2016

2016 has started either I was ready or not. I am taking a short pause from the studio to "relax" a little, clean the house and spend time with my family. My cousin and my niece are in town and I don't know if you know, but we Peruvians, like to celebrate a lot.

The weather here in Florida, has not been the best, but I can't complain, considering how the northern states are suffering with the snow storm, twister, etc. Here is only cold and rainy.

I have some news to share. I have been accepted in two big shows, one in Baltimore and the other in Philadelphia.  I am so happy that my pieces have been accepted, I am really thinking on going up north for the opening.

The first show is "Menagerie" hosted by Baltimore Clayworks. The opening will Friday, May 13th. I am super happy, because the juror was Jenny Mendes and I love, love her work.
This is the piece that got accepted.

The second show is called "Small Favors. An exhibition of diminutive works". Hosted by the Clay Studio in Philadelphia. Opening Reception will be April 1st. In this show my 3 pieces got accepted, yay!!!

Tomorrow I am going to pack my pieces and send them to Philly. I am excited! If I go, I promise I take some photos.

I am so happy that I wanted to share the news with you. 2016 seems like it will be a good year!

Besos!

Cups and more Cups

I know, I know, I have away from here for a couple of months. I have to figure it out a better way to do the stuff I like. I want to do everything and as a result I don't do much.

The latest is that I have done so many cups, 25 to be exact. I need so many things to work better, a potter's wheel to star, fallow by a kiln and a space to be dedicated only to clay and fun stuff, like glass and watercolor. I have talked with contractors and designers and I now I have a drawing and an estimate. Next thing is to find the money, easy right?

So my way to start this big project is with something small. Selling cups myself, usually I give my things to the galleries and they take care of it, they also take a big percentage. So I am going to try to sell things myself in addition to the galleries.

Here is my add, I am running a test on FB to get more people to know me, the more I know the better the chances to find someone who will buy from me.

Click Here to see all my cups, and if you can share it to your friends.
  

I have more news, but is 2 am and I super tired. I tell you more soon. Check my FB page to find out more about me and my cups.

Thank you so much,

Monica

Cup: The Intimate Object XI

Yesterday was the opening of "The Cup XI" at Charlie Cummings Gallery  I never have seen so many beautiful cups in one place, so different from each other, some were traditional, some were modern, some were rustic, some were so delicate, some were full of color, some were monochromatic. I feel so happy and honored to have my cups among such amazing cups. I went to Gainesville with my mother and my husband, they were thrilled, they took so many photos of me, I felt like a movie star. I did not take one single photo, I was so captivated by all the cups. My lovely husband bought a cup for me, and now I am the proud owner of a Sue Tirrell cup.

After the reception we went to celebrate with Indian food, and it was delicious as well,
Thank you Briancito <3, it was a lovely evening.

All the cups are uploaded at Charlie Cummings online store, there are all so pretty I think he sells worldwide. My cups are in page 9, (Monica's Guerrero cups) but please go and look all the cups, there is something for everybody. 

Monica

Posy Vases

This two posy vases were an experiment than turned out very well. They are fired cone 10 and painted with comercial glazes. Before these vases I didn't like that my clay always turned light gray when fired cone 10. I discover that if I want my clay to remain white, I have two options: fired cone 10 electric or change Loafers Glory (my clay) to porcelain.

At the studio they don't fired electric or work with porcelain, so if I want to have the background really white, I have to go somewhere else. Which is not the end of the world, but I am used to fire my pieces in one place, plus it will required me to transport pieces, etc.

So, i made this two small vases, and use different colors to paint them. As you can see, the background is not white, but the light gray is not disturbing either. I asked my classmates and no one were even thinking that the background must be white. I believe I over think way to much and make big problems were there are none.

This two little vases are helping me in more ways than just testing colors.

Oval Platter

Time goes fast, faster than ever, I really don't know what I am doing wrong (well, maybe I do, to much gardening) but I can't keep up.

Here is the oval platter I made last month. I was looking for something to put in his hands and then I found this cute parasol. I couldn't buy just one, so now I have 24 more, I guess I should keep doing this kind of things.

I like this platter, was my first done in the wheel and then altered, throwing it many times on a table, kind of scary but felt good, :D

My previous frog was named "Sir Jumpsalot" I was thinking this one is the same frog, but a friend call him "Sir Singsalot" and that suits him so well, than I will do more of this "alot" frogs. I have a "fishalot" in the kiln right now. Wonder where all those frogs will take me.

That is all for now, I will report again when "Sir Fishalot" is ready.

Fell free to coment, it is always nice to hear from you, wherever you are.

Society6

As you can see by the photo on the right column, I posted some images on Society6, this website takes you digital images and print them in anything you can imagine, besides making a giclee print, they also print in clocks, iPhone cases, iPad cases, computers, rugs, tapestries, pillows, bags, greeting cards,  etc.

I wasn't sure for months if I wanted to do this or not, because I do want to be a serious potter, but then I realize I don't have to limited myself, Dali didn't and neither Picasso among a variety of artist. And then, I watch and class with Molly Hatch and she is on potter who now is designing many things for many companies, and I don't see anything wrong with that, so why not?

Then it was the aspect of piracy, if I put my things out in the cyberspace, people can copy it, but I should be honest to myself, there a hundreds if not thousand people's designs out there, pirates will copy what is selling a lot to make a profit, I am brand new there and not many people know me, my FB likes are in the 3 hundred, I mean who will copy me? There is an artist that I fallow, Gennine, she is so wonderful, I love, love her designs, she has millions of followers that like me love whatever she makes.   And, of course, she deals with piracy constantly, but she makes a lot of money too, so I guess the more famous you get, more chances to be copied.

I think this site will help me to get my art expose, the more people see me the more chances that they go to my website and buy my things, or a gallery get interested in me. Let's hope that.

Here is the link for the current  PROMOTION, Society6 has free delivery worldwide until this Sunday, April 12th, and their prices are very reasonable, go take a look and tell me what do you think?

Monica

More Jars

Finally I can seat and post the 2 jars that I told you about. My computer is slowly dying and there are days that I have no the energy or the patience to fight with it, and rather only use it to see my mail and FB, anything else will take forever.

I really need a new computer and now I am torn between the Mac Air and the Surface 3 Pro, I can not make my mind. I was so sure about the Surface and then my husband started talking about the Mac Air then I ask someone and again, seems like Mac Air is the best choice, but what about the tablet, the Surface is tablet and laptop all in one, but and here is the big but, Windows 8 is a pain, everyone agree with that. Do I want to fight with windows 8 every time I use the computer?

Diossss! Que hacer! Any why, I got distracted, here are the 2 jars, one is called Curious Snail and the other American Robin. Right now they are at the store, hopefully someone will buy it and I will have money for the new computer, keep finger cross.

Sir Jumpsalot

Hello,

Finally, my jars are ready, yay!!!

I was struggling with the colors, we had a lack of supplies at the studio, and I realized that I use light green a lot, chartreuse to be exact and black. I can not live without chartreuseeeeeeeeeeee!!! hahahaha!

What happen without chartreuse, the greens get darker, so I had to think on some more darker, earthy colors. Here is the result. Not so bad either.

I was so relief that I could open the jars, in the past one of my jars got stuck, and it took me a lot of time until finally someone help me, they recommended me to have wood sticks. This guy, Bill, kept hitting the jar, ever so light and continuously until it finally opened. This time my jars had a lot of decorations, it would have been very sad. But it didn't happen, yay!!! again.

Here is the frog, looking good "Sir Jumpsalot", funny name, my friend Deborah, name him, she said, he just look like a Sir, hahaha!

Banner

Sometimes I feel that I can produce at all, my head is full with ideas, thoughts, questions, list, and all sort of things, that make impossible to focus in only one thing. Every year I want to apply for a couple of art shows but the list of things that I will need is so big that it discourage me all the time. I will need among other things, a tent, a banner, something to display my pots, make something cheap so people at least buy a $5 dollar something, business cards, a website, a device that let me connect with the internet for the credit cards,  I know most people have smart phones, but I don't I only use the phone to make calls or text, the rest I mainly do in the computer. I have in a couple of event and I had used my husband iPod, which stress me enormously.

The list is so big, that I feel stress just to remind all of those things. However, I have decided to have a different approach this time, I will do it step by step, and if I don't have things ready this year, for sure they will be ready next.

First step business cards... DONE. I feel so relief, it was such a headache thinking of that, and decided of theme or brand that will resume my work, I know it sounds silly but it is hard work, unless you go and hired a creative from an add agency that will help you with everything, but it will also cost you a fortune. Lucky for me, I have some friends in that field, but news is that they are Peru :(

I fund a wonderful designer a friend of my brother who helped me with the cards and finger cross will help me with all the other things. It is a bit complicated since I am here in Florida and he is in Lima, but things are working out fine.

Second step, a banner. Have you seen those banners in the tents of craft shows, there is a graphic, or a photo with the name of the person or store, the website and so on. Every page on the web and every book said a banner is a MUST, well, I am working on that. Is not as easy as to pick a photo and write all your information, or perhaps some people can, my brain works very slow and thinks way to much, should I use a photo or a design, what kind of design, etc, etc, etc. I decided to paint something in watercolors, something that lately have been very well received by people: my Florida Summer collection.

Here it is:

 

What do you think? I think it will work, now with the magic of photoshop and a talented designer like my new best friend Ozkar, it will be the banner I will use for the next show :)

I posted it on FB and people really like it, some people told me that I should illustrate children books! wow! You know, I always wanted to be a children book illustrator, the same way I always wanted to make a dinner ware set in the wheel, and have a book published, I am never short of wishes and dreams.  Perhaps they all come true someday. In the meantime, I really have to focus and finish my plates, see you next time.

Vases

Yes! Again I am trying to make tall vases on the wheel, it is hard, at least it is hard for me. I can do small vases, but my goal is to make something tall, with fat walls so I can carve them and thin wall so I can paint them.

I got help from my teacher Scott with this vase, and I want to do something exactly like that all by myself, perhaps I have to practice more, perhaps is time to buy a wheel and practice more at my house. I am working on that, but every time I think we can afford one something happen, roof leaks, pluming problems, car problems, there is always something, but hopefully this will be the year.

Anyways, this vase was decorated with mishima and later sprayed with spodumene and dijon glazes, cone 10. I wanted to make a clear difference in the color of the bunnies and the color of the background, but I couldn't every time I tried I couldn't totally control the spray gun. I was thinking a different spray gun, the one you can use to paint but I have been told that the consistency of glazes and the consistency of ink will not be the same even when it kind of look the same, bummer!

I was also looking the videos of a wonderful potter, his name is Charlie Tefft, and he makes the most lovely pots, he also sprayed his pots, and in his video, of course, it looks like it is not that difficult, but IT IS! I am going to keep investigating and experimenting with goof luck I will be able to find something that works for me.

Here is the vase, tell me what do you think or suggestions.

Lidded Jars

I know it has been a while, pottery is coming slow this year. Family visiting, cold weather in Florida, and yes, I know that if you live up north our cold is nothing, but it is really cold for us. Then trying to clean the house, my little room, the garden, so many things to do, and very little accomplished.

How can those women do everything so nicely? Keeping a clean and neat house is not easy, cooking takes so much time, gardening too. How can they do everything, how they manage to have those pretty immaculate houses? I have been reading a lot of Apartments Therapy to find out, my only clue, they have way much more energy than me.

Anyway, here is the new project, lidded jars, I had made 3, here is the first one. Also it is me in my little room/studio with the frog in process.

I forgot to take a photo of the little frog, luckily my friend Betsy did it. Here are her photos, one with me (again) holding the little frog and the other one just the frog itself. I am at the Hyde Park Art Studio, you can see it a little, and no, it is not that we need the mirrors to look at ourselves all the time, someone said it is the best for you to look the pot in the mirror instead of keep twisting our bodies.

I will post another photo of the lidded jar with a frog after it is glazed and fired again.

Restless Squirrels Plate

Happy New Year!

When do we stop saying Happy New Year? in February? The holidays had left me totally burn out, to many things to do, people coming, people leaving, helping my husband with the business, cleaning the house... so many things that needed to be done, I was unable to do everything so I have to make some cuts, my garden is a jungle again, my little room is chaotic (well, is getting better now), and I have not done anything art related. I have so many projects in my mind, that right now feel I bit overwhelmed, I need to start categorizing in order to do something... but today is cloudy and rainy, I just want to lay down and read one of the books that I have all piled up in my bedroom.

But, I have to start somewhere, and I thought this will be the place to start :)

This is a plate I did last year, it has been recently fired cone 6, I call it the Restless Squirrels Plate, it has been all carved out and then painted, what do you think?

7,503 votes and Only 9 more days left!!!

I don't know how many more votes I will be able to reach, and everything ends on September 22nd. Right now I am in the number 16 out of 1000 people. Amazing, isn't it?? I really, really want to get into the finals, finalist will be interview in Martha Stewart Living Magazine, and that will give so much exposure, it will really help me to start the foundation of a real business. But the competition is soooo hard!!! Right now the number 3 has 28,745 votes, how can she got all those votes??? oh, yes perhaps because she has 35K fans in her FB page! My God, this is an insane competition, why would someone like me would dare to compete with such big nominees, oh yes, I remember, because I am a dreamer! I always do that, I must be a very, very crazy girl. I don't know how many will pass to the finals, I don't quite understand if it is 6 per category, or 6 total, one per each category!

Oh, but there is hope, just the hope that someone from Martha's team would look at my artwork and decided to fallow my projects, and then maybe one day, they will need some pots for an article in the magazine and they will think: I know someone whose pieces will work perfect here....ahhh, dreams!!! What do we do for our dreams? Everything !!!

So in case you don't know much about this, just go to the link below, register and vote for me, you can vote up to 6 continuous times every 24 hours. Thank you!!

http://www.marthastewart.com/americanmade/nominee/80557

5,063 votes!!!

Yes, we have made 5,063 votes yahooo!!! I am so happy and so excited! When the competition started I though that 5,000 will be all that I will need to get into the finals, I read an article about another nominee who had that and pass into the finals, but lately I also discover that last year there were a total of 1,000 nominees, this year there are 1,000 only in my category!! This is a very stressful competition, and it is only online, I can not imagine how it would be to be a politician, fighting and begging for votes. I guess that is why they have a big campaign team, a marketing team and so on. I am doing it by myself, at home in my computer.

However, I have a huge support system, I have family and I have amazing friends, I don't have a big fan base in my FB page, because I don't have a big business, I haven't being doing for many years, I don't even have a studio. All I do has been made in the city community studio and in the little room of my house, I call it the "room of requirements" I only wish it work the same way that in the Harry Potter's books.

I am in this competition because I want a studio, I want a wheel and some tools, I am so small that I can not think of getting my business bigger I am in the getting a business stage. However, even when I am that small I am leading (at this moment, things change so fast with online voting) the Florida nominees, yupi!!! I am still processing that,that will put me in the number 20, I am 20 among 1000!!!!

Few days after the competition started, I took the time to look to all the nominees in the craft category, there were close to 1000, perhaps 998 or something like that, and I was the number 54, a week later I look again to all those 55 again and I was the number 24. I didn't look to all of them, because there was a big gap between them and the rest, so my thinking is that they will keep running behind, I can be wrong, of course. But it is so tedious to look to all the pages, that I am just concentrating on those 55.

I have noticed that even when there are some who keep increasing the votes (the leaders) most of the people with big number are now decreasing, and I think is because even when you have a big group of fans at the beginning what you need is a loyal and constant group who vote everyday, and that is what i have, very, very loyal and caring friends, there are not hundreds, but they made their voice heard, and it is show on the constant number of votes I have every day. They are truly amazing friends!!!

I have to say that if I want to win the competition I need more people, and that its very difficult, I need people who can sit in front of the computer every day and vote, and that's a lot. I think that in order to do that I have to increase my number of fans, so my page can be show in more Facebook's news feed. But how to do that??? I really need some marketing lessons.

Anyway, if you, whoever you are, wherever you be wants to contribute with the edification of my studio please go to the link below, register and vote. You can vote up to 6 times every 24 hours until September 22nd. Thank you!!

http://www.marthastewart.com/americanmade/nominee/80557

You can also go to my FB page and click on LIKE, that way it will help me to get to more people

https://www.facebook.com/BarroyArena

Thank you for all the help!!

Monica

476 votes and counting

Hello,

Well, the competition started on Monday and let me tell you it has been very exciting, counting votes and asking people to help, I am not at the bottom  but I am not at the top either. There is one excellent craftswoman in Massachusetts who already has more than 2,000 votes, there is another in Palm Harbor, Florida who has 800. So I guess for being my first time I am not so bad. I hope more friends find out and start voting. If you like my work, wherever you are, you can help me to. You can 5 times a day until September 13th. With your help I will be able to buy a wheel and start building my studio. I know it is very hard to get more than 5,000 votes but I am willing to fight for it, would you help me?

American Made

Hello,

As some of you may have notice I am applying to Martha Stewart American Made 2013. This is a online contest and the "only" thing I will need is 5,000 votes. Yeah, right! Where on Earth am I going to find 5,000 people who will vote for me!

Anyway, the contest is free and I will give it a shot, I can not imagine any bad scenarios coming from this, so why not, right and maybe, just maybe I can gin the money and I now exactly how to use that money :) A potter's wheel, a wedging table, some glazes. The beginning of my studio, maybe only the floor and some screen in the garden, but its a start, don't you think?

So, please vote for me, there is no money involve, just a click, perhaps there will be the option to vote everyday during the 19 days of the competition, I don't know, the clicking features on the "American Made" website will be open on Monday. Competition starts Monday, August 26th  through Thursday September 19th.

Here is the link, ah, by the way if you click on the like button as well, that will be awesome too :)

Thanks a lot,

Monica

Here is the link, you can also just click on the badge of American Made in the column on your right.

http://www.marthastewart.com/americanmade/nominee/80557

Inca Summer

I was taking some photos the other day, took me so long to just take photos of 7 bowls, I guess I will have to keep practicing. Any way, here there are..

There are more photos here: Inca Summer and here Barro y Arena