Calan Ree - Art and Musings

Red Iron Oxide and Black Anatomical Hearts

Calan — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:54:47 +0000

Over the last few months, in addition to restocking my skull bud vases and little dishes, I have been experimenting with sculpting and finishing techniques. One successful experiment so far, has been working with iron oxide on a low fire red clay body. I used it on this bust I sculpted. The only finish is the iron oxide wash ( a special mix created by potter Nick Abrami who was kind enough to give me some- thanks Nick! ) and some white underglaze. I’m really happy with the result. This piece is not for sale as it turned out to be a Christmas gift for my friends Frank Strunk III and his girl Bethany – who Frank thought the bust resembled (she does have a lovely long neck!).

Here’s a snapshot of the awesome metal and barbed wire Christmas tree Frank gave me and Jim. It’s sitting next to the antique doll head Jim bought me for Christmas who is sporting Jim’s mini metal hat baby-new-year style.

Barbed Wire Christmas Tree by Frank Strunk III

I’ve been working on a lot more little dishes to restock after the holidays. At the moment I have a couple available in my new etsy store which features only my ceramic work – www.CalanRee.etsy.com.

One of the new dish series are the anatomical hearts. I’ve been selling them pretty fast locally and only have one left on etsy right now until I get back more work from St. Pete Clay.

Handbuilt anatomical heart dishes by Calan Ree

I have one of the pale aqua and orange skull dishes left too.

Handbuilt Skull Dish by Calan Ree

The next batch will include my sock monkey paintings and some black and white day of the dead / lucha libre inspired.

Otherwise I’m working on figuring out an efficient way to hand build mugs and the best clay body to work with. I’m also in the middle of a larger sculpture. I won’t say more than that because I don’t want to jinx it!

Until next time…

Don’t Buy this Snow Elf

Calan — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 19:43:25 +0000

Don’t buy this snow elf! This chubby fellow is super cute but has a marshmallow obsession that means late nights in the kitchen stirring cocoa and crinkling plastic bags. Super Annoying! Otherwise, he’s really sweet.

Snow Elf is a one of a kind art doll made of a lightweight super durable doll making air dry clay – (La Doll Premiere) and measures around 6 inches tall. His widest point would be from the back of his head to the tip of his chubby carrot nose – around 3.5 inches.

He is currently available in my brand new clay studio store on etsy:

CalanRee.Etsy.com

I’ve decided to have all the clay works including all ceramic pottery, ceramic figures and clay and mixed media art dolls in it’s own special shop. You can still find the GingerDead cards, GingerDead comic prints and Illustrated jewelry at GingerDead.etsy.com.

I had spend the last couple weeks stocking the store so I could make a big announcement but then I went to Atomic Holiday Bazaar and sold out of nearly everything! So the store is a bit sparse, but I’ll be adding new work this week starting with my personal favorite – the Snow Elf. Here’s some more photos of the little guy:

lotus pod doll and atomic

Calan — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 19:00:41 +0000

Here’s a pic of the latest lotus pod art doll Kareena. She will not be joining me at Atomic Holiday Bazaar this weekend because she’s already been sold and I imagine she’s busy with her new family getting ready for the holidays.

I will have several new skull bud vases, some sgraffito pottery, loads of illustrated jewelry and of course, GingerDead cards including the Holiday Collection. I’m also adding some art doll prints this year and some new clay jewelry designs. If I find time today to paint him, I’ll have a chubby snowman art doll with me too.

This is one of the best craft oriented shows of the year mostly because it’s got a more alternative, edgy, iteresting vibe. We all look forward to vending here each year and I do a lot of my holiday shopping at this show too because I can always find really unique items. I hope you’ll come check it out. It runs 10 -4 :30 on Sat and 12 – 5:30 on Sunday in the Sarasota Municipal Auditorium.

My Bitchin’ Muse

Calan — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 01:05:00 +0000

I wanted to wait to share my piece for the Bitchin show at Blue Lucy gallery until there were photos online of all the works. In case you missed it, the show featured 12 female artists. For me, it was the perfect reason to finally complete the wasp hive art doll I started quite a while back. The theme of the show made me really think about inspiration and how ‘the muse’ is generally thought of as a female persona. I also thought about where my ideas come from. Is it my head? My heart? Well, it’s bit of both but the most strongest emotions, I feel in my solar plexus. Anyway, the piece began to make perfect sense to me and I was able to complete her for the show. My hope is that she would inspire people. The writer of Art-Taco told me the idea of a nest or hive made him think of community, like the piece wasn’t just about my own inspiration but about inspiring a community. He’s right.

So, here she is:

Muse is made from lightweight stone clay, wasp nest, sea grass roots, pecans, wood and is finished in pastel and acrylic paints. She will be on display at Blue Lucy gallery until December 9th. After that she’ll go to her new home, so if you want to see her check out the show.

You can see all the pieces from the Bitchin’ show on this handy dandy Bitchin’ Show Tumbler! As you get to the bottom of page one you’ll see the start of the close ups of the art. Congrats to all the artists for an incredible show and a big thank you to Chad Mize of Blue Lucy (a badass artist in his own right and creator of the Bitchin’ logo which was…well bitchin’!

pesky penguin

Calan — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 15:57:26 +0000

So I was trying to make an earthenware vessel for sgraffito decoration. Most recently I’ve been making more organic shapes by just sort of tossing the clay around and rolling the edges here and there until I like the shape at which point I slice it in half, hollow it out and then cut the opening in the top. Anyway, as I was softly manipulating the shape I kept seeing this penguin. I kept trying to see the vessel and the pesky penguin would appear. I worried if I didn’t make him he’d keep popping up. I imagined having my morning coffee and instead of seeing the love of my life sitting across from me, there would be a chubby penguin wearing a tiny Wellington hat. So I gave in and the penguin was born…

He was then painted in underglazes, fired and then brushed with a clear glaze which I then rubbed off so that I’d have a mixture of glossy and matte surfaces. His little hat is removable…just because it’s fun to take it on and off and it will make it safer for shipping or transport.

Bitchin’ Update – The show was so much fun! My next blog update will have photos of my piece as well as a link to the flickr gallery of the show.

Bitchin’ Art Show

Calan — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 04:13:32 +0000

I can’t wait to show you the piece I created for the all female art show at Blue Lucy gallery this Saturday. The art show features the works of 12 local female artists. If you are in the Tampa Bay area, please come by and check out the show as well as all the art action on the 600 block that night – there are several exhibitions as well as a window display competition between the boutiques. The festivities happen between 7 and 11 pm.

If you live too far away, stay tuned. I’ll post some photos of my piece after the opening. Her name is Muse…

skull bud vases

Calan — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 15:33:58 +0000

I’m really digging these little bud vases. For me the mixture of charm and skulls is a perfect marriage. It’s the sort of piece that you can have out all year because it has elegance and doesn’t scream halloween or dia de los muertos. These have been selling before I can get them home from the studio! I know a few of you were interested so I want to let you know that you might find one still available at Florida Craftsmen Gallery and I’ll have several at the Art on the Bay event in front of the history museum on saturday – downtown St. Petersburg. If you aren’t local you can always contact me and I’ll send photos of what is available.

dream come true

Calan — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 18:12:07 +0000

A big thank you to my dear friend and fellow artist Frank Strunk III for snagging me a kiln! Frank mentioned he was working on getting me a kiln that wasn’t being used but I really never dreamed he’d get it. He hated seeing me stress out waiting to see if I’d get my stuff fired in time for our show and decided he was going to get this kiln for me. She goes to cone 8 which means not only can I still do my earthenware, but I can also do some mid-fire clay too which is what I prefer for my monster shot glasses! For now and for larger items or cool wood or gas firing, I’ll still use St. Pete Clay Company which is a fantastic resource for clay artists, but as soon as I get her checked out and replace a part or two I can do a lot of my normal firing myself. I can’t tell you how lucky I am and how grateful. I can’t stop staring at it. It’s a bit scary too because I’m pretty clueless but I’ve found a manual online and I think I located a place that services them so I can make sure she’s in tip top shape and get some supplies I’ll need to get started. I’ll keep you posted on how it goes when I finally get to start using her.

Holy cow, I’m still in shock… anyway, here’s a pic. (It’s an Evenheat Model 810 with a Kiln Sitter Model LT-3K. Everything looks good except I think the tube inside where you rest the cone needs replacing. )

more clay love

Calan — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 17:21:10 +0000

The exhibition For the Love of Clay at Studio@620 was really something. So many incredible clay artists in the Tampa Bay area…wow. I feel very inspired and am honored to have been accepted in to the show. I’m especially honored to have had one of my pieces selected to receive First Place. A little recognition sure can go a long way in the encouragement department. With or without a prize, the positive response from the attendees was wonderful. The piece that won was an art doll by the name of Jool. She is a piece that incorporates clay, lotus pod, sea grass roots, rusty washers and a couple of buttons.

As I’ve recently explained working with clay is really what I know I’m meant to do, so this feels like a celebration on my new focus. Out of the ceramic pieces I put out, I sold all but two. Even though my pottery included skull bud vases and monster themed platter and shot glasses. They sold. This was not an alternative show. This was a show that clay and art enthusiasts attend annually. It’s really great when people get my style and it makes them smile. It means the world to me. I can only make things that tug at my own heart strings and appeal to my own wonky aesthetics, but you just never know for sure if it will translate to the rest of the world. Will they see that your heart and humor are in that piece? I think the answer is that if you really are true to yourself, it will show through and touch other people. I’ve also seen this with my jewelry, comic and cards. Even though I’ve learned the lesson before, it still amazes me..and that’s probably a good thing.

Here are a couple of other pieces from the show -

Not the best photos, but I’m still working on how to photograph glazed surfaces when you don’t have a lightbox! I need to build one I think. Anyway, you get the idea. This is the sort of work I’ve been up to. Site updates including a new gallery for ceramic work as well as a way to buy online will come soon. Right now I’m just focusing on creating. If you are located in the Tampa Bay area, I do have a few pieces available at Florida Craftsmen, so stop by and check those out!

A big thanks to Wendy Durand and Don Williams for putting together this annual exhibition and sale. I can’t wait ’til next year…

For the Love of Clay

Calan — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 15:02:46 +0000

Tonight I hope to see you at Studio@620 for the annual juried exhibition and sale – For the Love of Clay. I’ll be showing 10 pieces of my new ceramic work including a few skull bud vases like these: