Mugs for Ursa

These winter-y mugs will be available at Ursa sometime soon.....

joining the recent obsession with plants in pots

two plant pots and saucers

wizard beard hanging planter

A jumble of work at SMALLpieces..

Details in the previous post.

SMALLpieces featured seller

Hello!  During the month of April I will have more than the usual amount of work for sale at SMALLpieces on Weston Street in East Brunswick.  As well as scallops and slabs, there will be some new pouf-y handled lidded containers, platters, potentially a few things in the 'cheap n cheerful' category, and other gems and bits.
 
Also, on Friday April 12th the SMALLpieces and Northcote Pottery Supplies  will be open late (til 8pm) and there will be a few refreshments and general casual hanging out.  Everyone welcome! Come by and 'meet the artist'!

High Tea With Mrs Woo

A variety of my wares can now be found in the delightful and newly renovated High Tea With Mrs Woo on Cook's Hill in Newcastle.  Eventually there will also be a selection of pieces at their Paddington (Sydney) shoppe.

Douglas and Bec

Hello to those in Auckland!  You can now find some of my slab built range at Douglas in Bec in St Mary's Bay.  Cups and saucers are there now, with the rest of the line arriving shortly.  

shop online!

As it turns out, some of my things are available online through Craft Vic.  I'm not sure when this started or when it will end.  Get amongst it here!

TDFOH2012

Biggest (consignment) order to date!  All ready for The Design Files Open House.  This is the first time that my 'scallop' bowls and plates will be available in grey (with speckles and 'x's of coures).

Recommended Reading

http://bpracticalpottery.wordpress.com/2012/11/03/a-paper-on-joan-bruneaus-fiddlehead-platter-lets-reclaim-meal-time/

A paper by Bridget Fairbank on Joan Bruneau's Fiddlehead Platter

A couple of old photos of stuff I forgot I made

The Age

Hello.  As many of you dear readers would have seen, there was a wee profile of me and my work in The Age this Saturday.  I'm feeling pretty embarrassed about how it came off and I'd like to make some excuses and waffle on a bit more about some of the points.  
My main excuses for a lack of substance in the article are that I was feeling quite sick that week and wasn't on my game, and also I am really crap at thinking/doing/responding-intelligently-to-questions on the spot.  Especially when strangers are involved.  Another complication is that I am currently working on two very different 'lines' of work.  They were developed in different ways, for different reasons.  Many of the questions I was asked had more than one answer.  I think my tendency was to offer one vague or muddled answer instead. 
The writer, Megan Backhouse, seems a lovely, energetic lady, who is competent at her work, but i'm afraid I didn't give her a lot to go on. 

A few notes then:
-Links to my stockists can be found on the right hand side of the screen.  In Melbourne that's Craft Victoria, Save Yourself, Small Pieces and Ursa.  
-a small correction, I work at Northcote Pottery Supplies, as opposed to Northcote Pottery (Australasia).
-Back home I wasn't applying glaze in "layers" but using resist methods to apply glazes side by side, with, as Backhouse says, very clean lines in between.  

circa 2008 Midfire, pointed bottom cup, multiple glazes

-Before a glaze is fired onto the piece, it is a fragile powdery coating.  Transporting multiple glazed pieces to the kilns only to find they had been smudged together or chipped off became frustrating. I looked for alternate ways to incorporate colour and texture into my work. Hence stained and speckled clay (with a simple clear glaze) on the slab pieces.   
-I find my creative process relies on these sorts of restrictions.  I was without a potters wheel, so I began building with slabs.  Without a kiln, I change my work to make transport to the kilns less of a headache.  Without restrictions I would be overwhelmed with possibilities and I wouldn't know where to start.  
-"What Vachon wants out of her crockery are pieces that feel good in the hand or on the mouth and that don't have thin parts that will chip off"  There is something really embarrassing about this.  Like my main goal is that bits won't chip off.  I truely dislike chipped feet or lips.  But there obviously more to my work than sturdiness!  I just don't know how to put it into words.  
-''The form has to be intentional, even though some of my saucers are borderline on this.  (they warp during drying and firing)

''I am not into throwing a piece of clay and seeing how it lands[and calling that art].''  The 'integrity of form' and 'intention' ideas were drilled into my head at Uni.  They probably warrant another blog post sometime in the future.  

-''In an ideal world I would stop work at five and start making dinner''  Wow.  I am such a dork.  Actually in an ideal world I would have an endless amount of energy, it would always be 28 degrees, and dinner would make itself. As it happens I'm usually tired and hungry by 5:00 and dinner is on my mind.  (Also Nik works long hours too and I like to feed him.)  

Well I really need to get back out into the studio, so that's all I'll say on the matter for now.  Thanks for reading. 

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/art-and-design/strong-design-is-her-cup-of-tea-20121019-27vx1.html#ixzz29saGpwUn

  

TDFOH2012

I'm excited to say that some of my work will be in this years The Design Files Open House - which is a pop-up shop that takes place in a proper house. Homewares sold from a house!  What an idea!
The following photos and words are borrowed from The Design Files.

A selection of product from The Design Files Open House 2012!  TOP LEFT – tableware by Marimekko, linen and placemats by Bonnie and Neil, TOP RIGHT – all furniture by Jardan, rug by Loom, cushion by Bonnie and Neil, artwork by Kirra Jamison, BOTTOM LEFT – hanging artworks by Kirra Jamison, artwork on floor by Esther Stewart, Flynn stool by Jardan, tote by Harvest Textiles.  BOTTOM RIGHT – table by Jardan, rug by Loom, teacup and saucers by Dawn Vachon.  Photos – Sean Fennessy, Styling – Lucy Feagins, Styling assistant – Nat Turnbull.

Couverture blog

http://www.couvertureandthegarbstore.com/blog/2012/09/19/new-brand-focus-dawn-vachon-ceramics

current 'scallop' range - or line, if you will

Couverture and The Garbstore

My slab built pieces can now be found across seas in London!  After a very nervous week of transit I've been told that they've arrived without a scratch or a crack - phew! So if you are in the Notting Hill neck of the woods, duck into Couverture and The Garbstore and buy me these mittens.

new pouring vessels

Small Pieces / Northcote Pottery

Window Display!

Ursa Studiohouse

Now the slab series (the pink, grey and cream coloured ones) can be found on Lygon Street in East Brunswick at a lovely little shop called Ursa.  Many of the objects and artworks she stocks are made in Melbourne's inner north, with a few international additions.  It's definitely worth popping in if you're in the neighborhood.

Craft Victoria

My work is now available at the shop at Craft Victoria.  CV is a great organization and I'm really proud to have some of my work there.  It is at 31 Flinders Lane, Melbourne and the hours are Monday to Saturday from 10-5.  

Thanks A Plate a Day!

A Plate a Day is a great way to stock the ol' image bank on a regular basis.

These plates were made during my residency at the Incinerator Arts Complex in Moonee ponds.  They now belong to Sachiko Mardon, whose residency there has just finished up.  I wish I had a website for her to link to but unfortunately I just have this...

Thanks Design*Sponge, LEIF

Turns out a couple of great blogs have posted a bit of my work.  Thanks!  If you haven't just come here from Design*Sponge or Leif, you should definitely go there now and check em out : )

glazing in progress

slab work in progress

TDF

A big thank you to the lovely ladies at The Design Files for profiling me and my work!  I've had a lot of really positive feedback.  My head is swelling up a little bit.
If you haven't already, check out the post here . Thanking you kindly.
All credit to The Design Files and Sean Fennessy for the photos n such.

more "Tab" serving dishes/platters

Experiments in Coloured Clay

 

First draft of a combining a favorite slab-built cup template and coloured clay.  Next step - bump up the ratio of stain to clay and refine building process.  And saucers. 

I Keep Hearing Shots

A request by my brother-out-law to make whiskey cups inspired by "jack sprat" vases and including the text "I keep hearing shots" and/or "my brain is a barrel of monkeys" resulted in these cups.  I had some problems with the black underglaze, which was applied on bisque-ware into grooves scratched into leather-hard clay, moving and causing the glaze to crawl a bit.  The result is therefor trickier to read but perhaps representative of ones ability to read after a few shots of whiskey.

Jack Sprat and his Wife vases

Proper Photo Backdrop

In working on upgrading my photo-doc-ing set-up I bought a proper graduated background.  I couldn't find any in Australia so I ordered one online from the States.  It is a  "Flotone Graduated Background - 43x63" - Thunder Gray ", which is vinyl rather than paper and should be harder wearing (although revies say it scratches easily).  When it arrived today I was surprised at how big it was - I must have been thinking in centimeters instead of inches when I decided to go for this size rather than the smaller one.  The larger one will allow more flexibility, but sheesh, it is a bit awkward to handle.  I masking-taped it to a folded up step-ladder on top of the dining table and threw a white curtain over one of the windows.  The next steps are  making a light tent and getting some proper bulbs. 

SMALLpieces

I now have work for sale in a shop!  SMALLpieces is part of Northcote Pottery and is located in East Brunswick, Melbourne.  Exciting times.
http://smallpiecesnps.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/vanilla-bean-dream.html

A few little bowls.

 One of the many joys of having your studio at home.

 Four footed stoneware bowls with black underglaze decoration and a speckled straw matte glaze over top.

My First TeaPot!

Here are some photos of the first official teapot that I've made.  The motivation came by way of a commission from a work-mate.  Stipulations: Side-handled style, matte black, 2 small but not tiny cups.  I am very happy to say that after bashing the lid off (stuck pretty well during firing) and then drilling a whole in it (forgot to clear the unfired glaze from the previously made air hole in lid), it does pour well!  A minor dribble happens at the end, but nothing to get your knickers in a twist over. 

Detail (lid): glaze - purchased as a powder - Northcote Pottery Satin Black stoneware glaze. Claybody - Clayworks JB3 with added speckles

Here are some photos of a little set that a friend commissioned me to make for her sister for a wedding gift.  It was fun because she picked how she wanted it to be based on stuff I've made in the past as well as work by other potters - mixed and matched.

Business Cards!

Hello.  My lovely sister Dani has designed and organized for me some business cards - and they have just arrived in the mail!  This blogs address is listed on the cards so interested people can check out what i get up to (time to post more here and less on Instagram).  Imagine the following design in slightly warmer colours and on two types of recycled paper laminated together (front is off white, back is natural brown) and with rounded corners to boot!

More Chubby Handled Mugs

Here are a few mugs that I made recently - keeping with the hollow slab-built handles.

Pinterest

Hi.  I recently came across Pinterest (via A Plate A Day) - and I'm hooked.  It is a fun way to keep your braingrapes full of images.  You can post your own photos as well as collect images that you come across on the web.  And of course you can check out what inspires other people too!   My pins r  here.

Kristen Kieffer wrote a more comprehensive blog post about Pinterest here.

The first rim-compression-and-smoothing tool that I was taught to use was a piece of shammy/chamois - it worked a treat.  Eventually I lost that and didn't find another.  It was suggested that a small folded and dampened piece of newspaper could do a similar job.  I didn't find it to work well, easily tearing and/or getting lost in slop.  Recently a student suggested using a small folded piece of plastic (sheeting or wrap).  This worked okay  -  but similar problem as before, such a small flimsy thing easily finds it way into the clay recycling bucket, and also the results weren't consistent (perhaps due to regularly losing the plastic and replacing with a piece of a different thickness).

I'm a bit proud of my recent discovery that a piece of bicycle inner tube works great!   I think it is the combination of being thick, smooth and flexible that allows for a clean, rounded and well compressed rim.  (Haven't tried it yet for differently shaped rims.)  Happy throwing!   

Chubby Mugs and Nubbins

fill your braingrapes!

http://rosenfieldcollection.com/

K&C LUV T&T

This little project is currently on it's way to Sydney with a stranger named Sean.  But I trust him more than I trust the standard post, so surely it'll arrive all right.
Of course i could pick at some things i'm not 100% about - but I won't.  I'm just happy it is done and will be able to be given to the bride and groom on time.