Clinky Classic

It snowed! It didn't last long, but for a brief while everything around the showhall had a dusting of white.

I had the privilege this past weekend to judge the Custom Glazed division at Clinky Classic. It was inspiring to see just how far many of my colleagues have pushed the media in recent years. I filled a flash disk full of pictures, hoping to share some of them here but almost all had focus issues. (I have been in denial that I killed my auto-focusing macro lens the when I dropped the camera - for the second time - a few weeks ago.)




So while I don't have good close-up photos of some of the amazing pieces I got to judge (like Lynn Fraley's wonderfully subtle Madtom and Joan Berkwitz' stunning Vin Diesel), I did get pictures around the show hall. The picture above is this year's winning cookie entry. Since the Creature from the Blue Lagoon might seem an odd symbol of Christmas cheer, I included an image from the reception area at Kristina and Paul's studio. The last time Kristina held her show, we all had great fun posing under the (life-sized) monster's grasping claw.

One of the neat parts about all-china shows is the awards. Not only have showholders traditionally provided glazed medallions ("cookies") for the Champions and Reserves, but many of the producers contribute special awards, too. For someone like me, who collects ceramic bric-a-brac, the "swag" table is always fun to see. I was particularly taken with Donna Chaney's tiny pedestal-based horse busts. (My friend Brona informed me that my favored term "ephemera" applies to paper goods, so I'm still searching for a nice-sounding word for what it is I collect!)



And finally, here is Kristina's china cabinet. I love looking at other ceramic artists' china cabinets, not just because they often have stunning pieces, but because many of them hold experiments (their own and those from other artists). I went ahead and uploaded this picture fairly large so those interested could get a better look at the individual pieces

It really was a great weekend, full of wonderful ceramic ware and even more wonderful people. Now if only I could find the time to resurrect MudFest so we would all have an excuse to gather together again!