Art by Fuzzy

Pottery, Photography, Design - Brandon "Fuzzy" Schwartz

Goertzen Wood Kiln: September 2013

I had an incredible opportunity during September. I was invited to be a part of a wood firing at Mark Goertzen’s kiln in Constantine, MI. Here’s a video I put together:

I got a FB message from Dick Lehman on September 7th asking if I could make it up for the loading that day. I didn’t have any major plans so I grabbed a cup and bowl (left over from my surface class at the Guild 2 summers ago). They were bisque fired but unglazed. I jumped in my car and was on my way.

Dante, Mark Goertzen's Anagama Kiln

Dante, Mark Goertzen’s Anagama Kiln

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I’m In

I’m in.

Somehow I managed to get a pair of cups into a national(!) juried show:

Cup Show at the Local

Cup Show at the Local

According to the Local Facebook page, there are over 30 artists from all over the nation that will have work in the show. Find out more about The Local here.

The opening is November 1st during the monthly First Friday celebration in Goshen. The theme for November is the Goshen Arts Tour. And I’ll be part of it!

If you can come to the opening reception I’ll see you there. If not, the show runs until December 2nd. I think the Local is open every Saturday.

Here’s a sneak peek of my two cups that were accepted:

Cup Show entries

Cup Show entries

Now I have to go figure out what I’m going to wear!

New Pots: September 2013

I’ve been a little busy lately… but here are some pics of my latest pots. Which seem like old news to me since these were finished in September, just in time for the Middlebury Fall Festival. Pretty good results though.

Everything is wheel thrown with Warm Brown Stoneware and fired to ^6 in my electric kiln.

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Michiana Pottery Tour 2013

It was another pottery weekend on the 28th and 29th of September. I spent a good chunk of Saturday and most of Sunday touring Michiana, gazing at pots, and rubbing elbows with some of the finest potters in all of Michigan and Indiana.

Trail of Pots

Trail of Pots

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Middlebury Fall Festival from the Potter’s Perspective

A milestone has been reached in my pottery career. With a ton of help from my wife, I completed my first festival as a pottery vendor. But not just a vendor, I was also a demonstrator!

The Middlebury Fall Festival took place last Friday and Saturday in downtown Middlebury. To be honest, I didn’t get to take in much of the festival but I had a great time.

Preparation

I felt like the whole week before the festival was crazy. There was so much stuff to do. I got the kiln fired a few days before the festival which is always a lot of work by itself. Then I had to shoot some photos of those pots, haul all the other pots up out of the basement, pack up my wheel, clay and all my tools and put together a few papers for my display. My wife and I also spent one night shopping for wrapping paper, bags, an extension cord and some other items. Then My wife and mother-in-law spent Thursday night cutting and attaching price tags. I brought home two tables from school and dropped them off in Middlebury. Finally, Friday morning we hauled over two car loads of pots, tools, clay and a pottery wheel. And that is NOT a portable pottery wheel!

Setup

vendor tent

vendor tent

They had us located in booth 50 which was the corner of one of the larger tents just behind the information booth. We arrived around 7:30 am, unloaded and got everything set up. It took quite a while and I felt like I was still getting things organized and set up throughout the day. The space was right next to the electrical box and there was a water spigot about 100 ft. away. The festival staff was helpful and very nice too. The festival officially opened at 10:00am and I had my tools and wheel ready to go.

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