My Florida Travel Collection

In February, I traveled to Florida. Below you will find the inspiration for some of the many pieces I created using wheel-throwing, hand-building, surface decoration and glazes on my one of a kind pottery for a unique Spring Collection. These pieces are now available and for sale to all collectors of beautiful functional handmade pieces of art.

Click here to purchase directly from me. Join me this weekend for a sale with Westwood Artists on Saturday, June 4th from 11-3 at the Senior Center in Westwood, MA.

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Sale on Saturday!

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  Covered Butter DIsh

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  Prelude Mugs & Plates

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  Birthday Cake Platter

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  Marblehead Lace Collection

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  Chip & Dip

This Saturday, October 16th from 11am-2pm, the Westwood Artists will be selling their artwork at 695 High Street in Westwood, MA. Rain or Shine, the following artists will be undercover but outdoors: Carol Ahearn (Watercolor, Acrylic), Karen Cagan (Photography), Kathy O’Donnell (Origami Earrings), Betsy Husted (Hand-crafted felt garlands & wall art), Kathy Zola (Fiber), Whim Chocolates (inside Decor & More), and Lisa WB Walker (Wheel thrown & Hand built Pottery). Join us to shop locally, support small businesses and have fun shopping handmade!

March 2021 Kiln Opening

Opening a glaze kiln can be like Christmas and … it can also be like Halloween. This last run was filled with new discoveries and spring cheer. Here is a look at some of my favorites.. Pricing and purchasing information is just a click away SHOP HERE.

Westwood Artists – Outdoor Sale – Saturday, September 26th

Please join me on Saturday for an Outdoor Sale with other Westwood Artists. The Outdoor Sale on Saturday, September 26th is from 10-2 at 6 Fisher Street in Westwood.

Featured artists: Lisa WB Walker – pottery; Carol Ahearn – watercolors; Karen Cagan – photography; Jane Wojick – pottery; Kevin Becker – glass; Rita Bechara – paintings.

This is a social distanced sale.  Everyone will be required to wear a mask and maintain 6 feet from other shoppers.  There will be hand sanitizer on site should you wish to interact with the art.

If you would like to purchase handmade from me but are unable or uncomfortable attending an in person event, please have a look at my new pottery here on my flickr account Just email me for prices and I can either package your paid purchases to pick up at the event, my home studio in Westwood or make other arrangements for contactless purchases, including shipping pottery.

If you are attending, I will have new work in addition to a few sale specials to make room for future work in my studio (this is not a seconds sale, but price reductions in some older pieces).

Flowers

“Flowers”: a summer collection installed at the Dedham Square Artist Guild located in historic Dedham Square, Dedham, MA

In the summer months, I enjoy working with low fire clay. A lower firing temperature allows me to utilize brighter colors that can “burn out” when the temperature in a ceramics kiln is higher.  I began creating my “Flowers” collection while working on my summer art classes curricula.

I spent time at my local library, pouring over books to come up with new and exciting ideas for my students and found myself interested in learning more about certain flowers.

Vessels were hand built and ready for surface decoration. Slips, textures, carving and underglaze ceramic paints were used to create imagery; low fire glazes completed the vision.

“Flowers” can be functional for bouquets in water, food for a party; or, individual pieces can be hung on a wall or displayed on a tabletop.  My ceramics are meant to be picked up and explored.  Textured surfaces to the finger tip are a delight. Three dimensional art begs to be touched, picked up and interacted with.  Ceramics is functional art.

Please visit the Dedham Square Artist Guild to purchase a piece from “Flowers”.  Each piece is one of a kind.  The collection is small but varied.  Each piece stands alone but works well together.  “Flowers” is perfect for the collector and just right for a wedding gift.

Special Occasions

Potters Place Open Studios is two weeks away.  A cooperative studio where I teach and create, Potters Place will open it’s doors to the public for Spring Show & Sale 2018 on Friday, May 4th at 5:30pm and close on Sunday, May 6th at 4:00pm.  Details

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.

 

Apple Blossoms

The apple blossoms this spring were everywhere… perhaps it was the wacky weather or the fact that spring seemed to take forever to get here, all I know is that everywhere I looked, the flowers were blooming.  The tree in my own front yard brought a smile to my face every time I returned home.

Life inspires art and as I sat down to create new work, the apple blossoms collection began.  Using an actual twig from my tree, assorted hand carved and purchased stamps, I “drew” my clay pictures taking inspiration from shapes of my molds.

Once the clay was bone dry, I used my watercolor underglazes to add color to the images before loading them into the bisque kiln.

Out of the first kiln, the collection was glazed and loaded into the 2nd kiln to add functionality to each piece.  At each stage, the flowers welcomed me and provided a memory that symbolized spring, rebirth, change, peace, beauty and more.

My new collection is currently installed at the Dedham Square Artist Guild.  The work has a wonderful feel and quiet beauty that although functional, stands alone as ceramic art.  There are 6 pieces in this group … 2 small square plates, 2 small oblong trays and 2 larger square plates.  The Guild is open Wednesday – Saturday 12-6, Sunday 11-2 in Dedham Square.

Neverland

The Dedham Square Artist Guild teamed up with the Dedham Parish Players for the February/March Artist Challenge.  Together they chose “Neverland” as the theme.  The Opening Reception is Thursday, February 26th from 6:00pm to 8:00pm.

For my entry, I decided to repurpose one of my wheel thrown stoneware plates that had been glazed in a clear gloss with a foamy rim.  It was a blank canvas to experiment with.

The Challenge: 

“Neverland…Fly to Neverland with Peter Pan and see what we find…fairies and mermaids, pirates and crocodiles, and children who live forever. We’re paying tribute to J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan from Neverland. Of course, Neverland could mean something completely different for you…show us!”

Opening Reception: Thursday February 26, 6pm to 8pm 

Exhibition Dates: February to March 31, 2015

This exhibit is being produced in conjunction with the Parish Players newest production of “Neverland”. Their performances will take place in late March. Visit the Parish Players for more information on how to purchase tickets.

This Challenge was open to all artists, working in any medium, who work/reside in eastern Massachusetts.

The show is exhibited in the lower gallery at the Dedham Community Theatre located at 580 High Street, Dedham, MA. The theatre is a community hot spot.  It shows new releases every day of the week, including one’s that recently won oscars!, in a movie hall in the center of Dedham Square.

For my entry, I used the image of a star to represent Tinkerbell’s magical fairy dust. I created a hand-cut stencil and gold enamel paint  to embellish the surface of one of my wheel thrown stoneware plates.

I designed the plate as a functional piece. The stars scatter across the plate rim outside and around where food will be. They float like Tinkerbell’s pixie dust to create a magical moment.

I imagine the plate to be used by a young child who believes in the magic of Tinkerbell and dreams of Peter Pan and his adventurous life.  It is the parent or caregiver who is rewarded with the underside of the plate… 

When I was a child, our family had a wonderful set of Peter Rabbit bowls that we used for breakfast cereal.  I loved imagining Peter Rabbit creeping into Mr McGregor’s garden or Peter playing with this sisters, Mopsy and Flopsy.  I always ate all my cereal to see the hand-painted scenes at the bottom of the bowl. For my Neverland plate, the reward is a finished meal and the opportunity to turn the plate over.

Fairy tales are for children or those young at heart.  They delight us and take us to an imaginary place.  As I worked on this challenge, I was reminded that being playful and dreaming is something that adds value to life.  As adults, we can learn a lot from the children in our lives.

In my imagination, when I flew to Neverland with Peter Pan and Wendy, I enjoyed watching the children learning to fly, the magical fairy dust that took them on their adventure. It was the thrill of something new and unimaginable that one can only dream about.

I imagine my “Neverland” plate to be hung on a wall. On special occasions, perhaps when it is snowy outside and there is a warm fire, the plate is taken down and placed in front of a young child to eat a comforting meal with a caregiver who will tell them a story.  The story will be of adventures in distant lands. When that child goes off to bed, the caregiver will wash the magical plate and return it to the wall to hang, a constant reminder to enjoy the magic around us.

Peter Reynolds, Cheryl Doucette, Kerry Hawkins, Fred Smith, Alice Donaldson, Cindy Mootz, and more have artwork in this show.  Please stop in and see what we have imagined in art!

Custom Work ~ plates

sample plate for custom work

Custom work begins with trust. A customer seeks an artist out as a means to translate their vision into something tangible.  Success depends on two parties sharing the same vision.  There is no doubt about it: custom work is the toughest thing out there. With ceramics, other factors come into play… cracking, kiln issues, glaze problems and the biggest one – the client doesn’t share your vision and is unhappy with the final product…. BUT, this is a happy story!

plate with creamy white edge

The journey for a set of six plates began some time ago with the sample on the right not the sample on the left. 

As I reflect back on this experience, I am reminded about a personal quest to translate my own vision into the tangible. Umpteen years ago, I was re-modelling my kitchen and choosing a tile. I really struggled with the decision and ended up going with a white novelty tile surrounded by solid white tiles. A few years later, I was in a neighbor’s kitchen and noticed that she had the same novelty tile in her kitchen, but each tile was a different color.  I thought to myself, I should have chosen those tiles; they seemed to say so much more about who I am. 

How does my story relate to this order? …. Sample one is safe (the white tile choice), but sample two is personal (the colored tile).  Either choice works.

A custom order is all about understanding a request and translating it successfully.

When I understood what was really sought after, I went from sample one, a white plate with a foamy white rim wheel thrown with white stoneware, to sample two, an earthy nutmeg colored plate wheel thrown with a mix of different stoneware clays to incorporate speckles.  Sample two was in fact a better choice and one that came as a happy surprise to my client. Once the sample was approved, the artist becomes the potter and the hard labor ensues.

wheel throwing plates

plates after bisque fire

plates after glaze fire

plates sanded and washed

The vision was shared by the customer and the journey was a success.

 

Tax free Weekend Countdown – featuring Potters Place Gallery

Two wheel thrown mugs with red heart stamp on exterior and peachy interior by Lisa WB Walker

Potters Place, a not for profit school and cooperative pottery studio, is home to 23 working potters and 5 clay instructors. I’ve been a member of Potters Place for 10 years. We share kilns, make glazes, plus all the things that go into running a successful cooperative studio.  Each year, we host two open studio events (fall and spring).  Year-round, we have a small gallery on site where customers can come by appointment and purchase direct from the potters of Potters Place.

Wheel thrown and hand trimmed 10.5″ plate with matching bowl. Pieces are sold separately. Stoneware by Lisa W B Walker.

Potters Place is located at 127B Old West Street in Walpole, MA. P: 508-668-0363. Hours: By appointment.

Boston Globe reports:

BOSTON — The annual sales tax holiday in Massachusetts would be held Aug. 16-17 under a bill released by a legislative committee of conference on Wednesday evening.

The sales tax holiday was included in an economic development bill, which is among the last major pieces of legislation being considered before the legislative session ends for the year on Thursday.

Rep. Joseph Wagner, a Chicopee Democrat and chairman of the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies, said that sales tax holiday “is significant for the Commonwealth’s economy.

Above pictured pottery by Lisa W B Walker are featured with other pottery created by Potters Place members currently in the Potters Place Gallery.