Elizabeth Krome
Being self-taught means that nobody is warning you about all the things you shouldn’t do, and the trial-and-error path is full of wrong turns and blind alleys.
Judith Ernst
My process is unusual. First I throw my pieces on a wheel. Then I create a pattern using a vertical, horizontal, and diagonal grid, afterwards removing the top of the vessel so that I can get my hand inside. I cut through the wall and move parts of the clay pattern, changing the angles of the various connecting planes.
Bernadette Januska
brnburn Studio - pottery - Hillsborough This is one in a series of posts about artists in the Orange County Artists Guild. What is your medium? Why do you love it? How did you get interested in it? I have always been interested in pottery and ceramics and decided that it should consume my life. I love it so much…
Cicadas on the Brain by Betsy Vaden
For the past few weeks, we have been experiencing the constant whirring of cicadas, as they break through their exoskeletons and emerge in their adult forms to take to the air. For some of us this cacophony is annoying, but it is music to my ears as it signals the availability of cicada sheds - that exoskeleton part that is left…
Crawford Horne Fires Up The Kiln
I was lucky enough to complete the fifth firing of my wood kiln here in Hillsborough before the COVID-19 restrictions were put in place. It included work from five different potters. I’m starting to get the hang of this, my third wood kiln. It’s much easier to fire than my first two as it’s significantly smaller and I’ve now been…
The Start of Something Fresh for Spring
If you are looking for art that is fresh and special this spring, an event will be held soon that includes the work of three fresh OCAG artists: Cathy Kiffney, Luna Lee Ray, and Rebecca Neigher. Cathy Kiffney explains: "Four years ago I approached Luna Lee Ray with the idea of a small spring show. Although I did not know her…
An Artistic Dialogue
Three OCAG artists are participating in an upcoming show at the Chapel Hill Gallery of Art on Franklin Street. Here at what each says about their particular path while making their art... Eduardo Lapetina notes: "The steps I go through are unpremeditated and unplanned. I might apply two or three layers this way, and then as shapes and forms emerge, a direction…
Sharing a Studio Works Just Fine by Susan Filley
My studio is located on Dairyland Road, and for the past year I have shared my space with Erick Serritella, who is a nationally recognized sculptor and ceramic artist. It has been a new experience for both of us and we have learned a lot about our work and built a nice friendship. Sharing the studio has worked out just…
Clay, Glazes, and Heat by Judith Ernst
Have I learned yet to love uncertainty? Creating work in ceramic is not like painting. When you put a combination of glaze chemicals on clay and subject them to high heat, what you get is almost always surprising, even though you may have run many glaze tests and fired pieces under identical conditions. You do your best to control your outcomes,…
Art for Wildlife by Emily Weinstein
My day started out by catching a field mouse in the house. Thankfully, the animal was unhurt, and I did not need to take it to a place like Triangle Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic. This wildlife hospital that had served the entire Triangle had to shut down. Many have listened to me lament over this heartbreaking loss. Now, prior to spring,…