Jeffcoat Pottery, Calabash, NC, has invited Natalie to present at their winter workshop, February 16-17. At this two-day event, Natalie will demonstrate throwing, carving, sculpting lids, and making and carving tiles. Glaze formulas, her firing process, and firing schedules will be shared, along with a powerpoint of her work.
If interested, please contact Jeffcoat Pottery for registration information. info@jeffcoatpottery.com
910-579-2400
Natalie Blake
Natalie and her fiance, Nick, recently installed this custom backsplash for a client in Annapolis, MD.
Natalie writes:
Bev and I met five years ago at the American Craft Council show in Baltimore where she gave me a deposit and told me she didn’t think she would ever find the kind of backsplash she was looking for, but had a hunch I might be able to make it for her. I had just started making tiles at that point and the first pieces were small squares with flowers and leaves on them. She was a ways off at that point from having her kitchen remodeled, and a couple of years later finally started asking me for glaze colors and sketches as her renovations were coming to completion. The final renovations took a while to be punch listed, and so we had yet another year and a half to think about design, and for me to create some of the glaze colors that Bev was hoping for. She wanted a purple backsplash. I hoped I wouldn’t have to make a completely purple piece, and in the end we realized that some blue and cashew colors would most suit the beautiful granite countertop fleck tones in the counters she had found.
Players, custom backsplash tile by Natalie Blake STudios
Last February I finally visited the house, as she was truly ready, and we agreed on colors and concept. I was to work with a painting by Anatole Kraznyansky Russian artists that they had bought while on a cruise. While I said I wasn’t interested in reading directly off this imagery, I was willing to take that image in and bounce off it to create my own feedback loop of imagery in response to this painting. And so I went home to my studio, rolled out white paper, measured out my tile sizes, and then stared at the paper. I stared for a couple of days and found myself quickly filling in images that appeared on the paper as I sat and waited. This was a most enjoyable process and felt very easeful. It was as if these figures wanted to come out on the page and be seen. The energy lines coming off these mythical figures moves from the center outward creating butterfly wing vibrations on the left of the piece and a storm at sea on the right side of the piece.
Players, custom backsplash tile by Natalie Blake STudios
The mythical goddess/queen figure, who showed up to me as benevolent and compassionate with powerful ram horns which give her the power gift of reverence and might, can be seen as flying in horizontal position holding a point of energy with her left hand that can be seen as either holding the cacophony of wind and storm tumult at bay, or pulling the source of that storm of energy along with her. She is holding a tiny sailboat in her right hand. She holds it near the lute player whose large cloaked arm holds a feminine character in his sleeve. His face is the King’s face that can be found in the three faced musician facing right (the figure’s left). The other two musicians are playing a ukelele type instrument and a double-headed woodwind that blows the monarch butterfly wing sound waves.
On the left hand side of the kitchen, I created a single musician standing alone playing with energy lines coming out from the top of his head and cascading away to the left. He plays a double barreled lute like instrument that I am not even sure exists, but I found some interesting images on line with this kind of shape. Beautiful instruments!!! He has a black face and to me seems to be playing perhaps some sort of jazz. There are nine faces in the main backsplash, which happens to be my lucky number.
Installing backsplash tile
It doesn’t take much to inspire us sometimes.
This is what I saw on my way to work today! The sun was hitting the web like a spotlight.
on my way to work
When you’re surrounded by natural beauty, it often doesn’t take much to inspire you….
Ceramic wall tiles glazed in honey
I’d love to be inspired by your design ideas.
We’ve had two recent testimonials that we just can’t help but share.
This quote is from Rod Werner, Director of Planning at Scannapieco Development Corp, in Philadelphia, PA. We worked closely with him as we created a mural for the 1706 Rittenhouse Square Condominiums in Philadelphia.
“I enjoyed our collaboration, and I was very pleased with the results. I
appreciate the mural every time I visit the site (once a week now).”Rittenhouse installation by Natalie Blake Studios
And this quote from Blythe Lee, Vice-President of Design and Strategic Solutions, Corporate Artworks, Ltd, Arlington Heights, IL. She commissioned a 45-tile Tree of Life for the Fountaindale Public Library, Boilingbrook, IL.“I worked with Natalie Blake Studios when procuring the artwork for Fountaindale Public Library in Bolingbrook, IL. The art committee and architects had specific goals for the art program, and overseeing twelve commissions at the same time can be quite a feat. Working with Natalie Blake Studios on the (45) piece tile wall mural was an absolutely smooth process from beginning to end. Communication is of utmost importance when commissioning an art piece, and I was truly impressed with all levels of communication. The business end was maintained on a very professional level, while the commitment of staying true to the artistic development and fine details resulted in a stunning mural that Fountaindale Public Library is very proud of. The compliments on the mural are never ending. As an art consultant, my goal is to hear clients express that an art piece is better than they ever could have imagined. We achieved this with Natalie Blake Studios.”
Fountaindale Tree by Natalie Blake Studios
Natalie and Cynthia are carving the Bayon Tree panels for the Chabot College public art grant they received. Don’t know what a Banyon Tree looks like? Here’s an image:
Older banyan trees are characterized by their roots that grow into thick woody trunks which, with age, can become indistinguishable from the main trunk. Old trees can spread out laterally using these prop roots to cover a wide area.
“We chose to make a 4-panel mural of the Banyon Tree for the Chabot College cafeteria because this tree has lots of personality!” says Natalie. ”The tree is grounded, rooted in place and is an icon of stability and grandeur. I thought that would be fitting for a college setting.” The Banyon Tree image has been with Natalie for years–since her mother gave her an Ansel Adams photograph of banyon tree roots that she tacked up in her studio.
Here’s a picture of the first panel of tiles, painted with iron oxide, waiting to be carved:
Banyon Tree tiles Chabot College
According to Cynthia, “These 4 panels of tiles making up the Banyon Tree mural will give the impression of a set of windows through which you can see this amazing tree. At the same time, the tree mural is a solid presence in the room. Because a tree of this size would have grown over a long period of time, it helps to put things in perspective for the viewer.”
Natalie Blake Carving the Banyon Tree for Chabot College
Carving the Banyon Tree for Chabot College
Natalie Blake Studios was recently awarded a public art grant from Chabot College in Hayward, CA. Using this grant funding, Natalie Blake Studios will produce and install ceramic wall tiles and other artwork for 5 locations on the Chabot College campus. The studio’s proposal was chosen from a pool of 622 applicants. The selection process involved over 500 students and campus staff.
We will post updates on this project in upcoming months. Stay tuned for more on this exciting project!
According to the statement of values for the college’s public art project:
Cynthia Parker-Houghton, who is working on this project with Natalie, recently finished carving the first tile mural for the project. This mural will adorn the Chavez Plaza at the college. This image shows the mural, unglazed:
handmade, ceramic tiles by Natalie Blake Studios
Here’s what Cynthia says about this piece: “Making the tree in four sections: roots, trunk, branches and leaves was a meditation on the different qualities of the different parts of the tree. The lines of the roots reach downwards grounding the tree but the same lines indicate a flow of water and nutrients upwards into the trunk and leaves. Even the flow of air surrounding the tree seems energized by the carve marks responding to the shapes I am carving around. If you look closer you can see that all the shapes are repeated within the roots, the bark, the branches, the leaves and the air. It’s like a fractal in this way.”
Here’s Cynthia working on the mural. the yellow door in the background leads to the New England School for Circus Arts, just across the hall from Natalie Blake Studios.
Here’s what Cynthia had to say about this mural:
“I’m smoothing out the trunk tiles here for a 64-tile tree. The tiles on the table behind me have been slipped with iorn oxide and are ready to carve.
This is the biggest tree we have made yet–it’s huge. I often have to climb a ladder to see what I have carved and make sure it’s all working together but this time I also had to take pictures of the separate sections and put them together on our computer screen so I could see the whole piece. Once I saw the whole piece together it was clear I needed to carve a new set of roots because the original ones were just too small.
We chose glaze colors to reflect the vitality of the tree, to bring that energy to the public plaza where it will be installed. Stay tuned for an image of the glazed piece.
Installing tile and glass into a sidewalk in Brattleboro
Installing tile and glass into a sidewalk in Brattleboro
Installing tile and glass into a sidewalk in Brattleboro
Click the link below to see more photos of their progress:
http://web.me.com/vermontviews/vermontviews/Brattleboro_Arts.html
Natalie Blake studios creating commercial wall tile mural
This spring Natalie Blake Studios responded to a request for proposals from Burlington City Arts in Burlington, VT, for artwork for the main interior feature wall in the new Radiation Oncology Department of the Fletcher Allen hospital.
In April we were notified that our proposal was selected. We will be installing 2, 7-tile murals depicting tree canopies.
Here is a picture of the forms over which the clay tiles were laid before carving. These forms provide the undulation of the tiles. You can imagine a tree with its branches flowing from left to right:
creating ceramic tiles
Here is a section of one of the carved murals, before it has been bisque fired:
Carved Tree of Life wall tile piece
And here is a closeup of one of the carved ceramic wall tiles:
closeup of carved, ceramic wall tile
On May 16, 2010, Natalie gave a presentation titled “Making it in the Arts” at the Brattleboro Museum. During her presentation she spoke about making her ceramic wall tiles and vessels and maintaining a successful ceramics business.
Her good friend, Suzanne Kingsbury, who is a fabulous writer, blogged about Natalie’s presentation. It is posted on Suzanne’s blog: http://suzannekingsbury.net/2010/05/hollywood-howling-and-the-wisdom-of-artist-natalie-blake/
Enjoy!
BRATTLEBORO-WEST ARTS
Press Release:
“Making it in the Arts” series kicks off May 16
How does one make a living and a career in the arts? What affect does commercial success have on artistic growth? What are the assets and challenges of working as an artist in the Brattleboro area?
These are some of the questions to be explored at the first public artist potluck and forum hosted by Brattleboro-West Arts, Sunday, May 16 from 5:30-8:00 pm at the Brattleboro Museum and Arts Center.
Ceramicist Natalie Blake will share her story as a successful Brattleboro based artist. Information about her work and business is available at www.natalieblake.com. General discussion will follow.
Artists and all interested in the topic are invited to bring food for a potluck starting at 5:30. Potluckers should also bring their own plates and utensils. The program and discussion will begin at 6:30. Donations will be accepted to help pay for the space.
Brattleboro-West Arts is a diverse group of artists and craftsmen living and working west of Brattleboro along the Whetstone watershed The association is dedicated to improving the commercial and artistic success of its members. BWA considers the arts to include not only the traditional visual, sculptural and performing arts, but also writing, landscape arts, and fine foods
For more information contact Doug Cox at dcox@sover.net or 257-1024
