Holidays for an Artist

From November- the end of Dec we often think of gift giving and family time. These are wonderful things to remember and be happy to share with others. However if you are an artist this time of year may have extra aspects to it. We still look forward so giving to our friends and family, though we may have mixed feelings about giving our own works. For some it is we love to give and are exited to share what we make. For some it is wondering if we should give our work to this person again this year or try for something different. For others we wonder if our work will be taken at it's true value if the recipient is not an art lover and sees it more as a Homemade gift rather then a piece of art (my worst fear).

However we still share, we give and we make sure that our hearts are in every gift we give. Artists are business owners, we work hard and make things that mean something to us. We hope we can share those feelings with others. So the Holidays is a time to express ourselves through work. However for many it is also our busiest time of the year.

While our own gifts may have a decisions on we are happy to help others with their holiday shopping. Though artists most likely have started months before hand to make sure they have the items they will need to do this. So it is not only a busy time for sales it is the deadline for many to have their works being made. Also rush orders for that special someone's custom piece may or may not be an option and depends on the artist.

We rush to make peoples holidays filled with art and good service. This is how many artists work in the holidays. However there is one thing that should be remembered. It does not matter if it is a painting, photograph, ceramics, or any other, all art is unique to the artist. It is part of them. So the holidays is not just for giving gifts, but is an opportunity to share someones love.

Before you go to a box store for that office gift, look for local artists works instead.

Agril

In less then a week I am exited to say I will have my first Solo Exhibition as a "Proffestional Artist". I am exited beyond words but am also ready to see then work up and finished. However perhaps the one thing that is still and will always be fun for me is educating people.

I have named my exhibition "Argil". What does this mean. It is an Old English word meaning clay, or more sacrificially Potters Clay. Aside from the Duhhhh moment of well yeah it is a ceramics show why did i choose this? History!

For me ceramics is more then an art form. It is history being contemporary in creation or prehistoric. While technology has changed, as has our needs and motivations some things are no different from the first craftsman to heat clay until it turned to stone. Clay is still a material of many moods, visceral or forgiving, pliant or demanding. It requires work, time, skill and love to make pieces that are successful, be it in an pit fire or a computerized kiln all require skill and craftsmanship.

My interest in history has been a key factor in this project. Items that were the building blocks of culture were not always those made of gold or written in history books. But practical items that let people move from one technological lever to another. Storage vessels allowed mankind to move from hunter gathering to farming as storage would allow you to keep crops through off seasons. Yet other types of these vessels would allow long distance travel of materials that would otherwise spill or leak like wine, oil, and other liquid or granular products, as the inspirations for my amphora were. They allowed trade over the sea and river with their unique shape and function. This not only was a useful economic but also cultural and historical factor as it was a time for different groups of people to interact through trade of goods and ideas.

So when I see ceramic art of today. I see the idea the artist is trying to show however I also see the centuries and cultures that have been touched by the most humble and yet powerful materials on earth with its transition from soil and organic material to clay, to later stone.