Burnish Clay Studio Blog

Studio Updates

Another session is over. As we say good-bye to the summer months and say hello to September, new workshops (three this fall!) and a whole lot of opportunities to continue your ceramics practice, we think to ourselves, "how did the summer go by so quickly?"  Personally, I just got used to the idea that it's 2023. 

This next week will be a quiet one in the studio as the staff gets the place in shape for our fall session. If you are taking classes in the fall, we will see you the week of September 11th. If you still have work to glaze from the summer session, you can come in and do that any day, (when the studio is available) after the fall session starts. 

We are welcoming the kids back after a very long Spring and Summer session without them. If you know of anyone with kids ages 6-11 who might want to play with clay, let them know there are spots available for both of the five week sessions this fall. If you know anyone with kids 11-16 who want to work on the potter's wheel, there are also spots available for that class as well, and, two spots available in the adult wheel classes, one on Saturday morning and one on Wednesday afternoons, from 12:30 to 3:00. 
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Thanks to everyone for your patience with our various plumbing challenges this summer, we are hoping that the parts we need will be delivered to the studio in time to install them and get all our sinks up and running again.

Critique Club

Thanks again to everyone who made it out to our Critique Club in August. It turned out to be a stormy night, but the vibes inside the studio were warm and friendly, and everyone got a lot out of the art conversations we had around making sculptural and functional ceramics. Our next critique club will take place on the last Tuesday in September, the 26th at 6:00 pm, so mark your calendars. 

Traditional Potlucks

From the beginning of time, perhaps even before that, potlucks have been a proud tradition in pottery studios all over the planet. At Burnish Clay Studio, we stopped having them when the pandemic spread across the land, but we have decided that we have gone too long and come too far to drop the tradition completely, so we are contemplating bringing them back for the end of the fall session. It is usually set up so each class has their own. The class sits around talking about the stuff that has come out of the kiln, eating yummy food out of the pottery we have made during the quarter, and trading pieces with each other. It's quite something. It's an ongoing conversation at this point, whether or not to pick up where we left up before everything closed down, so stay tuned. We might find ourselves breaking bread at the end of the fall session.

Is Ceramics a Good Side Hustle?

Every week, I do a "bit" of research for this blog. I usually take a few tidbits from the IG thread, I use some of the information out of the newsletter that Heather sends out, and I discuss weekly goings-on at the studio. This week while doing my "bit", I came across this auto-populated question on the Goog, which I assume means that people are actually asking this question. Don't worry, I'm not going to waste valuable blog space or frankly, energy, with an answer. I just thought I would share this question to hopefully stimulate some thought around how we each approach our own practice. And because this picture of a laughing Icelandic Horse, (photo credit to Dan Cook) makes me giggle.

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Weekly Tip

This tip is pretty straight-forward: learn from everyone. No matter where you are in your art practice, seek out opinions, tips, observations, and lessons around the kind of work you do. No matter what the content, opening yourself up to new and different ways of seeing and doing things will not only improve your practice, it will also improve your life. Be aware when your internal reaction to advice is defensive, and watch how you react to other people's work. Figure out what advice is helpful and what is not through experimenting with what you learn. There are millions of different ways to approach your clay practice, but the best way is the one you develop for yourself over time by exposing yourself to as many ideas, processes and techniques as you can.

Opportunities

Every week, I post several opportunities for shows, residencies, grants and other such resources for clay artists in the region and around the world. I go to a few places to get this information, so this week, I thought I would share the one place that sends me opportunities from around the globe. 

I share this information with you because it is one way I grow my creative practice: I look ahead to shows where the deadlines are two months or so in the future, find a theme I like, then create a piece to enter into that show. This practice keeps my creative juices flowing and gives me different ways to approach the work I am doing. Even if I don't get into the show I apply to, I gain so much from changing the way I normally approach my work that I find this practice invaluable. I do this once a quarter.  Just follow the link below and sign up for their newsletter, then watch the magic happen!

CaFE calls for entry