It’s been a while since we’ve offered an after school clay class for kids, so if you’ve been waiting for one, now’s your chance! This 8 week workshop for kids ages 7 and up is a great chance to explore the messy world of clay! Click the link for details on the Spring Kids Clay Workshop.
March 1 – April 21 2016
Tuesdays, Wednesdays or Thursdays
4:30 – 6
The Healdsburg Center for the Arts has invited me to create an installation in the gallery as well as on location in Healdsburg for their 5th annual Clay & Glass exhibit! Below are the details for the exhibit and stay tuned because a demo or workshop opportunity is in the works too.
Exhibition Dates: MAY 26 thru JULY 17, 2016
Opening Reception: MAY 28, 2016, 5:00-7:00
Closing Tea: JUL 17, 2016, 2:00-4:00
Healdsburg Center for the Arts
Sun, Mon, Wed & Thur 11am-5pm | Fri & Sat 11am-6pm | Closed Tue
130 Plaza St., Healdsburg, CA 95448 | 707-431-1970
Yesterday was my last official class at the studio for the year. Normally, I have back-to-back classes all day long, so it’s always a busy day filled with my talented students coming and going. Yesterday was as busy as ever but such a surprise of a day! I started off my first class with a gift of an original ink drawing from one of my students that was inspired by my bone series– so amazing!
Then towards the end of class I was surprised with a gift from my entire adult class who apparently had been in cahoots with each other for awhile to gift me a clay extruder for the studio! I was so surprised, I don’t know if I expressed how amazing and thoughtful this was of them. I can’t wait to see what we can do with it when we start up classes in January! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you to you all!
Not to be outdone, my next class brought a day old baby dwarf goat to the studio – wearing a pink sweater! The baby needed to be bottle fed, so they have to take it everywhere with them and I got to hold a sleeping baby goat all class!
Top that off with hugs, holiday wishes and happiness from all my little students throughout the day left me feeling the love.
Such gratitude to you all… thank you!
Houzz is an online platform for designers, contractors and artists to share their creative ideas with homeowners. Think of it as Pinterest, just for your house.
I’ve recently started a Houzz page to share my work as residential installations. If your home is featured here, I’d love a recommendation.
If my work is in your home and I haven’t documented it yet, I’d love to capture my art in your space. Email me to arrange a photo shoot!
Lots of artists, writers and performers talk about their so-called muse. I used to think that if you didn’t have the muse, you couldn’t make the art, as if some permission needed to be granted from a higher power. I kept expecting to get struck with a lightning bolt of creative energy… and it wasn’t happening.
In an interview with Elizabeth Gilbert, Tom Waits talks about his muse, One day he was driving down the freeway in Los Angeles he told me, and this is when it all changed for him. And he’s speeding along, and all of a sudden he hears this little fragment of melody, that comes into his head as inspiration often comes, elusive and tantalizing, and he wants it, you know, it’s gorgeous, and he longs for it, but he has no way to get it. He doesn’t have a piece of paper, he doesn’t have a pencil, he doesn’t have a tape recorder.
So he starts to feel all of that old anxiety start to rise in him like, “I’m going to lose this thing, and then I’m going to be haunted by this song forever. I’m not good enough, and I can’t do it.” And instead of panicking, he just stopped.
He just stopped that whole mental process and he did something completely novel. He just looked up at the sky, and he said, “Excuse me, can you not see that I’m driving? Do I look like I can write down a song right now? If you really want to exist, come back at a more opportune moment when I can take care of you. Otherwise, go bother somebody else today. Go bother Leonard Cohen.”
I love this story because I imagine being in traffic, in the car next to Tom Waits while he’s screaming to the sky and wondering who this lunatic? All the while not realizing that this is what it takes to give birth to Tom Waits lyrics. People always ask me, “Where do you get your ideas? Do you have crazy dreams?” While I have definitely solved artistic problems in my sleep, I’m certain that I’ve never been struck with an idea from an mystical force. I don’t have the muse keeping me company and yet I’ve continued to make art. I open up my studio and build, some things are successful and some never even make it into the kiln, but I keep building, and I can’t imagine that not being my job.
The artist Kiki Smith was quoted as saying, “I think a lot of making art is listening to yourself.” and I couldn’t agree more. So what fuels me, if not the muse? Maybe it’s as simple as paying attention to the little things going on around me, getting excited about those little things and wanting to share them in my own voice to others.
What fuels you?
In looking back over the past few years, this interview on KSCO with the lovely Ruth Copland was a fantastic experience. She asks insightful questions that probe beyond the surface, so if you didn’t get a chance to listen when this first aired, please take the time to enjoy hearing about my process and inspiration. I also encourage you to check out Ruth’s other interviews with local artists, authors, performers and culture makers.
Hour 2: (Begins at 0:53 minutes) Arts Interview with Jenni Ward
I’ve been making these cute decorative art hearts for years now and I can’t seem to stop. They don’t have anything to do with the work that I’m making for installations but they are fun and colorful and it’s always nice to have something a little different to play with in the studio.
They are available on sticks and look great going in a plant or as a bouquet of hearts or they are also available as an ornament. There are a huge variety of styles as each one is unique. You can request a color or style and I will do my best to give you one I think you’ll love!
The best part about buying art hearts is that all sales of art hearts benefit the philanthropic arts projects, click the link to learn more and thank you for your support! Buy your Art Hearts today!
Art Hearts are also available at:
The Homeless Garden Project Store
Santa Cruz Art League
Classes are now winding down at the studio for the end of the year, but we will be starting right back up again in January. Make the resolution to B CR8IV in 2016 and sign yourself up for a class!
Adult Classes: Ongoing classes on Tues nights or Thurs mornings, all levels are welcome
Private Classes: Private/Semi-private classes for kids, families, home-school groups all on a schedule that works for you.
Spring Workshop for Kids: March – April (exact dates TBA)
SAVE THE DATE!
Artist Reception: January 17th 2016 2:00
Pajaro Valley Arts Council Gallery will have its annual Take Aways: Art to Go exhibit 2016. This exhibit features local artists showcasing work priced under $250 and as you buy a piece, it is replaced with a new work, so the exhibit is constantly changing from January 13 – February 14. I will have a number of pieces on display for my first show of the new year, so mark your calendars and I hope to see you there!
37 Sudden Street
Watsonville, California 95076
831.722.3062
If you haven’t seen ‘The Artist is Present’ documentary on Marina Abramovic- start there. I’m a big fan of documentaries especially about artists, but this one is one of my favorites. When I share it with someone, I get goosebumps just telling them about it, in a good way! If you have seen it, check out her recent Ted Talk Marina Abramovic: An art made of trust, vulnerability and connection where she talks about the performance piece in the documentary and other work. It’s an inspiring and engaging talk.