Tag: Life In The Studio

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power restored.

A very short post to announce a very big thing!

Our generator is hooked up, all connections were approved by the start-up tech and we officially have the kilns back on line. This ceramic studio is back in business baby!

Credit on this project goes entirely to my husband Nate, who possesses knowledge about how all things work to a capacity that I will never understand and instead will just be grateful for.

Plan is to fire up the first bisque load manana – and apologies in advance to all my neighbors within ear shot of the generator noises!

Creative Endeavors in Septic Land

We had hoped that installing the necessary septic system for the studio wouldn’t cause too much of a scar on the desert landscape adjacent to the building, but alas, we were wrong. Instead we were left with a very large area where any thriving plant life had been completely decimated, luckily very few trees were harmed in the process – but still. What to do with such an eyesore?

We talked about replanting the space with local native species, and of course adding art but it just seemed so sparse that it was like putting a bandaid on a gaping wound. So inspired by a friend’s design in their garden, we created a sprawling 25′ wide labyrinth on the space instead. I wish that I had taken a photo of the ‘before’ because the results are pretty dramatic but since there’s no photographic proof, that just tells you how much no one really wanted to remember the ‘before’.

Hundreds of wheelbarrows of dirt later, we evened out the area, removed dead plants and hid the majority of the visible tank lid area. Then laid out the pattern which is a slightly unique labyrinth design that allows patrons to enter on one end, follow the path to the center and then exit, winding out the opposite side. Typically labyrinths have one path into the center that is then followed back out again, as a way to practice mindfulness, meditation and create balance as one walks the path.

Since our path leads literally to the septic tank lid (which will of course be covered and disguised with a very cool sculpture) a friend suggested that one should walk our labyrinth path with mindfulness and spirituality and then just get rid of our shit and keep on going. I have to say, I like this type of mindfulness and it all seems very appropriate to me. Thoughts??

The path is lined by rocks from our property but they will slowly be replaced over time with hand made ceramic rocks from my Rock Candy Series, to add color and another layer of creativity to the space. It will take awhile to replace all the rocks but that is its own journey of mindfulness and meditation. I imagine that the center sculpture will also be changed out overtime too, so that the labyrinth evolves alongside the land it is placed in, regrowing and rebuilding with time.

This was an unplanned element to add to the up and coming sculpture garden but I’m excited by it’s potential and it’s definitely a much better visual than the scar of construction, so with that, you are cordially invited to come and walk the path, leave your shit behind and enjoy the view!

holiday shopping? buy art!

To be honest, I’m not a big gift giver, or a big fan of receiving gifts, especially if it’s “just because” it’s holiday season but sometimes a gift is the best way to really show someone that you care. When I do give gifts, they tend to be handmade, consumable, and/or an experience I can share with the person. When I travel, I seek out souvenir gifts that follow these same rules and I end up with a story to tell and a great memory from that purchase. It takes a little more effort to gift this way, but I think it’s worth it.

When you buy from a small business, you support an actual human. And when you buy from a maker, you support their creative contribution to a community. As someone who sells tangible items, I can tell you first hand how much your choice to buy something handmade by an actual human supports my world.

collaborative trinket necklace | shop | Jenni Ward ceramic sculpture
collaborative trinket necklaces | shop | Jenni Ward ceramic sculpture
Trinket Necklace on Display | shop | Jenni Ward ceramic sculpture
trinket necklaces available in the shop!

So, this is all to say, if you’re buying gifts for those that you love this holiday season, the online shop is open! And if I don’t have what you need for a gift, please consider supporting other independent makers – they will definitely appreciate it way more than your big box stores. As always, thank you for your support – I couldn’t do it without you!

one step closer

We are so much closer to firing up the kilns, that it’s actually getting exciting at this point!

Thanks to Nate’s planning and prowess, we have all of the electrical connected from the generator and to the kilns now we just need to connect the propane components. Getting all the electrical boxes hooked up required a lot of rearranging in the studio and I ended up needing to move a whole shelving unit that was loaded with raw clay work. So rather than move it twice, I just loaded up the big kiln with all of the dry work, which got the work out of the way and emptied the shelves. Normally kiln loading is a pretty mundane task, it’s been a year since I’ve filled the kilns and it felt really great to get to this point of progress.

it’s the little things that matter

Since I’m still obsessed with all things plankton related, I couldn’t help but share this article NPR recently released on the connection between plankton and climate change. The science geek in me, loves to read about how important plankton are for sustaining life on our planet. The artist in me wants to figure out how I can share that knowledge through my art.

In the article, ‘How dead stuff at the bottom of the ocean helps slow the pace of climate change‘, Stanford bio-engineering professor Manu Prakash says, “The small stuff controls the big stuff. On our planet, that’s a rule that we should think about. That the small stuff really matters.”

Save the date for Bodies of Water! | the dirt | Jenni Ward ceramic sculpture

This idea relates well to my concept of creating the plankton blooms installations, taking a single cell plankton which are impossible to see with the naked eye, and making them made big enough to relate to in the gallery. Then assembled in the form of a plankton bloom, which in nature is big enough to be seen from space and shrinking it down to fit the gallery walls, ultimately, makes the unseen, seen. I love how changing our perspectives allow for the information to sink in through the visuals of art.

Bodies of Water Exhibit | Installations | Jenni Ward ceramic sculpture

To read the full article, click here.

all the things…

This month has really been a steep learning curve into running an art business in Mexico. We actually got a Mexican bank account, which seems like a simple task but let me tell you, it is not. Just one of the hurdles we had to overcome was the requirement for an electrical bill as one form of proof of residency and since we are off the grid, no electrical bill. The work around for this is ridiculous but we did it and officially have an account.

And now that we have an account to manage, we hired an accountant to help us change our fiscal activities within the Mexican tax system and we are now allowed to make money here – amazing! All I have to do now is learn all the local rules for bookkeeping, reporting and taxes – in Spanish – Lol.

I also successfully shipped artwork from Baja Sur to the Pacific Northwest, not an easy feat considering that we are so rural that we don’t have an address. I was so relieved when I saw that the package had cleared customs without a hitch and shortly afterwards, that the piece arrived to my client safely. Tiny miracles happening everyday! I could not of done this without the generosity of a local art gallery that helped me through the process. But I learned a lot and I’m on the way to being able to start shipping on my own soon!

Next technical task for living abroad is renewing our temporary residency cards at immigration – we can’t believe we’ve been here for an entire year already! And at the same time we need to, keep making art, continue designing the sculpture garden, and get the studio ready for Open Studios in January. So yeah, all the things.

digging in

Just an update one of the nitty gritty projects going on in the studio these days…

Nate has been working hard to get the generator hooked up to run his welder and my kilns. Over the past few weeks, he poured the pad for the generator to sit on, planned all the layout for the boxes and conduit, mounted up all the electrical boxes and (as I type!) is finishing digging the trench for the conduit. Luckily we’ve had a few cool days for all the digging work, which would have been brutal a few weeks ago. Next up is laying the conduit, pulling all the wire and making the connections. After that, we just need to plumb in the propane. This is a huge job with a lot of components, but we’re seeing the end in sight!

And then – we will have the power!

upcycling

While I wait for my generator to get hooked up so I can continue working with clay, I’ve been adventurously working with the wood from all of the pallets our things came down here on. To be honest, I’m not the most skilled at measuring and the skilsaw isn’t my favorite power tool, but I’m getting more confident using it.

upcycling | the dirt | Jenni Ward ceramic sculpture
upcycling | the dirt | Jenni Ward ceramic sculpture
upcycling | the dirt | Jenni Ward ceramic sculpture

I used a sawzall to dismantle all of the pallets into planks and then sorted out the super split pieces from the reusable. Despite my ability to measure accurately, I still got everything figured out to make shelves for the studio closet and a few benches for outside. The shelves also required hammer drilling into the concrete walls to set anchors for the ledger pieces, another skill I’m getting more confidant in doing and since everything here is made of concrete, I need to get better at it! The wonkiness of all the wood is great for my lack of precision and I love how funky and rustic the results are. Not only have I upcycled materials, I’ve gotten rid of the pile of pallets that’s been sitting at the front door for months.

upcycling | the dirt | Jenni Ward ceramic sculpture

And if you look at the little containers sitting on the bench, you’ll notice they are upcycled bottles that I cut to make small desert terrariums with a few little clay forms nested into them too. Now, the question is, what to make next!?!

just a dash of water

We had our first big storm of hurricane season come through and while it was less intense than predicted for our area, it did bring with it a good amount of rain. If you look across our desert right now, it appears dead and brown, but if you look closer at the branches, you’ll see the tiny bits of growth starting.

I love how opportunistic the desert is, creating the prettiest, stain glass windows of green leaves with the smallest amount of water. Also notice the very sharp thorns protecting those tiny leaves from being gobbled up. This is just the start, soon the whole desert will look lush and verdant.

The image on the far left, above is a Palo Adan tree, similar to an Ocotillo they are thorned and produce small leaves and bright red flowers that the hummingbirds love. The middle image is a Torote tree which grows prolifically here and has thick trucks with papery bark, small fan shaped leaves and produces purple berries that the birds enjoy. The image on the right, I’m almost positive is a wild cape plum, it has a fleshy trunk and branches and produces an edible fruit, that is supposed to be delicious.

It’s been a minute…

I’ve rarely taken a hiatus from writing in The Dirt since starting it way, way back in January of 2015, but sometimes a break is good and I also don’t like to clog up inboxes with nada, so here we are two months later. Thank you to all of you who reached out concerned when you noticed that The Dirt wasn’t showing up – it’s always nice to know people are out there in cyberspace reading this!

To catch you up, it’s been a hot and dusty summer here in the desert. Most of my time has been devoted to the dogs these days since we officially adopted Cazadora, who then promptly needed surgery but she’s recovered and is doing great. Our morning walks on an empty beach are the highlight of the dogs days and with the water warming up, we jump in whenever we can. While we are missing the whales of winter, instead, the sea turtles have been coming up on the beach to nest, schools of rays have been swimming so close in shore that you can see them in the breaking waves and I even found paper nautilus shells washed up on the beach. Keeping an eye out for rattlesnakes and super weird bugs is also a highlight of summer. As my neighbor says, it’s not for the feint of heart but the adventure keeps you on your toes and the inspiration from nature is everywhere. Now, we hope to get through the September rain storms without issues and without hurricanes, while quenching the thirsty desert!

It’s been hard to make a lot of progress on projects because of the heat, but we have plugged away at a few things. I finished tiling the studio sink counter top, which was a bigger endeavor than I anticipated but I love the way it turned out. Little details like getting artwork up on the walls, designing curtains and making shelves from the pallets we used to move our things here, take time to do but make the biggest impact on the finishing touches of the space.

The most exciting move forward is my generator to run my kilns and Nate’s welder has arrived! It’s a beast of a thing and it needs a lot of planning for hooking up the electrical and the propane to it, but once it’s set up – we will be a fully functional ceramic studio! Wahoo! Nothing is easy or fast when you live off the grid, in the middle of nowhere, but it’s totally worth it.