Virginia Piazza Pottery

2011-12-31T09:45:00.000-08:00

I received this book as a gift years ago, when I was deciding to become a potter. I think I read it through, and was very inspired, both by Eva's life an her aesthetic. Thank you, Eva, for all you have given to the world of design.

One hand-Buttons!

2011-09-01T14:39:00.000-07:00

Early this summer, while hiking in Maine on a lovely beach,
I lost my footing, fell, and fractured a finger. My finger was put in a
cast, and it was clear that I would not be working on the wheel for
some time-6 long weeks!

Luckily, the finger was not on my "good " hand, so I decided
to see what I could do with that. I did have a ton of bisque
at home to glaze, so I started there; then I moved on to rolling out clay to form small textured plates and cups; finally, I moved on to -BUTTONS!

Early summer

2011-06-28T13:44:00.000-07:00

It has been a wonderful spring this year-so many days of

flowering shrubs, leafed-out hostas & ferns, roses and early

lettuces. We ended our spring here with the second Beacon

'Zero-waste" garden tour. Several gardeners shared their

gardens-food and or flower. An amazing beginning for summer in the

Hudson Valley!

2011-04-04T07:09:00.000-07:00

ARTIST SHOWCASE

On Saturday, April 30th, I will take part in
an " Artist Showcase " series at the Byrdcliffe
Shop, in Woodstock. I will be there from 12-6,
with a selection of new work.

(If you have not been to Woodstock in a long time, it is still very
lively, with lots of places to visit, restaurants, etc.)

byrdcliffe.org

2011-03-23T06:41:00.000-07:00

Potters have a very special connection to Japan;
I came across this image (every potter's nightmare?) on a blog post by Euan Craig, an
Australian potter who makes pots in Japan.
(euancraig.blogspot.com)

(My teacher went to Japan as an American
soldier in the fifties, and returned to the U.S.
inspired to become a potter.)

Euan's recent posts are a moving portrait of one
potter's experience of the recent quake.

I had a small taste of this myself, having been
a pottery student in California, and having lost
quite a few pots in a not very serious quake.

We can all help potters in Japan rebuild,
and several of us have undertaken fund raising
projects.

Starting tomorrow, 3/24, HANDMADE FOR JAPAN will be selling the work of many fine potters
and other artists through an Ebay store.

HEARTS AND HANDS FOR JAPAN, a raffle of donated items from various artisans, organized
by letterpress artist Lynn Russell, is available now at heartsandhandsforjapan.blogspot.com.

On April 8th, ARTS & CRAFTS UNITED FOR JAPAN, will open an auction on Ebay.

Japanese potter Makiko Hastings, who lives in England, is undertaking a project
entitled 1000 BIRDS FOR JAPAN. (makikohastings.blogspot.com).

Finally, the POTTERS COUNCIL is accepting donations to aid potters in Japan; please visit
potterscouncil.org.

Coping with cold

2011-02-07T10:13:00.001-08:00

I read a post today from a blogger in Maine, who listed her strategies
for coping with the almost uninterrupted cold weather we have had
lately; at the top was drinking lots of tea! It definitely heads my list,
along with baking and soup making. It really is hard to plunge
my hands into an ice-cold slip bucket when the studio is not very
warm!

2011-01-27T14:44:00.000-08:00

A New Year!

The icicles are very prominent this year-this is the view from
the studio window. (There is even one which is about four feet
long!)

Inside, I am finally feeling the energy to work on new ideas, and
to replace sold out forms for spring.

2010-09-24T04:50:00.000-07:00

OPEN STUDIOS- 9/25-26

This year I will take part in the 2nd annual city- wide open studios
in Beacon. There are 80 artists taking part.

At the left is a shot of the gallery at Hudson Beach Glass, a very
interesting place, an old firehouse which is now a working glass
studio, shop and gallery. In their gallery this month, they are
displaying one piece from each participating artist. Maps and
artists' cards are available at the gallery.

READYMADE

2010-09-22T06:20:00.000-07:00

Recently, READYMADE MAGAZINE did a spot on Clay, Wood & Cotton.
Some of my pots were featured in the photo they took, and the writer
mentioned my mugs! If you are in the area, and have not visited, you
really must. They have a delightful array of gifts for the home, and
also carry an assortment of yarns for knitting. (Craft classes
are held on weekends, and there is a "craft night " most Thursdays.

Garrison Art Fair-The calm before the storm!

2010-08-24T07:23:00.000-07:00

This was taken Saturday. In all my years of doing this show-
the nicest weather. The next day, I left the camera home-
the forecast was for rough weather.

The day ended with us clinging to the tent in raging wind and rain
(several inches fell in a few hours), while hurriedly packing up the
pots; amazingly, people came earlier and bought!

2010-07-05T08:30:00.000-07:00

BROOKLYN SHOW!

It will be great next Sunday, July 11th,
to be doing an event with other potters.
There will be various demos, as there is
a working studio in this large arts complex,
housed in a former factory.

Also it is two blocks from the Park Slope Farmers Market, which is set up on
Fifth Avenue. There is a website set up for the market; it is ceramicsbrooklyn.com.

2010-05-27T06:38:00.000-07:00

SUMMER POTTERY SALE!

We have referred to this as the the"solstice sale" for the past three years,
but it's still the same thing-our annual sale, featuring older work, discontinued items, samples, all well-priced-along with newer work
in the front gallery, and Nancy's full production line.

We hope you will join us for tea, cookies, etc.

This year we are very pleased to have with us two other potters-

local potter Pangea Bohl, and Paul Boucher, of Manhattan,

The event will take place at Nancy Bauch's studio. It is located at 11 Peekskill Road, off rte.301,
in Cold Spring. Hours are : Friday, June 4th, 12-9
Saturday, June 5th, 10-5
Sunday, June 6th, 12-5

2010-05-11T07:30:00.000-07:00

GOING TO AUSTIN!

Well, my pots are, that is.

CLAY, WOOD & COTTON is taking the show
on the road this weekend.
Please stop by if you are in the area.

2010-03-25T05:48:00.001-07:00

SPRING!

While out on a walk, and surveying storm damage around my neighborhood,
I happened upon a great pile of branches heaped outside one house on my
street. They included fat, fuzzy, gray buds. I helped myself to a small
handful, and put them in water. This was what emerged!

SPRING?

2010-03-11T09:43:00.000-08:00

This was taken about two weeks ago, near my studio.
There are sightings reported of blooming snowdrops,
and crocus; however, most of my spring bulbs are
in my back garden, which is a "sunken garden" and is still under
2-4" of snow.

2009-12-28T06:38:00.000-08:00

I cannot believe that the holiday season (and 2009)

are almost ended. I tried something new this year-

several small events instead of one big one.

This image is from Camp Woods, taken during a holiday

sale I did there early this month. I am happy that I discovered this very special place!

HAPPY NEW YEAR to all!

2009-10-23T05:34:00.000-07:00

FALL

Change is all around, in falling temperatures, turning leaves.

I took this photo of our lilac, because the yellow against a
dark ground was so stunning.

2009-08-24T08:40:00.000-07:00

Here is an image from the summer show in Garrison,
with the Hudson on view fron my "back door"!

It was well attended, but not enough people bought.

I did well enough, but people were really not shopping,
in general.

August Craft Show

2009-08-12T15:16:00.000-07:00

I have done the Garrison Art Fair every August since 2001; it can be
a very good one, and the quality of the work gets better every
year.

It is held at the edge of the Hudson. There is a strong tie to the river-
rides on the sloop Woody Guthrie, and a kayak builder who will be
working on a project both days.

Hopefully the weather gods will smile!

See you there

Visit: garrisonartcenter.org for more information

2009-06-18T13:55:00.000-07:00

LAST WEEKEND

The sale went very well; thanks to all of you who came by!
We were very lucky with the weather; we have had a crazy
amount of rain this week!

2009-06-08T08:14:00.000-07:00

SUMMER SOLSTICE SALE 2009
(third annual)

Cold Spring potter Nancy Bauch and I are holding our
annual pottery sale this coming weekend, at her
studio, (White Forest Pottery)

The studio is located at 11 Peekskill Road (at Pine St.),
off route 301 in Cold Spring, NY.

We will be offering a variety of seconds and discontinued items,
as well as some new work.

We are joined this year by Trish Wolfe, who will be selling her embroidered linens.

Hours for the sale are: Friday, June 12th, 4-9
Saturday, June 13th, 10-5

We hope to see you there!

BUTTER

2009-05-29T06:43:00.001-07:00

Butter seems to have become popular again and so have butter
dishes.

I designed my version of the "French butter dish " a couple of
years ago, and am now in the process of creating a standard
(American-style?) butter server. (It is currently being tested
at our house).

One of our newest vendors at the Beacon Farmers Market is
Scotch Hands Butter Co..They blend butter with herbs,
and other flavorings.Their product is meant as finishing
seasoning for vegetables and meats, as well as a spread.

Seeds!

2009-04-10T09:13:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I started my little cold season vegetable and flower
garden. ( I will start some flowers and herbs under lights this week, then insert them in the empty spaces around the perennials & bulbs.)

I love gardening by seed very much, and have done much
experimenting in the nine summers that we have lived in our house.

We don't have enough sun to do a full-out vegetable garden,
but I have some success with early season crops, which mature
before the trees are fully leafed out.
I will post images of the little green sprigs as they emerge-very soon, I hope!

( I really love the seed packets for themselves too!)

2009-03-24T07:12:00.000-07:00

SPRING!

This has been a very long winter here
in the Hudson Valley.

I can now see that the forsythia
at end of my street is "yellowing up",
and, closer at hand, these bulbs are
sprouting in my garden.

Glazing

2009-03-02T08:57:00.000-08:00

Time to start glazing.
January is a slow-start month, always.

The white bisque is little like facing
a blank canvas or paper.

I am looking forward to seeing some
new work come out of the kiln!

SPRING CLASSES

2009-03-01T07:34:00.001-08:00

Spring classes will resume April 13th. (Info. in the box at the right)
Here are some images from last Saturday's class. I hope some of you
will join us next session!

2009-01-31T16:48:00.000-08:00

My husband took this photo of some sedum autumn joy on a
cold but sunny day.

Beauty like this does help us get through these very
cold days (along with lots of hot chocolate, etc.)

2009-01-13T12:52:00.000-08:00

I received this image of my bowl from

some friends who I gave it to as a wedding

gift. It really looks great on their counter,

and the pears inside really make it come

alive!

I just started using this red stoneware, and plan to expand
my use of it in the coming year.

2008-12-24T07:57:00.000-08:00

This angel figure, created by a very talented Polish clay sculptor,
Margaret Wozniak, was created in 2000. Around the figure's
robe are little sketches that evoke the artist's adopted home,
New York City-a yellow cab, various buildings, including the
twin towers.

As I take it out each year, I reflect back to a more innocent time.
She traded it for one of my large salad bowls, at a craft sale held
at a studio a couple of blocks away from the World Trade Center.

We have just ended eight years of very dark times in our nation.

Let us all look forward to the coming year and those to follow, with raised hopes ushered in by
positive changes!

2008-12-19T08:00:00.000-08:00

I've come to think that the annual requisite potter's
"home sale" has become a way of putting it all out there
to see what I've done over the past year, and hopefully point
to a direction for the coming year as well.

I scheduled it for only one day, and was nervous about
the economic climate, but in the end, I sold more than
last year, and had a lot of first time visitors.

Last weekend

2008-11-25T07:02:00.000-08:00

The bitter cold weather last weekend served as a reminder that the holidays are at hand.

The opening was very well attended!

2008-11-21T05:38:00.000-08:00

It's that time again;

This year, Lisa has gathered a pretty

varied selection of work, including

wood-fired pots, crystalline glaze

work, and some mixed-media figures,

along with work by in-house instructors.

Jewelry and knitted work will also be featured. All work is locally made!

The show opens today, November 21, with an opening reception from 5-8pm.

It will remain open through November 30 (closed Thanksgiving day).

845.424.3960, for more information.

I will post some shots of the show etc., later this weekend.

2008-11-11T06:30:00.000-08:00

My intent in publishing this blog is to share some of what goes on, day to day, in my
studio.

2008-10-05T11:21:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my blog.