claythingsplus by Carol Janda

2011-11-05T08:00:00.000-07:00

The newest figure which is in four parts, base, legs, body and wand with birds in flight has my art nouveau glaze mulberry color in her dress

Stoneware Wreath

2011-11-05T07:47:00.000-07:00

Some adjustments to my favorite art nouveau glaze have added some color variations in this wreath like piece, extruded and decorated for use as a flower vase or candle holder.

Really Really RED

2011-09-29T13:35:00.001-07:00

Watercolor can be very strong and intense as is this poured piece which required a red mat as well. I like suggestive abstractions rather than non-anything abstracts because it tips off the viewer to my idea. With no suggestion, viewers tend to try to find something which may be frustrating . Titles help, as with Klee's paintings, which took me some time and study to understand.
All painting is abstract more or less.
Since showing Big Hump Fire at Blue Whole Art Gallery, questions as to how the paint created the intensity and texture have been asked. The 140 lb Arches paper was tipped to center which caused darker paint in the middle and lighter at the edges. At the top the tree form was saved , note the run off line of paint. The moon shape was slightly enhanced and the shag tree poured with the dregs of darker paint I used dry pigment ( dried up w/c tubes) of alizarin and crimson lake with some fine grit undissolved.
There was a fire on the east side of Olympic National Park called the Big Hump Fire which seemed to fit

New Pottery

2011-08-06T11:45:00.001-07:00

There are 24 birds on the round vase and 16 on the twisted vase

Opening at Blue Whole

2011-08-06T11:19:00.000-07:00

The show was well recieved especially by the gallery artists who appreciated the different method and the flyer explaning the process .The watercolor "Remembering Georgia " let the faithful know I had not abandoned realistic work nor watercolor.
The use of leaves, roses and birds to enhance bowls and vases added to the dragon fly sprigging which had been popular.

Sailing Sailing

2011-08-05T11:10:00.000-07:00

This oil monotype has many layers, textures and oil pastel to present a semi-abstract paiinting.

Orange Delight

2011-08-05T09:40:00.000-07:00

Oil paint is more unpredictable than watercolor to me , probably because I have worked mostly in watercolor. Orange over bule should be more gray but the thickness of the orange or its opacity , provided this monotype with vibrant color.

Constellations

2011-08-05T09:36:00.000-07:00

Glazed color with the depth of many layers of paint and the shifting of the plate enrich this suggestion of the sky at night .

Oil Monotypes

2011-08-05T09:11:00.000-07:00

My oil monotypes where produced on an Ettan Press using plexiglass bevel edge plates with oil paint. The plate is coated with a thin skin of color which is transferred in the reverse to the paper. Additional layers of color , texture and design create a depth of glazing, achieving a painting unique to this process. Although these originals are called mono(one)prints, there may be a ghost print made if enough oil paint is left from the first run.

Masking with templates, plant material, brayer marks , wiping out ,over painting ,oil pastel,and using varied sizes of plates make this process thoughtful, creative and challenging.

Monotypes have that magic of surprise when they are pulled from the plate each time added elements change the color and design.

Featured Artist Show at Blue Whole

2011-08-05T08:06:00.000-07:00

My Featured Artist Show for August at Blue Whole is all oil monotype except for one watercolor, Remembering Georgia.

Oil monotypes to be posted

Small Sculptured Continers

2011-05-11T14:21:00.000-07:00

After painting the Blue Poppy watercolor,working with clay to sculpt blue poppy petals with the center stamens amd pistils as lids. These are small, not much larger than the actual flower.
This lead to a waterlily pad, rose petal and several other flower sculptures.

Kalaloch Beach

2011-04-29T08:59:00.000-07:00

I like to try to capture the movement, weather and atmosphere of a place. I found this composition especially interesting, full of triangles and directional lines which expressed Kalaloch's long beach with the wind pushing the clouds.

This is one of my favorite watercolors partly for the place but also for the pleasure I find in "revisiting "it by painting the scene as nature arranges and rearranges land and sea.. Capturing the feelings of the place is a challenge to which watercolor is well suited.

Glazed Gestural Sculpture

2011-03-28T07:34:00.000-07:00

Drapery clay figure 9 inches tall

Stoneware Art

2011-03-28T07:10:00.000-07:00

The "Fire Head Ladies" vases are 11 and 9 inches tall with the art nouveau glaze over underglaze and stains mixed with the glaze.

Clicking the picture to enlarge for a better view.

Gestural Sculpture

2011-03-21T08:49:00.000-07:00

Gestural sculpture stoneware similar to Catch the Wind are a challenge in clay. Patience is the most important ingredient when draping clay, has to have just the right amount of time to stiffen so it will stand up without cracking or losing its form.

Draped clay sculpture creates just one original.

These have been bisque fired , ready to glaze with my art nouveau glaze like Catch the Wind.

Blue Poppies

2011-03-04T12:55:00.000-08:00

Blue Poppies also called Himalayan

Poppies like shady cool places but I have never been able winter them over. Rare even in there native Tibet, I saw these at Butchart Gardens near Victoria across the waters in Canada.

Catch the Wind

2011-02-18T17:10:00.001-08:00

Catch the Wind is an abstract gestural clay drapery figure with my art nouveau glaze 12 inches tall.

Blue Glacier

2011-02-18T17:02:00.000-08:00

Blue Glacier from High Divide
Late summer when the snow has finally gone from high divide, the view of Mount Olympus after walking the 17miles or so from the Hoh River Visitors center is a wonderful reward.
Defining ridges, valleys , cliffs and path ways to the mountain is an intense study of this spectacular place. I especially enjoy leaving the white paper for the snow patches which define the contour of the land.
Sold

Minus Tide at Kalaloch

2010-12-31T11:45:00.000-08:00

Crabs are sometimes stranded in the tide pools of a minus tide. Razor clams are common on this beach but the season is very limited and there are usually crowds of diggers.

It was a pleasure to be there in the quiet

early morning listening to the sea. The limited light accentuates the value relationships in an almost monochromatic scene with darks and lighs of blue and burnt sienna.

2010-12-23T22:17:00.000-08:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS
BEST WISHES FOR 2011

Pussy Cats have joined the Owls

2010-12-20T21:20:00.000-08:00

The method used to build the owls works well for cats also, they have lots of personality.

Owls

2010-12-20T14:29:00.000-08:00

These Owls are made on the wheel and shaped by pinching the "ears" and cutting away the eyes and a hole in the back . Carving and adding clay to indicate feathers,nose and feet give each one personality.They can be used to hold flowers or pencils or just indicate that the owner is a wise old soul:)

Sea Weed Why Paint That

2010-12-19T12:01:00.000-08:00

The previous watercolor has an abstract design which guides the viewer's eye due to its circular nature. As the ocean creates a vortex with the movement of the waves it leaves the sea weed high and dry as the tide declines and picks up the sea weed again on the returning high tide, moving it to a new arrangement and location
The painting was a nature arrangement with subtle artistic changes to express shape, color and the effect of light and shadow. Why- because it had not been seen in other work, it had a lot of interesting shadows in a shallow depth, memories of walks on the beach and it challenged the high key brightness of a rare sunny day on the Olympic Peninsula .

Sea Weed

2010-12-17T05:39:00.000-08:00

Full sheet 300 lb Arches w/c paper. Still Life of sea weed arranged by an out going tide left on a sunny sand beach made an interesting abstract pattern of line color and shape.

Face Book

2010-12-16T15:07:00.000-08:00

I just sent a share message to Face Book. Please let me know what you think if you look at my Blog.

My Art Class Notes

2010-12-16T07:54:00.000-08:00

Framing made simple. For the practical watercolorists, framing in the same metal chop frames presents paintings in a consistent manner which avoids readjusting the eye due to a variety of frames. It also allows the practical reuse of frames, easier storage and the cost benefits the purchaser who is paying mainly for the art not the expensive frame.
The value of art should be greater than the value of framing.

Blog or Website

2010-12-16T07:03:00.000-08:00

I'm trying to decide if a website benefitst artists. At this point I have a site with Yahoo at $110.00 a year but I think it is more of an ego display which costs my art income additiional expenses. Soooo...Bloggers what do you think?

Leaf Designs

2010-12-14T19:14:00.000-08:00

New Pottery

2010-12-14T19:06:00.000-08:00

Looking Back

2010-12-14T19:01:00.000-08:00

It was wonderful to see the butterflies last year, I would not visit now due to the drug problems .

2010-03-06T20:48:00.000-08:00

Pictures

2010-03-06T20:39:00.001-08:00

There are thousands

Warming Up

2010-03-06T20:32:00.000-08:00

The Monarchs come down to get water when it warms up. It is a thrill to be surrounded by them as you ride along.

Click the picture to enlarge so you can see the butterflies.

Monarch Butterflies

2010-03-06T20:24:00.000-08:00

The trip to Mexico for the Monarch migration was great, good weather and great friends. To see them clusterd in the trees, at 6 to 7 thousand feet we rode horses.

New Website for 2010

2010-01-02T20:39:00.000-08:00

My 2010 resolution is to learn how to show and sell my pottery and paintings on the Web

A new website is in progress with help by my daughter, using Yahoo web tools and templates.
Etsy.com, a site showing hand made work only, is showing one of my round dragonfly vases.
I hope to add more work as it is completed .
.

NEW WATERFRONT ART GALLERY

2009-02-08T20:08:00.000-08:00

The gallery to which I have belonged since coming to Port Angeles, has moved to a new location , 120 West Front St. This was a previous "home" before the building was restored .
It is open ,well lighted and quite elegant

As a thank you for my years as the Director, the new Board of Director asked me to be the Featured Artist for our Grand Opening, Feb 9 -14 . I will be showing watercolors, stoneware and prints as well as cards ,magnets,and fused glass jewelry.

Stoneware clay

2009-02-06T21:44:00.000-08:00

These are some of my standing ladies " Stands with Birds". They are made in three parts , the body the legs and the base. The first one was an idea created by the piece of drifrt wood she is holding, with the small birds attached .

Passages I

2008-09-11T16:21:00.000-07:00

Passages I , a water media painting in warn colors , is based on the tools which can create a painting. Values, lights and darks, are muted to hold the relationship of shapes and color together. Texture provides interest and variety while line moves the viewer throughout the painting as it suggests place or emotion. The transition from area to area is as important as as sense of depth.

Second Beach

2008-09-10T06:17:00.000-07:00

Second Beach is and easy hike fromn the trail head near La Push on the Washington coast.

Fog at Ruby Beach

2008-08-31T08:55:00.000-07:00

Ruby Beach is part of Olympic National Park beaches , most of which are numbered ,1-2-3- ( Hwy 101 west of Forks)

The rocks or sea stacks are weathered by wind and water to interesting shapes which change as storms work on them. Foggy days can be very beautiful when enhanced with watercolor's subtle shades. Photographs will provide content but are usually near black and white.

And Now For Something Different

2008-08-30T06:38:00.000-07:00

I teach Watercolor classes which will be fun to share with you.

The Olympic Peninsula has some gray foggy

weather which obscures the horizon and fades into misty coolness.

Soft edges eliminate details except in the near ground, background shapes are recognizable blending into the fog.

Colors are muted and less intense with a lighter than usual sky

Try some color: Distance -thalo blue, ultramarine purple cool green/purple mix Middle ground warm up with rose and burnt sienna , muted red/browns Near ground detail is warmer and complimentary colors. Bright color or detailed objects accentuate the depth.
Study foggy scenes,take photo
Draw lightly so that the pencil marks will erase.
Wet the entire paper for a graded wash
Paint from background to near ground
When dry erase pencil add detail and balance the three areas

End of the Season

2008-08-30T05:59:00.000-07:00

The Lavender festival is the last weekend in July, by then the fields are beautiful and harvesting has begun. Farms are open to visitors,most have artists displaying their work , food and entertainment.

Graymarsh Farm

2008-08-26T15:21:00.000-07:00

Graymarsh has been an active farm ,growing strawberries, raspberries ,marionberries and blue berries for many years. Lavender is a recent addition.

Picket Fence with Lavender and Poppies

2008-08-26T15:14:00.000-07:00

Painted for the 2008 Festival.

Lavender Barn

2008-08-21T06:33:00.000-07:00

This barn with its view of the Olympic Mountains has been a very popular print . The original is now being shown at Blue Whole Art Gallery, Sequim

Print quality-size-Sales- Contact

2008-08-20T19:01:00.000-07:00

All of the paintings shown previously have been sold
but there are prints made of them in different sizes.
Request a size of image from 2x3.5 inches business card
to 12x18 depending on the configuration of the original.
Prints are giclee', pigment inks on enhased Epson paper

Please contact me at studio@olypen.com

2008-08-19T09:04:00.000-07:00

Lavender grows really well on the

Olympic Peninsula, sandy soil

and moderated damp climate.

The farm land still produces great berries,vegetables and flowers.

Organic farming has become a success as well as lavender which is keeping much of the Sequim Valley farmland.

Like everywhere the peninsula has the pressure of people's need

for homes and big-box-stores

Two Bees

2008-08-19T07:14:00.000-07:00

There are several small watercolors close ups of lavender which were carefully representational of the plant.

(Watercolor Hint)

To paint it in a landscape I used a homemade tool , a sponge frond shape stapled to a folded paper handle to dip in paint and stamp into the picture

Lavender Watercolors

2008-08-19T07:04:00.001-07:00

Bees love lavender. They seem to be doing well , there are a lot of hives at the farms. Our spring weather was late and cold which was hard on them.

My First Blog

2008-08-18T22:02:00.000-07:00

The two paintings shown so far are oils but I usually paint with watercolor. There are a number of lavender paintings excuited over the past 10 years . I may try to create a page of them . I'm finding the blog journal an interesting way to organize and define them.

Jardin du Soleil

2008-08-18T16:57:00.000-07:00

This is the Garden where I had my booth for the Festival for the last 5 years. The owners are very kind to their venders and the site is beautiful. There is usually little breeze morning and evening as we are close to the Straits of Juan de Fuca.

2008-08-18T13:46:00.000-07:00

Blogging is new to me so I'll just stick with the lavender paintings until I am more familiar with editing and getting the pictures to publish. I hope to be able to share some watercolor lessons.

2008-08-18T13:42:00.000-07:00

2008-08-18T13:14:00.000-07:00

The lavender Festival had good weather and attendance this year. My booth at Jardin du Soliel was a success. This print which was the 2002 Sequim Lavender Festival poster still attracts attention and sells well.

All the prints and paintings I show at the Lavender Festival are lavender related. I didn't have extra pottery for the show.