Traveling always inspires a collection of pottery and this year’s 5 week trip to Florida was filled with stories I wanted to tell in my clay work. Below, are images of just finished work and their inspiration.
I will be selling this new collection at my two sales in May. Join me on May 7th with the Riverdale Pottery Collective in Dedham and on May 13th with the Westwood Artists outside of Decor and More in Westwood. Purchases may also be made by contacting me by email.
Celebrate Artist Sunday and support local artisans at this Sunday’s Fall Sale in Dedham from 1:00-4:00 PM. Artists featured are Nora Bourdeau, John Dorsey, Lisa WB Walker, Gretchen Nash and Kathleen Dorsey. Shop Handmade. Shop Small. Shop Local.
Each year, my pottery studio, Potters Place announces a theme for its spring show and sale. It’s a creative prompt that sparks ideas for me and my studio mates. This year, the theme is “Pottery in Bloom”, a play on “Art in Bloom” that takes place at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts at the same time.
During the time the theme was announced, I was beginning my second of two drawing classes in Newton; a class is a perk of being an instructor for Newton Community Education where I currently teach clay to all ages. I was humbled and frustrated by the place I found myself when I arrived at my drawing class this fall, but by spring these two teachers had lead me past mental roadblocks and set me on the path of rediscovering my voice with skills that I could take to the clay surface.
I began working with a drawing of my hand holding the stem of a peony as a self portrait. The peony is the flower that blooms every year around the time of my wedding anniversary; it signifies the memory of the transition into a new role of wife and subsequently motherhood in a year that my children have left home. The negative space around the image in white is the silhouette of a woman’s shape. The pink of the peony, the gentle grasp of the stem, the soft form all suggest femininity to me. I worked on these two pieces at the same time, starting first with the bowl and moving to the plate.
When I look at the two pieces side by side, I see a bowl with an image on the left and a ceramic statement on the right. The bowl is a piece you might hang on a wall and contemplate in an intellectual manner. The plate is a form and image interacting as one. An only a utilitarian form can do, it invites you to interact by touch when the surface image draws you in. The two pieces together are a metaphor and entrance to my storytelling in this self portrait. Other pieces will follow to create a larger collection.
My process for creating these two pieces began with wheel thrown well made forms with a handmade swirl in the center to emphasis the human component of pottery. Once trimmed and in a “suede” state, I use a pencil to transfer my drawing. The lines are carved and then inlaid with green underglaze. Masters of this technique are Kristen Keiffer, Michael Klein and Julia Galloway, contemporary ceramicists who use Mishima in their work. Space is defined by layers of white and blue underglaze before the forms are dried and fired to bisque. Glazing has three layers and uses the characteristics of a clear glaze in conjunction with other glazes to enhance the surface decoration.
These two pieces are one of a kind and will be for sale at Potters Place Spring Show and Sale over the weekend of May 3-5. I think either piece will make the perfect wedding gift for a woman transitioning into the partnership of marriage, the celebration of a relationship.
Wheel thrown large pottery bowl by Lisa WB Walker
Please join me and my Westwood Artists group at our 3rd annual holiday marketplace this weekend! We open our doors at 3:30PM on Friday, November 30th and say goodnight at 7PM. Our doors reopen at 10AM on Saturday, December 1st and close at 3PM. The Westwood Historical Society will host our event at their nostalgic Fisher School located at 830 High Street (route 109) in Westwood, MA. Find us across the street from St Margaret Mary’s church and down the hill from the Thurston Middle School. Signage and parking are ample!
We have a great line up of Westwood Artists all making, baking and selling their local wares in our hometown. You can’t get any more “LOCAL” than that! Shop Small with us by celebrating small businesses and helping communities thrive and stay vibrant.
I spent a lot of time driving in my car all over New England this fall. The foliage was beautiful and I found myself looking for glazes to create a memory of this fall season.
Using real leaves: maple, hydrangea, and more, and wet clay, I tell the story of how the leaves change over the season. Some leaves stay green and then turn brown, others delight us with color.
As an artist, I use this information to create a collection that celebrates the New England season with functional pottery. “Let’s Celebrate” with festive food and one of a kind handmade pottery!
Details for this weekend’s show & sale at Potters Place are below.
It is the first time my fall collection will be seen and on sale. All of my novelty pieces are one of a kind; I make them once as pieces of a story… together they “paint the picture” of a memory.
Here is a sneak peak of what I’ll be selling at Potters Place.
Potters Place will be raising money for A.L.S. Family Charitable Foundation in a special section of pottery that has been donated by Potters Place members. Meet the potters of Potters Place at the Opening Reception on Friday, May 4th. The event is open to the public. Saturday, May 5th at 9:00am, the seconds “less than perfect” sale begins and continues til all is sold out.
Buy handmade for Mother’s Day, Spring & Summer weddings & birthdays, plus graduations & bridal showers. If you can’t make the show, please stop in at one of the many galleries that sell my art. Details here: www.lisawbwalker.com
Here is a sneak peak of my Special Occasions Spring 2018 Collection of hand built and wheel thrown high fire pottery..
Buy handmade for Mother’s Day, Spring & Summer weddings & birthdays, plus graduations & bridal showers. Enjoy one of a kind functional art that can be hung on a wall, and used with food and drink. Celebrate Art with your purchase of locally made wares. At Potters Place, 23 clay artisans will be participating in this amazing spring sale – join us for fun and find something to celebrate your special occasions with!
Artists reception on Friday, May 4th is open to the public. There is free parking and transportation on the commuter rail to Walpole station.
Inspiration for my Holiday 2017 Collection comes from my summer trip to Portugal.
Join me for the “first look” on Friday, November 17th 5:30-9PM at Potters Place opening reception for Holiday Show and Sale at 127 Old West Street, Walpole, MA. Show continues Saturday, November 18th 9AM-8PM and Sunday, November 19th 10AM-4PM. More information can be found at http://www.pottersplace.info
Imagine! The theme for Potters Place spring show is “Imagine”, inspired by a favorite quote from Albert Einstein, “Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.” Show coordinators, Ronda & Helayne asked Potters Place members to “Imagine” what would happen if they took a piece that they make on a regular basis and did something different with it.
“Imagine!” prompted a collection for me…. I began experimenting with some new floral stamps on both wheel thrown and hand built forms. As I began pressing into the clay, I embraced its malleable surface and began creating a new surface filled with flowers. I used colored slip trailing and carving to further decorate and then turned to watercolor under-glaze for color. After bisque firing my work, I found the glaze I planned to use was contaminated so I had to “Imagine!” using another glaze. By choosing Opal, I needed to embrace the characteristic of a glaze with movement. Knowing my vertical pottery would be affected; I decided to match my watercolor underglaze with actual glaze. The result was better than I imagined and my favorite piece in the collection emerged (see inserted photo).
Photos of the process…
Potters Place Spring Show and Sale 2017 weekend starts tomorrow, Friday, May 5th. Doors open 5:30PM til 9PM. Show continues Saturday, May 6th, 9AM til 8PM and Sunday, May 7th, 10AM til 4PM. We are raising funds to purchase ceramics books for the Walpole Library in addition to thousands of handmade pieces for sale from our 23 clay artisans. More information is at http://www.pottersplace.info.
Photo by Dave Bradley of my green square plates with prelude red petal motif.
It’s finally happening! We’ve brought the ART to WESTWOOD!
Please join the Westwood Artists for their first Marketplace on Friday, December 9th from 3:30-8PM and Saturday, December 10th from 10AM-2PM at the Westwood Historical Fisher School located across the street from St Margaret Mary’s on High Street (Route 109) in Westwood, MA. Parking is available at the Thurston Middle School, across the street at St Margaret Mary’s and Baptist Church adjacent to the Fisher School.
There will be 12 juried artists selling their handmade one of a kind artwork.
Here is a preview:
Wheel thrown “dotty”mugs by Lisa W B Walker
Catherine Perrone Watercolors
Kevin Becker glass (recently picked for the Boston Globe gift issue)
Gaye Whalen’s Coastal Creations
Carol Ahearn Watercolors
Karen Flowers Cagan Photography (Fisher School pictured here)
Jane Wojick handmade one of a kind pottery – both functional and nonfunctional works of art
Stephanie Hasenaur Jewelry
Kathy Zola handknit fiber work
Melanie Guerra will be bringing her jewelry (only sale this season!) and photography. Bibi will have an assortment or her artisanal baked goods for sale and gift giving. Jane Norris brings wonderful handpainted furniture and decorated wreaths for the holidays.
lisa w.b. walker 