Summer Show Schedule

Summer is here and it is time to step out, get some sun and visit your local art shows. I look forward to this time, meeting my previous customers and new ones. You will find me at these shows in May-June and July. I will send a reminder for shows after that. You can always keep in touch with my show schedule here. May 31st - June2nd: ArtFest Coeur d"Alene Park, Spokane, WA (Booth N33) Spokane folks check out the Inlander for my work featured for the show. Thrilled to get the CLAY MERIT AWARD at this show this year! June 14th - 16th: Edmonds Art Festival at Edmonds (Booth 20) www.edmondsartsfestival.com June 21st - 23rd: Lake Oswego Art Festival First time doing this show July 20th - 21st: Gig Harbor Art Festival July 26th - 28th: Bellevue Festival of Arts (Booth 195) New sculpture. First time making a bust and I am thrilled with the way it came out Casseroles in a different style. And of course my obsession with shoes continues..... Do drop by and say Hi! and share with your family and friends And if you can't make it to any of the shows my online shop is always open. With a typo in my last newsletter many couldn't open the video of my slip decoration in action. Here is the link again. Enjoy! Best wishes Charan Sachar Creative with Clay Federal Way, WA Tel: 253 241 2245 Email: creativewithclay@yahoo.com Website: http://www.creativewithclay.com Store: http://creativewithclay.etsy.com

New Patterns and New Bowls

My mind has been buzzing like always and I have some new work that I am very excited about. I never get tired of patterns, so made some new textured slabs.

New patterns calls for new forms. I wanted to make some unique elegant bowls. Check these out.

I love the curling handles and the simplistic design balanced with the intricate free flowing patterns

Perfect for serving strawberries this summer season. Buy them now at my Etsy shop.

Oil Vinegar Bottles ready to hit the Dance Floor

Oh yes they are ready! I am thankful to the customer who put this idea in my head. She said, I have your butter dish, I have your salt pepper shakers, I have your mugs and bowls and I need some thing more for the kitchen.

I decided to make Oil/Vinegar bottles but wasn't sure what shape/design or how would I incorporate my style to them. Sometimes you just have to try out things to see how they transform.

I made a new die for my extruder and manipulated the clay as it came out. And just like that I knew where this was going.

I tapered the tops to give them a more elegant look and the decoration just empahized the curves and flow of the shape emulating the look of embroidered fabric wrapped around a body.

And I just couldn't decorate one side... they have a different pattern on both sides. The textured slip pattern also helps in getting a good grip on the bottle while cooking.

I like how they came out and would like to read your comments. Getting input on new work is really appreciated. Thanks

Paste Magazine

I have been fortunate to be featured in this Month's issue of Paste Magazine. My Bollywood inspired Mug is featured along with other Indian themed items in a beautiful article put together by Erin Flaherty. Here is the article for your reading and don't forget to check out my shop for more Indian inspired pottery

"After Slumdog Millionaire's triumph at the Oscar's, its no surprise that Indian cultural influence has subsequently folded into America's melting pot. But Slumdog's largesse has simply confirmed a cinematic movement that's been building for years; Monsoon Wedding and Bride & Prejudice broke here first. And film isin't the only Indian export booming Stateside: Indian textiles are making their way into Western homes, and Indian fashion designers like Naeem Khan and Manish Arora are having a major impact on American pop culture."The work of Indian designers is now being appreciated in the West because we have a unique perspective in the world market and a design sensibility that is a true mix of traditional and modern," Arora says. "And also because the West has discovered that modern India has an interesting mix of old and new, the poor and the rich, traditional and contemporary. It's messy and beautiful, but, most of all, a happy place where there is inspiration everywhere." It's a description that citizens of these messy and beautiful United States can relate to. And while Arora is already a runway hit, the general public will get to know him better when he rolls out major design projects for Swatch and Nivea available this summer.The high fasahion trickle-down effect is already in full swing at mass-market retailers like H&M and Urban Outfitters. You can buy all manner of gorgeously patterned print dresses and shimmery bangle bracelets right now at Forever 21, plus soft cotton tunics at your mom's favorite Talbots store and exotic sandals at Target. Naturally, the global village that is the internet makes it a cinch to score more authentic pieces on eBay, and lots of independent sellers on Etsy handmake Indian-influenced items-from clothing and jewelry to paper products and home accessories."Infusing Indian inspiration into American decor adds interest, depth, variety, vibrancy and a touch of other-worldliness," says Mitun Chakrabarti, co-founder and CEO of textile company Rajboori. "In terms of textiles, various forms of block prints, beadwork, top-stitching and more have made their way into contemporary American design, where they have been pared down or designed to suit the decor needs of contemporary Western homes."The Indian influence on apple-pie American style goes even deeper: In 2007, General Motors built a design studio outside of Bangalore. And during the last Lakme Fashion Week in Mumbai, Indian designers competed to dress models styled as Barbie dolls in celebration of the American icon's 50th birthday, a sure sign of sartorial cultural convergence."

Final stages of decorating jars

A few weeks back I had blogged about the process of decorating my jars.

That was one of the earlier stages after which the pieces get bisqued. After getting bisque fired they look colorful.

But to have the colors pop out more, I go through the process of painting the groove lines that were carved with a contrasting color. It is a time consuming process but makes all the difference.These are then glazed over and fired again with the following results.

You can find these jars for purchase on my etsy shop.

Process of decorating

Since I mentioned the construction of the jars in my last post, I thought I would follow it up with the decoration process. This technique is similar to the previous process of slip decoration, but it is a lot more tedious and time consuming. The textured surface (after being carved/stamped) is hand painted with several colors. This does require a lot of patience and a steady hand. Then it is slip decorated. After this it will dry and get bisque fired. In the next stages you will see more contrasting colors being added in the groves to really highlight the colors.

Why do I need to learn Math?

Parents can admit that they have been questioned several times by their kids, “Why do I need to learn Math, Geometry, Algebra….?” And the list goes on.
I for one loved doing Math as a kid. For me it was a good pass time. Yes, you heard right, good pass time. When I was asked to study by my parents and I used to always pick Math. My parents had to push me to study other things. As I grew Math and Physics became my favorite subjects.
Of course this did help me in acquiring my current job as a software engineer. So you are wondering why I am even mentioning this in my art related blog.
The fact is that I see myself applying my knowledge of Math in my art work very often. A good example are these big jars I made recently. Of course, one option was to throw them on the wheel, but I wanted to make them big and much lighter and consistent in size. So I decided to make them from slabs of clay, a technique I got more confidence after seeing the work of Ginger Steele.
For the walls, I could make straight cylindrical in shape, which would involve cutting a rectangle and joining the ends. But what if you want it slightly tapered? I would have to have a curved slab, but how big? What curve? What radius? What angle? That is when geometry and Math help. I spent several hours designing the shape that I wanted and then trying to figure out the template for the slab I would need to achieve the shape I wanted. Here is a small snippet of my scratch pad. Oh yes.. it sure has some Math there.
Once I figured out the size of my template, it was a lot easier to construct these jars. Once I knew I had the template right, I didn’t have to struggle with the shape that I wanted. The top lid seats and lids have been thrown on the wheel. I still need to go through the process of decorating them, but at this stage I am happy with the way they turned out. I will post more pictures when I am done with these.
So tell your kids to stick to Math, even if they don’t know where they will need it. It will surely benefit them in some way or the other.

Indian Wedding

They sure are a grand affair! Lots of food, lots of people, great clothes, tons of color and great source of inspiration like the henna pattern above. I am sure this pattern will make it to some of my pottery soon.I was going through some pictures of my brother's wedding which happened in Dec'2007. I had to do a double take on this picture of my cousins standing on stage next to my brother and his wife. The colors, patterns, designs looked so similar to a recent picture of butter dishes I had taken. Looks like my butter dishes are off to a wedding too. Do you see the resemblance?

Wine Bottle Stopper: New Item

I have been very excited with some new decoration techniques. I have shared pictures of some test tiles in my blog and I have finally got some finished pieces. I will keep posting new items, but for starters I have wine bottle stoppers.

A wine bottle is a great gift to give your friends and family. It says Happy Birthday, Best wishes to your new House, Happy Anniversary, or simply.. Thanks for having us over.

To make your wine bottle gift special, give this Unique Ceramic Wine Bottle Stopper, and your gift will never be forgotten. They make a great gift to yourself too. :)

Each stopper is unique, glazed with several glazes. These stoppers are carved and textured with different patterns on both sides, and fired multiple times with different glaze color layers to give them a very unique look. The patterns and colors are influenced by Indian fabrics, embroidery, designs and of course Bollywood movies.

Techniques in action

A while back I had shared my technique of making a slip decorating tool which was featured on Ceramics Arts Daily. Thank you all for writing back and commenting on my technique and giving it a try.

I follow the blog of Grace Sheese who does beautiful work with slip trailing. I have shared her work on my blog before and she too had said such wonderful things about my slip decoration technique. In one of her recent blogs she showed the stages of her pots as they reached completion. I was thrilled to see the mylar cones in the background that she was using for decoration. She adapted well to the cones and says that are a lot better on her hands than using bottles. Considering that as a testiment... I encourage other slip decorating potters to use the cones for decoration.

Test tiles glazed

I did get some success with my new test tiles and my glazing technique. I have tried to duplicate the effect of colorful fabrics from India. These fabrics are commonly known as bandhani block printed fabric which is made with a combination of block printing, batic and dyeing. I don't know much about the techniques they use to make the fabric, but I have been hard at work trying to duplicate it in clay.

Some of these tiles are promising. I like the ones with the glossy glaze more. The matt glaze kind of dulled the colors. The technique to get the look in clay is complicated, with a combination of carving, slip decoration, and multiple firings. I will next attempt to use this technique on my new Dancing Diva sculptures.

Inspiration

All artists need some kind of inspiration. And I don't think one can go around searching for inspiration. It is out there somewhere, but it doesn't have a sign on it saying "Inspiration". It could be something that catches your eye, a color, the way a leaf moves in the wind. One just has to be open to experience and inspiration will find its way to you.

I for one have always been fascinated by Indian culture, fabrics and especially Indian movies... Bollywood. Ever since we were kids I remember our family snuggling up in blankets watching 3+ hours of a Bollywood movie. Lots of singing and dancing, great colors and clothes. Story lines were all the same but it didn't matter. It was and it is fun. Complete entertainment. And as they say,... the movie has everything,... dance, drama, emotion, sex, betrayal, etc... etc..

I have tried to incorporate the fluidity and movement of the human body into my pottery forms and it is only till recently that I started doing decoration which reflects the Indian fabrics and embroidery. One source to help get started with this technique is Grace Sheese. http://www.gracesheese.com/

I still keep staring at her decorations and they are just wonderful.

I started experimenting and testing different glazes, techniques and tools and I am close to effect I like. attached are some pictures from a Bollywood movie and some of my sculptures. Do you see the resemblance?