Handmade For Japan dish (mamezara) with folding pattern of an origami crane

MAMEZARA
After a productive residency in Montana, I’ve been busy this July with multiple projects in the studio. This little dish, inspired by the many antique mamezara in my cupboard, is something I made for Handmade For Japan for our coming September fundraiser and as a thank you present for all the individuals on GlobalGiving’s Leadership Council and some Martha Stewart staff (click here for more info about this  meeting). The pattern is the folding pattern for an origami crane which traditionally is a symbol of longevity, though recently as come to symbolize peace as well. What I learned from folding and unfolding a crane is that origami is not my god-given talent:) Like us on Facebook for more info on how to get a hold of a crane dish this fall to continue with rebuilding efforts in Japan.

Red birds with a background of silver luster and a preview of the porcelain pots that will come in September

RED, PINK, AND DRIPPY BLUE PORCELAIN
These love birds are a little preview of the porcelain that I’ll be posting in September along with the token. Lots of red drawings, pink drawings, and drippy cobalt drawings with silver luster knots, animals, and golden cherry blossoms to boot. Yum! If you don’t want to miss this sale, sign up here.

TENDER TOKEN
In Montana, with the generous help of many people (Andy Brayman, Jen Woodin, David Reid and James Klein to name but a few), a rough mold was milled out of plaster for a porcelain token the size of a quarter which will read “GOOD FOR 1 TENDER MOMENT”. The gist of the project is to make a social object that functions similarly to a piece of pottery. It’ll be an object full of symbolism that will hopefully bring people together and facilitate something sweet between them. Look for those this fall too.

TIGER PAW ASTER SEED PACK
Lastly, I was assigned the Tiger Paw Aster for the Hudson Valley Seed Library Art Pack, which was for me a challenge because the multiple petals on the asters didn’t jibe with my natural inclination for quick gesture. Drawing on pots (into the final piece) and drawing for an object (mediated through the computer) that will be reproduced thousands of times is a different exercise and asks for a different state of mind. In some sense, illustrating for the pack gives me much more leeway and more options, yet the risk involved with drawing with sgraffito keeps me on my toes. Images of the pack will be released in September and until then are top secret!

Happy Summer to you!