برچسب: Island

  • Island Life Potters | Britt Whitaker & Craig Britton

    Island Life Potters | Britt Whitaker & Craig Britton


    Britt Whitaker & Craig Britton | Episode 1082

    Craig Britton & Brittany Whitaker are ceramic artists currently residing on San Juan Island, WA. Craig and Britt’s collaborative work is inspired by nature and often includes hand-painted flora & fauna motifs. However, Craig’s current body of work explores texture, materiality, and the creation process.

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    What is the process of getting supplies out to you? There is no Georgie’s there so what’s it like?

     Britt: You know, anytime we do a show in Seattle after we set up the booth one of us will make a run to a pottery supply store to kind of make up for the fact that shipping can be pretty expensive to get things sent here.

    Does the tourist season make the rest of the year possible?  Those short months in the summer?

     Craig: Not usually. We tend to do shows in Seattle and surrounding cities in the wintertime. And do more things on our website and online to make up for those times.

    What is something Britt, for you, that you can only get on the island and what is something that you cannot get on the island?

    Britt: I guess for me one of the things that I love about living here is just although it is a small island there’s so many different trails that I can take the dog for a walk on year-round. It might be rainy in the winter, but I love that I can drive ten minutes in any direction and have a pretty beautiful trail to take the dog on.

    How about something you can’t get on the island?

    Britt: Let’s see, I guess food can be limited, although there are a lot of great local farms here and in the summer there’s so much fresh produce, it’s great. We are also spoiled having spent time in California where there is fresh produce year-round. Sometimes I notice the produce in the winter can be hard.

    Craig what kind of packing is required to go to show from where you are to a Tacoma show? What is that like?

    Craig: It’s usually about a week out we are getting ready for a show like that. We are getting all of our bins ready to hold all of the wares we are going to take because if you forgot something on the island, there’s no coming back. You can’t just pop back to the house to get something. So it’s a lot of preparation and just making sure we have everything we need before we leave the island.

    Last question. Do you ever get Island fever?

    Craig: No.

    Britt: No, I guess the only thing that comes to mind is just missing the sunshine in the winter. That is the only time I feel like I want to get off the island, maybe mid-January and you haven’t seen the sun in what feels like a year. Other than that it is pretty manageable to be here.

    Book

    Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver 

    Contact

    livinglargesmall.com

    Instagram: @livinglargesmall





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  • Salt Spring Island Artists | Francine Hampson & John Reid

    Salt Spring Island Artists | Francine Hampson & John Reid


    Francine Hampson & John Reid | Episode 1104

    Francine Hampson and John Ried are the owners of Mudpuppy Studios, a production pottery studio producing functional ware. The studio wares are mainly thrown on the potter’s wheel with alterations and additions done by hand building. The clay is high fire stoneware fired in a 15cu. ft. gas kiln introducing salt/soda at 2350F. The effects are spectacular but unpredictable. The wares are sold locally on Salt Spring Island through the Waterfront Gallery or Artcraft/ Wintercraft shows.

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    For all your ceramic needs go to Georgies.com

     

    Being on an island do you ever feel cut off from the rest of the world?

    Francine: I don’t. I had some really good advice from the first year I lived here. An old, old, woman who had lived here over 40 years, My advice to you is to get off the island at least once a month. Because if you don’t you’ll go cuckoo. So I don’t get cabin fever. We are coming a going and doing different things and getting around.

    John: I don’t feel that need to get off the island. In fact I think I have become more of a recluse. I kind of like it on the island. It has everything I need. There’s over 400 musicians on this island and I have two musical groups that I play music with and then I’ve got my studio time. I am also quite involved in the community and a lot of people recognize me around the island, so I really don’t need to go off the island.

    How is the access to ceramics supplies?

    Francine: Well, we don’t have a ceramics supplier on Salt Spring. We are too small. But Vancouver Island, which is where the city of Victoria is. It’s one of the largest islands in the world and in Victoria is Victoria Clay Arts but then we drive up that island in the other direction there’s Vancouver Island Pottery Supply in Parksville, British Columbia.

    John: And we use Amazon. I recently had some Raku gear delivered from Toronto, so that is always a possibility.

    Because it is a tight knit community do you ever feel competition among artists?

    Francine: I don’t feel that at all because I work in salt-soda and I do high-fire. It’s not very common here. Most people are doing cone 6 or lower, electric firing.

    John: I think it’s more a supportive community than a competitive community. I think everybody just networks and if you have an issue you can ask somebody else and everybody is really forthcoming with information. That is the beauty of a small community.

    Book

    In Good Hands by Ellen Easton McLeod 

    Soda, Clay and Fire by Gail Nichols

    Contact

    mudpuppystudios.ca

    Instagram: @mudpuppystudiosssi

     





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