Studio Updates!

Staff Spotlight!

In an ongoing effort to familiarize folks with Burnish Clay Studio and all the wonderful things that happen here, we are including a segment once every few weeks where we will introduce one of the staff at Burnish. This week, it's the one and only...Finley Rick! I asked Finley to jot down some details for an IG post and they gave me this:
“I started ceramics back in high school. I needed an art credit and figured I should give ceramics a shot. I'm so glad I did. I fell in love with messing with mud and I never looked back - I’ve been creating pottery for 8 years and teaching off and on for 4 years. I started working at Burnish in 2021 as a studio technician and instructor, and I can honestly say it has been more than I ever could have asked for. I can't tell if I have more fun doing tech or teaching! One of the many reasons why I love working and creating at Burnish is the opportunity to be a part of such an uplifting, inspiring, and accepting community. I’d had challenges finding a safe space as a non-binary person in the art community until I met the folks at Burnish. Lately I have been experimenting more with soda firing and contrasting the simple lines and refined shapes of my pots with the unpredictability of soda!”

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Up and Coming

July's critique club was pushed to August 1st so more people could participate. Please do come, bring any work you would like discussed, (we are incredibly encouraging and wonderfully helpful), and bring snacks or drinks if you are so moved. The club starts at 6ish and all levels are welcome and encouraged to attend.

The next Cone 10 community soda firing lead by Zoe Petersen will be loaded Mon 7/31.

• All pots must be delivered and glazed by Sun 7/30
• Pots that will be bisqued at Burnish must be delivered & DRY by Tues 7/25
• Kiln will be loaded Mon 7/31, Fired Tues 8/1, unloaded (most likely) Fri 8/4.  

The next Cone 6 community soda firing lead by Ann Marie Cooper will be loaded Mon 8/21.

• All pots must be delivered and glazed by Sun 8/20
• Pots that will be bisqued at Burnish must be delivered & DRY by Tues 8/15
• Kiln will be loaded Mon 8/21, Fired Tues 8/22, unloaded (most likely) Fri 8/25.

Fall classes will be announced soon, so please watch your emails and IG for announcements if you are interested in signing up for fall classes.

If you are not signed up for the Burnish Clay Studio Newsletter, please sign up below! You will get all the Burnish news in a timely and efficient manner.

Ceramical Influences

If you have been making with clay for any amount of time, you most likely have ceramic artists you have followed, studied, or like me, completely lost your mind over. One of my earliest influences was Beatrice Wood. She was part of the Dada movement and became a ceramicist quite late in life, after having taken a ceramics class in order to replace a lusterware teapot she had broken. Like so many of us, after she got her hands in clay, she was hooked. If you are interested, read her autobiography, I Shock Myself.

Another of my early influences was Betty Woodman. Mostly due to her surface design and her tendency to deconstruct traditional ceramic vessels. 

I am still always searching for influences, in all genres of art, but my love for clay always brings me back to ceramic artists, their work, their stories, and their philosophical approaches to clay. 

Tip of the Week!

This is specific to commission work, and it is my experience that at one time or another, we all get commissioned to do some type of piece for friends, family, and sometimes, strangers. Here are some guidelines I cling to for dear life when creating commission work:

1. If you need one fully realized piece, make three to move through mistakes, bad ideas and horrible accidents.
2. Charge two or three times retail for commissions. That way, if they still want to pay you for it, it's worth your time, and if they decide against it due to cost, you have just saved yourself a lot of angst and heart ache.
3. Do not let the client determine the design. They are asking you because they like your work, so make sure it is your work.
4. Always have a contract which requires a non-refundable deposit. Half down is standard.
5. Think good and hard when friends ask you for a commission. Sometimes these people are hoping for a discount because you are a friend or family member, when in actuality, they should want to pay you more. In this case, or any case where someone is trying to talk you down on price, it is best to walk away. A person who wants something special made for them who doesn't want to pay what it is worth is most likely not someone who will appreciate the work when they get it. It's the biggest red flag of all and one that should always be heeded. 

Artist Resources

Residencies
The right residency can more than an opportunity to enrich your personal practice. Some residencies have the power to launch your career as an artist. Here are a few:
Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture
Whitney Museum of Art Independent Study Program
The MacDowell Colony
National Parks Arts Foundation
The Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts