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Author: Ken
SOS Art Human Rights Exhibicion in Cincinnati
I had a wonderful time with my printmaker friends: from Cincinnati AND Oaxaca, Mexico as part of the SOS Art Human Rights/Derechos Humanos collaboration. Thank you so much for including me!
Tuve un tiempo maravilloso con mis amigos: de Cincinnati Y Oaxaca, Mexico. Parte de la exhibición de SOS ART derechos Humanos/Human Rights colaboración. Muchas gracias por incluirme!
snapshots from the 100 cup challenge
I need to practice all the things I learned during my “summer of clay workshops” at Arrowmont. My first project will be to make 100 cups. My goal is to make them all before the end of August, but I like the symbolism of 100 cups in 100 days, so lets make THAT the goal.
Here are a few cups I have already made. If you are familiar with my work, these forms probably look more refined and less ‘self-taught’! Stay tuned to see what cup #100 looks like. you know what they say about practice makes perfect!
August 2- I had to move things around in my tiny 6x12ft clay studio to make things fit. The new shelf is not as photogenic as my old one, but it holds a LOT more cups! Here are a few of the cups in different stages. My goal is to have enough to fire the kiln next week. I’ll be out of the studio most of today, but I want to get some trimming and handles attached before the day gets started.
100 Cup Challenge UPDATE- August 4
If you caught me throwing cups on the wheel on facebook LIVE this morning, you might remember a curvy, beehive style cup.
I’m sad to announce it lost its battle with gravity, and its final remains will go to the recycle bucket. We already knew that it had some pre existing conditions, so we should be happy that it’s struggle is over. When I tried to flip it over, it wasn’t dry enough to support itself.
Here’s to all the little cups, that don’t make it to the finish line!!! RIP little beehive cup.
100 CUP CHALLENGE UPDATE-August 8
We hit a milestone today! Enough finished cups (i think 28?) to have our first kiln firing! If all goes well, we will have some pretty new cups (or a pile of rubble) to enjoy on wednesday!I have 31 MORE cups in different stages of completion. I can already tell, this challenge has been good for me. I’m developing a lot of different skills: throwing, trimming, handbuilding, surface design.
Stay tuned to see what happens!
100 cup challenge – live video playback
yesterday, for the 100 cup challenge, i threw a few cups on facebook live. Here’s a shortened and sped up replay of a few of the cups.
Today they get handles!!! Stay tuned!
25 July 2022-kiln opening
Today the kiln decided to be really nice to me, and didn’t make rubble out of any of the porcelain plates and bowls that I spent so much time to decorate. (none of the plates seemed to warp either. Lots of bears inspired by my summer at Arrowmont. Also a NEW COLOR!!! I little darker than I expected, but I can adjust it to be more of a bluegrass blue!
small bear plate 
small goat plate 
oval chicken plate 
small bunny plate 
oval bears doing laundry plate 
oval fox plate 
oval bears with bees and flowers plate 
oval bears doing laundry plate 
oval bears with flowers plate 
oval cardinal plate 
bluegrass flower bowl 
bees and blooms cups 
bear and bees cup 
bear and blooms cup 
bear with blooms cup 
cat in blooms cup 
bird on branch cup 
jumping sheep cup
If you are familiar with me, you know I ONLY sell my pots in person. No online sales, no shipping. If you would like to have one of these (and support my work) come see me this friday (29 July) at the Pendleton Art Center Cincinnati from 5-9pm. I’m at studio 400.
Hope to see you soon!
Seth Green Spout workshop at Arrowmont
I was very fortunate to spend last week at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts to learn from Seth Green . It was a wild week and felt like pottery boot camp, so i wasn’t able to think much about video storytelling, but did get enough footage with my phone to give you a little peek at what the experience was like.
I cant recommend Arrowmont or Seth’s workshop enough. If you EVER get a chance to do either, DO IT. I can guarantee you will be glad that you did!
Thanks again!
pottery intensive week
So far, i’m having a wonderful pottery intensive week. I’ve been able to stay in the ZONE for 3+ days, and hope to keep that momentmum going. My craftsmanship has really leveled up after the last two workshops at Arrowmont. These cups are JUST THE TIP OF THE ICEBURG!!! I have beautifully decorated plates and bowls on the drying rack too.
And you will never guess what im going to start next week…but you KNOW it will involve pottery! I’m so excited and grateful!
8 July 2022 Kiln Opening
Earlier today, I opened the kiln and welcomed some new porcelain pots to the world!
They are all food/microwave safe, and made to be used.
Swipe/use arrows below to see all the pots in a slideshow
Goat plate 
blue bird bowl double carved 
spice jar 3 
spice jar 2 
spice jar 1 
cardinal bowl 
pig bowl 
green leaf bowl 
green bird bowl 
horse bowl 
black bunny cup 
bear with tree cup 
bears with heart cup 
Bear In Blooms Cup 1 
bear In Blooms Cup 2 
horse cup 
bunny with heart cup 2 
bunny with heart cup 1 
goat cup – sold 
bird cup
Unfortunately, I ONLY sell pottery in person. You can come see me every Final Friday at the Pendleton Art Center in Cincinnati. OR by appointment at my home or studio in Old Washington, KY.
PRICES FOR YOUR REFERENCE
cups and simple bowls: $45
Spice Jars: $60
Bowl Carved inside/out and Goat plate: $100Old Washington Paint Group – 6 July 2022
Today’s challenge at the Old Washington wednesday paint group was a bright turquoise pot with yellow marigolds. Here is my underpainting
Starting to add some color to the painting. Yellow and green flowers have been a challenge for me in the past. I’m going to try to keep all the colors, except yellow, toned down, so the yellow pops.
I have color in place. I’m floundering at this point–i haven’t used any cuss words, but the flowers are little yellow ‘monsters’
That’s a wrap! Like I said before, yellow/green floral combinations can be tricky for me, but I’m happy with how this one came out.
Me, the artist, at work! Cameras are a great tool, but sometimes it’s nice to put the technology away and work completely from direct observation…no cameras (or apps). Working directly from life is a great way to experience a subject!
a close up of the finished painting. the colors shine even better in real life–cameras just aren’t the same as experiencing a painting in real life.
oil on board
12″x16″
Washington Hall – linocut block print
greetings from the log cabin print shop in Historic old washington, ky! today, we are going to take a sketch from spring, and fine tune it into a design for a notecard.
design transferred to linoleum. now time for the fun part: carving! 
this one has some details…thank goodness for my tiny little gouge.
carving text is the WORST! especially o’s. grateful that guttenburg invented “movable type” so printers wouldnt have to carve every letter…unless they want to be fancy, like me. lol! 
finished carving…with 10 minutes to spare! should we do a test proof? 
ok! lets mix some ink and see what we’ve done! 
hot off the press!
washington hall – old washington, kyclick the link below for a better look and more information- if you’d like to add one of these linocut notecards to your art collection
Printmaking with rock stars!!
Newspaper clipping from two weeks ago, when Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee-Tina Weymouth (founding member of the Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club), stopped by the Log Cabin Print Shop and did some printing with me!
I’m socially awkward enough to NOT know how to act around rock stars, but Tina and Chris Frantz met in ART SCHOOL – where they formed the Talking Heads– and I know how to talk to ARTISTS! we speak the same language. It was truly an honor to have met Tina and Chris! They are as delightful as their music!