Hey everybody, I just got back from Birmingham. Had a good show there at the Magic City Art Connection, though we were rained out on Sunday. Had a good response to some new work, which utilizes a new clay body and new glazes. The work is not too obviously different, but I’m still working on fine-tuning the surfaces. I am very excited about some new vase/basket forms…

Oval Towers….?

More baskets/vases with new blue/green….

This weekend I will be in Centennial Park in Nashville…

for the Spring TACA fair. I you are in the Nashville area please come out and support local craft artists. The Saturday after that, Jessie and are are having a Mother’s Day 2nds Sale!!! They are not necessarily “2nds” but trials and tribulations, like glaze tests or random forms we decided not to further explore.

This is an effort to make back a little money from the blood sweat and tears we’ve put into to refining our aesthetics and experimenting experimenting experimenting.

Mother’s Day 2nds Sale will be at our studio, Artifact, at 1080b Duncan Ave, in Chattanooga, on May 11th from 2-8 pm.

Would love to clear some of these bad boys outta here!!

We will be selling our independent work, as well as our collaborative line,  Bean and Bailey Ceramics.

Bean and Bailey will launch our new line of slip-cast porcelain work at Porter Flea in Nashville on May 31st-June 1st. Go to PorterFlea.com for more details on that show…

Spring 2013 Schedule…

May 3-5: TACA Spring Fair, Centennial Park, Nashville, TNtennesseecrafts.org for more details…

May 11, 2-8 pm: Mother’s Day 2nds Sale, Artifact Studio, Chattanooga, TN.

May 31- June 1: Porter Flea, Cornelia Fort Airpark, Nashville, TN. Porterflea.com….

June 28-30: Des Moines Arts Festival, Des Moines, IA.  desmoinesartsfestival.com for more details…

July 5-7: Cherry Creek Arts Festival, Denver, CO. Cherryarts.org for more details…

Big O Bowl at Mudfire

Man oh man, thangs are gettin busy! I delivered a body of work to Mudfire Gallery in Atlanta, and my solo show there opens to the public on Saturday, March 2nd. All work will be for sale at the gallery there, and online! I will be there from 2-6 on Saturday in case anybody wants to stop by!

I have also been in production mode, trying to stock up on mugs, bud vases, bowls, and some new cream & sugars for this spring. I have started using a new clay and will have all new glazes as well, so I still have a lot of work to do regarding my surfaces. I am going to incorporate more color and texture, but still keep  somewhat simple aesthetic. I am excited and very nervous to see what comes!

Greeware, about ready for the bisque!

ALSO in progress is a boat-load of slip-cast work that Jessie and I have been working on. We are still refining our vision as to what this first line of work will look like. We have tested several colored slips and 20 different glazes, and are leaning more and more towards using primarily colored slips as the basis for our palette.

Pink and white porcelain tumblers, slip cast and fired to cone 6 in our shiny new L&L kiln!

We hope to launch this work by the spring, though I tell you what, I never imagined that juggling two completely different processes and bodies of work would be this hectic! At least I can do it all in the same kiln now. I was previously packing everything up and driving 2.5 hours to fire with the very generous Lee Marshall and John Sellberg.

The rest of the studio has been nice and busy, check out details about that at teamartifact.com

I went to Lebannon, TN last weekend to make some pots for a potter I used to work for and still fire a kiln with from time to time. It has been a while since I’ve been in super production mode like this, and it felt pretty alright. My buddy John Sellberg does it all the time, making her pots and his, which amazes me. My body starts to break down after making this much stuff and finishing it in a couple days. It is good to keep your hands that busy though and really hone in on making subtle adjustments. It’s just building up more muscle memory and showing you where you are obviously developing bad habits and losing efficiency. I also made some utensil cylinders not shown here. Last weekend also drove it home how little money you can make off a mug, especially if you are pulling handles off the pot, which I wasn’t even doing here. Throwing is the fastest part, but it’s hard to charge twice as much for a mug as you would for a cup about the same size. Anyways, nice to make a little cheese and then come home to my studio where jessie and I did a bunch of slip casting the past couple of weeks. Now we fit to test glazes and see what kinda fury we can evoke with our Bean & Bailey wares. Stay tuned for more treasures.

New Mustard Mixing hat

Hey everybody hope your holidays were bangin. The stars and planets have kinda aligned in my world in that it’s a very slow time of the year for most anybody selling anything to anybody else… so, Jessie and I have finally kicked into gear with our slip-casting project we received a grant for back in October. We have been casting blanks out of Plaster, carving them, and made a mold or two as well.

During and after carving, sanding

Been using different vessels to make the blanks, including beer cans, coddle boards, and tar-paper cylinders. Then we carve them up using sure-forms, scrapers, cutters, sandpapers, gitters, and what-you-needs. After the desired shape is achieved, we set it up, soap it up, and either build or pour the mold out of plaster.Jessie’s half-gem hanging planter, inverted.

The finished mold.

Ive been making more cups, images to follow….

Then after that we gotta big rig gotta gemstone quarry we thunderiin down into to bring you the tightest and brightest chattanooga has to offer!!!

Been on the road a lot lately, and have a lot of new work done come up out de kiln! I have some photos of new work and some work i made in the spring but am just now getting around to documenting.
My latest show was in Raleigh, NC over thanksgiving weekend and it was a disaster. Nice show, just nobody there to buy anything! That being said I am conjuring up ingredients for an etsy site for the holidays to make it easier for folks to buy wares directly from me. Until then, COME SEE MY TREASURES (hi how is your pottery?)

Oh yeah, i forgot, JESSIE AND I GOT A GRANT TO START SLIP-CASTING SOME BAWSOME NEW TREASURES WE FIT TO START AFTER DE NEW YEAR BOO YAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!

Far left is Andrew Nigh, then Anderson Bailey, Jessie Bean Goodman Bailey, Eric Smith, and Conrad Tengler

The last three weeks have been spent traveling to Nashville, Louisville,and Memphis, for craft shows. Responses nave been mixed.
Thanks to all those who have come out and discovered my treasures. Imma gonna keep makin them for you. Here is a photo from Memphis

Here is another one from Nashville

Sept. 28- 30, TACA Fall Craft Fair, Nashville, TN

Sept. 29, TACA Biennial Exhibition: The Best of Tennessee Craft, TN State Museum, Nashville, TN.

Oct. 5-7, St. James Court, Louisville, KY.

Oct. 12-14, Pink Palace Art Show, Memphis, TN.

Nov. 2-4, Moss Rock Art Festival, Birmingham, AL. It’s actually in a suburb and should be a really nice show.

Nov. 23-25, Carolina Designer Craftsman Guild Holiday Show, Raleigh, NC. Very nice indoor show.

Dec. 7-8, Delectable Spectacle: Local Handmade Art, Fine Craft, and Food. Artifact Studio, Chattanooga, TN

*This is the 2nd annual Delectable Spectacle, and is an awesome opportunity for Chattanoogans to support all      local craftsmen and artisans for their holiday shopping. Friday night is an esplosion of great food and all-around debauchery. Will be hosted by Artifact this year.

In other words, I went raz on mongo’s beach, gotta grape gotta silent fountaing installed, got back to mom’s n saw new bread in de dust, I fought tizdale n brought munchies. Here are some photos: