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Journal

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

Filtering by Tag: wyoming artists

Wyoming Art Drop

Jenny Dowd

Something special will be delivered to 50 mailboxes, and I’m excited to be part of this project! Artists Dannine Donaho and Lori Hunter have created the first ever Wyoming Art Drop. The Drop is a box that arrives by mail in early December and contains artwork from 6 Wyoming artists.

For my contribution, I’ve made 50 small porcelain mugs. This is my favorite shape, perfect for a small coffee or tea.

After making the mugs - which seems like the easy part in retrospect - a white glaze is inlayed into black glaze. My inspiration comes from those clear, dark, Wyoming nights with bright, bright stars and maybe just a hint of snowy reflection from the mountains - or maybe that is part of my imagination.

The outside of the mug is dipped into white glaze, then coated with a brush-able wax where I want the white to show through. After drying overnight, the exposed glaze is washed away. After another night of drying, the whole mug is glazed in black - the wax resists this glaze so the white can show through. They look pretty different after firing:

Here is the first stack of mugs fresh from the kiln!

The Drop includes work from 6 Wyoming artists: Lori Hunter, Beth Ann Snesko, Dannine Donaho, Favian Hernandez, and the Low Water String Band. Drops are limited, so as long as they are available you can order until November 30th. Check out the details here

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categories Projects, Process, Shops with Pottery
tags wyoming artists, wyoming art drop, handmade mugs

1 week, 2 shows

Jenny Dowd

Sometimes it works out this way, I have work in 2 exhibitions and they both have receptions this week…

Animal Shelter opens on November 1st at Mystery Print Gallery in Pinedale, WY. For this invitational exhibition artists were tasked with interpreting the theme of animal shelter - how do animals find shelter, especially in the shared spaces occupied by humans, other animals, etc?

I focused on the tiny: snake, spider, bird, mouse. These critters can be seen as pests or pets, and I like the idea of them having flexible found shelter - each has an indoor option and an outdoor option.

The little critters are made from porcelain, multiples were made in case someone lost a tail or beak. The little drawings were done in a local coffee shop- another reason I like to work small!

4 tiny sculptures resulted. I’m looking forward to seeing how the other artists interpreted the theme. This show will be on display until the end of the year, so check it out if you are in the area.

The cookbook project, a year in the making, is now an actual printed cookbook! (Check out my past post Illustration project sneak peek for some behind the scenes.) The cookbook is available to purchase in the Jackson CWC office in the Center for the Arts.

I never imagined that my sketch - how to butcher an onion - would make the cover! (I took a knife skills class a few years ago, a short evening class through CWC. Learning how to chop an onion blew my mind! Plus… I’ve only cut myself in the kitchen a few times since this class.)

All of the original illustrations are on display and available for purchase in the Theater Gallery located in the Center for the Arts in Jackson until November 5th.

This Friday November 3rd, from 5:30 - 7:30, the culinary arts students will be serving tastes from the cookbook at the reception. Come by to see (and taste) the recipes that inspired drawings by me, Jocelyn Slack, and Cal Brackin.

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categories Art Exhibitions
tags center for the arts jackson hole, wyoming artists, Central Wyoming College, CWC Culinary Arts Program Jackson WY, Cookbook Illustrations, Jocelyn Slack, Cal Brackin, local artists, how to chop an onion, Mystery Print Gallery, animal shelter exhibition, pinedale WY art show

Place/Settings: Part 2

Jenny Dowd

This is the 2nd part of my journey to Concord, North Carolina where I installed my sculpture in the exhibition Place/Settings. Check out last week's post for details on my artwork in this group exhibition.

12 artists from across the state of Wyoming were invited by co-curators Connie Norman and Do Palma to explore the theme of place. Check out this article by the Independent Tribune of Cabarrus County for more thoughts on this theme.

The show is hosted by The Cabarrus Arts Council and is on display at The Galleries, in the Historic Cabarrus County Courthouse from May 5 - July 7, 2017. The Artist Reception will be on June 9th. 

The exhibition is spread throughout 4 galleries, creating intimate conversations between the artwork in each space.

Starting out the exhibition in the Jones Gallery is artwork by Bronwyn Minton, Jenny Dowd, Georgia Rowswell, Dandee Pattee and Sue Sommers.

The Lockavitch Gallery features artwork by Connie Norman, Do Palma and Wendy Lemon Bredehoft.

The Grant Gallery contains artwork by Susan Moldenhauer, Leah Hardy and Georgia Rowswell.

The Dusch Gallery features the work of Jennifer Rife, Ashley Hope Carlisle and Jenny Dowd.

Here are some details of the work:

I am honored to be part of this exhibition and to have had the opportunity to travel to Concord. I came back to my studio full of energy and ideas... a great way to start out the busy summer season!

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categories Art Exhibitions
tags place/settings, cabarrus arts council, wyoming artists, Wendy Bredehoft, Ashley Hope Carlisle, Leah Hardy, Bronwyn Minton, Susan Moldenhauer, Connie Norman, Do Palma, Jenny Dowd, Dandee Pattee, Jennifer Rife, Georgia Rowswell, Sue Sommers

Place/Settings: Part 1

Jenny Dowd

This past week I traveled to Concord, North Carolina to install my sculpture in the exhibition Place/Settings. Co-curators Connie Norman and Do Palma invited 12 Wyoming artists to explore the theme of place in our artwork. How do these settings or childhood memories shape our outlook or artistic spirit?

The show is hosted by The Cabarrus Arts Council and is on display at The Galleries, in the Historic Cabarrus County Courthouse from May 5 - July 7, 2017. The Artist Reception will be on June 9th. 

Cabarrus County Historic Courthouse, Concord, NC

Cabarrus County Historic Courthouse, Concord, NC

I am so excited to be included in this beautiful exhibition and honored to be in such good company. The exhibition includes artwork by: Wendy Bredehoft, Ashley Hope Carlisle, Leah Hardy, Bronwyn Minton, Susan Moldenhauer, Connie Norman, Do Palma, Dandee Pattee, Jennifer Rife, Georgia Rowswell and Sue Sommers.

Check back next week for details and images from the whole exhibition. Since there is so much to say about this show I've decided to split it into 2 posts.

My thoughts on Place/Settings led me to explore the dream-like moments that follow me wherever I am. Thinking back to childhood, I spent a lot of time reading and living in my imagination- and still do. Lately I have been trying to define these dreamy moments without pinning them down too much.

My travel schedule allowed 3 days to install my work, luckily everything arrived safely. (To see how I packed and shipped my pieces, check out this blog entry from April.)

Where the ground meets the sky

Experimenting is a large part of my process. Where the ground meets the sky only lived in my head before last week. I worked with porcelain, silk and vellum to create a subtle palette and relied on shadows to add depth and attract attention. The silk and vellum clouds hang from thread attached to entomology pins, creating a deliberately orchestrated scene. While I'm not sure if this is a real place or not, it is important that it seem hauntingly familiar. The clouds flutter as people walk by, attracting attention and sometimes creating a weather pattern- big gusts cause some serious tangling, which I hadn't expected but really like. (Although, now the piece needs to be de-tangled regularly!) 

Where the ground meets the sky is made of porcelain, wire, silk, vellum, silk thread and entomology pins. In this installation it is 7 feet wide.

Passages

Passages is a flexible sculpture that I have been working on since 2009. I had an idea of a piece that could change over time in response to display in a variety of spaces. With each installation I learn more about these pieces and try different solutions. This is the 5th installation of Passages, and it's first trip outside of Wyoming. (Last fall Passages was installed outside in the courtyard of Persephone Bakery in Jackson, WY, check out the blog post here.)

The installation process is both exciting and nerve-wracking. I enjoy working around different site obstacles and allow them to shape the course of the piece. For this installation I had limited time (which is a great way to make me focus and commit to decisions!)

This time there were lighting fixtures to work around and a plaster ceiling which made adding extra hooks difficult, plus I wanted to make sure I was not distracting from the other artist's work in the space. All of these "obstacles" are actually what makes installing this piece fun, I think of it as adding to a good conversation.

Even though Passages and Where the ground meets the sky are 3-dimensional, I also see them as drawings.

Heavy anchor wire attaches the boats and allows them to visually move through their environment. This wire makes a beautiful line and I feel that I am drawing in space. I compare the cluster of boats to leaves, a flock of birds or school of fish and the shadows expand the space they occupy. I also see these pieces as something familiar, though not quite recognizable, seen just out of periphery. 

In this installation, Passages, is made up of 120 (ish) welded steel boats dipped in Egyptian Paste.

On May 4th Curator Rebecca Collins held a gallery talk to discuss the artwork and show concept with the docents. On the left she is discussing Ashley Hope Carlisle's piece Carried Away. I spoke about my pieces and answered questions. I never think I want to talk about new artwork, especially when it is so fresh, but it is actually very insightful as it helps me put my ideas into words. 

I am grateful to the amazing staff at the Cabarrus Arts Council for all of their help and for allowing me such freedom to experiment!

To make the whole experience even better, my parents met up with me in NC and attended the gallery talk! Here they are trying to figure out what I did.

Check back next week for more images from the exhibition as well as photos of all the other artwork!

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categories Art Exhibitions, New Ideas, Travel
tags place/settings, cabarrus arts council, wyoming artists, jenny dowd, passages, where the ground meets the sky, sculpture, 3d drawing