Country Living

It’s true I moved to the country and it suits me! My sleep has improved and my anxiety has diminished. I receive an abundance of natural light and the stars shine brightly at night. Covid finally caught up with me after a very busy summer of moving and commuting for a new job. It was an extremely busy summer. I’m finally getting the chance to set-up my studio and found someone to install some extra juice for the kiln.

I made my first journey to Eugene to Georgie’s Ceramics and Clay and feel inspired to begin again as they say. I passed through Junction City and other towns I’d never been through. The smoke was thick today so it wasn’t the most beautiful drive but interesting still.

I’m getting closer to being settled and am looking forward to seeing family on Sunday. I’m keeping it simple but also enjoy following some Italian Fashion on IG and have an eye towards travel. All of this to say, I’m inspired to keep creating and enjoying life’s ups and downs.

New Wheel New Studio

I finally found a pottery wheel via Offer Up so it was a good price and works great! It is a Pacifica GT 400. I’m also trying a new clay body called White Salmon fittingly as I prepare for the White Salmon Fall Art Walk October 19-21, 11am-5pm all 3 days. I’ll be firing my work at Georgie’s for now until I figure out another solution.

The Treehouse is slowly becoming a pottery studio as I let go of the idea of seeing private yoga clients there. I suppose I could clean it up and move the wheel easily enough to still host classes but I was also gifted a nice drying rack which is taking up more floor space. Transitioning back to making hand held objects feels like the right direction.

Lidded Vessels and more...

I'm no longer working insanely early hours at the Medical Fitness Facility so I feel like I can create again. It's interesting how much that can throw you off center. I also took a break from all social media for about a month and it felt like a cleanse for my brain. Phew!

Mid-July and a beautiful summer it is turning out to be! I'm taking a class with Wil Labelle: "Put a Lid On It" and learning a lot about glazing techniques as well.  It feels good to be throwing again and experimenting without being attached to an outcome. The PNCA class gave me some good ideas about how to set-up a home studio and I enjoyed working with Cone 6 clay. OCAC, however, is my preferred school for the "dirty arts." I'm much more of a country gal than I realized.  

I need to install a utility sink before moving forward with the studio conversion. I am very excited about the idea of throwing vessels in the Treehouse.  There may still be some space to do yoga there too. The view is so tranquil which, as an introvert, will be ideal for a creative work space.

I hope you are enjoying Summer too-creating and maybe traveling a bit to gain some new perspective and spending time with friends and family. Be Well and Stay Centered~ xo Angela

Deep Thaw & Travel Inspirations

Happy 2017! I am grateful to be thawing out after the snowstorm that hit Portland the day after returning from a trip to Kauai, HI. The experiences on the Garden Island were truly inspiring and the wintry weather upon my return gave me plenty of time to reflect. I met a Potter named Duane McRaine of Lightwave Pottery while exploring the historic town of Kapaa. He gave me a tour of his studio. A self taught ceramist who specializes in colored clay, he is one of a few people in the country who does Millefiori. He was eager to share his knowledge about wheels and was also nervous about the upcoming move of his entire studio to the mountains outside of Princeville. I can't wait to return and see the new space. It will be shared with several other Artists and he hopes to teach classes to folks visiting from the mainland. He also said the Brent C wheel is a great workhorse and he liked that the sound it made gave him an indication of the speed which is important for different aspects of throwing vs. trimming. So now I'm reconsidering my investment in a Shimpo Whisper VL. I signed-up for a class at OCAC which starts next week. I will be making Teapots and cups and then hitting the big Ceramics Convention in March NCECA http://nceca.net/2017-portland-future-flux/. Also, I am doing some volunteer work at Nordic Northwest (Scandinavian Heritage Foundation) photographing Fastelavn (Nordic Carnival) so I hope to share some images from that event. The Finnish Designer R. Ussikkimon is very inspiring to me. I have an Arabia Finland plate from 1979 which depicts the story of the herding boy, Kullervo.   

I look forward to creating new pieces and selling them at local craft fairs and eventually bigger venues as well! I am super excited about what the future holds for Encanto Creations despite the political climate in America.  I hope to see you at the Women's March on Saturday in Portland. Be well and live an inspired life! ~ Angela 

Searching for Tools

I am on the hunt for a wheel and a kiln. Up until this point all of my pieces were created while taking classes at Oregon College of Art & Craft. It's now time to put together a studio and get busy creating. I have been researching wheels and am hoping to find a Shimpo VLWhisper. After reading many reviews from long time potters this seems to be the wheel of choice. I also have a meeting next week with a former letterpress colleague to see if I might be able to use her kiln. So the Encanto Creations story evolves. First it started as Encanto Press-- for 11 years I created letterpress cards under this moniker and now with the umbrella term of "creations", I'm giving myself the freedom to make and sell whatever suits my fancy! I hope to produce more products for your perusal as most of these items have already found homes.  There will soon be new pieces once I get the studio up and running! Happy Holidays All!