Westcoast Woodfire at Chehalem Cultural Center

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I’m in the show West Coast Woodfire at the Chehalem Cultural Center June 21, through August 23, 2013. Pleased to be in such good company with some other wonderful potters.

Friday August 23 there is a woodfire conference being held in conjunction with the show, with a closing reception and festivities to follow.

The Chehalem Cultural Center was rescued from demolition, earthquake retrofitted and renovated into a beautiful public space for the arts. Renovation is ongoing, but it already houses lovely gallery and pottery studio spaces as well as other music, dance and media rooms. It is a model for a community coming together to get the funding to create a remarkable space dedicated to the arts. Well worth a visit.

Burnt Orange and Sage Green Vases

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These vessels are a new twist on some of my tried and true forms. The bright orange glaze comes from a helmer shino that really makes the sage green glaze stand out. While I get more control than if I’d woodfired these, the shino is still very picky about the amount of reduction it gets when I’m firing these, so still more to learn with it.

Burnt Orange and Sage Green Figurative Vase

Burnt Orange and Sage Green Figurative Vase

Burnt Orange and Sage Green Vases

Burnt Orange and Sage Green Vases

Small Sipping Cups

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Sage-Green-Sipping-CupsThese cups were made to feel good in the hand, with little indentations and places for your fingers to fondle as you sip from them. Red wine or gin are my beverages of choice, but they’ll work well with any hot or cold drink you wish to sip.

They also make a nice cup for a bathroom counter or vase for a short stemmed bouquet.

Each cup holds about 6 oz.
3-3/4″ tall by 3″ diameter at the mouth.

$20/ea.

Buy from my Etsy Shop

Are We There Yet?

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Cynthia Spencer Are We There YetThis piece was started at a workshop I taught last spring. It was a request piece and I struggled to get it roughed out in a day but didn’t quite make it. People were patient with my trying to get the floppy sides dried enough to put together. (I didn’t use the naughty words I would’ve been using if alone in my studio.) Finished up the form later that day and then took several days to get it carved into the shape I wanted, tho it slumped a bit more in the firing into this shape. Used a multi-layered color scheme to go with it’s slightly off-beat shape.

12″ x 12″x 8″ – Sold

Hieroglyphs of the Heart

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"Hieroglyphs of the Heart"

“Hieroglyphs of the Heart”

Cynthia Spencer Hieroglyphs2

This piece completed for a show at Guardino Gallery, Portland in October 2012. I blame my friend Gale Everett for getting me interested in using wire and paper as an expressive means. After doing a workshop with her all I wanted to do was make vessels with  which I could use this technique. So different than glazing chemistry and cooking.

The little pieces in the bottom are small porcelain wishbones. This piece is 16 x 16 x 6″ – $500.

 

Bowls and Mugs

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Bowls and Mugs

Bowls and Mugs

This particular set was sent off to some friends in New Mexico last year.

I think they are quite handsome with the dark reddish brown centers and sage green glaze on the outside.

Bowls are about 5-1/2″ diam – $35/ea

Mugs, 4″ x 3-1/2 diam – $24/ea

Sage Green Handled Vase

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Handled Vase

Handled Vase

This style vase has been one of my standard pieces for many years now. Arrangers like the handle and I like the clean lines and timely feel of the shape. Here it is with the sage green glaze that seems to have taken off in popularity this year. 13″ – $75 (Sold)

Woodfired “Ice Queen” Vase

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“Ice Queen” was woodfired at Digger Mtn Anagama Kiln in the Oregon Coast Range. Decoration on this piece came from wood ash flying through the kiln over several days of stoking wood. One of my favorites out of the kiln. Its subtle ash markings are quiet and not as dramatic as I’d hoped, but seem to fit its gently twisting feminine form just perfectly.

13.5x 8x 6.5 inches

For Sale on my Etsy Page.

Dog Treat Canister

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Dog Treat Canister

Dog Treat Canister

This funky, organic shaped canister is meant for one lucky slightly “off-centered” dog lover.
Who keeps human cookies around in a canister anymore? Just don’t last that long–at least at our house… So, this bone handled cutie is probably best for doggie biscuits or treats, rawhides or anything else actually. See how quickly your four-legged friend learns something good is coming at the sound of the lid lifting off this ceramic piece. Good doggie!

Bone handle on the lid is made out of porcelain. The rest is high-fired stoneware, durable for many years of use. Food safe glaze, so if you want to hide your people cookies inside, they’ll be safe here.

11″ x 7″ x 5″

I make these every-once-and-awhile.  Check out my Etsy shop to see if one is listed.