enough about me (or) kia pots update

It occurred to me that I never let everybody know how our Kia US order turned out. We shipped more than 630 pieces to almost as many seperate addresses with NO BREAKAGE thanks to one of my new favorite people...Mike at the LaGrange UPS Store. What a pleasure to do business with someone who consistently goes above and beyond. Mike himself came to the studio and transported all of our babies to UPS where they were carefully packed and shipped. Many, many thanks to Mike.

Anyway, Kia was very happy with their order and have already followed up with an order for a large vase they gave as a gift to a visiting Korean dignitary in December. They wouldn't tell us who it was, so I'm guessing the President of Korea (aim high, right?). Here's what we sent them:



Funny story about that. We were at my parent's place for Thanksgiving which is in the middle of the woods and gets horrible cell reception. Genna got a call on his cell phone. Listening to his side of the conversation, I could tell it was a telemarketer. After struggling to understand her for several moments of a really bad connection, he says (in a not very nice, actually pretty mean tone of voice) "You know what, this is really not a good time for me. You're gonna have to try me another time." Then he listens for a few more seconds with an irritated face before going completely pale and launching into the 'I'm so so sorry' talk. It was Kia America President Ahn's executive secretary calling to thank us for a gift we sent him and trying to place an order. HA!

So, Kia America was happy enough with their order that they recommended us to Kia Canada for a similar project. Genna is a few days away from finishing up throwing 230 vases for them. Here is a sample of what the finished product will look like:



If we play our cards right, maybe we can just work for Kia from now on! It's definitely easier than the Art Fair Circus.

the baker's dozen(th?)

So here's my plan...I won't post anything here for maybe a month to six weeks at a time and then I'll post 8-10 times over the course of a few days. Just trying to keep everyone on their toes.

The piece above is the baker's dozen of my "Purdy Dozen" kia pot faves. Check out the first twelve on Genna's webpage.

All twelve are high fire stoneware with temoku glazed necks, copper wire wrap, and one of two glazes on the body...dark green or robin's egg (shown above). Can you tell which ones have which glaze?

first 100 fired

Hello, all! Our largest project ever rolls on. Genna's Ukranian friends/assistants/saviors have both gone home for a time while we await the final count on our order. Currently we're holding at 560 total pieces. Of these, I believe Genna has nearly 400 thrown and about 150 completely finished (bisqued, wrapped, glazed, glazed, and fired).

We took 100 of our faves out to see a little sunshine Sunday on the back steps at the studio (first & second photos). I was TERRIFIED that I would knock one over on the top step and they would all go down like dominos.

Interesting to see in the second photo the range of color and texture in the glazing. We're using only two glazes, a robin egg blue/green with a subtle speckle and a transparent dark green. Slight variations in glaze application, kiln temperature, and kiln spacing create the amazing range of color you see here.

Photo three is of a particularly interesting firing. We cracked the lid and said 'Holy dingbats, Batman...what's going on in there?!' The upper level of three was a showstopper and COMPLETELY a surprise. The mid and lower levels were as dissapointing as the upper level was pleasing and we wound up with nearly twenty unusable pieces. As best we could decipher, the kiln was overpacked and caused a seriously high, too hot overfiring. One of many lessons learned along the way thus far!

I shot a dozen of my faves studio portrait style on Monday night, watch out for those soon.

they're everywhere, they're everywhere!

Wow! Genna has received two commissions from Kia Motors America...our new West Point neighbors. The first order was for 160copper wire wrapped vases, the second is for the same object and is currently at 400 pieces and counting. As of today, we have approximately 280 thrown, so we're about half way there.

In addition to being a wonderful reason for Genna to get back into the pottery studio full time, this project has created an excuse for us to invite his good friends Natasha and Tigran for an extended visit. Both were fellow potters in Ukraine...Natasha his studio mate and Tigran his very first pottery teacher. Natasha is now living in Toronto and Tigran in Detroit, and they will both be in and out lending a hand until the project wraps. They are on the right in the first photo, Genna and his lovely daughter Nastiya are on the left. Nastiya is putting her genious hands to work on the wire-wrapping portion of the process. (You don't see me there because part of my job as logistics manager was to take the photograph!)

Cross your fingers for us folks! This is the largest single commission either of us has ever taken on.

Kudos to Kia for selecting a local artist for this exciting project! The vases will be given as gifts to journalists and dealer at several events this fall.

on the easel, eggplant brunch

I've something new on the easel.

As it often happens in my collaborative process with hubby Genna, he recently offered me up a batch of new underpaintings at which I turned up my nose, and now I'm eating all of my critical words. Genna makes my oil wash underpaintings only once a month or so, lots at a time. Two times ago, there came a whole set that seemed almost unbearably 'prime'...basic yellow, blue, and red.

On closer inspection, they're loaded with goodness. Lots of sublte, dark, shifting patches of purple and teal, punctuated with tasty little orange blobbies.

I put a big one on the easel on Thursday, 36" high and 60" wide. It's deeper and richer in tone than alot of what I've been working with lately. Several of Genna's recent 'batches' have been really crisp & tart. Here's the new piece at the beginning:

The image I chose for the new 3'x5' was this one:

I thought that the deep wash would work well in an image with lots of architecture & landscape...lighter on the figures. About a third of the way through, I was struck by how much I subconsiously pick up and use the colors of the underpainting. This far in, nearly every color I had applied was a nearly perfect match for a patch of underpainting. I can't remember ever having used that eggplant color before. Thus is the beauty of working with a partner! I never know what I'm going to get and what I'm going to do with it.

So now it's Saturday, and I'm wrapping it up. The last few hours tends to be spent in what would look like walking around drinking coffee to the untrained eye. I leave the room, positioning the piece so that it's visible from the hall. Then I wander from my desk to the computer (soduku and email) to the kitchen (coffee and peeks in the fridge), around and around, sneaking glances at the new piece out of the corner of my eye. It's important to sneak up on it so that I can see what it really looks like.

So, a few more subtle adjustments and this one should be finished and framed before we leave for DesMoines on Tuesday. She's "Poughkeepsie Brunch", oil on linen, 36" x 60"...

Oh, one more from the 'prime' set:

Gee's Bend Homage: Easy, oil on linen, 36" x 60"

welcome!

My very first blog...how exciting! Welcome all.



I'm Signe. I'm a thirty something (5) painter,



married to a fourty-ish (one) potter. My husband Genna (here he is, isn't he cute)





and I are partners in a co-operative gallery and travel widely showing our work and servicing galleries that feature our work. Genna's beautiful and talented daughter Nastiya is with us in the summers. Here she is,




Beautiful, no? She's also very smart & talented. She lives in Ukraine with her mom and just completed her second year of study in interior design. She also draws, paints, and can do every handcraft the first time she picks it up (knitting, pottery, beading, sculpture, etcetera, etcetera. It makes me absolutely green with envy how 'intelligent' her hands are!).



Anywho, this blog won't be about my family...just thought you'd like a little backstory. Visit me here to see 'what's on the easel', to hear about our art festival exploits, and to keep track of our newest inspirations. Looking forward to it!