Cay Denise

With this batch, I have 73 successful wheel-thrown pots and bowls...wow!  That is aside from the nearly 40 fails.  So over four months of classes and practice, I've thrown over 110 vessels.  Florian Gadsby would be proud...as I've completed my first 100 throws that he advises getting done as soon as one can!  I owe some of my learning to him and his videos (on YouTube), and the rest to the instructors, staff and students at BHC (the place I've done my work at since June).  Thank you to all my teachers -- meaning all of you in one way or another!

It has been almost a year since I picked up a paint brush to do any creative visual work.  That said, I'm so glad I signed up for this course.  It has prodded me to 'do' rather than to 'think about doing'.   The first four weeks have passed...and seem to have flown by.  The primary focus of this period has been on mindset of the artist--which has been eye-opening and exceptional!  I'm really liking the revamped course that Louise Fletcher has rolled out this year.  Her video presentations, instructions and demos are so much more thoughtful, clear and authentic than the last time I took FYJ.  What I'm also liking is that Louise and her coaching staff are referring to the assignments as making studies--not finished paintings.  That, in itself, takes a lot of the pressure off students in terms of completing work and encouraging play and exploration. So far, I've done most of the assignments in an abstract manner sprinkled with a bit of realism. ...

The last Find Your Joy (FYJ) course I took with Louise Fletcher was in 2023.  Since that time, her course curriculum and approach have dramatically shifted for the positive.  I'm loving how much more authentic I find her as a human and instructor, and how it has trickled down to her coaching and support teams as well. The Creative Reset was her 10-day taster session this year that took place last month.  I loved it because of the focus on 'mindset' of the artist, whether a beginning or seasoned one.  So, I'm now participating in  FYJ25, and I'm delighted I signed up!   The course is work.  The saying, you get out what you put into something--in this case the class--is so apropos.  Students are encouraged to actively journal about beliefs, self-talk and judgment.  Some of the key points so far include: 1) accepting that failed pieces will occur maybe even more than successful ones; 2) one's art is not our value as human beings; and, 3) make ch...

This is Batch #11 of glazed and fired pieces.   The light one in the back (yellowish) has an inside done with the Mishima technique.  This technique is done before the first kiln firing and involves: painting the area with underglaze;  covering the underglaze with wax (as a resist); carving a design into the area; and, then adding a contrasting underglaze layer to enhance the lines of the carved design.   After all is dry--the last layer has to be removed carefully with a sponge. The final step is covering the area with a layer of clear glaze.   This was a complete experiment because the small bowl was misshapen and would otherwise have been recycled.  I like the technique though it is time intensive and you need the right tools for carving to look consistent.  What I didn't like was the color after the piece was fired.  It went from yellow to a peachy color, even though the photo doesn't read that way.  What I learned is that clear glaze can...

Today, I threw a couple of bowls, but my ability to center was not working.  It could have been partly due to the new-to-me clay I tried using.  In addition, I trimmed three others.  One of those three ended up being very experimental...in that I tried a version of mishima on the interior of the bowl.  Mishima is a technique of painting a leather-hard vessel with an underglaze(s), then waxing the layer, and finally...carving a design in the underglaze/wax surface before the vessel is fired into bisque. I tried it, and we'll see how it comes out.    Below are the five vessels of Batch #8 that I brought home today.  Of them, there are two new things I tried.  The stripy one was done with one base layer plus a second layer of alternating painted stripes of the base color and mulberry.  The other first is where I used a base layer and added two different lip colors of different widths. Lately, I've noticed other potters getting some great results...

The photo shows my newest batch of finished glazed pieces.  I'm still in experimental mode where glazes are concerned. In addition, I'm going to be exploring painting with underglazes.  They allow the painting of designs.  There is also a broader range of spectrum colors with underglazes, though they tend to be more translucent when fired - at least that's my impression.  I have yet to prove myself right, and that day is coming soon. I will have some bowls to share soon.  In creating a few, I've learned that using heavier clay (3 lbs. instead of 2 lbs.) makes a big difference in what you can wheel-throw, and bowls is one of them.    

Louise Fletcher's 'Creative Reset' taster was excellent this year.  She re-worked the entire content, and it was better than ever.  So much so, that I've signed up for her 13-week 'Find Your Joy' course that begins next Monday, September 15th!   I've finished most of the pre-work that she and her team have staged in the online 'hub' where all the course content lives.  One part of that is reviewing all our work and placing photos of the pieces we love in a journal for the class - along with the reason we love those selections.  In doing this, I've seen so much growth in my work because most of my selections were created after the last Find Your Joy that I took.  Stay tuned for sharings along the way...

I haven't painted in some time. So it seemed like the perfect time to sign up for Louise Fletcher's 10-day free taster course titled 'The Creative Reset' that recently started.  She has re-engineered the taster since I took it last, and I'm liking how it is rolling out.  The images below are from our first lesson that were timed studies with additional constraints.  The purpose was not to have finished pieces.  Rather it was to help students identify their preferences and gain clarity about our likes.  This means not choosing to like what others want us to like or think we should, but what we honestly like.     From my six-block painted sheets, I chose one favorite from the first grouping and two favorites from the second grouping.  The step I'm choosing to do is to write down why I like those three in particular.  The reason is because being able to articulate my reasoning will help clarify, strengthen and hone my voice -- not just in art bu...

When looking at a pottery glaze grid, it can be overwhelming as well as hard to imagine what a pot will look like with a specific pairing. That means for a while, glaze choices are all experiments.   Today's batch was a first attempt using 'runny' glazes for lip accents.  I've been hesitant to use runny glazes not knowing how much they run.  But I got brave and have now tried it.  The pot below with the reddish exterior is a glaze that really ran.  So I probably won't use that in the future.  The turquoise glaze on the inside of the pot on the right is finicky and can be problematic, but it is really pretty.  I will use that again. Five more pots have been trimmed and are in line for their first kiln firing.  That will be followed by glazing plus another kiln firing before being ready to be taken home.  There is even a cup with a handle in progress.  I'm looking foward to seeing that one when done.  It's a benchmark!

I found this delightful art of Sue Britt at a recent juried art festival!  Her paper-wrapped, pattern-cut substrates capture scenes from the natural world.  This happens to be a tide pool, but she does a range of landscape pieces. What I loved about her booth was the exemplars of papers she uses for her pieces plus an explanation of her process, and the best part -- her sketchbook with drawings and notes.  The sketchbook was so neat to see -- in that I got a better understanding of what catches her eye and inspires her to take that inspiration and develop composition ideas in her sketchbook.  Having had an education in architecture, she is a problem-solver.  I think that background paired with her very creative eye results in a different kind of art using paper forms to imitate nature scenes than I've seen before.   Because I have lived in coastal communities and visited tide pools, this piece to me truly captures the sense of sea grass movement as water fl...

This is my FIRST EVER political cartoon creation!  It's based on an idea that came to me a few days ago.   The characters are based on Ivan Brunetti's way of creating simple ones.  (I learned about him through Lynda Barry's 'Making Comics' course.)  In this cartoon, I'm pleased that the one female character across the middle six frames has a consistent look and feel.  Meanwhile, the colored-in characters are a bit more complex though have some simple elements. Ultimately, this cartoon is intended to be satirical.  That said, how does it come across to you?  Does it flow and make sense?

As you can see, I've been practicing pottery-throwing, trimming and glazing a lot!!!  The photo below shows the pots from my third and fourth glazed batches that are now considered done.  Yes, I'm getting better.     I've started experimenting with two-tone color combinations in the glazing process. This generally involves a full dip in one glaze as the base color -- and once set, dunking the rim area in a secondary glaze.  Sometimes the effect is a lace-like pattern, or a contrast color, or even a glossy edge.  Glazing is an exploration in and of itself.  Even if I love or dislike a vessel I create, it can change in the finishing process depending on the glaze(s) used. That said, more experiments are on the way.  

There is a You Tube channel with the moniker @CayDenise.  It is not me. 

I saw a zine post recently in which the artist shared how to create taller-than-wide zines on copy paper.  It's actually simple and just a matter of folding the paper a bit differently than for mini-zines.   In creating this kind of zine, the art (drawing, collage, or writing) will be constrained in ways that are unexpected -- as I learned in putting this one together.   The materials used for the project were cut-up pieces of unused art and silhouettes from cut-outs.  My approach was to simply play.  I like how it turned out and its simplicity.  The cover page is the one with the purple oval.  To follow the pages, move right, then up, around, and then down to the purple and orange page (the back cover).   The video below is a quick tour of how it looks folded with the pages being turned.  

The balance of my beginner class pots (12 of the 22 total) have been glazed and fired.  This second batch isn't as impressive as the first.  You can tell many are early ones, because the bottoms of the interiors haven't been smoothed out.   Unfortunately, I didn't record the names of the glazes used for the second batch aside from Blue Celadon and Nebula.  The ones I like from this batch are the lighter speckled ones (off-white and light green).  The outcome this time included a cracked pot and another with a chipped base.  But these kinds of losses are part of the process too. I'm now into my third week of a new-to-me intermediate course in which I'm learning to throw with the wheel set-up for left-handed throwing.  Yes, it is different...the wheel rotates clockwise rather than counter-clockwise, and the roles my hands have are reversed.  My focus now is on pulling the walls of the clay taller and thinner on each vessel I undertake.  I'm als...

Here are the first 10 of 22 pots made in my Beginning Wheel-throw Pottery class!  Of the ten, two have been done in the same-colored glaze.  Among the glazes used were: Perky Purple Blue Celadon Lehman's Shino Butter Monterey Bay It's amazing what the glaze does for each piece.  'Butter' was used for the two on the lower right of the photo that are speckled.  I like how they came out...earthy.  My favorite result was the Perky Purple.  It is a matte color and has a very smooth finish.   I'm thinking about creating a signature for my pots including a date reference and a pot number.  That way, I'll be able to place them in chronological order and more easily see my skill development over time. The rest of my pots from the class are on the studio shelf awaiting firing.  The next batch are in even more different glaze colors.  Ooh-la-la...the possibilities!

Today was the last session of my five-week class that ended with the process of glazing our pots.  The process involves waxing the pot bases, dipping the pots in glaze, cleaning up the glazed areas once dry and filling in holes in the glaze from the clamp used to dip the pots that end up leaving a mark(s).  There is also the need to smooth out the inside of the pot as well as the exterior before placing the pots on the shelf for firing.  All of this is quite a bit to pay attention to. Pictured are my 22 pots thrown and fired during the five-week class that are now considered bisque.  Ten of these were glazed and readied for their second and final firing.  I paired an older pot with a newer one coloring both with the same glaze.  (You can see a couple pairings in one of the photos below.)  I want to see if the roughness of the older pot versus the later one, typically smoother, will handle the glaze differently.   The other 12 pots have waxed botto...

The Palo Alto, CA annual Clay and Glass Festival is a wonderful outdoor event with works that are high-quality, imaginative and varied, and it is a delightful visual feast!   The 2025 event is now history having happened over this past weekend.  So if you missed it and live nearby, I highly recommend making a plan to attend next year's event.  As you can see in these photos, there is a wide range of work to be appreciated and that is also available for purchase.

My beginning wheel-throw class ends next week.  At this point, all our beginning pots (mine being quite rudimentary) have been trimmed and should be glazed next week in our final class.  Then they are fired again before they can be picked up. It has been a difficult class for me.  Someone asked me today if I was having fun, and my reply was not yet.  But I have been working in class with an instructor, practicing, and studying by watching videos of other potters and keeping notes.  The notes I've made include areas of a pottery studio, how to use the equipment, types of and handling of the clay, the steps in the throwing process, and the craft lingo,  So, beginning is a heavy lift with all that to accomplish. My handy-dandy tool for documenting my learning is a new zine where I'm including notes, definitions, practice activity, and things to remember, etc. Below is the visible side of the zine.  The back side of it is covered with notes from YouTube vi...

I recently took a zine-making class with Erika Rier.  It wasn't about making mini-zines (out of 8.5"x11" copy paper).  Her course was about the zine type that is done as a collection of print-ready sheets for reproduction by a printer (each sheet has a two-page spread).  So, the original work (on sheets) is not intended as a work of art itself. My effort has been ambitious...a 12-page zine (including the front and back covers).  Oh my gosh, what a lot of work!!  Each student is creating his/her dummy, storyboard, and sheets that will have evolved over the process to the point of having a printable version of all the sheets.   My subject choice was owls.  Doing the detail work is intensive.  Because, for example, lines that continue from one page to a different page (likely on different sheets) -- have to be checked to ensure they connect properly.   Below is a photo of one 'sheet' from the total of six that I'm still working on.  On top ...

Have you ever tried drawing bark as well as different kinds of it?   In my zine-in-progress (from Erika Rier's class), I have a tree and branches as the continuity that ties most of the pages together.  To figure out how to finish them, I had to sketch ideas.  So, I used the internet to find source inspiration and drew this freehand.   To me, it conveys bark in a modern way.  This will work well in the zine even though it will take some time to do. Speaking of bark, what is your favorite kind?  Have you tried drawing it?  

For the last month, I've been working through Lynda Barry's workshop-in-a-book titled "Making Comics".  It is actually based on her college class in which students, from novice to skilled artists, learn to make comics.  Her approach to this subject has everything to do with noticing your life and experiences within it.  It also involves not being embarrassed about making child-like drawings.  Starting out, students create a 'selfie' image following Ivan Brunetti's method for drawing simple characters. It's this character students use for their selfie and daily diary exercises.  I've created one for my work too.  While amassing one's collection of works using this character, it's fun to see how there is a sense of continuity from one image to another.  That's not to say the character looks the same in each exercise.  But isn't that true of us?  We don't look the same every day either.  We change in 'look' from one day to ...

Florian Gadsby, a very good wheel-throwing instructor with a series of videos on YouTube, recommends throwing your first 100 pots as soon as you learn the fundamentals.  Whether they are successes or failures, you'll learn from each pot thrown.  The point is not to be precious or work to perfect a piece as you're learning, but to throw them for the experience and skill-building.   I can attest to the fact that pottery throwing is work.  It takes strength in muscles you don't normally use, and you have to learn not to make abrupt movements with your hands as you work with the clay.  I've done multiple 3-hour practice sessions so far.  As a result of each, I've returned home tired and with various aches.  That said, the practice is  necessary (like learning to play a musical instrument). On the count to 100, I'm at 32.  Today, I did 11 of those that included a failed one.  These are of the day's work.   Last week's class (#2) was lear...

My first day of a new-to-me pottery class was less than stellar.  I made a lot of mis-steps that were frustrating.  One of those mis-steps included scraping the side of my hand when trying to do 'centering'.  So, I couldn't practice for a couple of days.  During that time, I reviewed YouTube videos and found a superb one on the subject by Florian Gadsby.  He is a great teacher/guide!  His channel has other wheel-throw pottery techniques too.  The video recording is very good because of the close-ups that help viewers to 'see' the process more clearly.   Today, I went to the studio for a first day of practice.  My goal was to be able to repetitively center pieces of clay on the wheel.  The two vessel starts below were successfully centered and are now drying (for about 8 hours) before the first firing.  Granted, they look a bit odd, but that's ok...I'm learning.  Beyond that, I did them all by myself.   One of my discoverie...