I draw images on my work to create spaces of refuge, built of experience and imagination. I particularly enjoy nighttime solitude with nature - walking in the woods, kayaking on the lake, watching the shadows of tree branches dance on a surface, letting my mind imbibe what I see with a secret life of its own. Creating the surface and drawing is as much a salvation as contemplating the subtleties added by the firing process, letting my imagination wander to a sweeter place, or experiencing those spaces myself.

In my last post I mentioned entering work for a show at Womanmade Gallery, themed “Drawing on Experience”. The paragraph above accompanied my submitted images, and the piece pictured below (and, I’ve realized, above, as my blog banner) was the one accepted: word arrived this week.

The sky swirled all night around me; I lost track of who I was. 2007. Handbuilt of Tile6 over stoneware FCSI with incised drawing. Unglazed. Soda fired to c.10, reduction cooled. 1h, 14w, 10l

Drawing on Experience runs June 27 through July 24, 2008. Womanmade Gallery is located at 685 N Milwaukee. The opening reception is on June 24, from 6-9pm.

These are a couple of my favorite cups to come home and see, finally getting some time under the lights.

Two cups. 2006? Handbuilt of Tile6 slip over stoneware FCSI. Woo blu glaze. Soda fired to c.10. 6.5h, 3.5w, 3l.

I sent a few pieces to a call for entries, titled “Drawing on Experience”. While I have a history of drawing on clay, that may not be a medium anybody expected. Writing the statement of work was a wonderful and surprising experience.

The sky swirled all night around me; I lost track of who I was. 2007. Handbuilt of Tile6 over stoneware FCSI with incised drawing. Unglazed. Soda fired to c.10, reduction cooled. 1h, 14w, 10l.

These nesting bowls are my favorites - the flashing is lovely and the glaze runs are nothing short of amazing - and they’re endlessly useful. I’ve shown up with them at a friend’s house and filled them with fresh-cut melon to serve a crowd, taken fresh-baked cookies to work, enjoyed a salad, eaten ridiculously spicy homemade peanut noodles. Just to get the photos, I had to displace their cargo - bananas, this time. The big one holds two quarts of liquid, but there’s no need to fill them up: anything seems to look good on that glossy amber-black. Everyone should have a gorgeous set of big bowls because they’re good for everything.

Four temoku bowls. 2007? Handbuilt of BBSFAO over stoneware FCSI. Temoku glaze. Soda fired in reduction to c.10. To 11w, 9l, 4h.