Pottery by Pierre: May 2011

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Updated show list

A small update to include the San Diego County Fair, running June 10th to July 4th at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. While many go the Fair for the amusement park and the greasy food, it also offers many exhibits where local artists, crafters, and hobbyists can share their passion with the general public.
This is the second year that one of my pieces got juried in for the exhibition of Fine Art. How exciting ! Last year, a pot from the Dry Earth series was selected. This year I entered a set of peacock bottles.
If you plan on attending the Fair this year, please stop by the exhibit. It is an amazing display of Art that is sure to blow you away. And don't miss the photography exhibit, it is another gem of the Fair.

Peacock Bottles

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Beautiful weekend at Mission Federal Artwalk in Little Italy

Two warm and sunny days drew a record crowd in quaint Little Italy this past weekend, in celebration of the local art scene. Artist booths were spread out in a 5x6 blocks area, with 4 music stages and plenty of art activities for kids at Amici Park. Food booths got heavy competition from the local restaurants and eateries. The gelatos at Pappalecco are to die for ! Try the pappalecco flavor (dark chocolate with ground almond).
I was sharing a huge booth with 8 other potters from Clay Artists of San Diego. Great location on Date street, between Columbia and State. Booth opened on both sides of the street, allowing a nice breeze to cool us off all day. Darn breeze did play evil tricks on us, turning into short gusts at times. I lost a piece, and I wasn't the only one. A small price to pay for the amazing experience of showing my work and talking to people about it.
The day started kind of slow for me then sales slowly built up, what a relief ! Talking to people, explaining the techniques, showing off pieces in the sun definitely helped the sales. It was nice to see friends and acquaintances come by. Friends Eric and Ryan parted with one of my centerpieces, a big beautiful Raku bowl which I love. It is good to know it is in good hands. My one fan came by as well, with her husband. I unerringly run into her at most of my shows and she always makes a point of acquiring a new piece. Her advice, every time: raise your prices, your work is underpriced. My first collector, I suppose ! I heard the same advice from a good man who bought my first ever Raku piece (darn, I should have kept it !). There may be some truth to it. Better grab my work now :)
I had a mix of Raku, naked Raku, and porcelain pieces on display. Pretty much heavy on the decorative. Interestingly people this time were mostly into the functional. A good portion of my Raku pieces followed me back home, contrary to my previous shows. A good reason to be versatile and offer a range of ceramic work.
In the end lots of compliments to warm my heart. Enjoy the pictures.