Where are they now??

Its 2009 and Happy New Year!

Yes my blog has moved again!

Great News!
My blog and website can all be found under one umbrella now at:

http://www.webbpottery.com

Please Join us!

Moved my blog

Please go to my new site:
http://annewebb.wordpress.com


Okay. its official! I've moved my blog over to WordPress.

I will be posting there from now on so if you are currently a subscriber to my blog here on blogspot, please don't forget to subscribe to my new location as well.

Hope to see you there!


Anne

Taking Wordpress for a test drive...

I’ve had my blog on Blogspot for a few years now but last week my friend Cynthia from Colorado was singing Wordpress praises since moving her blog over from Blogspot. Figured it was worth checking out.

After a couple of days and as many conversations, I ended up transferring all my posts over and am starting to take root. Frankly, I didn’t think it would that easy a sell.

My blogspot URL: http://webbpottery.blogspot.com

My NEW Wordpress URL: http://annewebb.wordpress.com

If you currently subscribe to my blog and you wish to continue to do so, please be sure to select "subscribe to feed" from my Wordpress URL/page.

Thanks so much!
Anne

Webb Pottery & First Saturdays Art Market, Mobile AL

No, we haven't fallen off the planet, just everywhere but the keyboard.
Here are a couple of shots of some raku pots I snapped at a show this weekend. Stylized dragonflies and lotuses bottle & a sweet bay magnolia jar.

Other news.. this spring's last First Saturdays Art Market will be at Cathedral Square in downtown Mobile on June 2nd from 9 am to 3 pm (NB relocated from the Royal & Government location). There will be pottery and painting demonstrations, and starting at 7:30 am on the other side of the square will be Mainstreet Mobile's Market on the Square farmer's market. Hope you are able to join us as we go out with a bang.




(fyi This jar is one of the completed pieces from my February 3rd blog entry, where it appeared in unglazed.)

Webb Pottery Raku Vessels on eBay this week

Raku Jar with Stylized Peacock Feather Design
8.5" H x 5.25" W
by Anne Webb
Item #130079977793








Raku Bank with Art Nouveau Stylized Bees
3" H x 4.75" W
by Lowell Webb, decorated by Anne Webb
Item #130079980946

Raku pot in progress....

The only pictures of designed raku pottery I've had up on the blog have been finished ones. I thought it might be kinda cool to see what these pots look like in their raw state.

Here are a few I've been working on that are still very much in progress. One has an iris design and the other, bay magnolia. After studying a subject, whether it be a peacock feather or a particular flower, and making my sketches, I visualize the design layout then carefully carve it into the surface of the "leather hard" clay.

Carving a design into clay is much different than drawing or painting it. The positioning of the tool initially can be tricky and carving, like anything else with pottery, takes practice. After you spend all that time and effort making that pot -- throwing, trimming, and waiting for the clay to be just the right consistency-- you have a lot invested and you don't want to mess up. Once you lay your tool into the clay and make a cut, there is no going back or correcting it, so extra care needs to be taken.

After the carving is complete, the pot is left to dry usually for about a week or until it is "bone dry". It is then bisque fired, glazed, then fired raku kiln. (Please see my post from July 18th for a description of the raku process).

I will try and post pictures of these pots again once they have been glazed and fired.

The new year, Pottery, Growth

A big part of the appeal of pottery for me has always been the ongoing learning curve; no matter how "advanced" you get there is always some new avenue to explore, experiment, and discover.

I've been experimenting with brushwork for a while now, trying different styles, brushes, pigment, and subject matter. The brushes that I like best for the designs I'm doing are ones that Lowell has made from local bamboo and deer/dog tail hair. Each brush has its own personality and make for a nice spontaneous bold brush stroke.

Today as I was cleaning up my computer hard drive, I came upon some photos from over the last few years. I was intrigued at how much some pots and designs have changed or evolved in a relatively short period of time. A natural progression I suppose. I had been told that the more you do an image, the more it seems to take on a life of its own.

It never hurts to go back every so often and revisit and reflect upon your work from the past. It can be a good point of reference or even source of inspiration.

Art, Pottery, Video Slideshows, & YouTube

I mentioned in my last post about my friend Charles posting some of the film clips of him being interviewed on YouTube. I can certainly see the value of having some sort of presence there from a marketing perspective, but it also gives me an excuse to go play with some of those movie or video programs that have remained up to this point, at least, unused.

So here is a slideshow I threw together with some photos I had on hand. A few things to work out yet, but, like anything else, there is a learning curve. Man, the technology that's available to us is amazing isn't it? And I didn't even need a Mac to do this.. who knew!
(NOTE: To play the video clip, please click the little "play" right arrow thingie icon in the bottom left corner of the window below. )