NMPCA

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/

Supplies and Equipment Ideas

dancingmud — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 23:31:58 +0000

I asked member Judy Richey if she had any ideas about what we could post about supplies/equipment. Here’s what she sent me:

“I have been developing really painful arthritis in my right hand. I have always reprocessed and reclaimed all my scrap clay and struggled with wedging clay that I purchase that is either way too wet as is often the case from NM Clay, or too dry – Laguna. My husband gave me the most incredible Christmas gift last year. He gave me a Peter Pugger VPM-9 stainless steel deairing/power mixing, power wedging pug mill. The most wonderful machine. It is small (batch size 25#), relatively quiet, and does a fantastic job, saving my spirit and my hands. This is one of the few – maybe the first? completely stainless steel pug mill, which is necessary for my studio as I do porcelain which tears up a non-stainless mill.

“Other than that I think a link to MUD TOOLS, Michael Sherrill’s web site would be good. He makes the most amazing ribs and his throwing sponges are incredible. I first became aware of his ribs and sponges at a workshop that I attended at Geil Kilns before I bought my kiln. Tom Coleman was the artist at the workshop and he showed these tools to us. The sponges were on back order for some time and several of the people in the workshop were familiar with them and were also waiting to get some. Then I saw him at NCECA in Phoenix. I am a devoted fan. He has amazing tools. His website is http://mudtools.com

”Wonderful brushes at reasonable prices: Oriental Art Supplies in Huntington Beach CA. Website www.orientalartsupply.com

“Last but not least are Phil Poburka’s trimming tools. He is known as Bison Studios. These tools are wonderful because they stay sharp forever. Take some getting used to as they are very sharp. They do best with leather hard clay and a slow wheel. The tools are more expensive than other trimming tools, but they last forever or he will resharpen them for you. The tools are made of Tungsten Carbide and will break if dropped, but as with any excellent tool, taking care of them becomes second nature. He is always at NCECA. website: www.bisonstudios.com

“These are just a few of my ideas. I would love to get some wonderful tea pot handles. Most of those I have found locally are really crude.

“Hope these ideas are of some use to others.”

Judy Richey

Registration Heats up for Susan Filley Workshop

dancingmud — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 12:48:19 +0000

We’re in the last days of registration for the Susan Filley workshop. The weather is hot now, but it will be beautiful at the Ranch on September 9-12 for the workshop. Don’t miss out on this special event. Go to the website for more information and to register.

Updated Website

dancingmud — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 16:17:48 +0000

Today I announce major updates to the website of the NMPCA. Previously, we had two sites: the public website at www.nmpotters.org and the membership website at http://nmpca.onefireplace.org. Now, the two sites are one in address and content.

The background of the website is a combination of an image from the flames of our paper-kiln firing overlaid on a subtle pattern of cracked clay.

The logo is a hand holding a pot. The rim of the pot is in the shape of Pedernal, the mesa viewed from Ghost Ranch where our organization has been holding workshops for over 35 years.

Website Changes

dancingmud — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 16:29:23 +0000

I’m working on changing the websites so that the public website (www.nmpotters.org) becomes merged with our membership website (nmpca.onefireplace.org).

In the process, I found a tool for displaying pdf files that will greatly enhance our enjoyment of the Slip Trail newsletter. See a sample by clicking here and click on the link from the NMPCA site or click on the image to go directly to the magazine display.

Magazine display of the Slip Trail