Covert Potters Association

Handmade Bowls, Homemade Ice Cream & Toy Trains

Chris McCormick — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 06:28:24 +0000

It’s summer time and with the first heat wave of the season, we have been trying to figure out ways to cool off. What better way than ICE CREAM! A childhood favorite that must be indulged. We are pairing hand-made ice cream bowls with the home-made delights of the lovely Valerie Campbell who is opening her home …and churning the maker for us! Come join us…Sunday August 22nd from 12 to 4 at 917 Alma St, Glendale, Ca. 91202. Pre-order and save!! tickets are $17.50 in advance, $20.00 at the door. Just click HERE!
Lots of great flavors and toppings! Pick a bowl, handmade by a Covert Potter, enjoy some ice cream then take the bowl with you!

What are the flavors you ask?… We have all chosen one for Valerie to make;
Lavender Sorbet
Mexican Chocolate
Rum Raisin Vanilla
Pistachio
Watermelon Sorbet
Very Berry Strawberry
Margarita Sorbet

OOOoooooohhhhhh. Pretty! Ask A Potter

Chris McCormick — Mon, 31 May 2010 16:03:38 +0000

OOOhhhhhh. Pretty. Have you ever wondered what kind of pottery potters have in their house? Well I do? And I had to ask: What is your favorite pot that you own?

Sally Anne: When I thought about this question, so many pots went through my head. I have 94% my pots, 5% other peoples pots and 1% store pots. I have to admit, sadly, I am my favorite potter. I like to think it’s a good thing…hehehe. And as I thought about this question, I realized that I tend to love the last pots out of the kiln as my favorite. I’m in love with a little black mountain with a drippy korean blue Celadon glaze. It’s has a crazy stamped design and a beautiful round body. It’s perky. And it reminds me to make more, to push the decoration and to be true to myself.

Chris: Like many people/potters I collect. So I have all these tea bowls, mugs and tumblers that I use on a daily basis. I enjoy choosing which to use on a particular morning. It makes the morning routine a bit special. There’s a tea bowl from Tom Coleman, a Birdie Boone and many others. And yes there is one of mine! These are some of them. This morning I enjoyed my Heidi Brandenburg!

Evan: The blue falcon.

So, what is your favorite pot/art work that you own?

We’d love to hear your questions for the Covert Potters. Please leave a comment with any question you may have and we will try to get them answered as quickly as possible! Thank you… read on.

What’s Your Muse? Ask A Potter

Chris McCormick — Sun, 23 May 2010 02:47:18 +0000

Inspiration! It can be the muse that lets your mind run wild and your leads your hands to create with joy. It can knock you over, whisper in you ear or leave you high and dry. We’d like to know: What, if anything, do you consistently draw inspiration from?

Celeste: I am inspired by nature and by works created during the art nouveau movement.

Sally Anne: Food. Sometimes it’s what I’m hungry for or food I’ve been eating and I think: How would I serve this. And sometimes it’s just a need I have. I need plates or a butter dish. I’ll get on a kick and then walk away until I get excited about that form or idea again Nature. The clouds in the sky, bark on a tree, leaves, mountains, rocks, etc. I’m a big fan of seed pods. I like to keep track of the changing of the season’s via pods. Conversations/interactions with people. Sometimes things happen between me and someone else and I will put a response in clay. I’ll steal. Sometimes I see someone doing something or a piece in a shop and I think: I can do that better. And I’ll process it out in my head and do it.

And life in general.

Chris: The smell of the salt air as you approach the beach, orange blossoms in the morning or the innocence of the children at work

Evan: Nothing’s consistent.

Is there anything in your life that always puts a creative thought in your head?

We’d love to hear your questions for the Covert Potters. Please leave a comment with any questions you may have and we will try to get them answered as quickly as possible! Thank you… read on.

ART From The Ashes

Chris McCormick — Fri, 21 May 2010 02:53:42 +0000

The opening of the show is coming up, save the date!! Saturday June 19. Covert Potters Chris McCormick, Sally Anne Stahl, Celeste Iida and Evan Vieser have all created works of art for this event. Hope you can make it!

Other Mediums? Ask A Potter

Chris McCormick — Fri, 14 May 2010 19:44:42 +0000

I don’t know an artistic person that sticks to their medium solely. There is so much out there to be seen, worked with and known. We just have to ask: What other mediums do you work in?

Celeste: Food. Fabric. I used to sew all of my evening clothes until I met clay. Since meeting clay, my wardrobe has down graded to sweats and jeans but I don’t mind.

Evan: My art is mainly contained to clay but occasionally I’ll paint and photograph roads.

Sally Anne: Glass. Just started to fuse, but I’d love to learn how to blow. I play with photography and yarn. I’d would love to learn how to weave.

Chris: I like to paint and sculpt though it has been a while. I have to say I am increasingly intrigued by and drawn to glass and am looking forward to taking some classes and “getting on the torch” as it were.

So what materials are making your heart sing and your hands move?

We’d love to hear your questions for the Covert Potters. Please leave a comment below with any questions you may have and we will try to get them answered as quickly as possible! Thank you… read on.

The Perfect Mothers Day Gift ~ Handmade Ceramics

Chris McCormick — Thu, 06 May 2010 02:39:23 +0000

Give the gift of handmade this Mothers Day! Come on out to the Annual Spring Sale at the Xiem Clay Center in Pasadena California. Covert Potters Sally Anne Stahl and Chris McCormick will be there with thier latest creations. Chris will also be showcasing his tshirt line “Peace-Out!“. The Sale starts Friday night, come on by and share some food and drink and check out the latest ceramic creations!

Insecure?… Ask A Potter

Chris McCormick — Mon, 03 May 2010 04:32:29 +0000

With all the talk about National Security, let’s talk about personal insecurity…. Describe an insecurity you deal with in making your work?

Sally Anne: The idea of beauty. Is my idea acceptable to others? I know I shouldn’t care, but I do…

Chris: Is it done? No, just a little more, CRAP! Always second guessing myself

Celeste: I am less anxious about the building process now that muscle retention is part of my being. I still have concerns about the glazing and the glaze firing but refuse to change to a different firing temperature.

What are the insecurities that you fine are running around your head when you are working on your art?

Look Into The Future… Ask A Potter

Chris McCormick — Sat, 01 May 2010 13:13:26 +0000

Who doesn’t want to think and plan about the future. We potters are in a long line to the past with the clay we use, the forms we make and the process we explore. But we do look forward to much. Today’s question: What do you look forward to about your pots?

Chris: Having the time to create more, to learn more and release that knowledge into the clay.

Evan: The ones that don’t make the cut and smashing them with a hammer.

Celeste: Getting them out of the kiln.

Sally Anne: Seeing something come out of the kiln and it’s better than I could have hoped. Especially from a wood firing and knowing that I made it – Pride.

You can’t tell me you don’t have hopes or thoughts about what you are doing. What do you look forward to?

We’d love to hear your questions for the Covert Potters. Please leave a comment with any questions you may have and we will try to get them answered as quickly as possible! Thank you… read on

Art From The Ashes ~ Sally Anne Stahl

Chris McCormick — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 20:05:14 +0000

Support. Inspire. Create. Renew.

So, I was hoping to be apart of the last AFTA exhibit to benefit the Santa Barbara Botanical Gardens. I put all my eggs in one basket and failed miserably. The large shadow box cracked in the bisque fire. Lesson learned. This time around, First, I changed my clay body from B-Mix wood fire to paper clay. Paper clay takes a licking and shows no stress. Second, I scaled down the size. My original box was about 30 lbs. of clay. Yes, I realize now how crazy that was. Third, I did one box in B-Mix wood fire and I’m drying it slowly and I have detached the inner shadow box from the bottom of the box. It will be bisque firing this week end on a large cookie. Fingers crossed.

As a potter, you have to think: What do I want to do? What do I want to say? And how do I do that technically? I wanted to create a permanent clay box that had a space to put the reclaimed artifact I collected from the wilderness park. I wanted the clay space around the artifact to reflect the place and nature that the find came from. And yet spoke of the renewal that is going on at the park. I feel nature is a force to be reckoned with: the seed is strong and the land is fertile. And we are helping with the process along.

This is a very moldy paper clay box. turns out that is a common problem with this clay. Good thing, it burns out.

This is the same box after I craved my leaf motif. I was getting ready to glaze this.

A snippet of the finished box with chard wood in the shadow box.

Power tools to help cut the wood. Sweet.

Extreme Technique And Inspiration

Chris McCormick — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 02:14:44 +0000

I am allways looking for information and instruction. YouTube is an amazing resource for information on anything, but it seems that potters and ceramic artists in particular are using YouTube to show thier process’s and techniques. So from the comfort of your home, office or studio you can visit studio’s all over the world and learn exciting new methods or be in awe of amazing art.

Do youself a favor and take some time and look around YouTube. Very inspiring! I found this video today of Tom Radca