I always feel like I'm on an art high after a good session of figure drawing. My model, Etta, is an MMA juditsu fighter. Here are a few drawings from tonight.

I've been working myself into a hole the last five years. When I notice the pain, I push on through. It goes with the territory of being a ceramicist. Now I know why state schools pay for a part time lab assistant. Now I know why I had a work study job during undergrad strictly for making clay and tending to kiln shelves. Ceramics is tough on your wrists AND your feet. I've gotten plantar fasciitis and heel spurs from repetive heavy lifting in the lab. After four rounds of injections, it's time for surgery Monday on foot one. Wish me luck. I am on a lifting lockdown for three months meaning their will be a lot of scooting on a wheeled chair and finger pointing instructions to those around me. I'm not used to having to ask for help. Luckily I have @Sydceramics and @allisoninspires ready to show the rest of the students the way.

I made several pieces for an upcoming group show called Southern Sampler but I ended up putting them into the show at Waterworks so I've begun again. I've got a lot on my brain and hope the NY audience will understand the humor in some of the ideas I'm working upon. I'm finally attempting some southernisms. That idea had been shelved for years. I'd love to hear your favorite southern sayings to see if I can render it.
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More later. I'm just pooped. Worked in the basement studio of 6am till 8pm.

Tonight I took a student to Spartanburg to go to two gallery openings and artist talks. I was feeling guilt because I had been asked to do work during the school's Ren Faire but after meeting Susan Lenz and Christina Laurel, I wanted to support my new art friends. "Prolific" is one of the words that popped in my head for my impression of the artists. Both of these artists are in three...maybe four exhibits at a time!!! I am motivated to mirror their drive, determination and stamina. Go to art exhibits. Take your students, friends and family. Listen to their talks. Be inspired. In the words of @SusanLenz , "get work done...finish it!" My Mama used to preach that in two southernisms: "Talkin' ain't doin'" and "shit or get off the pot." Don't talk about wanting to produce art, do it. Don't gripe and complain about the struggle. We are going through it with you. Know that the stress is worth it all in the end. The completed work is the prize. I'm so pumped @allisoninspires and I made the trip!!! For more information on the artists in these exhibits, go to: http://www.susanlenz.com/default.shtml
and
http://www.claurelartist.com/index.html

What an amazing night at Waterworks! Salisbury, NC residents and even the Mayor really know how to support the arts. More pics on Instagram! Many of these photos were taken the hour before the show opened. Trust me, there was a crowd but I put my camera down and enjoyed the show! Thanks again to my students, friends and family who captured the night in their photos. 

The Art Department is hosting a trip to Spain and Portugal in the summer of 2018. Each time I take my students abroad, I sell mugs to help pay my way. Most mugs are $30 plus shipping. All proceeds go directly to travel and future art expenses. Chaperoning the students to show them that world travel influences their life is so important to me. Not only do I want to take the students around the world, these trips also fuel the fire with new disk imagery. I love that with ceramics I can throw utilitarian items to be held and used every day and create clay drawings to be hung in exhibitions. My pottery pays the way for the ceramic sculptures. I hope my students mirror the work ethics involved. If you are interested in purchasing a mug, please message me on the MORE-CONTACT tab or follow me on Instagram: cfordart for the freshest postings. I have about two more firings to go to finish up my summer functional work. 

Mom and I delivered a minivan filled with 56 disks today to Waterworks! I can't believe I thought I could haul it all in a car. I have to give a major thank you to my mom for helping me hang the show. As a 5 foot tall person, I use my height for intuitive hanging: an arm's length high and wingspan wide. I'm great at eyeballing; however, for a show in a museum, you need to be precise. My mom is the queen of "anal retentive" and quite the "Rain Man" with numbers. At 70 years old, she can run circles around my athletic students. I know the museum director said they could hang my works but I find it rude to dump your works and go. I'd also like to give a major thank you to everyone at Waterworks. Anne Scott Clement and all of the teachers and workers were so kind and hospitable. They are going to finalize the lights. labels, and vinyl lettering before the opening reception September 15. I hope to see you at the show! Stay tuned for updated pictures once the lights are set. For more pictures and videos of the show, go to my Instagram page: cfordart. 

I've got piles and piles of research images from photos and old memories jotted down to work on a gob of Tennessee tiles. Below are the first three that will be shown at Waterworks. Tennessee is also the tri-state: west (Memphis/flat land), middle (Nashville/rolling hills), and east (Knoxville and beyond/mountains). You can't talk about Tennessee without mentioning its rich musical history. Below are the first three works I've done to represent my home state.

Now that the kilns are loaded for my Waterworks exhibit, the tiles are being compressed for the next round of carving. There will be no breaks this semester and very little sleep. I welcome the challenge. The next exhibit will be called Southern Sampler, a group show of southern artists brought to SUNY Brockport, New York. In order to prepare for this exhibit, a bunch of my summer southern travels were utilized for image-making research. Thanks to Emily Tuttle for taking me on an art historian's tour of plantations and important areas of Charleston and Pawleys Island. I've finished one Charleston and Pawleys Island disks but have plenty of imagery for more tiles. The more I travel the states, the more I realize that local travel is just as influential as global travel. 

I think I'm going to have an identity crisis! Diesella, my famous sticker bug, has been retired after over 253,000 miles of adventure. All of the amazing trips she has provided for myself and my students will never be forgotten. The back of my car was a passport filled with stickers from trips. I'm so glad I immortalized her in one of my tiles.