Open For Business!

My Etsy shop is now up and running!
I have lots of sweet new pieces available for purchase and ready to ship! Head on over!

https://www.etsy.com/shop/DevittCeramics

Charlie and Charlotte Go to Clayworks!

Hello!
Its that time of year again! Baltimore Clayworks offers an open call for entries for their show: Solo Cup Benefit Exhibition.  Artists donate cups to the Clayworks an in turn they are eligible for a chance at their own solo show!

The show opens August 17th! Be sure to check it out!

Also, I will have a June/July POTM up soon! There will still be two artists, and THREE(!) pieces!! It has been a crazy busy summer but it will be up soon!

May POTM: Jason Burnett

     Sooo late this month! With the wedding getting ever so close and studio moves, I completely forgot to write about this month's awesome piece! I am really very excited to finally own a piece from this month's artist Jason Burnett.  He has had a HUGE influence on my current work and really changed my way of thinking about surface.  I first read about Jason in Ceramics Monthly, where he had been published for his printmaking style of surface decoration.  The timing of this article could not have been better. I was desperate for inspiration on surface treatment and his approach drove me really explore depth in my work.

JASON BURNETT

Yunomi

     Like I said, I am VERY excited to own one of Jason's pieces.  His work is very popular, and I always seem to find the work too late!  When I heard that he was participating in AKAR's yunomi invitational, I was stoked.  This little guy is perfect for light summer sipping.  There is a thumb dent in the back (not pictured) that makes holding it very comfortable.  One of my favorite features of the yunomi is how it "floats" off the table.  By having such a severe gap between the foot and the walls of the cup, he creates a trompe l'oeil floating effect making it feel like it is hovering in space.  :)
    Jason has a very involved process for his surfaces.  Originally a printmaker, Jason incorporates those roots into his ceramic work.  He starts by screen printing slip onto news print and then transferring that to his freshly slipped work.  From there he adds stamping and other marks to the piece.

      My fascination begins with the vocabulary of vessels. They narrate our domestic interiors and reflect daily routines. Stained coffee cups, cracked collector plates, and precious ceramic heirlooms all have stories that are worth translating.
Through personal expression of stains, implied cracks and over refined patterns I suggest evidence of my own calamitous tales of adolescence, variations of landscape and interest in pop culture. I aspire to create fantastical vessels that celebrate vulnerability and beauty, sugarcoat life’s escapades and serve as a bridge between the real and surreal.

To learn more about Jason and his work check out his website or his facebook page!

Stay tuned for June's POTM; another Andrew pick!
Don't know whats going on? Click here to read about my POTM project!

Thanks Everyone!

Piece of the Month: Nick Ramey

Hello All!
Its about that time for another installment of my extended new years resolution quest. This month I decided to go with a terracotta piece for one specific reason; I don't have one piece of functional terracotta. Well I have had my eye on this bowl for some time and I am super excited to have it in our new home. YES, you read that correctly. Andrew and I moved into our new place at the begining of the month. We brought very few dishes and things, so our cabinets are just asking for new work to be added.

Anyway, here is April's POTM

NICK RAMEY

Bowl

    

     So I am in LOVE with this little bowl.  I first read about Nick in Ceramics Monthly some time back and was wowed by his work.  Its so rich and vibrant.  He builds in these moments for his washes that only deepen his treatment of the surface.  The bottom of the bowl has an awesome chattered texture (I love chattering!) and the rich red really pops against the green. Oh, and that green!  The color is right up my alley. There is a great subtle texture on the outside from the circles.  I really enjoy how the rim is thick, but the because of the foot, the piece isn't clunky. It looks like its defying gravity.  :)

Nick Ramey is currently an artist in residence at the Baltimore Clayworks. He has been published in both Ceramics Monthly as well as Larks 500 series. His work consists of washed terracotta pieces that are both thrown and handbuilt.

"Throughout my career in the field of ceramics, creating functional pottery has always been important. I believe that handmade pottery should be beautiful to look at, and equally important, should be comfortable to use on a daily basis. The aesthetic qualities and functionality should go hand and hand to make the piece truly successful. I like to think of my pottery as functional sculptures, which will keep the viewer coming back day after day, discovering something new each time. My work uses red earthenware clay along with underglazes, slips, ceramic decals, and metallic luster. The inspiration comes from both handmade and commercial ceramics, from the functional to the kitschy, and I am trying to create interesting juxtapositions between these different elements."

Learn more about Nick Ramey and his amazing work here.

Find out more about the POTM project here!

One big, happy, ceramic family!

        Over the past few months I have submitted works to various places in hopes of getting my foot into the
gallery world.  Wish us luck!

Chelsea Tea Set.  ^6 Oxidation.  White stoneware, colored slip, stain wash.

Jill, John, and Jess (with Caddie).   ^6 Oxidation.  White stoneware, colored slip, stain wash.

         These pieces are submissions for the show Game, Set, Match at Baltimore Clayworks.  This show is jurried by Ayumi Horie!

Chelsea, Fred and Virginia

 NCECA 2013 NATIONAL STUDENT JURIED EXHIBITION 

I am very excited to announce that I applied for the 2013 student show at NCECA! Pictured above is my submission page.  Below are the lovely applicants.

Wish us all luck!

Claire goes to Clayworks!

Claire, 2012

    This is a super exciting little picture I have here!  Why?  This picture shows one of my mugs in an exhibition on Baltimore Clayworks' website.  What a great moment!  Hopefully I'll get to see a lot more of these in the future! 

     As a side note, seeing my soon-to-be married name next to my mug is really amazing as well. We are getting married in less than a year!

Here's the link again for the rest of the gallery.

 Also, you may notice that I only have to beat out a measly 150 other wonderful cups.  Any luck you can send my way would be greatly appreciated!

Solo Cup Benefit Exhibition at Clayworks

Claire
Wheel thrown and altered
^6 

     Meet Claire.  She has just been shipped out to Baltimore, MD for a show benefiting the Baltimore Clayworks facility and its programs.  The open submission show begins August 11th and will be up until September 1st.  The top five favorite cups will have the opportunity to submit a portfolio and win a solo show in 2013.  How exciting!! 

Find out more HERE about the exhibition and the Clayworks

Wish me (and Claire) luck!

**UPDATE**
click HERE to see the show online!

Thesis

Arcadia Senior Thesis

 Thank you to everyone who was able to come out to my first exhibition!  I heard a lot of good things from
everyone and a lot of interest in the work!  Better images will be available as well corresponding prices.

Ashley

Left Shelf

Right Shelf

Table Top

Arcadia Senior Thesis Show

     Hey everyone!  I am finally just coming out from the other side of my thesis semester.  It has been a long road full of making, destroying and learning.  Images of my new body of work (In process, finished, and installed) will be up as soon as the show is installed.


Come support myself and my fellow artists at the Arcadia University Senior Thesis Exhibition
Friday April 26th 2012
8PM thru 10PM

Please attend if you can!  I hope to see you there!

Ashley

Ladies and Gentlemen, The Whispering Pods

 Pods.

    For the last year or so, I have been obsessed with creating what I call my pods.  I stumbled upon this form, by initially wanting to make a set of piggy banks.  But as fate would have it, banks were not what they wanted to be.  It is important that I mention here, that a huge part of being an artist is listening to your chosen medium.  Crazy or not, you should.  Anyway, the banks were not working out, so instead of giving up, I played.  I was having fun with the form, but noticed that they were starting to look...well vaginal.  So what does any girl do when faced with a crisis?...Call their Mom.  And that is exactly what i did.

    I told her my worries for the work, I thought they may get too vaginal, and began doubting them.  In true mother fashion she replied, "If they're vaginal, then run with it!  Make it intentionally vaginal, just go all out."  Long story short, that is exactly what I did. 

"...Do Something" Challenge

5 Cups, 5 Plates ...Do Something

     Ok, so when we last left off, I was terrified of this ...Do Something challenge that I had created for myself.  It was, at the least, something that I was dreading to do.  I kept putting this little challenge of mine off because I was afraid I wouldn't be able to do it.  BUT, as I started to sketch out some ideas, it came somewhat naturally... HOORAY!  Here is what I ended up with...

Blank Canvas Terror!

TERRIFYING

     A blank canvas.  What is scarier than that? NOTHING, that's what.  The idea of a completely blank canvas, or surface in my case, is just plain frightening.  For me it's the fact that there are limitless options.  You can do anything you want with a blank canvas and could never be wrong no matter what you decide.  Have such freedom is liberating to some.  NOPE. Not me.  Too much choice can have a dwarfing effect on some people.  I always envied those who could just sit and doodle masterpieces, because I just don't get it.  When I am presented with a completely directionless canvas, my brain explodes.  The worst projects in school for me are those with no guidelines.  I call them the "...Do Something" projects.  Take a picture...do something.  Take a piece of paper...do something.  WHAT THE HELL?  I absolutely hated those projects, and they always turned out like crap.  I need direction, I crave guidelines.  Creative freedom is not for me.

Who, Me?

 Hello Everyone!

          You have stumbled across my first ever blog post! Welcome!  I have no clue about how blogging works, so I'll just tell you all a little about myself.  

          I am a maker.  I was born to make, craft, create, build, construct, produce, etc.  I wish here was where I told you that Why, I always have loved mud, or, I've always known I would be a potter.  But that's just not the case.  The truth of the matter was that I actually hated ceramics.  When I reached middle and high school, I realized that I had a talent for art.  Drawing and painting in specific were what I was good at.  I wasn't great, but I loved art.  I practically lived in the art gallery.  Any class I could take to get me down there, I took.  Interestingly enough, I wound up in a ceramics class.  Sadly I hated it.  I just didn't enjoy it.  I didn't connect with the material, or the process for that matter. So I left ceramics, in my eyes, in the dust.  Never to turn back.  Goodbye.  Until….( pause for dramatic effect)

          As a community college student, I found myself totally disconnected from anything art.  My undecided major was heading in an academic route, that would no doubt lead me down a unsatisfying road.  (I am sure I'll talk about my distaste for American education, in other posts, but for now let's stay positive)  I was so miserable in this setting, until one day I was told that I needed to fill some electives. My counselor told me that the easiest class to fill an art elective with, would be ceramics.  That class is a cakewalk, he said.  Kind of dreading the idea of ceramics again, but enticed by the easy A, I agreed and took the course.  The first couple weeks were awful and in my mind I was thinking, Ashley, why the hell did you take this class again?  But then, just before the semester was about to end, my teacher introduced us to the wheel.  MAN OH MAN DID I LOVE THE WHEEL.  

          Now my first experience, as most potters will tell you, was a FAIL.  It was so hard!  I couldn't center the clay, I had too much water, I even had several bats fly across the room as spinning discs of death!  But there was something different about this aspect of clay that made me hungry for more.  I HAD to get better.  I wouldn't accept any less from myself.  Any chance I had to be in the studio, you can bet your sweet a-, well, I was there a lot.  It was like I was under this clay spell!  I simply had to keep learning.  And so I did.

          Fast forward a couple years and now I have switched my major from who the hell cares to a BFA in ceramics.  I couldn't be happier!  I can now honestly say that

Clay runs through my veins.

It still sounds a little artsy frou frou to me, but I'll get over it.  What I have come to realize from that statement is that I am one of the few lucky people in the world. Because I have found my true passion in life, not many people get to say that, in our society.

          So why continue to read?  Well, this blog will be the opportunity for you follow a young artist on her journey through life and the ceramics world.  Currently I am preparing for my senior thesis show at Arcadia University, so I am making tons upon tons of work.  I will be writing about a variety of techniques and tests as I learn and use them. There will no doubt be failures, but also success!  Nothing is more interesting for me to read than others stories of progress of process, so enjoy mine! 

          That said, I hope you enjoyed reading my entry into ceramics tale as much as I did writing it.  Please, come back periodically to see how I am progressing towards becoming a professional ceramic artist/potter, as well as in my own life.

Stay muddy,

Ashley

This post was edited by comma killer fiancé, Andrew T. Devitt.