Byrd Collective Arrangement in my Vase: photos from camillestyles.com

Ashley put together a great post about our work on CamilleStyles.com today.  Check it out and we’ll see you this weekend for Art of the Pot!

In addition to the beautiful pottery we’ll be featuring, I’m hosting the second annual “Tacos, Shots & Pots” for my AotP tour companion event.  Stop by on Saturday May 12th from 1pm-5pm stop by my location for drinks from Tito’s Handmade Vodka and tacos from the Chilantro BBQ Taco Truck!  It’s going to be an absolute blast!  You can download an AotP map here: Art of the Pot 2012 Map or check out the google map here.

We’ll also be featuring “Mother’s Day Gifts To-Go” in with beautiful arrangements by Ashley Bailey of The Byrd Collective in our vases.  Here are a couple examples of her wonderful work in a couple of my vases.  Hey Dads & Husbands….I can’t think of a better gift than this….and you’ll already be here!

Below is just a sampling of what you’ll see at our stop along with a bit of info about each artist.  Looking forward to seeing you all soon.

Keith Kreeger

I’m so excited for this year’s AotP because in addition to my Essential Line of work, I’ll also be debuting a new line of bright & colorful work at this year’s tour!

My work grows out of my personal philosophy: the objects we use on a daily basis are as important as what they hold.  I make functional pottery because a meal you’ve spent hours preparing for friends or family is best served on wares crafted with the same care.  Flowers picked fresh from the garden bring more pleasure in a vase you’ve picked as well.

I believe you deserve to know the maker of the objects you use every day.

Deborah Schwartzkopf 

    
I find it rewarding and challenging to make pots people will use. In my
home growing up, hand made objects held special value.  They were gestures
of consideration and love. I continue to find objects a dwelling place for
intention and association. The parameter of function both limits and frees
me.  It gives me direction and attaches me to community. Eating with
family and friends instills a sense of place and relation. At the table I
assess finished work and connect studio practice to living. This starts
the cycle of making again. I want my pots to live in the kitchen where
economy and celebration infuse life with purposeful beauty.

Michael Kline 

Despite the many tangents that lead me this way and that in the course of making pottery, the ideas, desires and excitement of clay remain very close to those at the very beginning of my career. To be sure, the outcome of experience and effort, trial and error has evolved through the years. But the process still begins with the simple, ecstatic response to a ball of soft clay. Hopefully, te.he successful pot elicits a similar response in the context of the home.  The mountains of North Carolina provide plenty of inspiration with their wildly exuberant flora, geological variety and the pottery history that sprang from these geological circumstances. Strong pottery form and patterns evoke the complexity of this natural environment. By some combination of optimism and risk, my collaboration with the natural properties of clay and wood fire continues to lead me through this potter’s life, at times exasperating and at others, exhilarating.

Peter Karner

My work is made of stoneware that is fired in a hard brick gas kin to 2300

degrees F in a heavy reduction atmosphere. Each piece is created individually by throwing on the wheel, hand-building, or a combination of the two. I apply my decoration in multiple layers and employ methods such as wax-resist and

brushwork to imbue my patterns with depth. The base glazes that I decorate on are designed to capture carbon from the atmosphere in the kiln. This “carbontrap” effect is random and can add tremendously to the overall energy of a piece.

My mother is a quilter, and I find my attraction to geometric pattern stems from my childhood exposure to her work. African and Japanese textiles, Islamic iron work, modern architecture, and the natural world have also influenced both my forms and decoration.

It is my intention to create modern, yet timeless, work that embodies the soulful expression of my love of flowers, food, and still-life.

Here’s the full 2012 Brochure and Artist List:

Don’t worry, this year we’re having another “Tacos, Shots & Pots” party on the Saturday afternoon during the AotP Tour.  This year we’ve gone local with Vodka courtesy of Tito’s Handmade Vodka and some fantastic Korean/Mexican fusion tacos from the Chilantro BBQ Taco Truck!

Follow me on Twitter & Facebook for all of the details as we get closer to the event.

I’ll have my first full color work coming out of the kiln on Thursday and I’ll get it right up here onto the blog.

I think I have discussed it on Facebook & Twitter but haven’t posted it here on this blog yet.  That is just crazy because I put the new AotP website together not too long ago and it’s beautiful.  Check it out here.

We have a lot planned this year including a VIP Preview Tour, a Guest Artist Workshop & more companion events than ever.  I’ll be hosting Deb Schwartzkopf, Michael Kline & Peter Karner at my space during the tour and it’s going to be a blast.   We’re going to have Mother’s Day arrangements by The Byrd Collective in select vases ready to go as gifts.  Last year’s “Tacos, Shots & Pots” party was such a hit that we’re already planning the sequel on Saturday afternoon, May 12th.

The Centerpiece Vase with a Byrd Collective arrangement.

Spring Break included a trip to an amazing 20,000 acre preserve that is part of the Nature Conservancy.  No internet, no cell service and no television meant that we all just relaxed and enjoyed the outdoors.  The kids spent the entire time playing with their friends, fishing for minnows and bass, running and hiking.  It was fantastic.  Then my son and I took a quick trip to Dallas for his soccer camp and had the bonus of a professional tennis tournament being played right at our hotel!  I was back in Austin for about 10 hours before I took a quick trip to NY.

Now it’s back to reality and some dedicated studio time.  Spring is upon us in Austin and that means another busy season with Art of the Pot approaching.

Here are some photos from the past week or so:

I’ve been busy, busy in the studio finishing up lots of orders and even found some time to play around with some new ideas.  I was invited to the prestigious Yunomi Invitational at Akar Design and that opens on 3/23 and goes live on their website at the same time.  The show has a huge following and I’m excited to be part of it. Next up for me event wise is the Art of the Pot Studio Tour.  I’ll be hosting Deb Schwartzkopf, Michael Kline & Peter Karner at my location and all of the details are on the shiny new website I’ve put together for AotP.

I’ve fallen in love with Instagram and you can follow most of my current work from the studio there.  Below is a sampling of my Instagram Feed including some studio work and our recent whirlwind trip to NY to celebrate my mother’s 65th Bday…Happy Birthday Mom!