Journal

News from Dowd House Studios: places to find our pottery, exhibitions, classes & workshops, new forms and exciting projects.

Filtering by Category: Illustration

Lucy goes North

November 02, 2022Jenny Dowd

A few months ago I was invited to participate in an art exhibition with the intriguing theme: Lucy goes North. It was good that I had a few months to mull this over…

Curator, David Klaren, of Mystery Print Gallery in Pinedale, WY said this of the theme:

“A few years ago I had Wyoming Public Radio playing in the background as I moved between the shop and gallery preparing for a new exhibit. I wasn’t paying attention to the Friday afternoon magazine segments, but as I walked into the shop, the narrator stated, “and after the break, Lucy goes north.” I caught myself wondering, who is Lucy? And why was she going north? I had no idea, but I thought it would be interesting to throw the idea out to a group of artists to build an exhibit around.”

I kept thinking about old maps and mysterious journeys and finally decided that Lucy was considering an adventure to catch some of those big stars that she heard hang low in the Northern sky.

I decided to make this more of an illustration than a ceramic piece, so I rustled up a pad of watercolor paper, thin black pens, India Ink, and my favorite entomology pins. Oh, and I found a little wire net that had been made years ago for another project - looks like it could catch some stars!

Each morning while working on this project, I grabbed my favorite starry mug, a 2nd from a soda firing a few years ago.

The final piece, hastily photographed before packing up for shipping, is a shadow box. The compass rose sits out a bit in front, and the stars are all pinned in place.

North is where the stars hang low

Lucy had heard stories of the North.

That the sky was vast.

That the stars hung low in a big big sky.

She wondered if they could be caught.

She picked up her star-catching net.

Lucy went North.

The exhibit will be on display at Mystery Print Gallery & Frame from Nov 3 - December 30th. The opening reception is November 3 from 5-8pm. Check out the Facebook page for photos of the exhibition (coming soon), I can’t wait to see everyone’s interpretations!

categories Art Exhibitions, Illustration
tags lucy goes north, Mystery Print Gallery, starry drawing, starry pottery

New-ish Things

February 06, 2022Jenny Dowd

Amongst pottery orders and the making of inventory for upcoming sales I’ve been trying to make time for new ideas and tests. This time a few new ideas came from a mistake and from trying to remember how to make a form.

It’s been awhile since I have made a coffee pour over & pitcher set. Making the forms ended up being the easy part, decorating was not as intuitive. I liked the idea of simple black and white areas with a diagonal line to emphasize the triangle of shapes in the forms. But after I brushed on the white and black underglazes I had no idea what to do.

I carved vertical lines into the white underglaze thinking I’d come up with an idea, but I also realized that my usual patterns might not work this time. I sat there lost for awhile and then the person working near me asked what my plan was. I’m still not used to working in a group studio after years of solitude in my old garage studio, so what a welcome conversation! I told him I had no idea and as we discussed ideas we both agreed that perhaps a shape or pattern was needed. He drew out a little triangle inside of a triangle and that clicked.

I liked how the pitcher and pour over set looked so much that the next day I made a few mugs with the same pattern.

These cups were supposed to be mugs. I threw the cylinders on the wheel and forgot to cover them with plastic. When I came into the studio the next day it hit me, can’t attach handles to dry clay. I bisque fired the cylinders and put them in a box, where they rode around in the back of my car for a few months.

Sam and I will be participating in a craft fair on February 12th, NW Arkansas Girl Gang Winter Market, right before Valentine’s Day. After being accepted to this sale I realized I should make a few Valentine’s gift items. Since the cups were already bisque fired, the surface was perfect to draw on with underglaze pencil.

This is a drawing I’ve made before, but the first time on cups. And it’s based on a true story, but it's not totally true because I am not a lamp. (Surprise!)

Sam and I met in college, in the clay studio of course, we immediately hit it off - like non-stop talking & laughing. We'd gone on maybe one date, but mostly just arranged our time to be in the studio together. Anyway, it had been a few weeks and we were obviously smitten.

One evening Sam had a really bad cold and came over to my house but wouldn't come in. He stood on the porch and through this super bad head cold told me that he really really liked me and that he wanted to use the other L word. But mostly he needed me to know right now that he really liked me. It was actually the sweetest thing ever and I knew it was something because it was the first time my roommates didn't make fun of my dating antics.

So there it is, the stories behind two new-ish things that I’ve been working on in the studio!

categories New Ideas, Illustration
tags jenny dowd pottery, jeny dowd, i really like you, the other l word, coffee pourover set, sgraffito, Drawing on Pottery, surface design on clay

Storytelling

January 22, 2022Jenny Dowd

Sometimes custom orders and funny stories turn into illustrated pottery. These are a few projects from recent months:

These mugs were custom ordered from an Aunt who wanted to celebrate and surprise her twin nieces, they grew up in Idaho and had just moved to New York to attend college on a hockey scholarship. Something to remind them of home but also where they were headed!

For these porcelain mugs I used an inlay technique to create the drawing in the damp clay. Each of the tiny black lines were drawn with an x-acto blade, filled in with black underglaze, and then wiped clean. The crisp black lines look like an ink drawing on the white porcelain clay. Two mugs, similar but different, just like the sisters.

Chainsaw mugs! A friend recently became certified to assist in disaster related tree removal as well as fire mitigation. WOW! To celebrate she commissioned mugs for her instructors.

This time I drew the chainsaws on bisque-fired clay with an underglaze pencil, this makes these awkward chainsaws just a little more comical. I filled in the drawing with red glaze and grey underglaze.

This one was unsolicited… I had an idea to turn a scary story into a sweet comforting gift. And it’s a long story, so let’s just hit the main points: house sitting + bomb cyclones & closed highways, mix in some tick infested dogs during a peak in lyme disease season and suddenly a tent pitched in the middle of the living room to sleep in at night doesn’t seem so weird.

This design was also drawn on the clay with underglaze pencils and filled in with layers of watered down underglaze. This time I used a clear glaze that I had not applied to this type of surface before and didn’t realize that some of the underglaze pencil lines would run. After waves of initial disappointment, I realized that the soft lines fit in more with my vision of a dark sky around the edge of the bowl, and perhaps the bunting on the outside is just wet from all that rain.

These are a few projects currently in progress, or in the case of the little 5-legged octopus (quintopus?) just starting to percolate. The octopus was my example made during the surface design class I am teaching at the Community Creative Center. While demonstrating sgraffito I started to draw a ghost and then mid-draw thought that might be boring and started adding legs. Of course there was not enough room! But this cute little mollusc came to life and now I’m considering adding it to my cast of characters.

The porcelain cups are in preparation for that quickly approaching February day. These lamps might be some of my favorite characters, especially when one finally leans in to admit a secret to the other. (Psst. I really like you.)

categories Custom Design, Illustration, New Ideas, Process
tags illustrated pottery, drawing on clay, drawing on pottery, arkansas potter, made in arkansas, jenny dowd pottery, dowd house studios, sgraffito, underglaze inlay, chainsaw mugs

FoundSpace 2020: A Very Shaky Translation

October 14, 2020Jenny Dowd

I have been excited to share this project, but my excitement was delayed by a series of unfortunate events.

Earlier this summer, Matt Daly and I were invited by the JH Land Trust and JH Public Art to create a FoundSpace experience along the Wildflower Trail in Jackson. We have collaborated on projects for FoundSpace in the past (read about them here: 2019 & 2018 & 2017) and were excited to engage this popular hiking trail in town. FoundSpace is a yearly program that commissions artists to interpret conservation spaces, and I have enjoyed adding a different view to these places.

Matt and I decided to create a story about the inhabitants of this area, the story would be illustrated with words on one side and images on the other, each from the perspective of the being - animal, plant, or other. The physical inspiration came from the aspens along the trail, how their leaves shake and flutter in the wind. We also felt that we were interpreting what these creatures would be saying, so the translation might be a bit shaky.

I collected old signs to repurpose and Matt wrote poems about 12 different creatures or objects that can be found in this area. I then told the story through images, trying to keep it simple.

I hate to pick a favorite, but I think that the Shaky Translation of the aspens might be my favorite. It makes me laugh every time. I tried to reflect the conversation between aspens in my drawing through dots around the roots. They are a fascinating organism and I imagine a little gossipy, as reflected in Matt’s poem: You won’t believe what I heard. You won’t believe what I heard. You won’t believe what I heard…

Some of the Shaky Translations are in English, some in Spanish, and some a mix of the two. We hoped that the image could tell some of the story, and that maybe it was just fine to only get part of the Shaky Translation if you only speak one of those languages (like me.)

Cicada

All that time

under the ground

and now this.

This! What’s not

to buzz & buzz about!

Cloud

The way to go is by and large __________

pretty easy __________ just find

your rhythm __________ your habits

of change and drift along __________

It’ll get tough don’t worry don’t worry

__________ when you hit or the air

you’re riding hits something hard, like

__________ __________ a mountain

First Frost

Let’s wait. We wait.

For so long we let

the soft leaves speak softly

to the soft leaves,

the soft petals to the soft

wings. But now let’s come in

and make all the voices

crackle and also crackle.

Osprey

There it is There It

Is Hover And

Now Now Nownownow

Feet First Through

Water And Into

Longhorn Beetle

Whoa! How

do I stop?

I guess I’m headed

straight for that

that, so that’s what

I’ll hit and hope

I can cling

to that thing

I can’t help but

whoa hit.

And that’s it. Just over a week ago we found that 9 out of 12 Shaky Translations were removed from the trail. I don’t even have images of all of them. The day we found them missing was the day I was planned to photograph the work. I completely realize that I should have photographed them as soon as they were installed. But, really?? This temporary art was supposed to be in place until October 30.

The theft really hurt. I like to think that I’m prepared for anything to happen to my art and that I have no control once it leaves my studio. But I wasn’t prepared.

Check out the article in the JH News & Guide about the project, here, it is a wonderful story about our inspiration and process.

And we would like to invite you to make your own Shaky Translation. The image in the video is of Arrowleaf Balsamroot (which I call Field Daisies) the poem and image was inspired by the crab spider which likes to sun itself on the flower. (Painting by me, words by Matt Daly, and music by Frank Daly.)

Hey there little spider with your

outstretched little arms. I can’t do much

to hold you like you look like you want

to be held. I can however hold the sun

so firmly to the leaf you climb

to warm yourself that the face

of the sun becomes many faces, becomes

my many faces like arms to warm you

Did you see and happen to photograph any of the others? I would seriously appreciate any photos for my records, please email them to hello@dowdhousestudios.com

Here are the rest of Matt’s poems, without images of the Shaky Translations:

Moose

Mama? Yes. Mama? Yes.

Mama? Come here. Mama? Yes.

Mama? I’m here. I see you. I’m here

Mama? I’m going. Mama? Follow.

Mama? Lie down. Lie down? Here.

Here? Here. Mama? Here.

Cutthroat Trout

Eddy to riffle and upstream to the cutbank

shimmer to shadow shadow to shimmer sip the surface

emerging emergers the strange taste of air

all the sharp things that fall from up there

Mountain Lion

Soon enough the snow will fall

and all but prey will go

away. Soon enough, I’ll trade this

quiet slinking (which is only a moving

form of hiding) for another slinking

the kind that tastes like deer.

Kingfisher

Here I come over clear water up to a perch.

There I go down the stream again. I zigzag down-

stream to perch. There I stare into a quiet place in clear

water. Here I cackle and flap but this time back upstream.

Flat Creek

run along along way

to run along

a tumbled

down run of tumbled

along stones

alone and because

you run

along not at all alone

categories Community Projects, Collaboration, Illustration
tags found space, FoundSpace, Jackson Hole Public Art, JH Land Trust, shaky translations, poetry, drawing

A Poetry Apothecary

September 19, 2020Jenny Dowd

This entry should probably be titled “An attempt to begin to get caught up.” I haven’t posted since May, but there has been plenty going on. I’m starting out with a project from early June because it really set the tone for the summer, it’s also one of my favorites.

Early this year, poet Matt Daly invited poets and artists to collaborate in A Poetry Apothecary with the prompt: A collaborative collection of original poems written by local poets who acknowledge the power of poetry to serve as a balm, a poultice, a splint, a placebo, a treatment, a remedy, a prescription, or perhaps even a cure for some of what ails us in our times of need for healing.

Matt and I have collaborated on projects in the past few years and decided to work together this time as well. We started with the idea of tiny poems and tiny drawings that may or may not be helpful for different emotions or problems. Something like - the problem is ___ so the cure is ___ . It also took on the feel of a game of Memory.

Our piece is titled “Sticky Situations” partly because I kept drawing tiny sticky objects - glue, tape, cinnamon roll - and also it seemed a way to define the current pandemic situation.

The process was fun, I drew a bunch of little drawings and gave them to Matt, he responded to the images with a malady and a poem. And we switched, he gave me a list of poems and I drew an image in response. I love how they make sense and yet don’t. I giggled so much in my studio while drawing these helpful little objects!

The exhibition was installed at the Center for the Arts, and our piece was in the Conference room. In response to Covid-19 we mounted the text and image onto small paper plates and encouraged viewers to flip the plates with a bamboo skewer. Seriously one of the first funny inventive moments of this time.

Check out this link to a tour of the show with poetry read aloud: https://vimeo.com/430154010

Also this review on WyoFile

Below are each pair, the drawing is above the poem it applies to. Click each image to enlarge.

I hope you feel better after visiting this Poetry Apothecary.

Or at least had a good laugh.

categories Art Exhibitions, Projects, Illustration, Collaboration
tags A poetry apothecary, poetry and art, tiny drawings, ink drawing, sticky situations, poems by Matt Daly, Helpful Objects

Merlin & Friends

May 16, 2020Jenny Dowd

Well, it happened. Merlin the Cat finally got his own book.

Earlier this year I was invited to participate in the 2020 Laramie County Library Book Arts Invitational, Imagination: Inspiration and the Artist Book. This year the theme called to imagine your story, inspired by fairy tales. (I have participated in past invitationals at the Laramie County Library, read about the process behind those projects here: 2018, 2017, 2016)

As usual, I was a bit stumped by the theme. It seemed a nice escape to imagine my way out of our current COVID-19 pandemic… but was still hard to latch onto an idea. Each year my dad asks me about the theme for the show and helps me brainstorm an idea, but we were both stumped.

The story behind this story is a winding one, but stick with me…

One gloomy, rainy day I took some funny photos of Merlin and his “friends.” I emailed them to my parents one photo/page at a time, like a slowly unfolding story. A warning - while true, this story is a little gory:

Once upon a time, Puppy, Moose, & Rat were relaxing in front of the fireplace. They thought nothing could destroy their peace and warmth.

Suddenly, next to that warm fire with his friends, Moose felt a chill. Could danger be lurking? Rat felt the hair on her back bristle and Puppy held his breath. Something was coming.

The attack was swift. Moose and Puppy carefully looked for their friend, Rat. She tried to hold her breath while trapped under the paw of the monster.

But it wasn't over. The monster suddenly grabbed Moose and tore into him. Puppy and Rat lay as still as possible.

When it was over, the fire went out, the 3 friends were strewn about. Meanwhile, Merlin the Monster turned his back and prepared for a nap.

The End.

So, about a week later my dad texted me suggesting that this story could be made into my project. But he warned that it needed to be sanitized, because it was just too mean and might scare little kids. We texted back and forth a bit, and it turned into a tale of friends working together to find a spot for a nap.

I wrote up a quick draft of the story and sent it to my parents who both had some suggestions. We even met up for a FaceTime chat to go over it. My parents chimed in as I worked on the story and illustrations. My mom had the idea to include a pillow on each page (like the hidden mouse in Goodnight Moon)

I suddenly felt like this was a huge project and decided to break it down into 2 or 3 cells per page. I took photos for reference. The part about Merlin liking to nap or at least pretend to while we cook in the kitchen is as true as it is annoying.

I love how Merlin can have this truly shocked expression, so I tried to capture that. I also borrowed his “friends” for reference. Merlin didn’t really like not having them around to chew on so I had to hide them in my drawing room.

And where was Merlin this whole time? Underfoot usually, or closely watching.

And here it is! I'm not super excited about using cardboard for the pages, but I needed the book to stand up for display and I’ve been trying to use materials I already have in my house. Plus, now that it’s finished I have a better idea of how to do this for real.

If you find yourself in Cheyenne, Wyoming this summer between June 11 - August 7th, stop by the library to see the show in person. (Check their website here first, to be sure of any limited hours or access due to the COVID-19 issue) A printed catalogue will be available from this show and I can’t wait to see how the other artists interpreted this theme!

And no, this was not an excuse to shamelessly share photos of my cat. But he does need a certain amount of attention for survival, so thank you for helping him out!

categories Art Exhibitions, Illustration, Process, Projects
tags Laramie County Library, Book Arts Invitational, illustration, Merlin the Cat, studio cat, Ink drawing

Chalky Characters & Helpful Objects

July 28, 2019Jenny Dowd

Last week I tackled my largest canvas yet… the Town Enclosure Pavilion on the lawn of the Center for the Arts in Jackson. This temporary structure was installed last year by Carney Logan Burke Architects with the intention to be a space for performances, gatherings, and also to offer creative space for visual artists.

Jackson Hole Public Art asked me to consider drawing on the panels using chalk. The pavilion can be walked around and through, with the panels changing with movement almost like an optical illusion, so this became an inspiration. I made a rough plan and then just decided to go for it.

Before starting the drawings I could not comprehend the size of the panels. Once a ladder was in place and I could only reach as far as my arms would stretch - I just had to go for it and make the shape fit the space. Suddenly I found it easy to run out of room and wishing the panels were larger!

It was an equally freeing and terrifying feeling to freehand draw these characters and objects. I used both hands to draw and went up and down the ladder and walked back and forth to the street to get a better view.

Some characters feature furniture acting out human scenarios (Bad lamp) and others are embracing their helpful nature - Super chair! (This chair swoops in just when you really need to sit down but there are no chairs nearby.) And the lamp saying “I really like you” to the other lamp. So careful and hesitant, ready to go out on that limb, just not quite ready for the other L-word.

Other helpful and awkward objects include the giant watering can and umbrella. The placement of the panels inspired the watering can and flowers, while walking past the water drops line up so the flowers are getting a good drink.

I’m inspired by the awkward feeling of ladders and nets, as if they are stretching and helping to reach that far-away object.

This was such a fun project! The chalk drawings will remain for a week or so - depends on rain. So if you are in the area be sure to walk by.

categories Art Exhibitions, Illustration, New Ideas, Process
tags chalk art, temporary art, center for the arts jackson hole, jackson hole public art, drawings

Jackson Hole History

January 20, 2019Jenny Dowd

Recently the Jackson Hole Historical Museum asked me to create an illustration that would embellish the text accompanying their new exhibition: the History Co-op Corner. This exhibition asks the community as well as visitors to share their Jackson Hole History.

The final illustration is 11 feet long, definitely quite a bit larger than I’m used to working!

This was a challenge to wrap my mind around. A small and very, very rough draft helped me visualize the scale and subject. The drawings needed to add to the text, yet not distract.

I started by thinking in terms of seasons and easily recognizable land formations - from left to right: Winter / Saddle Butte, Spring / Tetons, Summer / Sleeping Indian Mountain, Fall / Snow King.

Since history is past, present, and future I knew it would be important to mix together the contemporary and historical nature of Jackson Hole. After making a list of landmarks, activities, and a few interesting historical objects I translated each into a small cut-out drawing. This gave me something to move around under the text so I could play with relationship and readability.

The scale was a challenge, but since the final image would be scanned, printed onto vinyl and then applied to the wall - I did not need to make the drawing 11 feet long. Instead I made the drawing in 4 sections, at half the size of the final product. The text was printed out and pieced together - so I would roughly know how much space was available around it for the drawings.

After moving around my little cut out drawings I was able to edit and figure out which images made the cut. This was tough - there are so many recognizable images that can be used to illustrate Jackson, plus many activities that people travel to this area for. In the end I had to choose images that would read well from a distance and that could be drawn in silhouette.

I really love this photograph of Jackson’s original school bus, it was one of the first images that I knew needed to be included. It may not be easily recognized as a school bus, however it doesn’t take much research at the Historical Museum to find out what it is!

A few challenges included keeping the line of images from becoming static - I wanted some of the images to break into the space around the letters. Also, there were plenty of items that I had to look up for reference, such as the bus used in Yellowstone National Park.

This is the final drawing with lettering laid over top. And the final version in the museum…

This exhibition invites interaction by asking the community and visitors to participate through answering the question “What is your Jackson Hole History?”

Local Elementary students were asked to draw and write about their Jackson histories and High School students researched and shared an oral history of their families. Postcards are also available for visitors and locals to include their histories in this evolving exhibition.

There is much to explore in this exhibition and it is best experienced in person. I’m honored to have my artwork be part of this display! If you are in the area be sure to stop by and participate.

Jackson Hole Historical Society & Museum

225 N Cache, Jackson, WY

Tuesday - Saturday 10am - 5pm

categories Community Projects, Illustration, Problem Solving
tags Jackson Hole, Jackson Hole Historical Society and Museum, Museum display, Ink drawing, illustration

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