BALTIMORE!

Baltimore reminds me of Edgar Allan Poe, the Ravens, crab cakes, Camden Yard, the Baltimore Oriole, the Visionary Art Museum, and the Inner Harbor. I've been there often mostly while visiting with my brother-in-law's family in Towson, the quiet and gentile suburb north of Baltimore. When I  heard the American Craft Council Show was in Baltimore the same weekend, I asked my sister in-law to go with me. The husbands dropped us at the convention Center while they went off to Fort McHenry and the Greenlawn Cemetery.

It was an exceedingly large show, it seemed to me bigger than the Philly show, and with better food inside the space. I was not paying attention to the map and I think missed a lot of clay artists because we were wandering the "fashion/jewelry" aisles instead of "home decor," I learned later. It would behoove me to plan for these things better.

I gathered a few photos: two ceramics artists that were interesting, and one from whom I purchased a bowl.

The large, colorful animals by Scott Causey go through an elaborate process in their creation. The hollow bisques sculpture is broken in random sections that are glazed and fired depending on the type of glaze he wants to use, doing separate firings for red and gold luster for instance.

Then he reassembles the pieces and voila! A bright and lively surface on expressively animated forms! My favorite was the monkey.
 



I love stone - collecting stones, carving stone, building with stone, so I enjoyed Gerald Arrington's stoneware ceramics. All pieces mimicked the surface, texture, color and form of natural stone. Here are two amazing teapots. The lids are the little stone on top and the handles the stick-like long stone on the side.

Finally, I loved the simple bowls of Cheryl Costantini of Nichibei Potters. And as usual the prices, just a bit below other favorites influenced my choice. The first bowl I liked was a golden bowl with delicate, lacy drips on the inside.











But I chose the more subdued brown bowl with a blue interior and a little stripe of blue on the foot. Cheryl said they are wheel thrown and then before they stiffen up too much, she uses her hands to gently square them so they are no longer round and "perfect." I will definitely use this bowl often. Its size, weight and soothing colors will be easy to live with, I think.