Teresa Brooks

repetition with eternal variations

2012-02-11T17:53:00.000-07:00

Well, the shadows have it at the moment! I almost always work in 3's. That's because I also have a "wait" problem. I get impatient to keep going when the porcelain needs to firm up a bit before I add the next row...having 2 more to work on creates the perfect distraction. This time I had ideas for 5...but I can't do everything!

inspiration

2012-02-04T11:03:00.000-07:00

As an art student learning about materials and techniques it didn't take long before I knew there would be a lifetime of practice but...the bottom line for me was the question of where do ideas come from? What inspires a series? What do I draw? I pursued this question relentlessly...still do. (my masters thesis was titled "Artists and their images") As a teacher it seemed critical to pose open ended questions to set off an avalanche of thought...or at least a few snowflakes that would nudge the process. Art Forms in Nature by Ernst Haeckel is an amazing resource I have relied on for 30 years...these illustrations from the l800's...are totally coil pots!

I love clay's ability to showcase surface...most days the element of texture is at the top of the elements of design for me. This book is full of beautiful examples of repetition, interesting shapes etc. As these 3 pots begin to dry I open the book again.

Swirls

2012-01-21T10:50:00.000-07:00

"The shoulders we stand on"

2012-01-20T11:32:00.001-07:00

..."We are creative heirs standing on the shoulders of Giants. We cannot help but reference and renew their ideas in our own work. These distinctive inspirations become the touchstones of our best original efforts.

These muses are not always specific or singular. Your inspiration might lie in the simple forms of an anonymous ancient potter. Perhaps you’ve been seduced from afar by the work of legendary potters. A teacher may have given you a unique point of view, personal guidance or new set of skills."

These words are part of the descriptors for the 2011 NCECA show in Tampa sponsored by the Potters Council.
Almost everyday I work on a coil pot I think about the first teacher who taught me about coil pots...Herb Schumacher...the possibilities furthered in both skill and idea by Carlene Schumacher. Today...because I will finish these two pots I work with advice they gave me 30 years ago. The base is narrow (sometimes I go too far with this part) because it gives the pot a pedestal to be lifted with light. The coils should be clean but not to the degree of removing the careful fingerprints that appear as I build...they are part of the surface. The shape is basically out, up and back in...controlled with flair and maybe a surprise. Coil pots are my favorite method of working with clay...the series that seems to have no end of inspirations ...I thank my teachers for giving me the skills to turn the ideas into a tangible form.

These two started with the snow storm idea..wind blowing sharp swirls...

some finale's take a little longer

2012-01-13T17:12:00.000-07:00

finale's or frosting?

2012-01-12T11:01:00.000-07:00

I always enjoy the top of the coil pots...I start out with an idea about the shape I would like to head towards...there always seems to be a little variation in where it heads as I begin to build and then...the finale. It's something I have to play with a bit till it seems to be "done." This is where someone needs to walk into the studio and say..."a little more" or "just right"...as well as bringing a plate of cookies and milk!

These two pieces are a continuation of a series of coil pots playing with the same texture which is made with a pasta strainer.

Grateful

2011-12-05T12:13:00.001-07:00

The best of friends posed the question of "unhappiness." I've spent a bit of time thinking about the term..which seems less discriminating then how I feel.
I look to the time in the middle of the night when I wake and what worries me...at the center...is the health of someone I love.
It is an undercurrent.
By coincidence...if there is such a thing..another great friend said that her yoga instructor...in order to set the mood...told the group that you cannot be unhappy and grateful at the same time.
Hmmm...no matter what my flurries of emotion are...I am grateful.
My friend...the new grandmother said that she had watched her granddaughter all day and realized that the entire agenda for the day was...play. We tried to remember when we felt the child-pure-thrill of starting the day...
When I worked with young people I often told them that you know what makes you happy...sends you to that place of joy/play. No matter what preoccupies me when I pull up the chair to the work table and open the bag of clay everything slips away. I love to work with clay. I love to open the glaze kiln...always. I love to read...and of course the list goes on and on...and circles back to "grateful."
One of the projects I worked on with my students was the message bowl...maybe a prayer bowl. I haven't worked the idea up for myself with the level of ethereal...it is a prayer bowl after all...finesse that I wanted. It seems like the right time to work with bowls..."a bowl...in which to receive what he needed for the nourishment of life physically, emotionally, and spiritually."

Arvada Center Holiday Fine Arts Market

2011-11-20T13:37:00.000-07:00

brushwork bowls

2011-11-19T15:24:00.001-07:00

The break from handbuilding came with a set of 30 thrown bowls. They were dipped in porcelain slip, underglaze brushwork added, a little slip trailing, bisque, a little glaze brushwork and a final coat of clear. Limited palette...lots of possibilities.

"These are a few of our favorite things..." Sk3tchbook! Invitational

2011-11-17T10:10:00.000-07:00

Magpie Studios

2011-10-20T17:48:00.000-06:00

Maggie Beyeler who is "Magpie Pottery" is one of the artists who will be participating in our November Invitational of "Favorite Things" at Sk3tchbook! Gallery. I met with Maggie on Monday to pick the work she will have in the show and to bring it back to Colorado. Her studio is located just outside of Santa Fe, New Mexico. Her home/studio is everything you would imagine the perfect New Mexico setting to be...an adobe home, a garden outside to sit and watch the sunsets, a well appointed and efficient work space. It was a pleasure to meet with her and to be sharing her work with you in November

2011-10-08T18:53:00.000-06:00

15 years ago or so I had the good fortune to be on the fringes of an extension class taught to a small group of high school students on Southwest Studies...Taos as a focus. As part of that class I was introduced to Terry Tempest Williams and her book Pieces of White Shell. A gentle, beautiful journey through objects in a fetish bag.
Later...I was meeting my sister in law at the Tattered Cover and there happened to be a speaker there that day. Being an absolute introvert I darted down the stairs to avoid the crowds and there in the center of the book shelf was the Terry Tempest Williams book Refuge...a life changing book. I bought the book and began reading immediately just as I also began to live a version of the story with my mother...within days she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Terry helped me with that passage.
Over the years I have read each book she wrote and have gone to hear her speak...I am a devout follower.
This last event was in Fort Collins after her recent book Finding Beauty in a Broken World. At some point...and my memory may be faulty...she talked about a professor who she had talked to about...what to do next in life. At the end of the conversation she said with relief...something like "I'm so glad it's going to be OK." The professor paused and said...I didn't say that but
(and this I did write down immediately)
"There's always enough light on the path to see the next step."

I thought I was done with the ladies for now but my college roommate and life long friend's mother was recently diagnosed with cancer. As she went to visit her mother to work through the steps to heal I reminded her about the quote.

There are a few people in my life that I would do whatever they asked me for...if at all possible. And so, when Peggy said she would like one of the ladies...healing, gardening, listening,...I started another and then another and there will be one more....she needs choices you know.
But what I am thinking as I make them is...
"There's always enough light on the path to see the next step."

NCECA SHOW AT THE ARVADA CENTER

2011-08-24T16:37:00.001-06:00

Yes, in fine print is my name...lucky me! The 2 pieces accepted are both coil pots..."water pearls" and "sea star."

Prayer flag series finished...probably

2011-08-13T14:59:00.001-06:00

7th in the series

2011-07-26T15:18:00.001-06:00

A gentle soul, she is the last of this group I think.

Hold on

2011-07-24T13:50:00.002-06:00

Years ago I found a photo of a marble sculpture in museum where the female figures arms were wrapped around her body...holding on. The lyrics from the Sarah McLachan song "Hold on" remind me of that thought..."Hold on, hold on to yourself, this is going to hurt..." Later in the lyrics...several times she is "at the crossroads standing...." Seems like these ladies are there as well.

bi disc

2011-07-23T15:36:00.005-06:00

Dominique Browning wrote an editorial for House and Garden magazine in December of 2002 on the bi disc. I subscribed to the magazine at the time...mostly to read her wonderful writings...and have followed her work since.

The article described the disc as a piece laid on the chest of a person before burial and the "hope was that it would give the soul a gateway to it's next life." I saved the article because I loved the idea of a passageway...maybe a doorway....maybe....

Anyway, this lady is beginning to twirl...perhaps through a gateway.

The article is titled "The Lesson of the Bi Disc" and can be read at:
http://www.dominiquebrowning.com/articles/HG-20021201-0014A.pdf

Preparation to ascend

2011-07-16T14:54:00.000-06:00

The three earlier ladies need their prayer flags. One of them appears to be pouring from one hand to the other and then perhaps back again. Another looks like she would be holding curls of paper. Years ago I started reading the Eliot Pattison mystery series involving China and Tibet starting with The Skull Mantra. In one of the books he wrote about the character writing letters/prayers to his departed father on pieces of paper, taking them reverently to a high spot and then setting them on fire so the smoke floated to the heavens. So, seems like this lady's prayers are on paper. The next one's hands seem to be releasing something upward, maybe her flags will need wings for flight...birds. Now for this 4th recent lady I'm thinking about ascension...how does one prepare to depart in flight?

Prayer Flag Series

2011-07-07T17:55:00.001-06:00

The pattern on her dress comes from a linoleum block I carved for a print years ago...it's basis was a landscape. I generally start my drawings with a contour...which is part of the line on her dress and the texture you can add with the carving tools. Subtle, but I'm sure when the stain is added it will all show!

Heartfelt forgiveness

2011-07-01T16:28:00.001-06:00

Prayers of and for forgiveness

2011-07-01T13:15:00.000-06:00

Time for prayers again...right now I'm thinking forgiveness, and the trick of accepting forgiveness and letting go...an illusive goal in many ways. I'm not quite finished and have not decided yet what form the prayer flags take for these ladies.

Water Etching

2011-06-25T15:51:00.000-06:00

I throw on the potters wheel in between my handbuilding phases. I am committed to the pure white translucency of porcelain and so....right now I somewhat patiently work on 3-4 pieces at a time to play with translucency.

ocean/botanic?

2011-05-01T15:22:00.000-06:00

I'm not sure how I'm going to move them to the kiln...

Coils again

2011-04-23T16:10:00.000-06:00

Coil pots have always been my favorite thing to make...so far. I've started a new group that will be ready for our show in May. Last year I went to the "Soaring Voices" exhibit at the Metro Gallery. I particularly loved the work by Kyoka Tokumara and Shoko Koike. I have looked at their textures and their dramatic forms and of course...that circles back to coil pots.

May 20 Art show pieces

2011-03-30T13:21:00.001-06:00

We are all working steadily toward our next show on May 20th. I have made another group of "pints", covered boxes and a new group of small vases that are each different in height and design. I have seen small groups being used as the centerpieces for luncheons with flowers in each one. At the end of the luncheon each guest gets to take one..a great idea! I will probably have to make these even more petite in order to be affordable for that idea. I have also started pints and vases in brown stoneware...right now a picture of them would look like cups made of chocolate...so that will have to wait for the glaze fire.

More boxes

2011-02-11T08:40:00.000-07:00

These small pieces...4 new ones...generally end up 4"-5"...allow me just about the right amount of space and patience to explore some of the textures I love. They are each one of a kind. Even though I have practiced repetition I decided early on that it was not preferable!

Opening the kiln

2011-01-25T16:22:00.000-07:00

Opening the kiln is one of the most exciting parts to working with clay. No matter what there seems to always be a surprise. Who's in control? I spent the day adding hints of teal and gold patina to the boxes and the started tying the prayer flag for the ladies...they should be posted after I finish.

Prayer flags

2010-12-21T17:17:00.000-07:00

These two ladies are drying and waiting to be fired. They will have to wait for completion till after the holidays. Both are layered textures, their flags repeating some element in their design...one with leaves and one with stars...

Prayer flag series

2010-10-30T17:05:00.001-06:00

I've started a new series of ladies using the same surface treatment I have worked with on the tumblers and boxes. The beginning point is the intent behind the "prayer flags," my "prayer flags" ...reminders that are personal...to "ease their pain" or global...how can I help? At least at this point I'm thinking they will all hold the flags...bits of clay and metal....so far.

3" porcelain coil pots

2010-10-30T17:01:00.000-06:00

These small coil pots are two to four inches...I have made 4 recently to add to the group...I think of them on a small black shelf or in a glass box...which I just happen to have in the shop.

Acrylic Resist

2010-10-30T16:56:00.000-06:00

I have been throwing small porcelain bowls and playing with acrylic...gloss polymer (instead of wax resist) to do a water abrasion on the surface. They've been bisqued and glazed...ready for the glaze fire and then a mother of pearl fire. The winter holiday's always seem the time to make translucent white work.

3" x 4.5"

2010-09-24T11:12:00.001-06:00

As we anticipate the holiday season we decided to choose a size...in this case that fits into the two display shelves that we have that hold 25 pieces each. The size we chose is a 3" by 4.5". Ruth has been making monoprints and Tom has been painting this size. I have been working on these boxes....textured surfaces, glazed interiors, stained exteriors with glaze accents. Our show will be on November 19th in the evening and we will be joined by other art galleries in the area!

never enough bowls

2010-09-24T11:05:00.000-06:00

In between I love to throw...especially bowls. I love to inlay glaze in the carved surfaces creating the high contrast. It's a relaxing break from handbuilding.

Pints

2010-09-24T10:57:00.000-06:00

We will be open one year on September 29th. We have learned many things from the people who walk through our door....including the suggestion that the tumblers really need to hold a "pint" to really be useful to some people. So, this is the next group of tumblers that...yes indeed, DO hold a pint with room for foam....only a little foam! They are in process here...getting an interior of glaze.

the next step

2010-07-13T13:27:00.000-06:00

And so this is the first round of testing with boxes and tiles.

another series beginning

2010-07-13T13:18:00.001-06:00

These platters are a part of a group of shallow platters I have made for the last couple of years...however, I have switched from cone 10 stoneware to cone 5/6 and so this texturing of the surface is beginning a new transition with boxes, tiles, etc.

glaze and porcelain tests

2010-06-11T11:10:00.001-06:00

I'm testing "Hagi" porcelain and another group of glazes...this is the "before" picture.

2010-05-29T10:53:00.000-06:00

Now that the show is over it is time to work on all the ideas that have been added to "the list"....peacefully! I have just finished a couple of the small pots and have another half done. I still see them as a grouping and so am trying to vary the height and width within a 2-3" range.

petite porcelain pots ready for the glaze fire

2010-05-20T11:28:00.000-06:00

Our show opens tomorrow and these small coil pots will be out of the glaze fire this afternoon. There are now 8 total for a grouping. As I work on them I have more ideas...this series isn't done apparently!

work in progress

2010-05-07T13:30:00.000-06:00

I'm working on a series of tiny...2 to 5 inch high coil pots. They are all porcelain with either no glaze or a thin layer of glaze. Hopefully, they'll look good by themselves or in a group.