I'm Baaaaaack.........

Good and Wonderful Morning!

I had not intended to leave my blog alone and wordless for as long as I have and for that I apologize.
I was able teach a few classes during the summer - Children's art, Paint Nite and also hosted a Clay with Kate Nite. All did very well and I hope that they were successful in encouraging an interest in getting creative.

Opening just last week was a Fall Extravaganza at The Mistlin Gallery here and I finally got all my bits together, filed the prospectus and entered a couple of pieces of my ceramic art. They were judged and accepted into the show and the most wonderful part was that my two dozen Matilija (pronounced Mat-il-eh-ha) Poppies won a Second Place Award ribbon in the 3-D Art category. First thing I've ever won!!  I am still so thrilled!

2nd Place Winner, 3-D Art Category, 2016

I'm already thinking about the next show and what I'll make.

Here are just a few things I've been working on:

Terra Cotta flowers :

These are 4-5 inch terra cotta flowers just waiting for their friends to be made.

I've got a plan for many, many red flowers so these are just the first installment. Every one of my flowers are hand built, no molds. I like them to have a fluid quality, as though the wind was moving the petals.

These hands started out to be hands holding the whole world but I got
a bit distracted so they are on hold for the moment.

One of my Paint Nite examples, I was going to add a lot more foliage but I'm not sure, I may like this just as it is:


These small dishes were created for the Knights Ferry General Store, a historical fixture that recently reopened in Knights Ferry, California which is also home to one of the oldest covered bridges in the country. 

Add caption

                       

And I've had cards printed with my various little paintings or doodles. They turned out pretty good.

Well that's it for now and there is so much more I've been working on since my last post but I don't want to overdo it!

Thanks for visiting my little space. Comments are always appreciated.

Kate

Dreaming......it's what I do best

Yes, I like to dream...

I like to think that life is full of crazy impossibilities that somehow come to fruition. Where we all can have a space, where we find ourselves completely satisfied and fulfilled before we get distracted by our days, our buzyness, our burgeoning amounts of responsibilities.

I find it suffocating to think of all the things that loom in both my short term and long term future. As an artist/potter/creative type I am always busy but also mindful about creating an income to support that life. It's a daily challenge, sometimes a roller coaster. I have to put on my adult face and think about supplies, bills, location for classes... not always the most fun. We will be looking to relocate soon and my husband told me to make a list of what I would think would be the ideal spot. I drug my feet for a few days because while I do dream a lot I had never wanted to actually 'voice' what my dream is because I would never expect to get it. But......what if I did? What if I could put it out there, into the universe, pray about it, ask God and believe that life is really full of possibilities that COULD happen, could be realized if I just simply had faith that they would?  Seems fair enough to me because I know that when I do the opposite, figure I'll flop, figure it won't happen, figure it will never be, I do get rewarded with exactly what I expect.

So today, I'm putting it out there. I'm praying about it and I'm asking for what I really, really, really want and it may seem SkyPie wishes but I'm standing by and waiting for it. And yes, SkyPie is my word. I made it up and I'm standing by it too. It may be the name of my new art studio - SkyPie Studios, where people come to dream.
Here's my list... I want a new art space, large with a studio to welcome customers and have things on display; a large work space for art and clay students to create and explore, somewhere I can work on large paintings, dye fabric or build a huge paper mache rocket if I want to. And a small house next to it that has a couple of bedrooms, farm kitchen and two bathrooms.....and a grassy yard so my RosieTheDog can roll around and smile while keeping her ball from us.....  My place is out there, it just hasn't found me yet, but now I'm calling for it.

In the meantime - I've been doing some amazing work!

Kate

Six flowers and a bird

Fresh out of the kiln the other day..
Delighted!

"Save Wood Colony" barns.....orchards will
be added... or something.

Just a question

A trial vase - just to see if I could.  I can!

Oh For The Love of Clay!

June 26, 2014 ~ 

 I've just been working with clay so far since school let out and I'm enjoying it a lot. I've got two clay classes I teach on Thursdays, one for 9-12 year olds in the morning and in the evening I've got adults. It's fun to see what they do with the instructions. You get a real feel for how your words are received - not always the way I think I'm saying something. Sometimes it's pretty funny. I've also got in that Thursday evening class a couple of developmentally challenged adults and it's been great enjoyment to watch them get more adept with their spatial reasoning and their attention span and the real clincher - patience.

Here are some pieces I've turned out and I've been selling - some of the flowers are small 5-inch pieces, others go up to 10.5-inches. They go either on the wall and have hangers or holes in the back of them, some get put on wire stems to put in pots, and others are large and sturdy enough to just get set in and around the garden for visual interest. Prices range from $9 to $40.

5-inch flowers

8-inch flower

5-inches

 

9-inch flower (on it's way to Hawaii)

Hey! Is there something
on my back?

10-inch flower

5 1/2-inch flower

 

7, 6 and 5 1/2-inch flowers

This 10-inch flower went to live
with Laurie McAdam

 

Thanks for looking! If there's anything I can make for you message me at DreamrKate@yahoo.com. 

Kate

The Days Go By Too Fast

It was Spring just a second ago it seems. It's been two months since my last post and we've already had more than a couple of 100 degree days and apparently we aren't even considered to be in summer yet.

I've been fairly busy with my 'making' and creating in between working partial days with a special ed class that I've fallen in love with. I can't wait for school to start again... and we're not even out yet. And I probably won't even get to work with the same kids but it's been a real treat to watch them grow despite all their little twitches and complexities. Next week I'll be tidying up my back patio and studio area and getting going with the multitude of ideas that are swimming around in my head. I cannot wait. Stay away 100 degree weather!

Now for some of what I've been doing - IF you know me at all you know that I have so many ideas in my head that I cruise the length and breadth of them and circle back around to the things I enjoy.
You'll see a drying 10-inch vase that will be glazed just white when it's finished and several things that are completed and up for sale in my Etsy shop. 

The dog pieces are all about 4-inches square, maybe a teensy bit larger on some. The "Thankful" piece is 8x7 inches and 1/2 thick. And the handbuilt flowers vary in size from 4-inches to 10-inches.
There you have it, my update.

Kate

Spring is Here, But Only For A Moment

  Here in the Central Valley Spring breezes in but soon gives way to summer. After growing up in Southern California and the perpetual 70 degree weather I still have not gotten used to the heat here. In any case now is the perfect time to be busy and I've been busy creating my own little spring by making ceramic flowers.  At the moment I'm working to have many things ready for the upcoming Artists Open Studio Tour 2014 that's happening April 12-13 this year. This is a two-afternoon event that allows people in to see what the various artists in our area do - and sometimes where they actually work. It's quite fun. You purchase a map that is really a booklet that has a little information about each participating artist and in the middle is a large map pinpointing all the locations. You can map out your afternoon, see the art, maybe purchase a few pieces and snack and have a glass of wine or something along the way. It's a perfect Spring activity!

Some things that I have been working and will be available either at the Studio Tour or listed in my DreamrKate Etsy Shop follow. It took me forever to get this all posted so here they are and if you are interested in any piece, please don't hesitate to contact me. Send me a message, drop me an email...... DreamrKate@yahoo.com; DreamrKate on Etsy; or Kate Pethoud Art Work on Facebook. 

Have a delightful Spring!

K

An unfired 15-inch flower for the wall.

This large tulip is about the size of a small cabbage. The surrounding flowers are about 5 inches in diameter.

This field of poppies are made of brown clay and have not been fired yet. I kind of like the brown color so I'm still deciding whether or not to color them or just leave them organic and just add a clear glaze to them. I'll have to do a test one and see what I think. They will then turn into a table top sculpture.

I do love my tiny happy places. This is a park, unfettered by people and swing sets and slides. Just birds and trees.

A Hydrangea for the table.

5, 4 and 3 inch poppies. 

Bright red Poinsettia looking flower.

I LOVE THESE LARGE POPPIES! I love the color, the hugeness, and the thin petals.

And last - my large 10-inch mostly white flower! For the wall.

 

Busy, Busy, Busy Time of Year

     Since the busyness starts ramping up for all of us as we forge on into the holidays I thought I would take a few minutes to show you what I've been working on since my last post.

  I've been out hustling my wares and I've been asked to participate in a few upcoming events that I'm excited about. Nov. 9, Escalon Booster Club's Annual Fall Art/Craft Fair to be held at the high school from 9-3 - yes, there's only one high school in Escalon. I love that. 

  I just got accepted into the ModShop209 Event - that's sort of a cool, trendy (very young) arts/craft event..... the last time I participated was a couple of years ago. It's held inside a handful of local businesses downtown. It's AN EVENT and there's music, shoulder-to-shoulder steady streams of people snaking through tables looking and buying. The cool thing about this is that it's in the evening 6-10 p.m. on the Saturday After Thanksgiving, Nov. 30. The last time I did this one it was called something different - HandBorn - and it promotes and celebrates the return to handcrafted items rather than imported/mass produced things.This year there is another organization putting it on - MODSHOP209 and a portion of the proceeds will go to the Peer Recovery Art Project.

  Let's get back to personal, quality, and locally made things for our home and as gifts!  I'm all for it because let's face it, we "Makers" take time and pride in what we create with our hands. We are compelled to create. It's how we communicate. So when you purchase something handmade you aren't just purchasing a thing, you're participating in the celebration of ideas, creative effort, all the many hours of trying and retrying an idea to bring it to fruition - never mind the materials and electricity (whatever) it took to produce that one item. *stepping down from my box now*

ANYway - I AM a MAKER!  It IS my business! And there - I've said it!  Pictures for you to enjoy now follow.

Kate

A 10-inch ceramic wall art - $35

My Fractured Angel Sally - she's not for sale, but
her friends are - similar but not exactly like
her there are 7-inches tall and ready to
hang on a wall. She was going to
be an ornament but she didn't want to. - $12.

Fruit of the Spirit tiles - Peace, Joy, Love, Faith,
Kindness, Gentleness, Forbearance, etc. All nine wall
tiles can be sold in a set for $45 or choose one at
$7 apiece.

A close up of a heart shaped "Love" ornament.
They can be personalized with a name or date
or whatever you want. They are about 5-6-inches
and made individually, $12. Allow 10 days.

Terra cotta 5-inch LOVE ornament, some texture.
Glazed only in parts, $8 

Two Loves Of My Life -
THEY ARE NOT FOR SALE.

Just a picture of the raw clay picture I sent you last time.
It's now completed and ready to go. It's a 10x10 piece.
$35.

It's time for Socks!

October 28, 2013


For me, putting on socks is the kiss of death to the well enjoyed (but sometimes too deathly hot) summer. I hate to see it go but I haven't minded that it has been tempered just a bit. The Central Valley loves its extremes, yes it does, because where else can you go to bed too hot to sleep and wake up wondering if it's time to switch to the flannel sheets already?

It's been busy for me, creating. I'll show you a couple of things I've been working on. My head is full to the top of things I want to make, so full that the ideas sometimes tumble out faster than I can actually bring them to fruition. The sewing is on the back burner for the moment and it's been all things clay and paint.

I have always been amazed by the things that God has created and I'm am thankful every day that He's given me the gift of noticing them and the desire to recreate in a humble way my interpretation of them. Sometimes whimsical, almost always colorful but whatever it is I am always in awe of the way some things seem to create themselves. It is my great joy to be able to do this and I thank you for taking a moment to see what I'm working on.

Pieces of my work can be seen (in California only) at Hearts of Jade in Moorpark, Queen Beads in Camarillo and at P&L Concrete and Garden Center in Escalon.  I will also be showing at the Dickens Faire in December (Modesto), the Cougar Booster Club Fall Festival, Nov. 9 in Escalon and a couple of other smaller craft events in the next month.

Here are examples of what I've been working on:

A raw piece of work - waiting for color and firing.
This piece has holes at the top for hanging and is
about 8 inches square. Finished it will be available for $40.

This turned out exactly as I had pictured it! I was
so excited when I opened the kiln. It was like
Christmas. Approximately 10 inches tall and wide,
it has holes at the top for hanging and
 will be available soon for $45.

Oh sure, TELL me you wouldn't want to have
your own personal park! It has all the elements
I love - trees, flowers, sunshine, a bird and a
random round ball thingy. I've created
more and different little scenes but I'll show you later.
This one is on a 2.5 x 4 inch base and the sun is
about 4.5 inches high in the sky. For $30 you
can dictate what you want in YOUR
Desktop World.

This is one of my Fruits of the Spirit wall hangings -
and yes, I loved this one too! This is GENTLENESS.
Each piece I create is completely hand cut, rolled and
pressed and glazes are mixed as I go. This is hours
of work and meditation to create, several days
to dry, fire, glaze and fire again.  This piece or one like it
will be for sale for $40.

This is one of many small wall art pieces. You can display them
on a wall, as a group, or use them for holiday ornaments. They are
4-5 inches square and each is unique and handcrafted. 
These will be sold for $12.50 each and
can be personalized with names if you prefer.

COMING SOON - Fruits of the Spirit Christmas Ornaments - all nine for $33/set. Pictures soon.

Thank you so much for stopping by.

You can email me at DreamrKate@yahoo.com.