More water under the bridge.

The show at the Guild Shop in Toronto has wound down.  This was a very successful show although at first it was not encouraging.  Jane and I sold 12 plate sets (a plate set is a plate on a charger) and two salad bowl sets (a wooden salad bowl and 4 stoneware side dishes).

The plate sets were special in that the wood for the chargers came from the bottom of Georgian Bay.  The story of that wood was written on the bottom of the chargers.

The show called "Harvest", at the new Headwaters Arts Gallery, opens this Friday, September 13.  I have 4 pieces in it including 3 of my NICHE Award finalists from the years 2009, 2010 and 2011.  This event runs for about a month and coincides with the Headwaters Arts Festival.  If you are in the Alton - Orangeville area of Ontario, do take some time to visit these happenings.

Later this fall I will have my work in a new (for me) gallery in Kingston, Ontario, called Kingston Glass Studio & Gallery.  The Clay With Wood collaborative bowl sets will be there and later some of my chargers and stick vases.
 Look for more information on the Galleries page of this website.  This info will be up in about a month's time.

Now I have to get back to work.  It seems that the older I get, the busier I am.  No complaints, just strange how it all works out.

Until next time...

My how time slips away!  I am busy in the studio making salad bowls.  This week I have been making them in walnut.  Next week I move to maple.  I am working on two styles, namely the B-Bowl and the T-Bowl.  These are my best sellers.

It is the salad time of year.  The weather has warmed up.  The trees are finally in full leaf (although the ash trees are just starting to leaf - they are always the last).

Many of my salad bowls are purchased for wedding gifts - it is that time of the year also!

I spend 5 - 6 hours a day in the workshop part of my studio.  In order to keep the price reasonable on my bowls, I follow a set format in making them.  As this is not a terribly creative process, I have a fair amount of time to reflect on the nature of what I am doing.  Here are some of my thoughts:

I have always considered myself as a craftsman.  In the last decade or so more and more people are saying that I am an artist.  Well, I don't think that I am an artist.  I am a craftsman - I make craft, some of it fine craft.  I think that the differences between art and craft are becoming blurred.  Many craftspeople consider themselves artists and many artists are considered craftspeople.  

An artist paints her vision - it may be a landscape or it may come from within.  A crafts person can be an artist and create something of textural and visual beauty but that person also can, and probably does, make functional pieces for everyday use.  An artist may need crafts skills in order to execute a work of art but that does not mean that they are a crafts person.

I have always thought that an artist works from a concept whereas a crafts person works from functionality.  The new thinking has this all mixed up and now everyone is an artist and everyone is a crafts person.

I would be happy to hear what others have to say about this.