Weekend travels inspire new collection

My husband and I are now empty nesters. The weekends are when we have the freedom to jump in the car and head out. As an artist working in clay, these trips have inspired the form and surface decoration of my one of a kind pieces of pottery. This work will be included in my first show of the season: Potters Place Spring Show and Sale over the weekend of May 3rd through 5th.

Below are pictures of my pottery next to the source of inspiration.

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  Lisa WB Walker Middlebury Collection

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  upholstered chair at The Swift House, VT

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  Lisa WB Walker Ithaca Collection

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  Butterfield Pottery , American Crafts, Ithaca, NY

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  Lisa WB Walker Greenwich Collection
  

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  Denby Mug in Greenwich, CT

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  Lisa WB Walker two-piece stained glass inspired lantern

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  Frank Lloyd Wright designed stained glass at PEM, Salem, MA

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  Lisa WB Walker Frida Kahlo dishes

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  Ceramics, Frida Diego exhibit, Boston MFA

If you are interested in purchasing pottery from me and are unable to visit me at the Potters Place show and sale over the weekend of May 3rd – 5th, please email me to discuss additional options for purchase.

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Potters Place Holiday Show & Sale 2016

Potters Place Holiday Show & Sale opens tonight, November 18th with an artists’ reception from 5:30PM-9PM.  It’s the best time to go to the weekend show because all the artists are on hand to discuss their work.  The show opens on Saturday from 9AM til 8PM with the addition of the seconds table.  Sunday hours are 10AM to 4PM.

My Holiday Collection includes my new San Francisco collection, Prelude (plus my NEW red petal), and Basics (sneak a peak mugs, egg separators, bowls and more).

My family visited San Francisco, California this past August. We toured Monterey and Carmel, viewed Big Sur and then traveled north to Sausalito and into wine country before heading into the foggy city of San Francisco in the summertime. Here’s a look at some of the inspiration for my forms and surface decoration.

Succulent Platter

Succulent in Carmel

 

Alcatraz Mugs with a nod to Heath Ceramics

Tin cups from Alcatraz

 

Grace Church on Nob Hill

Soft edged plate with coordinating dish

Slip trailed Mug

Decoration inside Grace Church

Please stop in and see my ceramic collections as well as the work of my 20 studiomates at Potters Place, 127B Old West Street in Walpole, MA.

Potters Place Spring Show & Sale ~ May 1, 2, 3

Please join me and the 23 Potters Place clay artisans at our cooperative studio’s annual spring show and sale!

Potters Place, 127B Old West Street, Walpole, Massachusetts

Friday, May 1, 6pm to 9pm
Saturday, May 2, 9am to 8pm
Sunday, May 3, 10am to 4pm

We’ll have hundreds of beautiful, hand-crafted, one-of-a kind pottery items available. The theme is “Spring Brings New Beginnings” and our Chairperson is Jeannette McGillicuddy, Co-Chairperson is Gay Calo. This Spring our potters will be donating special pieces and the proceeds will be given to the Animal Protection Center of Southeastern Massachusetts (APCSM). A Meet-the-Artists reception takes place Friday evening, where you can enjoy refreshments & meet the 23 featured Potters Place artisans. Free admission & parking are available and we accept credit & debit cards.

Potters Place Member Pottery photographed by Dave Bradley. Lisa WB Walker “Prelude” vase is back left piece.

More about Potters Place:

Potters Place is a co-operative, not-for-profit pottery studio located in Walpole, MA offering a variety of hand-building & wheel-throwing programs for children, teens & adults of all levels. Whether you are interested in a one-time workshop or a 6-week series, our skilled instructors will inspire you to create functional & sculptural works of art. We have 23 members, most of whom started out as our students. Twice a year we hold a Show & Sale (our next one is May 1-3) to showcase the work of our members & to raise a donation for a local charity. We offer many classes & workshops for all ages & skill levels, so check them out to sign up for some fun & creativity! Click here for the website www.pottersplace.info

CUP exhibit

With two days to spare, I made it to the Society of Arts and Crafts exhibit: “Our Cup Runneth Over: Sculptural and Functional Cups”.  It is not to be missed.

For a potter, there is no better exhibit than one that allows you to interact with art.  This beautiful cup by Kyla Toomey is visually delicate looking and when you slip your finger through the handle the reasons for the weightlessness become clear.  Flip the piece over to study the trimming and you are rewarded with a hidden decal of a flower.  The attention to detail in this piece is everywhere.

“Our Cup Runneth Over presents ceramic cups by 36 contemporary artists. By juxtaposing unique approaches to a common utilitarian object, the magic and versatility of clay is highlighted at this biannual sale, as appealing to the seasoned collector as to the student.“

This is the first of a few posts about this exhibit. It is brief so that I could get the word out before the show closes.

Please make time to visit the Society of Arts and Crafts at 175 Newbury Street in Boston, MA.  This exhibit closes January 10th.

Potters Place Show and Sale – opens tonight

platter by Carol Bradley

lidded containers by Gay Calo

sculpture by Henriette Dresens

saggar fired vessel by Jane Wojick

leaf platter by Jeannette McGillicuddy

Sculpture by Joyce Lauro

Shell platter by Karen Tracy

By the Ocean platter by Lisa W B Walker

textured pitcher by Lizanne Donegan

Berry Bowls by Hog Wild Pottery

Thanks to Dave Bradley Photographer, I bring you these beautiful photographs of some of the 21 featured artists who will be selling their pottery at this weekend’s Potters Place Fall Show and Sale.  The annual show opens tonight, November 21st with a reception open to the public at 5:30pm.  The show continues on Saturday from 9am – 8pm, and Sunday 10am – 4pm.  The studio is located at 127 Old West Street in Walpole, MA.  Stop in and see the cooperative studio and all the talent that is created there every day.

More details at http://www.pottersplace.info

Fall “By the Ocean”

stamped oval dish with sneak a peak mug

Potters Place, a school and cooperative pottery studio, opens it’s doors for their annual holiday show and sale November 21,22 and 23.  As a member, I will be showcasing my collection of wheel thrown and hand built pottery.  Here’s a sneak peak of my Fall “By the Ocean” Collection. Enjoy!

Fall “By the Ocean” Bowl

Wave-y Bowls

Fall “By the Ocean” 14oz mugs

slip-trailed square votive dishes

Fall “By the Ocean” oblong plate with tiny bowl

Nutmeg glazed bowls

Fall “By the Ocean” platter

This collection follows my summer “By the Ocean” collection. Read more about it here.

“A Table Shared” thanks to technology

“A Table Shared”, the theme for this fall’s Potters Place show and sale, inspired me to think about the conversations we share at our family table based on the answers to, “What did you do today?”

Thanks to technology, namely skype, our family can include our college student in our Sunday dinner discussions. At least a check in around dinnertime each week that allows us to ask, “What did you do today?”

This is the first year someone in our family has gone off the college. Working through the transition meant creating in clay. The process yielded a table setting for two. The collection is symbolic for the conversations I wanted to have but knew I would have to wait.  The image that inspired the surface decoration came from a carved wooden panel in the high school’s newly renovated dinning area… yet another food and pottery connection.

I started with two plates (pictured above), playing around with the pattern using an under glaze black pen on white clay with a clear glaze. It feels serious and playful at the same time.

Then I threw a pitcher on the wheel (to fill two hand-carved tumblers). When I decorated the tumblers and pitcher with a final dip of glaze, I included a wash of blue to give the decoration a bit of color.

A big 10 cup serving bowl will look beautiful filled with a leafy green salad. Smaller bowls mimic the decoration of the tumblers to create a drinking vessel and one bowl set.

An oblong platter serves food to the table, like bread or an entree for two.

Square dishes are perfect for appetizers, bread or dessert.  They even make a great coaster.

As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, I look forward to many family meals, sharing the table (without technology) and spending more time answering the question, “What did you do today?”

Top photograph of two plates is by Dave Bradley Photography

Table runner in bottom photograph is by Iris Sonnenschein

Join me tonight for the artist reception at Potters Place annual show and sale.  Doors open at 5:30pm on Friday, November 22nd and close on Sunday, November 24th at 4PM. More info at www.pottersplace.info.

“THINK BIG”

“THINK BIG”, a Dedham Square Artist Guild sponsored art exhibit opens with a reception at the Dedham Community Theatre from 6-8PM on Thursday, November 14th.

Artists across eastern Massachusetts created 14 supersized works of at least 24 inches in different mediums that will be on display from Nov. 14 through January 2 at the Dedham Community Theatre on High Street.

About my piece:
My “BIG” vase was made in porcelain while I was studying art at Skidmore College. It was the last time that I had the opportunity to fire my work in a large reduction kiln. This type of firing uses gas and that is what produces these beautiful copper reds. The surface decoration feels very holiday to me with its reds and greens. I imagine this vase filled with an arrangement of red roses and white lilies, holly with tiny red berries, pine and perhaps ivy for a glorious centerpiece.

It’s functional pottery created to bring beauty to everyday life.

To purchase this one of a kind wheel thrown ceramic vase, please visit the Dedham Square Artist Guild gallery for details or stop by the reception this Thursday.

This beautiful photograph of my vase was taken by Kerry Hawkins. Please visit her website to see the wonderful images she captures with her camera.

Lisa W B Walker Fall Newsletter

New Pottery is ready to go out to local galleries and be featured at events this fall season!

Here is a look at where my wheel-thrown hand-built pottery can be found and purchased:

Galleries:
Custom Art Framing/Gallery 9 located at 45 Central Street, Norwood
Dedham Square Artist Guild Cooperative Gallery located at 553 High Street, Dedham
Cristina Hurley Gallery located at 554 Washington Street, Canton

Exhibits:
Westwood Land Trust – “Capturing Art in Nature” – Tuesday, October 22nd 6-8 PM
at the Westwood High School, Westwood, MA
Dedham Square Artist Guild/Artist Challenge: “Making Waves”
Exhibit remains up at the Dedham Community Theater through October 17th

Events:
Powisset Farm Pottery Sale – Saturday, November 9th
Potters Place Show and Sale – Friday, November 22nd – Sunday, November 24th
Powisset Farm Pottery Sale – Saturday, December 14th

Classes:
The Dedham Square Artist Guild and the Dedham Community House have a partnership to get to know the artists through classes and workshops.
I have listed clay classes for kids/teens for this fall. Follow the link to sign up! http://www.dedhamcommunityhouse.org/programs.html

5 minutes of fame…
I was recently featured in a clay blog review for my posts on “Spinning Tops” as well as “Making Waves”. Here is the link:
http://www.potterymakinginfo.com/news/clay-blog-review-september-2013/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=clay-blog-review-september-2013
(follow me at http://www.lisawbwalker.wordpress.com)

AND thank you to Dave Bradley for the beautiful photograph of my plates!
Happy Fall to all! Lisa

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Any updates or additional information can be found on my website http://www.lisawbwalker.com as well as listed on the sidebar of this blog.