Brighten up your winter by making a New Year’s resolution to do something new, relaxing and FUN! Give us a call at 410.546.1534 to reserve your spot. Get a 5$ DISCOUNT OFF per class by registering for 3 or more classes!!
Thank you!!!!
fixed the issue with my site-so for your viewing pleasure: VOILA!
I am having trouble uploading my pictures to go with my classes. So for now just text-sorry! Contact me with your email and I will be happy to get you a PDF.-
Slab Mask fun decor! October 14th
5:15-7pm with Dana Simson instructor
Learn how to construct a wall mask from a clay slab emplying textures and sculpture. Masks make for lively year-round decor but can be an especially delightful door accent on Halloween. Your pieces will be fired to bisque within 2 weeks so you can come into glaze them. Clay, glazes, bisque & glaze firings plus instruction included in the class fee of $38.00. Save your space! Reserve early. Reserve space in 3 or more classes and take 5$ off per class. Call 410.546.1534 or 410.603.0531 or email [email protected] to hold your spot.
Slab built/carved candle votives Oct 21th
5:15-7pm with Dana Simson instructor
Learn how to secure clay slabs to form 2 square votive forms. Incise patterns and texture so candle light will shine through. Your pieces will be fired to bisque within 2 weeks so you can come into glaze them. Clay, glazes, bisque & glaze firings plus instruction included in the class fee of $38.00. Save your space! Reserve early. Reserve space in 3 or more classes and take 5$ off per class. Call 410.546.1534 or 410.603.0531 or email [email protected] to hold your spot.
GET a“head” in 2017 December 9th,
5:15-7pm with Dana Simson instructor
Make 2 face cups to drink out of. Sculpted and slab built.
Your pieces will be fired to bisque within 2 weeks so you can come into glaze them. Clay, glazes, bisque & glaze firings plus instruction included in the class fee of $38.00. Save your space! Reserve early. Reserve space in 3 or more classes and take 5$ off per class. Call 410.546.1534 or 410.603.0531 or email [email protected] to hold your spot.
Freehand Pattern Coil Vessel October 28th
5:15-7pm with Dana Simson instructor
Learn how to roll coils and fashion an intricately patterned
bowl/vessel. Your pieces will be fired to bisque within 2 weeks so you can come into glaze them. Clay, glazes, bisque & glaze firings plus instruction included in the class fee of $38.00. Save your space! Reserve early. Reserve space in 3 or more classes and take 5$ off per class. Call 410.546.1534 or 410.603.0531 or email [email protected] to hold your spot.
Holiday Trees decor! November 4th
5:15-7pm with Dana Simson instructor
Rolled slab cones become trees. Learn to carved into colored clay for extra cool designs – top with hearts or stars. Your pieces will be fired to bisque within 2 weeks so you can come into glaze them. Clay, glazes, bisque & glaze firings plus instruction included in the class fee of $38.00. Save your space! Reserve early. Reserve space in 3 or more classes and take 5$ off per class. Call 410.546.1534 or 410.603.0531 or email [email protected] to hold your spot.
Ornament Madness November 11th
5:15-7pm with Dana Simson instructor
Make easy gifts! We will use cookie cutters and textures to create 6 lovely ornaments. Your pieces will be fired to bisque within 2 weeks so you can come into glaze them. Clay, glazes, bisque & glaze firings plus instruction included in the class fee of $38.00. Save your space! Reserve early. Reserve space in 3 or more classes and take 5$ off per class. Call 410.546.1534 or 410.603.0531 or email [email protected] to hold your spot.
Pinch Pot Perfect November 18th
5:15-7pm with Dana Simson instructor
Careful! These are fun and addictive to make. Great for neat little vases or bitty bowls. Keep or give:) Your pieces will be fired to bisque within 2 weeks so you can come into glaze them. Clay, glazes, bisque & glaze firings plus instruction included in the class fee of $38.00. Save your space! Reserve early. Reserve space in 3 or more classes and take 5$ off per class. Call 410.546.1534 or 410.603.0531 or email [email protected] to hold your spot.
Splendid Spoons December 2nd
5:15-7pm with Dana Simson instructor
Fabulous gifts! Use slump molds, stamps and imagination to create fun coffee scoops, sugar spoons etc. (4 spoons). Your pieces will be fired to bisque within 2 weeks so you can come into glaze them. Clay, glazes, bisque & glaze firings plus instruction included in the class fee of $38.00. Save your space! Reserve early. Reserve space in 3 or more classes and take 5$ off per class. Call 410.546.1534 or 410.603.0531 or email [email protected] to hold your spot.
Reserve your spot early as there is limited space.
You can gather a group of 8-15 people for a special class/ party anytime. (Wine ok!)
Call us or stop in the store (11-5 Wednesday – Friday or Saturday 10-3) to save your place.
We prepare materials for class so we need to know how many folks are coming,
however you can always call by the day before to see if there is room for more people.
We don’t refund for missed classes as reserved spots are finite, however we can credit you for a future class if you let us know more then 48 hrs previous to the class you need to cancel.
Feel free to call with any questions . 410.546.1534 or 410.603.09531 Dana
Classes are held in the PIY space here at Chesapeake East, park out back and enter thru the store by 5:15.
You can see my art at two venues in Baltimore in the month of May.
this weekend!! Saturday & Sunday May 14 & 15, 10-5pm at an amazing mid-century modernist house; 11011 Baronet Rd. Owings Mills, MD, I will be exhibiting with 8 other wonderful artists:
You are invited to come!! https://www.facebook.com/agatheringofcraftsmen/
Currently at Fleckenstein Gallery . through May 28, 2016
Personal Myths
Fanciful Paintings and Ceramics by
DANA SIMSON
May 7th – May 28th
3316 Keswick Road • Baltimore, MD 21211 • (410) 366-3669
[email protected]
Tuesdays-Fridays 11:00am – 7:00pm
Saturdays 11:00am – 5:00pm,
& by appointment
Closed Sunday and Monday
Call to secure your space- I limit the class size. Thank you!
For years people have been requesting that I teach a class here at Chesapeake East. February was a test month to see how that might go. It was so wonderful and invigorating- I and the lovely people who came are now addicted to Clay studio night. New Friends creating together- Excellent! We have just remodeled and spruced up the PIY pottery painting studio to include space for my classes and more. Look for painting, drawing, poetry, writers workshops, quilling and more classes to be added with my wonderful artist friends as teachers as we go forward. PIY is now part of the ARTWORKS at Chesapeake East. Give yourself a treat and the freedom to enjoy making something just for the fun of it.
To request a PDF class list contact us at 410.546.1534. Best Wishes! Dana
How to strip away gray noise and hear single notes.
Imagination rises in a symphonic wake of what you have passed through on your individual journey. The flow of imagery and general quality of the “Life in your day” is lifted and made more vibrant when you pay attention to the larger world. These notes, while making your day spark like chili flakes in a zippy curry are efficiently filed in your massive library of recollection neighboring nose and ears.
Imagination is deeply hooked into all our senses. That is why we each react to things uniquely. Reaction and ideas are tempered by volumes of what we remember and feel. Imagination is not just about pretty pictures and new notions. It is a lifestyle choice of being aware, noticing and appreciating. But one step at a time.
This week quiet yourself and listen.
Notice the music of a ceiling fan oscillating.
The slap of a car door shutting.
The tinkle of silverware jostled when you pull out a spoon.
Wings over water. A sink draining. Someone walking briskly down the hall.
If you want to sit down with yourself and study; start a work book/journal and write down sounds that delight you followed by what images they bring to mind. Do likewise with sounds that grind at you or cause discomfort. The strongest gift of imagination is empathy; slipping into another’s story and listening so deeply you may grow to understand what escaped you before. Little steps forward in a big world.
Sometimes I launch into doing things that may or may not go well. This is the basis of invention.
Failing is an option, but you always get a story to tell. Follow rules 1-3 and you will be fine.
1. Don’t be afraid
2. Imagine how to make it happen
3. Enjoy the process no matter what the outcome
PROBLEM: a pleasant upholstered chair discolored by time and late evenings to a level of yuck.
ONCE i sat on a lovely couch in my friend Steve Swan’s house and remarked on it’s fine pleather texture and lovely hue. He said proudly:” I paint-rollered that couch like 5 years ago.” I said,” dang” and filed that info away.
A one color chair is easier and feel free to do that- however should you encounter a down on it’s luck striped chair here is what worked remarkably well:
Choose a color of latex paint that is close to what was and try a test to see how it flows onto the fabric. You don’t want it too dense or it will be tedious to apply and not blend into the texture of your upholstery. If you add water, give it a good stir. (an egg whisk is super for this) Apply in a less visible area of your chair. You want it to flow on easily and cover but not be so watery as to bleed out or be drippy. Your tools must be your friends-so make sure you have a good paintbrush- about an inch wide with flexible brush that you can turn side wise and pull forward to get a crisp line. Practice on some paper if that is helpful. Get comfy and prepare to go into a focused, content state which will empty your mind of extraneous issues like whether the fish is defrosting so you can loose yourself in painting calming stripes- each one more glorious then the last. From time to time you may become overcome by your own genius as the chair turns into a prom queen or at least someone who doesn’t have a bra strap showing in the after photos.
The best result of having secretly rescued furniture such as this is that when someone does catapult their glass of red wine into the seat of your newly lovely chair you are unconcerned- and further because this delightful chair is now coated in a thin layer of plastic based paint merely get the sponge, wipe and return to your evening.
Remember to relax.
Blogs should be useful. Therefore besides stories about paintings or show and tell episodes of the latest thing I have conjured up I will be posting a series of imagination exercises and how to’s here as well.
Some people see my art and wonder what drug I am on.
I try not to take that personally. I have learned to trust my ideas and enjoy exploring them. If you are enjoying yourself you are going in the right direction.
Imagination is fleeting and does not always come when you call it. It has learned to be quiet in those that question it. To bring your creativity out you must encourage it to eat from your hand. Imagination must be coaxed, nurtured, and allowed to sit at the table without restrictions as to conduct. Many people slap their imaginations down, “I am not artistic,” They lament in a fit of self deprivation and excuses. Translation: I am frightened to let my thoughts leap out of the nest- they might fall- I will protect them deep in my breast pocket. “OK.” Think you are safe? You are just boring. Sadly, you are boring yourself- not me. I am busy seeing the world- loving every nuance- every pattern, every color and rhythm. I am never bored. But I work at this- just like that buff mountain biker, I work at building my imagination and giving it free range to keep it healthy everyday. How? By living awake. By paying attention to the beauty of the world that surrounds me.
Today- a small task- consider this is your first day on earth. See your surroundings with new, amazed and appreciative eyes. Find gratitude in light- early morning gold and the magic in the shadows of late afternoon. See invention- good design- color and the symphony of pattern in nature.
Have I thrown you into the deep-end on the first day?
Well drink it in- tred water and look around . indeed it is a wonderful world.
Bee are busy and focused. They are fufilled by what they do and create a sweet life.
I want to be a bee.
But I am a running around girl in a chaotic world so I remind myself to just bee.
Time goes on bringing us bright new days.
This is my bee painting over a scatter of winter pancies given me to plant by my friends Randy and Bobbie. Winter pancies add a little helpful color in dark times.
Somedays in annoying traffic I remember and just bee.
This is one of my favorite images and the one I wear
( my bee pendent necklace-also here in my shop)
My husband John makes the wooden clock. I decopodge the bee print image and hand paint the clock, hands and pendulum ( which has a tiny complimentary image in a bottle cap a fixed to it)
The clock is about 12 inches tall- 16 with the hanging pendulum, 2 inches thick, and nine inches wide.
It is a jolly addition to any room and makes a really nice wedding, graduation or friend gift.
or of course you can just get one for yourself.
The clock has a nice quote by Victor Hugo- “Life is the flower for which love is the honey.”
schweet.
thanks for reading my little chat.
Dana
