phoenix matsuri 2011

hello local arizonans...ins....ians??
what up locals of the arizona persuasion!?

please come and join us in cultural celebration at the phoenix matsuri, (japanese cultural festival) next weekend
February 26th and 27th from 10am to 5 pm
don't know the phoenix matsuri? check out their website http://azmatsuri.org
among my favorite things to do there is gawp at the martial artists, gawp more at the dancers, and finish up the gawpiness with all the amazing hand made clothing.
then i like to get a bowl of some of the most heavenly fresh udon i have ever had the pleasure of putting in my mouth.
it's an amazing way to spend the weekend and admission is free.

Chado Urasenke Tankokai Arizona Association Inc. NPO will be providing Japanese Tea Ceremony Demonstrations throughout both days of the festival.

as far as i know at the moment we will be located directly downstairs from them. we are listed on the program as "parrot feathers ceramics"
we will be offering various kinds of tea ware as well as serving pieces, decorative pieces for the home, and vessels for ikebana.
it's going to be downright tea-tastic!

here is a very humble sampling of some of the items you will see, (sorry about the stickers in the cups-i wasn't thinking ahead about pictures when i put the tags on them).

n.p.
denki groove "shonen young"

pyromaniac prayers

I realize in internet time this is already old news...but ironically i've been busy in the studio setting things on fire in garbage cans so i haven't been keeping up with much news.
but i just heard on slipcast blog that Paul Soldner has passed away.
wow. what a legacy that guy left us with though!
i think the majority of the work that my friends and i do every day at the studio wouldn't have even been possible without his influence and innovation.

well, Mr Soldner, if ever i am to attend a naked potter hot tub party I'll be thinking of you. in the mean time i'll set some more things on fire and offer my prayers.

kiln slaves unite!

so it is the end of the semester again.
and we've been loading and firing off the 4 big daddy kilns every day.
and some studio techs at this point i'll bet are getting pretty sore.

so to psyche myself up to get out of bed, heh, i have turned to a higher inspirational power.
that's right. 
tetris.  NES oldschool style.  or gameboy if you prefer. 
and i want to bring this message to all of you wherever you are, however bad the beginner glaze blops are sticking to those pricey shelves you are cursing, however many times you yelled "&*^*&%*&%!!! why do i only have half a shelf worth of under four inch !%$#$$!!! pieces".

so listen good my dusty sisters and brothers and have hope
THE WORD


and before you go to bed be soothed before you get dirty tomorrow

Nerd Time

today i happened upon another person's blog post which included a really confusing mix of old timey idioms.  so i had to go look it up.  long story short i found this website and i've been stuck on it for like an hour now.

so go check out fun with idioms...all that you never cared to understand about the origins of sayings :)

n.p.
"ambe too hai jagdambe" by Shri Narendra Chanchal

fan mail

i love fan mail!! 
i have a wonderful customer that sent me some pictures of my ware in action a while ago.  i confess i took some time getting this up as i was preoccupied making silk and wool felt...i had some small "vacation" between semesters so i'm getting my fiber intake while i can. hyuk hyuk. 

few things are as precious to me as when i know something i have created is loved and appreciated.

thanks again, jeff!

now playing:
tv; star trek tng "suddenly human"

2010 mesa community college student show

hello locals of the greater phoenix, az area.
you will come and see me live at the 2010 mesa community college student art show. OBEY, for i am red with crusty crusty glaze!!

and the show this year is really awesome.  opening monday 12 april 9 am.  free to everyone.

for better information click here

now playing
gary numan "are friends electric"

in which i discuss zombies

i used to have a friend that refused to eat mushrooms because they were the zombies of the plant world and eating mushrooms would make you a zombie eater.

so i was blasterizing my way through fontaine futuristics for the third time this fine night and my mind wandered to zombies....and i wonder now if that person was incorrect.  that perhaps fermented foods are the true zombies of the great food pyramid because what are fermented foods...and drinks....but RE-ANIMATED DEAD!!!???
so along that line of thinking i started musing about zombie tofu covered in zombie tamari.
zombie kombucha.  the zombie cabernet my father gave me a bottle of.  bottled zombies.  oh dear what have we done?

now playing:

spooky bioshock background music

sale sale sale!!

SALE SALE SALE!!!!

click on the above magic words to go to etsy for all kinds of stuff. go look! i'm being excited! with excited yelling! yay! go treat yourself!

n.p.
bessie smith "i need a little sugar in my bowl"

it's the little things

not much to report....but i'll share a song with you since you've been so quiet

ok this is just funny:
i was looking for stuff on shino slip so i googled it like ya do.... search "shino slip"
and my flickr stream shows up as number 7 on the first page. how cool is that!?

now playing:
ink spots "if i didn't care"

food pr0n

the local japanese market has mushroom muffins. these taste AMAZING.

i went there to actually buy daikon sprouts...i'm on a kick right now.


i also got some makings for making sushi. be nice this was my first time. it was really good though...full of spicy, sprouty, mushroomy goodness.



now playing: reine pelagie "biande"

hee hee hee!

brainstorming for the new body of work
unglazed high reduction fire porcelain skeleton, wet felted cotton flax roving, wet felted commercial merino roving, uncombed lincoln locks

n.p.
passion pit "little secrets"

stop. otis time.

waaaah!!
and we're back in the studio. again. did i even take a break? i'm not sure any more. neither is otis. but here he is singing a "beautiful" song in an oh so parroty way.

some new stuffs for you

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade parrotfeathers.etsy.com

yarn pirate returns

did you miss me?
yes.
yes you did.
because i made you some nice yarn. and i know how you like yarn. yes. you do.
i also found this for you. you need this.

n.p.
steel pulse "your house"

obscene multi-level geekery

pond scum shino + silicon carbide = bigod's bog monster shino

(you have only yourself to blame). heh heh heh.




n.p.
bigod20 "carpe diem"

applying to grad school

ack! yes i'm really going to do it! my hands are raw my head is empty but by darn i'm doing it.

i've never had to write a formal artist statement before. ok, i mean little ones here and there in classes...but nothing profound that has the potential to make or break me.
so i've been poking around online for ideas and i found this great thing. the market o matic fine arts version.
and while i'm not a graphic artist this thing is still hilarious.
this is what it gave me:


Work of Meta-Art in the Age of Symbiotic Reproduction

The flux creates, the empire profligates. In the synaptic reality, art objects are deprecations of the iterations of the flux -- a flux that uses the empire as a zeitgeist to deconstruct ideas, patterns, and emotions. With the synergy of the electronic environment, the flux is conceiving a point where it will be free from the empire to transcend immersions into the contortions of the delphic reality. Work of Meta-Art in the Age of Symbiotic Reproduction contains 10 minimal flash engines (also refered to as "memes") that enable the user to make conceptual audio/visual compositions.

measuring chains, constructing realities
putting into place forms
a matrix of illusion and disillusion
a strange attracting force
so that a seduced reality will be able to spontaneously feed on it

---

alecia tye's work investigates the nuances of modulations through the use of jumpcut motion and close-ups which emphasize the Symbiotic nature of digital media. tye explores abstract and soft scenery as motifs to describe the idea of hyper-real reality. Using dual loops, vectors, and allegorical images as patterns, tye creates meditative environments which suggest the expansion of culture...

<-- Obligatory ascii sig. Repeat until desired cyborg effect is achieved. -->

/u[0]{)]|]]-] -------------/u/u!@#$%^~!@#$%^&*()) __++_)(*&^%$--------/u/u!@#$%^~!@#$ %^&*())__++_)(*&^%$--------/u/u!@#$ %^~!@#$%^&*())__+, etc., etc.

<-- End obligatory ascii sig. -->

my actual statement so far reads as thus "i am at my personal best when i can be left alone to play in the dirt". beat that with your gender discrimination immersive class cultural miasma sculpture concepts blah blah blah.

now playing: steel pulse "your house"

empty bowls!!

food is good

getting ready for empty bowls at mesa community college for the past couple weeks. glazing glazing glazing.....
and we'll,(as in parrot feathers) be donating some, (hopefully) sweet incense/offering bowls with hand ground incense at the silent auction.
of course you can just pick up a beautiful hand thrown or even hand built bowl with food too.
date posted soon. this too i hope. :P

the good, the bad, and what was i thinking?

still waiting on the final firing for the sculptures...some cups now up on flickr and in the etsy shop...see previous post.
it's very hot out. so hot that i gave in and cut off four years worth of dreadlocks.
otis is very sad he has nothing to land on anymore and i think the new, spiky do scares him a little.

since i had a small vacation i have been spinning wool and knitting and dreaming of snow. this happens every summer. the more hot days in a row the more chunky my yarn becomes.


i've also been renewing my friendship with yerba mate tea.
there are various sites around the net that will make some mighty large claims concerning this plant and some more conservative.
i have to be honest with you though: i mix it with organic cinnamon chips and i find it just plain tasty.
while i do believe there are numerous health benefits to this plant i will leave you to find your own opinions.