Twirl. Blush. Hive.

Clay and glass.

 

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El Fuego

Porcelain, stoneware, glass, cone 6 firing.

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Mudflat Holiday Sale is this week.

The Mudflat Studio December sale is happening this week. Two floors of functional and sculptural clay objects. Stop by and check it out.

81 Broadway, Somerville
December 5–14, 2014

Sale hours:
Saturdays, December 6 & 13, 10 am – 6 pm
Sundays, December 7 & 14, 10 am – 6 pm
Monday through Friday, December 8–12, 10 am – 9 pm

Here’s a little preview from my studio:

Hope to see you there.

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Enjoying making these.

Porcelain wall forms in the unfired state.

I love when it feels like the clay is creating the form and I’m adding the rhythm.

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Boston Home Magazine Article

Into the Wild, Boston Home Magazine. September 2013

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Photos from the Anima Show

Attending from Mudflat Studio: (left to right) Melissa Bland, Jennifer DeAngelis, Eric Schwarzenbach, Angela Cunningham, Debra Fleury, Richard Freierman, Chloe Marr-Fuller, Zach Shaw, Lynn Gervens, and Noni Armony.

The show is up through August 11, 2013. Hours are monday-friday 9 a.m.- 5 p.m. at Charles Rose Architects, 155 Willow Ave, Somerville MA.

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Installation at Charles Rose Architects

Hello! This is an exciting time in the studio. I am working to finish a large group of clay objects that will be installed at Charles Rose Architects near Davis Square at the end of the month. The building has a clerestory running the length of the office and the pieces will be suspended in the air underneath.

This is the most ambitious project that I’ve taken on to date and I am learning so much every day. Each step I take pushes my boundaries as an artist and forces me to learn something new, or causes me to consider new resources. The biggest breakthrough has been asking for the support of my community of family, friends, students and other artists. I’m typically the self-reliant, John Wayne type of artist, but this project has forced me to think in new ways about what a community can bring to artistic expression.

The biggest surprise? Community brings SO MUCH. A group of individuals working together to make something inspirational results in something greater than the individual can achieve. My final result is not manifest, yet, but I see the signs. Something special is in the air for this project.

53 individual artists, family, friends, supporters, children and students made 9,520 of the individual ‘quill’ forms over two days. Here we are:

Here are some examples of the beautiful quill forms that we made together:

It was such an honor to work with these forms and so inspiring to notice the myriad individual styles. Here are some of the forms going into the first of many, many kilns:

Here are some of the individual pieces, after the cone 6 reduction firing (melty and delicious!):

Here is a little hanging mockup that I constructed in my studio. The final installation will evolve on site at the architects office.

Please mark your calendar and attend the opening on May 11th at Charles Rose Architects in Somerville, MA to see how this all turns out.

I’ll be excited to see you there!

:  debra  :

Beyond the Brickyard exhibition.

I just returned from a whirlwind weekend in Montana, celebrating the opening of the 4th annual Beyond the Brickyard exhibition at the Archie Bray Foundation. The exhibition was juried by Richard Shaw this year. The show is situated in the North Gallery and runs through April 7th.

The artists and staff at the Bray were very welcoming, especially Emily Free Wilson. I spent a few hours during the day walking the grounds and taking in the sights. Ceramic art is nestled into nearly every nook and cranny, transforming a simple walk into a fun adventure. Below is a small taste of the hundreds of photos I took while exploring the grounds:

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Fresh from the kiln.

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Propagating wall forms.

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Images from the Workhouse Clay National.

These images are from the 2011 Workhouse Clay National Show titled Confinement. I wasn’t able to attend, but it looks like it was a beautiful show.  For more images of the show go here: Workhouse Ceramics

Enjoy!

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Craftforms Exhibition at the Wayne Art Center.

‘Tidal’ will be part of the Craftforms Exhibition at the Wayne Art Center in Wayne, Pennsylvania. This is the 16th year for this international exhibition which includes 126 pieces from artists around the world. The juror this year is Elisabeth Agro, the Nancy M. McNeil Curator of American Modern and Contemporary Crafts and Decorative Arts of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.  The show will run from December 2nd 2011 through January 12th 2012. You are invited to attend the preview party on December 2nd from 6-10 pm. There will be a curator talk and a meet the artists session on December 3rd from 1-3. For more information and tickets to the preview party go here: Wayne Art Center.

I hope to see you there!

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Not from around here?

This wall piece is approximately 11 wide x 11 high x 3 in deep. The materials are porcelain, a super groggy dark stoneware sculpture body and glaze. It was reduction fired in a gas kiln to cone 10. I love how the grog turned that nice toasty tan, contrasting with the dark reddish brown of the rest of the sculpture body. The Shaner White glaze in the crevices adds a nice sparkle to the raw porcelain. Yum!

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Red.

 

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Wall play.

On a sunny afternoon . . .

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Another one from the glass firing.

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From the wood firing.

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Workhouse Clay National opening August 6.

‘Engulfed Pair’ will be part of the Workhouse Clay National juried exhibition. This exhibition features the work of 50 artists concerning the theme of ‘Confinement’. The show will run from August 3rd through September 28th in Lorton Virginia. The opening reception is August 6 from 7-9 pm. For more about the artists and the juror, Ellen Shankin, go here: workhouseceramics.org. For directions to the Workhouse Arts Center and a site map go here: workhousearts.org.

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Latest glass firing results.

Installation views. Porcelain, dark stoneware, and glass.

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‘Tidal’ – work in progress.

Porcelain, dark stoneware, underglaze and glass.

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