Preparing for the Artour

4 chickens

We are just over 3 weeks out from the 10th annual Artour (October 18 & 19)and our artists are hard at work making art and getting their studios ready.

 

Some, like Glynnis Lessing, have just returned from art fairs and must create more work.
Others are excitedly preparing for their first Tour, like the guest artists at her studio.
Glynnis has a busy art fair schedule all summer and has had to make enough work between each event for the next fair. Usually there are about 3 weeks between events.

 

 

This means throwing and trimming her porcelain pottery on the wheel, throwing

 

 

 

waiting for it to dry to leather-hard, putting black slip on the surface and free-hand drawing images on them

plate drawn but not carved and then carving away the negative spaces,carving

plate carved

 

 

 

much like a woodcut- but each pot is a unique work!

carving-2

 

 

 

 

She then bisk-fires those pieces in an electric kiln for about 5 hours and after unloading the cooled kiln, glazes them with a clear glaze, packs them up and takes them to a gas kiln where they are fired for about 12 hours to a temperature of around 2350° farenheit! kiln

 

 

 

After 2+ days, the kiln is cool enough to unload and once again, the pots are packed up, brought back to the studio and photographed and priced. packing potsOften they must be packed up again for an art fair.
Of course this is all the fun part of being an artist.

 

 

Glynnis also must mix glazes and slips, manage her business, go up to the city to buy supplies, spend 2 days selling in her booth- rain or shine- at art fairs,

booth

 

 

 

 

and, most important of all, make sure her studio cats are fed and cared for!

studio cat

 

 

 

 

Most recently, Glynnis is back from a successful fair at the Plaza in Kansas City and now she is gearing up for the Artour where she hopes many people will visit and see her studiopanoramic of my studio
 

 

and enjoy the cats and chickens

cats n chix.