NMPCA

Celebration of Clay – A Great Tradition

dancingmud — Tue, 08 May 2012 00:55:35 +0000

Not too many years after I moved to New Mexico, I became aware of the great quality of the Celebration of Clay shows put on by the NMPCA.

See some pictures from the 2002 show here. And the 2003 show at the Harwood Art Center here. The review of that show by member Betsy Williams cited the “stunning” quality of work.

These shows are not juried…or are what I call “self-juried”…and yet have consistently shown excellent quality work, exhibiting a variety of approaches to creating with clay. While it is not easy to find a venue for a self-juried show, while I have been on the board (off and on for the last 9 years), I have supported the decision to keep the Celebration of Clay as a non-juried tradition. The self-jurying has arguably resulted in great quality shows and retains a spirit of mutual support and cooperation instead of competition. The Celebration of Clay show has provided an opportunity for the public to see something of what ceramic art is about within the state of New Mexico and our region.

The reason the quality of work at the Celebration of Clay is high is entirely due to the members meeting or exceeding their own standards from year to year.

Now, in 2012, the Celebration of Clay will be held at the Ghost Ranch Museum, on the grounds of the Ghost Ranch Conference Center in Abiquiu, New Mexico. We are happy to have a location in Northern New Mexico to display our work to, and look forward to having the members of the International Academy of Ceramics view the work when they visit Ghost Ranch. This show will be held in September, 2012.

Members: continue the tradition!
Pick your very best work and register for the 2012 show.

View detailed call for Entries.

Members: Select your best work and register before July 31.

Ghost Ranch Workshop 2012

dancingmud — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 23:05:46 +0000

The 2012 Ghost Ranch Workshop at Ghost Ranch this year is titled “Making it My Way.” We have a program of six artists who will be presenting short lecture/demonstrations: Arthur Gonzales, Alex Kraft, Betsy Williams, Frank Willett, Mario Quilles, and Debra Fritts. See our website at http://nmpca.onefireplace.org/GhostRanchWorkshop2012 for the details. Dates are: September 21-23, 2012.

The picture above is the panoramic photograph below that I took myself at the Ranch, then modified using the paint filter in Photoshop. I think it is totally appropriate for a workshop on “Making it My Way”. We expect that these presenters will give us new ways at looking at how we may our own clay creations. See more details about the workshop here: GRWorkshop2012FLIER

Santa Fe Locals Meeting, April 28, 2012

dancingmud — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 16:05:14 +0000

If you’ve got a yen to eat Frito Pie, talk clay, and see the ceramic facilities at Santa Fe Community College, meet up with other area potters and clay artists at noon Saturday, April 28.

We will meet for a no-host lunch in the cafeteria which has delicious low-priced food ranging from salad to spicy. Then we will briefly tour the clay classrooms and studios, including a visit to member Adele Devalcourt’s throwing class.

This is the third NMPCA “locals” meeting in response to membership requests for more opportunities to meet with other potters. The first was held in October in Eldorado and the second in January in Albuquerque. This meeting is being organized by Juanita Dunn and Layne Vickers Smith. Please e-mail Layne at santafepotter@comcast.net for more information or if you want a ride.

Volunteer Camp at Ghost Ranch

dancingmud — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 02:02:39 +0000

Friday May 18, 1:00 pm to Sunday, May 20, 3:00 pm

NMPCA Ghost Ranch Volunteer Camp, 2008

Once again Ghost Ranch has invited us back to spend a fun filled weekend at the ranch cleaning and renovating Pot Hollow. Now, as I write that, I wonder if that sounds like fun to the people viewing this…cleaning and renovating??? Well, you would be surprised how much fun it really is. Look at this picture of smiling faces at the 2008 Volunteer camp!

This year we will be re-plastering the fume kiln (AGAIN!), repairing the steps down to the raku pavilion, installing a student totem, cleanup and organization, and many other activities to get Pot Hollow ready for a great program of events over the summer and for our own Fall workshop. And, once again, we’ll be able to take in the Ghost Ranch’s Bluegrass Festival concert on Saturday night.

This year because of other activities going on continuously at the ranch, space is limited and we cannot meet special accommodation requests. For this reason, we ask that you plan to attend the entire event and gracefully accept the accommodations that Ghost Ranch is providing free. We want to keep registrations open for people who can attend the entire event for now. If we can accommodate partial participation, we will send a message via our email news group in the two weeks prior to the event. As always, if you want to camp, this relieves the accommodation squeeze.

A donation to cover the cost of meals is gratefully accepted when you check in (suggested $30).

Members only can register easily at http://nmpotters.org/events/. Questions? email Barbara Campbell, the event coordinator, at bcampbell@stonewareartifacts.com.

NMPCA Local Albuquerque Meeting

pyropotter — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 05:00:08 +0000

On Sunday, Jan. 15 we gathered for our first local Albuquerque meeting. Twenty artists attended including our guest presenter, Kathy Cyman as well a few people who were not members of NMPCA. We began our meeting with refreshments and socializing. People brought photos of their work that were collected as they arrived, then we each selected a photo and tried to match the photo with the artist. It was a really great way to get people up out of their seats to mingle and get to know each other. We gave away some fun door prizes too. Kathy Cyman gave a wonderful presentation about her work in Arita porcelain and her travels to Japan. She brought some beautiful examples and let us actually feel the pure, wonderful porcelain clay. A couple of the guests expressed an interest in joining NMPCA. All in all it was a teriffic day. I heard several people ask when we would be having the next one. I would encourage members from other parts of the State to organize a meeting in your area. It’s a great way to connect with other local artists. I learned so much and enjoyed my time with people who share a love for clay.

A Visit to Jan Term at Ghost Ranch

dancingmud — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:49:04 +0000

Just came back from a visit to the Jan Term at Ghost Ranch. I went up to help our NMPCA Board member and Ghost Ranch coordinator, Barbara Campbell, with a fume firing for the students. I came away so encouraged by seeing these young people of high energy, integrity, and intelligence. It was the last day of activities and Barbara had designed so many incredible projects that the students did so well! One of the most interesting projects was the creation of a totem pole where each student created a piece and the final stacked sculpture will be permanently installed at the top of the stairway down to Pot Hollow. The imagery on the pieces was inspired by the student’s reaction to the environment of Ghost Ranch. We’ll all get to see the totem when we visit later this year!

I also visited the archaeology and solar energy groups, and they were doing equally amazing things. The archaeology students had found a bone in the 2002 site that the instructors felt was a significant find. How terribly exciting!

October Slip Trail

dancingmud — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 16:09:17 +0000

Here is the October Slip Trail in a google docs viewer. This is a convenient way to view the document because you don’t need a pdf reader on your machine.

And here it is as a direct pdf to view in your own browser’s viewer: Oct2011SlipTrail

This issue features:

A Message From Our President
Upcoming Armstrong Grant
Ghost Ranch Workshop
Susan Filley Handouts
Renew Your Membership
From the Ground Up
Summer Clay Class in Mountainair
Welcome New Members
Getting to Know You
Shows and Announcements

Albuquerque Empty Bowls

dancingmud — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 14:54:56 +0000

This year’s Albuquerque Empty Bowls event will be held Sunday, Sept. 25 at Project Share, 1515 Yale SE, Albuquerque, New Mexico

This event, which is held in many cities and towns around the country, aims to reduce hunger. It is an enchanting event…potters make ceramic bowls, restaurants make wonderful soup, people come and buy a bowl, have some soup, and listen to lovely music. The cost of the bowl is donated to charities engaged in reducing poverty and hunger.

The sponsoring organization, Project Share, in Albuquerque. Among their programs are a hot meal program, a food box program, Adopt-A-Family Holiday Program and a clothing bank.

Register for Ghost Ranch Workshop

dancingmud — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 23:58:23 +0000

Susan Filley Teapot

It’s the last week to register for the NMPCA Ghost Ranch workshop to be held September 9-11. There is still room for some more people, so don’t miss this great workshop.

Denver Clay Exhibits

dancingmud — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 23:37:49 +0000

Even though we are in New Mexico…not Colorado, there are some interesting clay exhibits in Denver lately, and Denver IS in our region. In addition to the Marvelous Mud exhibit at the Denver Art Museum, here’s some exhibits sent to me by my friend Barry Krzywicki.

Takashi Nakazato was born into the Japanese lineage of Karatsu ceramics. He has a show of his wood-fired work until September 10 at Walker Fine Art, 300 West 11th Ave #A.

http://www.yoyokaku.com/ryutagama-4.htm
http://www.walkerfineart.com/

Across the street at Havu Gallery, 1040 Cherokee, until September 3 there is a group show entitled “AMAZING GLAZING” featuring: Betty Woodman, Richard Bell, Charles Birnbaum, Martha Daniels, Tracey Heyes, Phillip Maberry & Scott Walker and James Marshall.

http://williamhavugallery.com/

At the Sandra Phillips gallery, 744 Santa Fe Drive, there is a show that’s been extended until August 20th (check with the gallery).
The show features Don Reitz, John Balistreri, Yoshiro Ikeda, Carroll Hansen and Maynard Tischler.

http://www.thesandraphillipsgallery.com/

Lastly, amazing Yixing teapots made by Junya Shao are on display through September 24th at Plinth Gallery, 3520 Brighton Blvd. She will be doing a workshop as well on September 17-18.

http://plinthgallery.com/exhibitions/