Nerikomi Mon Amour

By: ornamento.blog
Art, Neriage, Nerikomi, pottery, , , 1 Comment on Nerikomi Mon Amour

I have become fascinated with the ceramic art of Nerikomi which is understandable since I work in polymer and glass.  Nerikomi is the name of a technique similar to millefiore  for creating patterns in clay using  colored clay.  Nerikomi is also known as Neriage  but  I am not sure what, if any, the differences are.

Be that as it may, the first Nerikomi I ever saw what the work of Cate Fetterman at The Clay Studio in the 1980s.  Recently I saw that Nell Hazinski, another pottery artist I met at The Clay Studio, was giving a Nerikomi workshop in the Philadelphia area.  I couldn’t take the workshop, but I decided to try the technique after seeing these two pots in the Victoria and Albert Museum Ceramic collection

I am sorry to say that I do not know the name of the artist.  I think it might be Dorothy Feibleman, but I cannot confirm that.  You should check out her work anyway.

Here is my first attempt at Nerikomi using white earthenware and Mason Stains. I am currently trying the technique with colored porcelain which gives a much nicer result.

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Here is a fascinating video showing the Nerikomi process.

Back to The Clay Studio

By: ornamento.blog
Art, Fleisher Art Memorial, pottery, The Clay Studio, , , , Leave a Comment on Back to The Clay Studio

I have been dreaming about working in porcelain clay ever since I stopped going to The Clay Studio  almost 25 years ago.  I love the pottery studio at the Fleisher Art Memorial  and plan to return, but they only fire earthenware and terra cotta, no stoneware and no porcelain.

So I signed up for a hand building class at TCS and am on my way to porcelain bliss.  I spent last Tuesday digging into a bag of porcelain clay and making pinch pots, a soap dish and a little sculptural piece.  There are so many new things I want to try that I have to remind myself to breathe.

I feel so lucky to have two great pottery studios so close to me. The Clay Studio is another Philadelphia treasure.

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Artspiration 2017

By: ornamento.blog
Art, Art Education, Art Shows, art, creativity, crafts, inspiration, Community Art Groups, Fleisher Art Memorial, , , Leave a Comment on Artspiration 2017

This year’s Artspiration Community Festival at  Fleisher Art Memorial was a blast.  I worked at the Color Wheels table helping kids and adults make seed bombs with clay and wildflower seeds and helped out at the Open Studio pottery table.  There were plenty of free activities for kids including face painting, mural painting, spin art pictures.  Philly Typewriters was there with two tables of portable machines  and the younger attendees were lining up to try them.  

Here are some pictures

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We enjoyed music and dancing throughout the day.

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The Color Wheels van wore a big party hat to celebrate its 5th birthday.

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A decorated seed bomb

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Texturing the clay for the seed bombs

A Terrarium Class and One Big Fish

By: ornamento.blog
Art, art, creativity, crafts, inspiration, crafts, Gardening, , , Leave a Comment on A Terrarium Class and One Big Fish

I  made a terrarium!  It is currently happily situated in my kitchen out of the reach of curious paws (Read Boris) and I am enjoying having a little greenery around me.  I used to have quite a few plants before Plumpton went on a feline scratch and fern mission.  I made my terrarium at a class that crafter and plant expert Masha Zelen taught at the Woodstock Trading Company in Cherry Hill, NJ (you know, the purple building with two antique hearses parked out front.)

Masha makes terrariums and fills them with succulent plants, cute little polymer clay Gnomes and toadstools.  If you like, she can make you a terrarium or teach you how to make your own.  Woodstock owner Gladys Glass was so taken with Masha’s work that she invited her to teach a class for Woodstock’s customers.  Masha showed up on class day  loaded with glass containers, potting soil, assorted pebbles glass chunks and toad stools and a group of  gnomes clamoring  to be assigned to terrariums.  We got to work as she took us through the steps of selecting plants and accessories and making our own little gnome and toadstool habitats.

 

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Masha explaining how to care for a terrarium

 

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The Gnomes were very well behaved considering how eager they were to be assigned to a terrarium.

 

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Our finished terrariums.  Don’t they look great?  If your are interested in learning how to make your own terrarium or hosting a class, go to Masha’s Facebook page, Made By Masha,  for more information and her contact information.

Aside from offering classic rock and roll memorabilia, beads, vintage posters and every type of incense this side of The Land of Frankencense, Woodstock hosts rock concerts on its lawn, drum circles, a yearly Maypole celebration and other family events.  Get more information on Gladys’ Facebook page, here  or follow Woodstock on Instagram.

And what about the fish, you ask?  The big fish  was exercising its fins in a huge tank as Gladys her husband and I entered a restaurant for  dinner later in the evening.  Working up an appetite no doubt.

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Bob’s Garden Spring 2017

By: ornamento.blog
Art, Gardening, South Philadelphia, South Philly, Urban Gardening, Urban Landscape, , , Leave a Comment on Bob’s Garden Spring 2017

They say that everybody  always complains about the weather but nobody ever does anything about it.    If you are at all into gardening, this Spring’s crazy weather has made things a challenge: Flowers opening early and freezing; buds opening up icing over and and falling off; rain and chilly weather that has made May seem more like  Fall than Spring.  

So Bob has faced challenges in the garden this spring and it’s not as full and lush as it usually is at this time of year.  Even so, there are four turtles in the Koi pond and sometimes they sit in the sun stacked up on one another.  Turtles really do that.  I don’t have any pictures because they are camera shy, but you can see many examples here.  And the turtles come out on the so far rare sunny days to bask in the sun and enjoy the flowers.