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!

Grand Finale

It's winding down s l o w l y ....

I had to post the final images of my projects. The blog would not be complete without it.

So yesterday I photographed all of my work. Tom still has a few images on his camera, but I just rephotographed them. Not a big deal. I did forget to photograph one of my owls. six of them are the same glaze, so I did not even realize it until I went home. I made 8 owls all together...for the record.

I didn't photograh my project #1 piece in the studio since it was really an installation. Patt - let me know if you want formal shots of each one and I will email then to you I guess. I just feel like i have images of them in their environment - -where they were intended to be seen, which is a stronger documentation of them.

I am trying to think if there is anything left I have to say about my experiences, what I've made or what I have learned in these last 5 weeks of my life. Besides art and self discovery as a creative being...I know now more than ever that when a group of people all go through the same hell, the bond is life forming. I know now how some veterans or crew members may feel after a long journey together: a true kinship. I was lucky enough to do this program for 4 years (thanks again to all that were involved) so I got to meet even more amazing art teachers. I will miss them.

I have some images to post on flicker so this documentation phase is totally complete. Give me time...I need my coffee yet and it is 2pm. A shower would be beneficial too. I just spent 3 hours on Photoshop tweeking my studio pics. The facilities for shooting were not the best. We needed another light to knock out some shadows (a reflector was NOT going to do it)...PLUS if you do use a reflector, you need a assistant or just more equipment to position the foam core properly. I think the pics look pretty good....but not completely professional by my standard. That is what happens when you've done studio photography in NYC, standards go up and everything you do is not worthy. But I have to be accepting of the limitations. Photoshop is my friend.