalf and the new editor of American Craft Magazine Andrew Wagner (have you seen the new website?? where am i?). If the idea of a “New Crafts Movement” is of any interest to you- have faith and trudge through this.

More Soon.

Kari

what more can i say?  (…..except that if you too need one of these lovelies you can get your very own at cafe press )

If you love your garden (or your neighbors garden) and are in Maine anytime between now and July 13th you must check out Garden Archive at the George Marshall Store Gallery in York, Maine. (literally minutes off I-95)

This is an exhibition curated by artist Gail Spaien. She has installed just a slightly trimmed down version of her piece Garden Archive which was recently exhibited as part of the exhibition New Natural History on view at the Portland Museum of Art earlier this year. She has installed an imagined and most decadent botanical archive that includes her scientific watercolor illustrations and preserved flowers. Along with Archive she has invited area artists, flower arrangers and landscape designers to make work in response to their own gardens.  Every week three new artists will install their work.  My work will be sited the week of June 20- 27- I will be sure to post images of the work I generate.

Well this little mill town has finally arrived. Our first arts walk is this Friday the 23rd and every fourth Friday until Nov. 28th from 5-8 pm.

It is an industrial strength self- guided tour of working artists studios, performance events, galleries, creative businesses and restaurants. There is free parking behind CVS pharmacy and free maps at many local businesses. (find out more and download a map here)

Ian and I will have our Portico Gallery up and running with lots of work, both high quality firsts and last chance seconds. If you cant make it this Friday just give a call to schedule an appointment.

We are looking forward to meeting you and celebrating this momentous event in Westbrooks Creative Community.

NEW WORK Good day to all you crazy cats….quick post.These pots just went into the kiln bathed in glaze. They are getting ready for that big Fed Ex road trip to the Pittsburg NCECA. They are approx. 10-16″ in height and are all coil built with Terra Cotta Clay. Check out my gallery to see finished images or in person you can see them at the following Pittsburg NCECA shows:

• Juicy Terra Cotta, Sweetwater Center for the Arts.
• Tactility Tactile, Gallerie Chiz
• La Mesa,Santa Fe Clay

Last weekend I was in Atlanta teaching a workshop at Mudfire Studios. This could quite possibly be one of the best furnished, most clean and well organized studios I have ever seen. It was very inspirational to see two young people with such a grande and daring vision.

I thought I would thaw out a bit in Atlanta….but no such luck. I should have brought my snow suit. I woke up on Saturday morning and you guessed it- it was snowing.

So I am blowing on my Forsythias, and chipping away at my compost pile. Begging spring to come out and play. I dont care if winters lease hasn’t run out yet. I am getting the gallery ready to open for spring. Unpacking from winter shows, dusting off my seconds, and the super fun endeavor has been my new “Pottery” sign. Made from hand cut Terra Cotta tile that I made while teaching fall concentration at Penland in 2006.

Do you know what happens on april 4th at 10 p.m. ? Yes my friends, season 4 of Battlestar Galactica commences. It is for sure one of the greatest shows ever. Adapted from the cheesy 70’s sci fi show. It is a gripping allegory of the war on terror. Full of religious zealots, sleeper cells, civil liberty crackdowns, and prisoner- torture scandals…sound familiar?
I could go on and on but i wont. You can watch a recap of all three seasons in eight minutes and get caught up before the start of season four. Did I mention this is fraking hysterical?

Its been a long time since my last post…sorry. I have been busy shoveling snow. We just had out billionth storm of the winter and as much as I love it I am ready to see some green stuff. All I do is listen to Mike McGrath yap about compost and corn gluten meal and think about my new garden beds. The Johhnny’s Seed cataloge haunts me at all hours of the day and night. I cant decide if i should order the Savor French Melon or stick with the tried and true Honey Pearl. What’s a gal to do??? I should probably get a hobby.

I have been traveling a ton and doing workshop after workshop. Last week I went to my favorite city- Philadelphia and did a visiting artist workshop with my new friend Michael Connelly at Montgomery County Community College. One of his students Dave Thomas has put together a fabulous website and great teaching tool. The site captures all the past visiting artists almost frame by frame. It is like looking through a flip book. Did i mention the crocus’s were budding in PA?

Every week I have been trying to resist this…but i cant any longer. Pushing Daisies is one of my most favorite tv shows ever. (aside from battlestar gallactica, twin peaks and the x-files) It is scratch and sniff, syruppy sweet, and candy colored goodness all in one gumball. It is Burtonesque in its magic, romance and dark comedy. The only thing missing is a pair of 3-d glasses.

The show is about Ned a lonely piemaker who as a boy discovers with one touch he can bring the dead back to life. He discovers another ability, a second touch and they are gone for good. Unfortunately he also learns that if he lets them live someone else must take their place.

Pushing Daisies has a Big Production feel..almost as if it were a two hour feature length movie. This may be the result of a cast who are predominately stage actors and actresses or may be that the Executive Producers Brian Fuller and Barry Sonenfeld have ties to big stuff like Star Trek, The Adams Family and the Coen Brothers.

There are so many things that I love about this show….I love that Jim Dale the voice from the Harry Potter books on tape narrates this program. I love that Ned’s bakery is called The Pie Hole. I love that the two things Ned cherishes most in the world he cant touch (Digby his dog and Chuck his true love). And I love that this program doesn’t discriminate. It is equally enjoyable for both the young and old. Check it out in all its technicolor glory…Wednesdays, 8 pm on ABC.

Come and see Ian and me for our 2nd Holiday Home Sale over Thanksgiving weekend. Friday night we will have snacks, drinks and some festive Leon Redbone playing Christmas Island in the background. There will be LOTS of pots both small and large, reasonable and unreasonable. We will also have an enourmous selection of seconds and this will be the last chance to collect a piece from my previous body of work. Whether it’s to shop or just say hi we would love to see you and meet your friends and family.

We are at 149 Central Street, in downtown Westbrook Maine. 207.856.5083

Hours of our Sale:
Friday November 23, 6-9pm
Saturday November 24, 9-5 pm
Sunday November 25th, 10-4 pm

Here is a link to a map of where we live.

Or you can try our written directions: Take Rt 25 by-pass into Westbrook, turn at Sportsman’s Hardware (this is directly across from the back side of CVS) onto Central Street. (Coming from Gorham you will make a right onto Central St. and coming from Portland you will take a left onto Central St.) We are almost at the crest of the hill on the right, #149.

Westbrook has great things to offer…good eats and quite a bit of art. If you are hungry before or after your visit check out Burrito or the new Frog and Turtle. Also one of my favorite fundraisers and a fabulous fun time to see and buy great and often very inexpensive art is the Bakery Photographics Photo A Go-Go which happens December 14th from 6-8 pm.