2012: The Year in Review

It seemed to me a good thing to recap the events of the last 366 days - a lot has happened and I have many people to thank. I know I'll miss some of you; if I have, my apologies - I know there are folks out there who have helped me in ways of which I'm completely unaware but I am nonetheless grateful for all you've done to help make 2012 a successful year for Black Cat Pottery.

Our events this year started out slowly (it's never helpful when we have mizzly, drizzly weather for our Clematis Pruning Workshop in April) but we had outstanding turnouts for our Summer Garden Tour - 150 people! - and our Holiday Open House. Friends Theresa Dearhamer, Sharon Bass and Catherine Dumke-Derbyshire lent essential assistance in making these events the success they were, as well as the other participating artists - Chris Hopp, Don Schulte, Tim Hanks, Glenda Hopp, Karen Hooper and Bob McGowan.

I decided pretty early in the year to start focusing more on getting my work into galleries and shops throughout the state of Michigan, with an eye to growing the wholesale/consignment side of my business. I took a lot of road trips - often with my friend Theresa Dearhamer (during a recent break to take in the Barbra Streisand/Seth Rogan flick The Guilt Trip, we concurred that the two of us would not make it through an eight-day cross-country odyssey). We made two trips through the center of the state up to the Leelanau Peninsula and then up into the Upper Peninsula, as far north as Copper Harbor. (I believe that's as far north as you can go and still be on land in Michigan, except for Isle Royale.) I also took several trips on my own, including points west and east of Detroit. As a result of these efforts, I was able to add 14 new accounts.

As I've said, I've had a lot of help doing this. Many friends have been instrumental in recommending galleries to me or recommending me to galleries, including (but not limited to and in no particular order) Andrew Lathrup, Renate Favour, Melanie Boyle, Janine Bauchat, Joyce Diemond-Mcgowan Janicki, Chris Hopp and Chelsea Martin, Blue Dingman, Cleve Hayes, Glenda Hopp, Karen Hooper, Jackie McMahon, Trish Hacker-Henig, Lambro Niforos, Julie and Bob Peterson, Theresa Shepherd and Sharon Bass. And the suggestions keep rolling in. Not all of them are "right" for the direction I'm taking with my work but I have diligently checked out each and every one (in person if possible). Through these suggestions - and the faith these and other folks have had in my work - I was able to exceed my 2012 wholesale/consignment goal.

It hasn't all been good news. Some relationships were not sufficiently productive; sometimes getting the right "fit" is tough, regardless of how hard the artist and business owner work together to make it happen. Other opportunities disappeared due to the ongoing difficult economy. Probably the most disappointing development for me in 2012 is the closing of Firebrick Gallery and Pottery Studio in Rochester, a business with which I had had a fruitful professional and personal relationship for many years.

Owner Christine Laikind, like so many businesses, was hit hard by the economic downturn, coupled with an eight-month, wall-to-wall renovation of Main Street. Christine is a marketing genius - partnering with other businesses in the area for art openings and charitable causes (her Empty Bowls Fundraiser was a yearly highlight). She also provided eclectic and varied creative opportunities, from painting workshops to studio memberships. We were able to put together a series of very successful pottery workshops in the fall of 2012 which brought in record enrollments and we were planning an additional series for 2013.

Although those opportunities will no longer exist for us in Rochester, Christine and I are still working together to keep the energy going at Black Cat Pottery. We are looking forward to doing some printing workshops in conjunction with the two annual Garden Tours (June 1 and August 17, 2013) as well as stand-alone pottery workshops. If you were interested in doing a Beer Stein Party with Christine - don't give up! We're going to try to make that happen, if folks are interested.

So, the lesson for 2013: There is a silver lining to every cloud. I am excited about developing more programming here at Black Cat Pottery, in addition to our annual Pruning Workshop, Garden Tours and Holiday Open House. I will be doing much, much more on my Etsy shop - look for us there at TheBlackCatPottery. If you see something you like - or don't see something you'd like to see there - let us know!

I'll also have an article on non-vining Clematis in Michigan Gardener this year as well as an article on native plants in that same publication in 2014 - and I'm still working on my adult fairytale, The Raccoon's Bride. I will also be speaking on the restoration of a typical urban lot at the upcoming Wildflower Association of Michigan conference at Michigan State University in March (where I'll also be sharing Black Cat Pottery and Notable Greetings notecards and prints), as well as various other speaking engagements (and even the occasional conference) throughout the state. Check the calendar to the left for current information.

If all goes well, I'll be at Royal Oak Clay, Glass and Metal in June and Art and Sole in Grosse Pointe come September. If you miss me at one of those events, I'm always happy to meet with customers at the studio. And I'm hoping to push the boundaries and work on getting my work out of state. So, if you know of a really great gallery or shop where you'd like to see some Black Cat Pottery - in Michigan or points beyond, let me know!

Thank you so much for your support in 2012 and best to you all for 2013!

Applied Leaf Bowls: Teaching a Workshop

Top to bottom,
American Beech/Deep Sienna Speckle,
Eastern Redbud/Lustrous Jade
American Chestnut/Iron Lustre

If you've made pretty decent preparations, teaching a pottery workshop can be a lot of fun. Decent preparations basically entails making sure you have all the necessary materials and equipment so you aren't having to wing it more than you can handle. It's good to realize that the unexpected is always going to occur so there are opportunities for improvisation built into the experience.

Communication and pacing are key. Communicate that everyone's piece is going to look different - and that that is a good thing. Communicate how long it's going to take to get through the process - so folks aren't burdening themselves with unreasonable expectations of their skills and the time available. Be attentive to the amount of time it's taking to get through the steps and encourage - positive messages are best but there are times a key negative word may be necessary. Let the students explore and let go of your expectations of how things are proceeding and how the students' artworks are evolving. I have found that there are always individuals who want to test the premises of a given situation; there is no better teacher than experience, and sometimes negative experiences ("Gee, I guess that really doesn't work, just like she said....") are the most memorable and instructive. I have observed teachers (and bosses) who seem to believe that humiliation, embarrassment and berating are effective teaching techniques; I have never seen that to be the case. Sharing your own mistakes serves to humanize the instructor, letting the students know it's OK to make mistakes and giving them the opportunity to learn from yours, which can contribute to the workshops overall success, as well as the success of each individual student.

Top to bottom,
Flowering Dogwood/Chun Plum,
American Elm/Textured Turquoise
Oakleaf Hydrangea/Dark Slate

Demonstrating techniques slowly and explaining each step - and the reasons for the specific way each step is executed - segues into letting the student explore each step with helpful supervision. As I prepare the clay to make a slab, I explain that it helps to do so such there is a thinner leading edge so the slab roller can "bite" into it more easily, which prevents the canvas from buckling. I explain that, after having rolled out the slab, pulling back the canvas, replacing it, flipping the entire "clay sandwich" over and repeating pulling back the canvas, releases the clay from the canvas, making it easier to manipulate. There are few steps that, if missed or not quite correctly executed, are fatal; most can be rectified or workarounds implemented. And, as clay is so very forgiving, you can always just wedge it all up and start over again (until it's been fired!)

I find that having fairly representative samples of the pieces to be made in the workshop really gets the excitement going - but be sure to communicate the caveat that their pieces are going to look quite different, a personal reflection of each individual artist. And make sure the students have choices - I show them what I might do for stain (on the leaves) and glaze (for the balance of the piece) combinations, but I leave the final decision up to each student - who sometimes come up with combinations that I might never have contemplated which I may then use in my own work going forward. When asked for a recommendation, I try to give two suggestions so the student retains a sense of independence even though they are, in many cases, pottery novices.

Be prepared for the unexpected, but also realize that, in this context, these are people who actually want to do this, not students required to take a class, and they want to have a good time - so you should, too. So take your time, let them take their time, and stay calm.

Oh - and have fun!

Applied Leaf Bowls: Preparing to Teach a Workshop

Top to bottom, Ironstone/Witch-hazel,
Temmoku/Swamp White Oak,
Deep Olive Speckle/Tulip Tree

Although I teach classes out of my studio in Detroit, I do conduct the occasional workshop off-site. One of my favorite places to teach (outside my studio!) is Firebrick Gallery in Rochester, Michigan. The owner, Christine, is not only a savvy business woman, she is a fantastically creative person in her own right who makes it a priority to contribute to the larger community in which she lives and works - characteristics I express in my own life and look for in the folks with whom I surround myself.

Late in 2010, Christine asked if I would be interested in doing a Hanging Bird Bowl Workshop the next Spring, as she had had a number of inquiries from customers interested in creating their own versions of one of my more popular pieces. (Right, right: They're all popular!) On the face of it, putting on a pottery workshop may seem like a simple proposition - advertise, take registration, show up, teach the class, have a (big) glass of wine, go home.

As an educator, I have always held my students' success as the most important part of the experience. One thing a teacher can do to increase the chances of student success (and customer satisfaction) is to create and maintain reasonable expectations. I felt it was important to make sure the students had a realistic idea of the process itself as well as the final product.

To this end, Christine and I spent a great deal of time discussing clay bodies (she uses clay from Runyon in Clio, MI; I use clay from Rovin in Ann Arbor, MI) and glazes. I wanted to have samples - of the final piece as well as of how the glazed surface would look, based on the glazes we finally selected. To this end, I made three samples using my clay and three samples using Christine's one of each of which I glazed with the three glazes we had selected from Amaco's Potter's Choice Series of glazes, Temmoku, Lustrous Jade and Deep Firebrick.

Top to bottom, Salt Buff/American Sycamore,
Vert Lustre/White Oak,
Deep Firebrick/Red Oak

The samples were miniature versions of my Hanging Bird Bowl. Due to the late date we began to plan the workshop, there weren't a lot of leaves I could access; however, my Common Witch-hazel shrub (Hamamelis virginiana) often holds on to quite a few of its leaves well into the winter. So I went out and  collected as many of the leaves as I could, hoping we didn't have "too many" students - I wanted each person to have at least five leaves (always an odd number, right?) I used six leaves to create six miniature bowls.

The other issue for preparation was equipment - for two sessions, on my part: fabrication and glazing. (Christine took care of the leather lace for the final assembly session.) Because we were using my plaster molds for the pieces, I had to make sure I had enough of those; that was tough, because the molds had to be made at least a week before the session so they could cure sufficiently before being used. I can't even remember how many milk crates of equipment I brought with me - sponges, rubber kidneys, containers for water, good cutting tools, scoring tools, the three (yes, three) tools required to make ladybugs, punches to make the holes for the leather lace to hang the finished pieces and slip. Not to mention the molds, the leaves stored in water, paper towel to blot the leaves dry. And, of couse, the samples. Just for the fabrication session. The second session - glazing - included water containers,  lots and lots of good brushes, sponges, a selection of Mason Stains (the same stains I had used on the sample pieces, in order to better manage those expectations) and two Amaco High-Fire Glazes for the ladybugs; Christine supplied the main glazes.

And lots of rest.