Just in time for Christmas 2021, I am having a CLEARANCE SALE over on Etsy. Everything that is listed on the shop right now is packed and ready to ship. The last day to take advantage of this sale will be December 15th…that is the last day that USPS will get packages from me for Christmas deliveries.
Swing by and take a look!
Comments Off on Etsy Shop is Back
Etsy Shop is Back
2021
12.01
12.01
Comments Off on Creating a “Racket”
Creating a “Racket”
2021
05.05
05.05
Yesterday, I created an account on racket.com… like I don’t have anything else to do, right? Anyway, the concept intrigues me. Racket provides a platform to create one-take, 9 minute (maximum) audio recordings and post them instantly. It is much like a podcast but there is a time limit and there is no editing before posting. I see opportunities to talk about creativity, motivation, and the ability to answer the burning question, “What does that new ceramic musical instrument sound like?” Check it out.
Comments Off on The Clean-up Marathon Begins
The Clean-up Marathon Begins
2021
05.05
05.05
When I purchased our three acres in paradise I was aware of the burned-out trailer and a rough attempt to level a small area near the road. The beauty of the acres of towering timber probably blinded me to the several areas across the property that were used by previous owners as their own, private trash dump. The more scrub, brambles, and brush that I have cleared means that a month or so of anticipated clean-up stretched into a marathon of weekends for a couple of years. It is OK, though. This is an environmental disaster clean-up that will benefit the entire area and will make the studio a much friendlier place for flora and fauna. I post this capture from Google Street View from 2017 to remind me just how much the site has changed. I may talk about what happened on the site in 2020…for now, let’s leave it at “it bugs me” to talk about it.
Comments Off on I Must Be Crazy
I Must Be Crazy
2019
03.27
03.27
A new adventure in our world of studio art and country living has started. At the end of 2018, a heavily-wooded piece of land was secured for the purpose of building a new residence along with studio space to do clay and fiber arts. This paulchenoweth.com or chenowetharts.com space will be used to let our friends and followers see and hear what all this adventure entails. For security reasons, there won’t be a lot of detail provided as to the exact location (for now) but let’s leave it to say that Middle-Tennessee will remain home, but Nashville will be in the rear view mirror in a few years. For my geeky architecture and design friends, this is a rough topographical layout of the three acre plot:
Comments Off on Arrowmont Fire
Arrowmont Fire
2016
11.29
11.29
The news this morning about the spread of forest fires into the resort town of Gatlinburg were scary. The very mention of Arrowmont among the list of 30 or so businesses that were identified as fire-damaged or destroyed made my heart sink. Pictures like the one on the left, looking up the drive into Arrowmont, left me feeling a huge sense of loss.
The news later in the day sounds a little more promising. Yes there were buildings burned on the Arrowmont campus, but not all. Mixed reports seem to narrow the destruction down to maybe 2 buildings with smoke damage to others. That’s still not great news, but there is a sense of relief and thankfulness that no lives were lost and that a special place to me and so many artists survived.
Arrowmont Executive Director, Bill Mays, is quoted in a WBIR-TV interview as saying, “We are OK. Much destruction and loss in our community, many hurting. Thankful the school survived. Thankful for Arrowmont friends everywhere. Please get the word out that Arrowmont is still here.”
Comments Off on Busy November Wrapping Up
Busy November Wrapping Up
2016
11.28
11.28
November has been a month for making changes around the studio and for exploring new sales opportunities. ChenowethARTS exhibited with 22 other Tennessee Craft members at Nashville’s Gordon Community Center for the entire month. Roughly 80 bowls were made and contributed to the Chili Bowl sale at Belmont University’s Art Department. Most importantly, after several months of agonizing and preparing, there is a new ChenowethARTS shop on Etsy that will feature functional wares and gift ideas…there are still more artistic creations that are intended for gallery display, but barring a change of heart to do craft fairs, Etsy may be the route I pursue for functional pieces.
There is a new slab roller in the studio that can definitely put the hurt on a fingertip (that’s a whole different story). A whole new world of surface treatments has opened up using my own silk-screened designs to add depth to my usual repertoire of glazing techniques…and I’m having fun with that! Several new under-glaze colors are making their appearances on test pieces and I am discovering that airbrushing of under-glazes can be addictive 🙂
Gearing up for a hectic holiday season…my best to you and yours!
-Paul
Comments Off on Definitely NOT in Kansas…
Definitely NOT in Kansas…
2015
07.06
07.06
Containers for plants…they seem to be everywhere. From the big box stores to grocery stores, you see them with their Made in Mexico or Made in China labels at prices that are unbelievably cheap. I am guilty of buying those pieces, but this year I turned my focus to making a series of self-watering containers for plants that are a cut above the mass-produced imports.
This particular piece came about from a challenge on a Potter’s Council online forum. The spring season in Tennessee is a time when we experience outbreaks of storms and tornadoes, so my Spring-themed container for a plant pays homage to those destructive events with a hat tip to a famous scene from the Wizard of Oz.
Now that I have opened this can of worms, I have to decide if it is worth it to make more of these things. The nature of the design takes it out of the realm of mass production and the detail takes so much time that it will be difficult to recover the investment in time and energy. My wife has declared this a collector’s item (hers) and has already pointed to the plant that she wants to see growing in this container. I am OK with that idea…I had already experienced nightmares on what it would take to ship this thing with protruding legs as far as Kansas…or across the street for that matter.
I do like the idea of narrative pots. It seems a shame that the humble container for dirt and plants doesn’t seem to be worthy of artistic respect. Perhaps an new class of container classification would boost the reputation of the narrative pot…something like Conteneur de Fleur – Fantaisie could bump the price tag up to something respectable. So, before this post sounds too much like whining, I did have fun making this piece and that enjoyment has a great deal of value to me. Now, I have to work on getting that “Ding dong, the wicked witch is dead…” music out of my head. I am definitely NOT in Kansas, Dorothy!
F3 – The Wicked Witch is Dead 18″ tall stoneware container for plants with self-watering features. Principal container is wheel-thrown in three separate pieces then assembled with hand-built house parts and stocking legs. Underglaze was applied to the stockings and shoes then the entire piece was sprayed with multiple, blended Cone 10 glazes. Final firing was reduction, Cone 10 in a Bailey gas kiln.
