Pot Preview

Kiln Wizard Jeff sent these photos today of a few of my new pieces. Can't wait to see them in person! Although those brown bowls were definitely supposed to be greenish...

Pottery show THIS Friday!!

Painting Pots

I started creating pottery as an escape from working digitally every day and quickly fell in love with the feel of it. I am a sloppy pottery....but for me the thrill of playing with mud is more important than the end result. My fingers itch to get tactile again after hours of drawing imaginary lines.

My favorite part is the decorating. However, getting to that stage often takes a while, especially after a long break like this one. Sometimes it takes up until then for my obsessive nature to take over and I get hooked on pottery yet again...

Here are a few pieces I am working on now for the upcoming Sacred Vessels show at Bayarts (Opening May 11th, 7 to 9). I will also have some charcoal drawings in the show!

Large Woven Rim Platter

Small Textured Platters. These have the same floral motif as the bowls below but are going to be bright turquoise!

 

Time is Sacred Bowl Set.

Click here for Show information.

Cameron in the Roses

Cameron in the Roses • 2011 • 8 in x 8 in

Charcoal, Colored Pencil, Gouache, Acrylic paint, Metal Leaf and Encaustic Medium on Paper Mounted to board. 

First Place BAYart's Fall Juried Show 2011

In a private collection

Waxing Poetic

Waxing Poetic • 2011 • 5in x 5 in

Oil paint and Encaustic in a cradled wooden panel with embedded handmade paper

On exhibit at Kendal at Oberlin until May 9th, 2012

Meadowlark

Meadowlark • Oil on Canvas • 2011

On Exhibit at Kendal at Oberlin until May 9th

Process Pictures after the Jump

Super Spring!

Spring is in the air! It is bright and warm outside (though still freezing in my cubical) and everyone is in a better mood because of it. We product designers work a year ahead of time at Darice and I've been happily drawing spring things all week. This is a much easier task when I can look out my window at blue skies anytime my eyes need an LED break.

At home this weekend I drew this piece of Ralph McQuarrie (RIP) fanart for the RBMC:

I've been in cute-mode lately, what can I say?

This week I plan to:

• Work on a few more charcoal drawings
• Finalize my curriculum for my Costume Cabaret figure drawing class (Space is still available, so sign up now!)
• Do a Moebius tribute illo for the RBMC
• Get back in the pottery studio on Saturday (for the first time in months - hooray!)
• Art Club / Group Therapy on Sunday - YES!
• RELAX

What do you have on your plate?

BEST IN SHOW!!!!

I have some very exciting news...

My painting, "Modern Pixie" won BEST IN SHOW at BAYart's Spring Juried Show!
I am still a little in shock...

If that wasn't enough...the gallery director told me that BOTH of my entered paintings were actually up for the award - which is CRAZY! The judges eventually decided to give "Modern Pixie" best in show and "Crown Wearer" first place, but when they found out that both paintings were by the same artist they rightfully changed their mind so that more artists could be honored.

Here are the two paintings in the show:

the WINNER!

I couldn't be more thrilled!

A veteran sculptor we met at the opening, Louise, asked the question that was most on my mind after I got over the shock of winning: "So, where do you go from here?" ....Goooood question....

In this month alone I was in 5 shows (Small Good Things, Dewey's Coffee Shop, A Study in Wanderlust, BAYart's Juried Show and BAYart's Faculty Show), won a major award, and sold about a third of my inventory. If that isn't proof that I have something here worth pursuing, I'm not sure what would be. So I think the next steps in this career are the following:

1. I need to develop a better internet presence for my gallery work (and illustration too while I'm at it). This means hiring someone to build me a website. I could do it myself, but I don't know enough to make it a smooth build and I would rather spend my limited time making artwork than struggling through the learning process. I also now have a Facebook page for my work. Check it out here: http://www.facebook.com/ErinInArtLand
2. I need to pursue gallery representation in other cities. I think that the truest test of my work will be to see if it could survive in venues that are unfamiliar with me. Starting in baby steps, I will try to seek out galleries in other cities to show my stuff. Pittsburgh and Columbus - I'm looking at you.
3. I should enter my work in more prestigious competitions. So far, most of the awards of my professional career has come from one place. I am incredibly grateful to BAYarts for all they've done for me - and of course I'll continue to support them - but I think I've got something here and I need to find other places to showcase it. You never know till you try, right?

 So that's my plan in a nutshell. This has been a crazy ride so far and though it hasn't been without it's bumps (some bigger than others) - I can't wait to see where it'll take me.

One more time.... EEEEEEEKKKKKK!!!!! BEST IN SHOW!! OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG! hahaha

BAYarts Faculty Show

The art center where I teach is having a faculty show. We were all asked to contribute one water-related piece. I chose to do an encaustic, since it is a good representation of one of my more unique classes.


Before:

and After:

Oil and Water • Oil, Encaustic and Mixed Media • 8in x 8in

 Come see it live, as well as many other incredible pieces, at the show opening this Friday at BAYarts!

The next class I teach is called, "Costume Cabaret" and is a fun spin on figure drawing / painting and staging illustrations. The class starts on March 20th and runs until May 15th. Here is more information (You can sign up for classes online here):

Costumed Cabaret (Mar 20-May 15)

Instructor: Erin Schechtman

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

6:30-9:00 pm

teens and adults

March 20-May 15 (NO CLASS APRIL 10)

Costumed Cabaret: Drawing and Painting the Clothed Figure

Throughout art history, costumes have played an important role in defining the message of any given painting. In this exciting new class, students will have a unique opportunity to tell stories in their work by painting and drawing from costumed models. Special emphasis will be placed on composition, lighting, illustration, and props. Possible themes include: Victorian, Swinging Twenties, Cabaret, SciFi and others. Students should expect to work in both charcoal on newsprint and in oil paint.

member $175   non-member $190 (model fee included)

member registration - February 25
open registration - March 3

Hope to see you there!

You are Invited!

I am thrilled to invite you to the opening night of my two-person gallery show at BayArts: Small Good Things.

For this show, ceramicist Sue Kirchgessner and I spent a year developing artwork that reminds us of summer. I created realistic figurative paintings in oil paint and encaustic (beeswax) and floral mixed media pieces that have glowing, gilded accents. Sue made functional ceramic lanterns and beautiful tableware covered in elaborate nature vignettes. The resulting body of work is both playful and powerful and we can't wait to share it with you. Please come celebrate with us.

Friday, February 10th 2012 • 7 to 9 pm
BayArts is located within Huntington park
28795 Lake Road • Bay Village, Ohio 44140
440-871-6543

"Small Good things" will be on display until March 3rd.

An artist talk will follow on Sunday, February 19th 2012 at 2 pm.
Preview our work at http://potteryandpaint.blogspot.com/.

Hope to see you there!