MY DUMB POTTERY & PREPPING FOR CHRISTMAS

MY WEEK IN PHOTOS: DECEMBER 17–23, 2018!

The last full week of work before the holiday break. I shoot more delicious dishes at Sake Dojo, clear out the office with Tristan, treat my parents to a Getty lunch, and see Sara at MOCA Geffen. Plus, a reflection on all my pottery this year.

Enjoy!

Last pottery studio before the end of the year, so I had to get all 10 of these pieces glazed and ready for final firing. Some of these I’ve been avoiding for a while now (that big tall white piece) cuz glazing scares me, but got to get this done.

While I was waiting for the glazing room to clear I played around with some clay and make this little cup with Zach’s face on it. Hopefully it survives!

A very excellent advent calendar day.

Shooting another set of beautiful dishes at Sake Dojo with Jill.

Sake flight

We shot a the two menus for New Years specials.

Thursday! It’s been a quiet week at work in the offices, so many colleagues are already out of the office.

Had to leave a little early for a doctor’s appointment across town, but treated myself to a burger and fries at the Pasadena Wholefoods afterwards.

Then it was time to face another hour-long drive to acupuncture.

I’ve decided I much prefer going to acupuncture in the evening so I can just drift asleep.

Friday! Dressed like a bundle.

Crow is watching over us.

My parents came to visit and have lunch with me.

Made them take touristy photos around.

Mom looking at photographs of the Spiral Jetty in the Monumentality exhibition.

The moon!

Said goodbye to my parents and headed back to the office.

We got to work finishing up packing drawers, cabinets, the table, and our boss’s space. (Plus found this blonde wig)

Exhausting work packing up all these boxes.

The beautiful moon

Goodnight, Getty

My parents had a gift for Zach’s birthday, but alas, it was too big.

Dinner and Mario Party with Joe

Saturday morning lazy hangs

Chopstick holders for Advent

Haven’t pulled out these tattered overalls in a while.

Popped by the pottery studio to pick up the glazed pieces I finished on Monday.

Then we headed for lunch at Little Fatty.

We tried the orange chicken bowl.

Plus the flat rice noodles with xo sauce. SO good.

Spicy wontons yesss.

Zach has been on a record acquiring journey ever since my parents gifted us their old record player. Zach had it tuned up and now is seeking any and all James Bond soundtracks on vinyl.

Timewarp Records in Mar Vista

Got home and took out my newest pottery creations. This set of cups was supposed to be the same size and style…I’m decently happy. They definitely look more like cousins and not sisters, but it’s REALLY hard to make identical things and I think this is a good first attempt.

Really pleased with this shape. If only I knew what to do with it, maybe a planter?

The new crew joins the pottery family.

Got into it and got excited. I dug up all the pieces from the previous nine months I’ve consistently gone once a week to pottery studio.

I organized from oldest (at the back by the red cushion) to the newest.

Progress over time? Though I had somebody tell me they preferred the old ones. I guess there’s something charming about the organic shapes of my early “not perfect” ones for sure. I think I’ll focus on getting the technique right so I can add back in that organic style.

I was feeling like what a waste, I’m 9 months into this pottery “journey” and I still friggin suck. I haven’t been improving…but seeing everything together made me feel proud that I’ve stuck with something for this long, and really put effort in to making incremental improvements. I’ll keep at it into the new year for sure.

I got to wrapping up some Christmas gifts for my parents. The huge box was a challenge to wrap that wasn’t helped by running out of tape partway through.

Waiting for Zach’s family to arrive ominously in the hallway.

Sunday morn. Zach’s siblings are staying with us. Tweedy is adjusting.

Went to Little Tokyo to pick up some mochi from Fugetsu-do.

And to see Sara and visit the Laura Owens and Zoe Leonard show at MOCA Geffen.

“For more than twenty years, Los Angeles–based artist Laura Owens has pioneered an innovative approach to painting that has made her one of the most influential artists of her generation. Her bold and experimental work challenges traditional assumptions about figuration and abstraction, as well as the relationships between avant-garde art, craft, pop culture, and technology.”

“Owens emerged on the Los Angeles art scene during the mid-nineties, at a time when many in the critical establishment viewed painting with skepticism. Her early canvases upended the traditions of painterly abstraction by incorporating goofy personal allusions, doodling, and common craft materials. These works often demonstrated her keen interest in how paintings function in a given room and used illusionistic techniques to extend the plane of a wall or floor directly into the space of her pictures. More recently, she has charted a dramatic transformation in her work, marshaling all of her previous interests and talents within large-scale paintings that make virtuosic use of silkscreen, computer manipulation, digital printing, and material exploration.”

Next: Zoe Leonard: “New York–based artist Zoe Leonard (b. 1961) is among the most critically acclaimed artists of her generation. Over the past three decades, she has produced work in photography and sculpture that has been celebrated for its lyrical observations of daily life coupled with a rigorous, questioning attention to the politics and conditions of image making and display.”

I love her photographs of trees absorbing and overflowing manmade barriers like concrete, fences, posts, etc.

On the exterior of the building is this Barbara Kruger mural that reads: “Who is beyond the law? Who is bought and sold? Who is free to choose? Who does the time? Who follows orders? Who salutes longest? Who prays loudest? Who dies first? Who laughs last?”

A non-mouth open photo of Sara

From Little Tokyo to Burbank back to Santa Monica. An afternoon of driving around finished by a dinner with Zach’s family.

Happy Holidays everybody!

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Some questions that you may or may not feel inclined to answer? So! Let’s do it. I invite you to answer in the comments:

1. What was the highlight of your week last week?
2. Do you bake? What’s your favorite thing to bake?
3. Does the end of the year stress you out or get you excited?

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1. What was the highlight of your week last week?
   (I’m a little off so my last week counts as the week of Christmas). I had a great day with family on Christmas, our family is so big now! I remember being the only kid when we did Christmas back at our house years ago.
2. Do you bake? What’s your favorite thing to bake?
   I’ve been thinking about dabbling in bread…but I’m no baker! I’m looking for some easy inspiration! (Yes, I have been watching Great British Bake Off)
3. Does the end of the year stress you out or get you excited?
   STRESS. People tend to reflect on all the great things the year previous, and I tend to dwell on the things I feel that I haven’t done enough of, or look at the areas of my life that are the same as last year and feel stagnate. I should stop doing that…

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Thanks for reading! Much love friends.