SIMON LEACH - throwing a small bud vase

The kids!

The class is over. Boo hoo! I am sooooo ready to teach one-on-one. All the parents seemed interested, but I have a feeling I won't here from them for a while. Now that school is in session, it's distraction time. I can't wait to see the stuff fired!

So I am teaching a class now for 7 students aged 8-14 at Hudson Valley Pottery I am loving it.

The kids want to learn and they listen to me. How unusual. I am so used to convincing students that what they are learning is valuable to them and that they are even "having fun". Here, it is just a gift.

We first started off with making animals and objects, getting to no each other kind of stuff. It helps to get to know who students are a bit before you teach them (at least for me). I also have to get to know their skill set. One kid made a 3 headed dog, another girl made a sarcophagus with an image of a lady on it. Good warm-up. We are now working a lot on the wheel (simply because they love it so much) which is so much clean-up, but it is so worth it to them. They are super psyched to get there each morning to be mesmorized by a spinning disc with mud on it. I think i changes them chemically!


We made pinch-pot lidded vessels as well (which are finished) and we are going to start coil press mold vessels Monday. Yippee! they better work fast or we wont get them done though. Class ends ends this Friday and I will be sad actually! The kids give me a real reason to get up in the morning.

Ethnic Measures....

I've been getting a lot of feedback through facebook on my Ethnic Measures. Most people just think they are pretty. Some want to use them with overly polite company to mess with their heads. I decided to post my artists statement so people know where I am at...so here it is!:

Ethnic Measures

America, being the melting pot of all cultures, is a proud nation of individual heritage(s), yet, it has been ironically labeled an intolerant nation of opposing cultural differences. As a third generation Italian (with a ¼ English, ¼ Irish and ¼ German) it is hard to call myself anything BUT an American. After World War II, countries developed derogatory slang and slurs for almost every culture and country of origin. This created angst, prejudice and ill feelings for different cultures and ethnicities. The words are still out there and are still hurtful to many. Historically, cultural diffusion and the exchange of spices and decorative ideas and techniques (such as the use of cobalt oxides to paint on ceramics) mended cultures through the senses. The reality is that in this day and age, we are creating and breeding families with different cultural backgrounds and religions and birthing our own “nueveau heritage”.

Resurrection video

SUNY New Paltz Summer Graduate Ceramics!: Sara's ^6 Satin White/base

SUNY New Paltz Summer Graduate Ceramics!: Sara's ^6 Satin White/base: "Custer Feldspar 62 Whiting 14 Zinc ox 6 Talc 8 EPK 10 Zircopax 8 Add 8% Masonite 6021 for red Add 1% Colbalt oxide for Blueberry Add 1% Cop..."

A portfolio of images

This is it...the portfolio of ceramic work I have created. It doesn't look like much, but it was a lot of work!