Glyphs of Time :: a blog by jarvis grant

February 12, 2012

A Visit to Creative Clay Studios

The Kiln Gods @ Creative Clay Studios

The Gas Kiln Gods @ Creative Clay Studios

This weekend I visited the Creative Clay Studios located in Alexandria, VA with my friend and colleague, Terry deBardelaben. Terry had finished sculpting and bisque firing a rather large vessel and was taking her work to be glazed and fired at Creative Clay Studios. As stated on their web site, “Creative Clay Studios is Northern Virginia’s home for clay artists”. The space allows artists to use the space as they would their own studio while maintaining a larger inventory of all things clay than the average professional artist would be able to keep. Much like an open studio darkroom used to function back in the day. Creative Clay also is a place for artists at all levels, to learn different ceramic techniques and provides  a place of community for the ceramic artist working in the Washington DC metro area.

While I was there I met Ed Bull the founder of Creative Clay Studios. Ed loves fire! He is a Ceramic Fireman. While Terry and I were there, Ed was conducting a Valentine’s Couples Workshop. Pretty cool stuff! Couples taking the workshop create separate personal “gifts” for each other or work on a project together.  Anyway, Ed took great joy and pride  explaining how the Studio’s variety of kilns operate. He reminded me of the fact that there’s quite a lot of alchemy involved in the creation of ceramic art. The earth, water, assorted chemistry of color glazes all brought together through the magic elements of fire and timing. I really hadn’t heard that stuff since my days at University as an art student. It was fun to hear again. It was also cool to see Ed interacting with the professional artists that were in the studio. Conferring and interacting with them as colleagues and as Master Craftsman.

While at Creative Clay with Terry, I used the time to do impromptu documentation of her as she worked on this piece of artwork. I’ve been photographing and videoing her as she’s been working on her many projects. In fact, I was with her earlier that afternoon at her school were she provides Open Studio for her students at the St. Steven and St. Agnes Upper School. I was editing video I shot  at a workshop  she conducted about sustainability and making art. The Creative Clay Studio is a visually engaging  space. When she was finished working I told her I wanted to make a portrait of her in the space. Then Ed came back into the kiln room, and I asked him if I could photograph him too. I belive a got a couple of good environmental portraits of these two artists and I share them now with you.

Terry deBardelaben, Artist/Scholar

Terry deBardelaben, Artist/Scholar @ The Creative Clay Studios. ©Jarvis Grant

Ed-Bull, Artist & Founder of The Creative Clay Studios

Ed Bull, Artist & Fireman, Founder at Creative Clay Studios. ©Jarvis Grant

 

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February 5, 2012

Citizens We Community Portrait Project, Continues…

Citizens We Logo

Nancy

Nancy, ©Jarvis Grant

A few month ago, I launch a proposal on USA Projects. I was seeking funding for, Citizens We. At that time I was looking to get $5000 for an upgrade to a new 24 inch Epson printer. Well, I didn’t make my goal and the USA Projects aspect of the project folded. With USA Projects it’s an All or Nothing deal. The odd thing is that while I got nothing from the USA Projects part of it, Citizens We actually began to pick up speed and developed a life of its own. People in the community bought into it, and it started to develop a life of its own.

The strange thing about the “Crowd Funding”  model was that many of the people I actually knew, friends and family,  didn’t support the project. They all wanted to write me a check! But, that’s not how this model works.  With Crowd Funding, you “pledge” an amount to a 3rd party organization. Three folks I knew, my daughter, Maya, and two Howard University classmates, Clarissa Sligh and Dan Wade, along with a former student, which I believe was Chris Belcher (or Chris Smith) bought into the process. The rest were strangers! Now, as disheartening as this was, I came out of the experience feeling pretty good. A colleague  of mine Debra Weiss gave me a call from LA to let me know she believed in the project and would add her support for it to continue. That call was HUGE to my ego and my sense that the Citizens We was an important project to keep pushing forward.

Back in December of 2011 another friend and colleague, Joanne Henson, offered me an opportunity to setup an impromptu studio at her Holiday Craft Bazaar. This afforded me the change to setup the studio, and solicited people to be a part of the project.  Along with making the photographs was doing the paperwork for Citizens We. This would not have been accomplished without the help and encouragement of my friend and now Project Director, Terry deBardelaben. Terry was the one who gave me the idea of a community portrait project, and her support has been my most valuable asset. Photographers like to believe they can do everything by themselves. At least that’s what their PR hype will push forward. But now I see that all artists need someone to manage the details. Or if are not managing those details, to point them out to the photographer/artist,  so their attention and action can be addressed.

Here are a few of the portraits I made at Joanne’s Holiday Craft Bazaar. There are some exciting things happening with the project that I’ll be sharing once we are underway. So for all of you that supported the project when it was on USA Projects thanks so very much! New aspects of the project are proceeding, and I’ll be informing you of the progress. Thanks a lot for your continuing and renewed support for Citizens We.

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February 1, 2012

New Photography Magazine: The PHOTO Paper

Filed under: Folio,Media,Observations,Photography — Tags: , , , — Jarvo @ 4:54 pm
Cover The PHOTO PAPER

The PHOTO PAPER premire Issue cover

A couple of weeks ago I got an email notice from the Black & White Spider Awards. I was informed that my photographs were being included in the premier issue of a new photography magazine out of London, UK called The PHOTO Paper. This new magazine, “…spotlights the world’s finest photography and shares with its reader intelligent insights from the photographers of the published collections.”  For their premiere issue they’ve showcase a amazing international black & white collection featuring 522 photographers from 46 countries. Hey that’s nice. Glad to be a part of it! The PHOTO Paper comes in two flavors, print edition and digital edition.  The print edition of The PHOTO Paper includes editorial, stories and interviews. The digital issues have more pages and images than the print editions. The digital issues do not include editorial or interviews.

This approach is an interesting one, in that here in the US, there is a publication, Lenswork, that has been around for almost 20 years. With Lenswork, they have the opposite approach with their publication. The print edition is smaller and the digital edition is larger in both “pages” and scope. The digital editions takes advantage of being able to to show Black & White and Color photographs. It also has video and audio interviews. Plus it maintains a an archive of the podcast produced by the publisher Brooks Jensen. The digital edition also comes in a few flavors. There’s an iPad/Pod version, the DVD edition and a newly created online Lenswork digital hub, Daily Lenswork. Brooks Jensen has been able to keep his baby going fired by his passion for photography and the creative process. A few years ago, he made a very brave and bold decision. He took his print magazine off newsstand and offered it only through his Lenswork Virtual Newsstand web site. He was thinking green. Both for the environment and his bank account! In fact the whole Lenswork concept came about in part, to his reaction to the Fine Art Gallery System.  Jensen believed this “System” was not in the best interest of the artist. Lenswork offered an alternative platform of expression for the artist photographer. It also provided an alternative for artist on how to think about how to control their careers. I also feel that Lenswork provided Jensen with the opportunity to make a substantial contribution to the photographic community/industry. Check him and his publication out.

Ok back to me! Well, when I downloaded the PHOTO Paper digital edition pdf, I was very surprised to se that I had a page for one photograph and a double spread for the other. Thanks The PHOTO Paper. What sensitivity and taste you folks have! But seriously, I’m honored to be part of the Photo Paper’s premier issue. Plus a special shout out to the Black & White Spider Awards for making it possible. Thanks guys.

 

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