Journal. – Rae Dunn - Fine Handmade Pottery

Friday, July 20, 2012

friday field trip (from the sketchbook).

june 2012
antibes, france

i must admit that these are not the cutest of shoes, in fact they border on pure ugly, BUT for comfort they rate number ONE in my book. and though many (ok, most) of my fashion forward friends would not be caught dead in them, i am not afraid to dress for comfort. for traveling where space is an issue, for off roading (beaches, long walks, hiking, rock climbing, working in a studio, etc . . . ), for wading IN fountains (oh, yes i did), for wearing with shorts, dresses, and pants, these are the perfect shoe. plus clean up is a breeze: just hose them down or wear them IN the shower. and some people DID in fact write to me in france to inquire what brand they were. i should be the national spokesperson, i truly love these shoes.

the brand is CHACO.

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

be a RENEGADE.

the renegade craft fair is THIS WEEKEND !

this is such a fun and festive show.

come visit me at booth 197

(if you say to me “je suis comme je suis” you will get 10% off your entire purchase.)

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

happy birthday.

happy birthday to WILMA.

the sweetest and funniest girl i know.

(click on the image and then the arrows on the bottom right to see her smirk up close)

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

THANK YOU to everyone who came out to the palo alto ACGA show. i survived a wasp sting, sun stroke, and i got to meet so many of my facebook “friends” in PERSON ! it was an action packed weekend.

acga show, ceramic show, ceramics, rae dunn

Friday, July 13, 2012

the heavy show.

i’m setting up my show today for this weekend’s ACGA festival in palo alto. i’m bringing a herd of these vessels that i made in france + a few teapots. mind you, it was no small feat getting these home from france. i knew my suitcase would be “over weight,” but when i hoisted it on the scale, the ticket agent was mortified. “NO NO NO, THIS IS NOT POSSIBLE” she kept saying over and over. i had to open my suitcase right there and then to lighten it’s load (embarrassing, yes). i ended up having to hand carry 15 lbs of ceramics on the plane and was still charged $75 for an overweight bag.

the only other thing in my suitcase, aside from my tiny pile of clothes, was 8 jars of caviar. i even left 2 pairs of shoes in france and shipped a box of books, heavy leather bag, and coat home. it’s times like these that i wish i was a jeweler and NOT a ceramic artist.

(p.s. the box that i shipped home made it there door to door in ONE WEEK. amazing. i think it must have been on the same flight that i was on !)

ceramics, france, palo alto show, rae dunn

Friday, July 13, 2012

friday field trip (from the sketchbook).

june 2012
vallauris, france

i love living with minimal wardrobe choices. in france, i knew how big (or rather how small) my closet would be and so i packed accordingly. by bringing just a few of my favorite pieces, i became apt at the art of mixing and matching. getting dressed in the morning was a breeze. i yearn to pare down my closet at home. i would love to have only 5 or 10 beautiful items hanging in there. less is definitely sometimes more. i think it’s time for some summer spring cleaning . . .

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

get a piece of france.

i made a few of these leaves in france using the equistie french limoges porcelain. i also collected a lot of sea glass on my daily mediterranean sea visits. i’m offering this duo on my etsy shop while the supply lasts (there are only a handful left).

“i am as i am.”

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

2 of my favorite words.

as a potter, i rarely get to use these 2 words in the same sentence . . . “PERFECT FIRING.” but on this special day, when my stars were aligned, i had the most unexpected and most perfect firing. this came as quite a shock to me for numerous reasons:

1. i lovingly call my LARGE kiln, “rusty”. if you met him you would know why. rusty is hanging on for dear life, as, although he is relatively young, he is in need of new elements. my kiln doctor recommended this operation asap. but as i just returned from france, and it is an $800 procedure, i’m holding out a little bit longer. he had been firing ERROR the past few firings, but on this rare day, he fired COMPLETE.

2. the kiln was packed to the gills (there is a lot more work that didn’t even fit into this photo).

3. i tried out some brand new glaze (which was just invented) that i had never used before (it worked !). thanks ben at leslie ceramics.

4. i have 2 big shows this month . . . ummmm, isn’t that usually when murphy’s law kicks in ?

well, against all odds, i had an absolute perfect firing. perhaps the universe feels my new carefree french attitude. NOTHING is going to knock me off of my france high right now, try as it might (as in, it’s not even worth trying).

Sunday, July 08, 2012

palo alto show.

the big ACGA show in PALO ALTO is THIS WEEKEND.
saturday + sunday
10am – 5pm

i will have some of the work i made in france for sale.

come by and say HI . . . this is always such a fun event.

Friday, July 06, 2012

friday field trip (from the sketchbook).

june 2012
(the mediterranean sea)
antibes, france

i realize that my friday sketch posts have been severely lagging. this is mostly because i was watch-free + phone-free in france for 6 weeks. i never knew what time it was or even what day it was. this was so wonderfully freeing. i existed purely on my own body’s clock. ate when i was hungry, slept when i was sleepy, worked when i felt moved to work, etc . . . every whim was met and granted with no questions asked. and so i ask myself why life can’t be like this always ? certainly we do need clocks to make our dental appointments and catch our planes, but honestly, shouldn’t we rely more on our own instincts and intuitions in life ? i vow to make even more of an effort to live my life in this way.

for me, it’s about slowing down and existing for the moment in time. not hurrying ahead and not being slowed down by the past.

(p.s. . . this was painted on eden roc using the mediterranean sea as my water with the water colour paints. it was a perfectly profound moment in time that i will always remember fondly)

Wednesday, July 04, 2012

au revoir, france.

on my last day in france, i woke up at 6am to go for my final run + swim to the mediterranean sea. this is the beach in golfe-juan where i ran to + swam every morning that i was here. on this morning, i had the entire beach to myself to say my goodbyes. my favorite body of water. oh how i will miss this perfect ritual that eased me into my day . . .

and just a few hours later, i was flying away with this beautiful view of the french riviera below me. until next year, france . . . au revoir (or more appropriately, à plus tard).

Tuesday, July 03, 2012

colour.

these are just few of the typical colours in vallauris, france . . .