This past weekend I attended the Creative Expressions Art Show. What a plethora of talent! There was a variety of paintings, some graphite and colored pencil work, ceramics, gourd art, rock art, candles, decorated artificial trees, pottery, and cut paper Chinese pictures. The Chinese cut paper work was amazing, the delicacy of the paper, and the intricacy of the designs just blew me away; I even had to ask if they were all done by hand. Nna Chapman, the artist, showed me that all of work was done with just an ordinary cutting razor, just like the kind you’d find in any craft section, the ones with breakaway blades. That blew me away even more, I was sure that she must use some special tool to create her art.
I spoke with one of the jewelry artists whose abalone necklaces caught my eye (and whose fake ice crystal decorations enthralled my 3-year old). I asked where she got her materials and she said that she frequents bead stores while on travel and collects a multitude of beads and materials and then later designs the jewelry. She said that sometimes she’ll have a single art bead for years before she finds the coordinating beads that will complete the design. I was very impressed with her work, and especially the variety of her designs. I’ll definitely be back at her table again at Santa’s Art Shop, the next major local arts and crafts festival.
I was also able to meet Lois Hinman, a fabulous local artist whose ceramics work and paintings are very high quality, and Kathi Moe, who both organized the art show. Hinman has been involved with pottery for 30 years, and painting for the past 12. Moe has is a long-time Creative Expressions member, whose tole painting and wearable art has been seen, collected, and worn in Ridgecrest for many years.
The artist I was most interested to check out was Paula Caudill (Dragonfly Pottery), a friend and colleague, whose work I’ve admired for some time. Paula is a painter and ceramic artist who got her start in ceramics at Cerro Coso College where she first took ceramic classes, and received her A.A. in Art. Paula has been a resident of Ridgecrest for many years, leaving for a brief time to pursue her Bachelor’s degree in Art at Humboldt State University. Paula’s sculpture and paintings are very expressive and her pottery demonstrates a solid skill in both form and function. Paula is ever one to explore new things, and I was intrigued by her creations using polymer clay over glass – kaleidoscope of color with flowing patterns that look like an explosion of color. Her polymer work included plates, bowls, cups, flower vases, and candle vases, which when illuminated had the most wonderful translucent stone appearance.
We also talked about a new glaze she was using that had a deep teal color that was very appealing. I inquired about some of the different glazes as some appeared to be over porcelain and were very smooth, while others were darker and rough. I was surprised to learn that there were several pieces that used the same glaze, but were used over different clay bodies, one being white stoneware clay, the other being rich dark ‘electric brown’ clay. It was amazing the difference that the clay itself made to the results of the glaze. Having worked with only a few glazes and single type of clay in my own experience, it was a pleasure to learn more about how the clay body affects the glazing process.
Paula invited me, and any other interested persons, to come to an upcoming show the “Potted Barn” on December 9th from 9 to 4 at one of the participating artists studios located at 2168 S. Gateway, Ridgecrest, where more of her work will be displayed and sold. The Potted Barn started as a group of potters but it has expanded to include jewelry, metal work, and a variety of artistic creations. Hopefully I’ll have a chance to check out the Potted Barn and will share my discoveries after the visit. Check back for more information about upcoming art shows and artists in the Indian Wells and Kern River Valley area.
Paula Caudill, Dragonfly Pottery
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