2015 Update and A Work In Progress from 2014 from me! Rose Maguire at THE BLUEDOOR STUDIO...MORE 2015 news coming...

Fishing In the Hippocampus
ROSE MAGUIRE      Porcelain  

Yes it has been a while and this is really an exercise to see how much the 'Blogger' dash board has changed. This is a lovely porcelain sculpture in the making that I did this time last year. Its about 18 inches in height and made from 'cool ice' porcelain with a light cobalt wash and once fired.

So much has happened in the past year or so. and the business is keeping us busy. We do get a chance to get out into our studios though. 

Right now we are gearing up for our third annual 'Muggs Day' event at Milan Rouge Contemporary Craft and Design... so the cauldron will be bubbling with the aroma of spices from the mulled wine. We have about 15 local potters making mugs for the day as I write this post. 

As well as that we are busy making for our next exhibition here at Milan Rouge Contemporary Craft and Design for the annual 'South Australian Living Artists' Festival in August. This year we are down sizing a tad with only  3 ceramic artists, Alison Arnold, Angela Walford and myself ( Rose Maguire) and the fabulous Painter Rebbeca Cooke.... Who said the middle of the year is boring!!!

Some of the mugs I made last year
 for Muggs Day... ROSE MAGUIRE

Promo shot for last year...
  ROSE MAGUIRE and ALISON ARNOLD

Topping up the spices for the mulled wine

Autumn Leaves

Just a wee pic of the Autumn leaves on the pavement in Stirling on Sunday.

Ang and I spent a chilly but for the main part, fine day at the Stirling market.and as usual had a great day catching with each other and regular visitors. The afternoon entertainment was provided by Rajan and Will, strummin and singin up a storm, These guys are great! will post some photos later but you should all get down up to Stirling Market to see them for yourselves (Fourth Sunday of the Month). its always a lovely vibe up there with plenty of great food and coffee and excellent stalls.

This Photo is from a past Stirling Market. I really must do some more of this green glazed work...only have a few bowls left...So I best get out to the studio then...Must stay focused...Must stay focused...Must stay focused...Must stay focused.

Cheers from Rose Maguire at the Bluedoor Studio. 

By the way I'm trying a new Template for this Blogg for a few days PLEASE let me now what you think.AND dont forget to click the facebook LIKE button!!!

STORMY AUTUMN DAY @ THE BLUEDOOR STUDIO



Chicken Ah La Rose !

It was a bit of a stormy day here on top of the hill today so I had my first big sleep in for a very long day...Yes I had forgotten the real estate agent was coming this morning...Very embarrassing answering the door at 10:30 in my PJ's I must say!
As the Kiln was still cooling from yesterdays Bisque I spent the day cozy indoors enjoying the change of seasons. Mikes Veggie patch is ready for the winter Veg but no planting today!!!

This dinner we had a couple of weeks ago was the last of the tomato's...Everything you see in this pic except the Free range chicken was from the garden...Absolutely delicious





Succulent... mmmm I can just smell the roasted garlic and herbs!

This what I was doing while waiting for the chicken to cook! I'm sure it added to the flavour!!!
Well I'm off to the kitchen again and looking forward to an early start to my Glazing morning tomorrow and then I'm off to Mum and Dads for lunch.
So Cheers till Next time and Bonn Appetite!

MASKS IN PROGRESS @ THE BLUEDOOR

From this Blank of my face

To the finished Masks

Detail one of Gorgeous

We've had a some great pottery weather here at the BLUEDOOR STUDIO over the last couple of weeks...Well some really lovely days mixed with a few not so great ones...Today the sun is shinning and the air is crisp and I've had a lovely flow in the studio over the past two weeks.

I started with a play with Tea Bowls which I'm really happy with,although as yet unglazed and then fiddled with the Altered forms that I shared a sneak peak with you in an earlier post and I've been having a great time over the last couple of days doing a long needed Mask 'Run'.

I love the shadows on damp terracotta

Sweet dreamings

 I use a plaster press mold of my face to form these 

 which I detail with dentistry tools at the firm(ish) 

 leather hard stage.

 After they are dried I apply an iron oxide wash  

and then fire to about 1000degrees.

Sweet dreamings two

I must say that although Today is lovely the cold got to me by about 4 o'clock yesterday so I set up a table in front of the heater inside and finished the last couple of masks over a glass of wine...How civilized!
Just thought I'd share these pics because I love how they look at this stage as much as when they're fired!
Well Cheerio for now... Off to finish the last couple of masks in the sun!


Cheers from ROSE MAGUIRE @ THE BLUEDOOR STUDIO

PLAY TIME AT THE BLUEDOOR STUDIO

Autumn again! It's been great Potting weather up here @ THE BLUEDOOR STUDIO. I've had great fun playing with some new forms, pretty different for me and great fun!
I'm not sure where these guys are going to go yet but thought I'd share the results of today's play.

I've thrown the body on the wheel and added stretched and textured slabs for the neck. once the neck is attached and consolidated I put it back on the wheel and give the neck a bit more shape. Then I attach a couple of lugs and pull and roll them to make the 'handles'. After that I have slapped on a thick luscious slip to create even more texture. Now theyll sit in the damp cupboard for a couple of days and then dried slowley. Can't wait to see them fired!
Till next time... Cheers From ROSE AT THE BLUEDOOR STUDIO

All slipped up

Thrown and Altered

WET WET WET Stirling Market March 2010

Well I'm home and recovering from a very soggy Stirling Market day,I've had a nice hot shower and a bowl of yummy soup and thought I'd share some Photos of of our day.
It was constant drizzle all day but that didn't deter the visitors, it was a smorgasbord of colour filled umbrellas rain coats etc...

As usual a great chance for a catch up with Ang and market regulars. 
The ambiance is always great and was enriched with a fantastic impromptu jam session featuring Dylan and his wife playing Dylan's amazing Elder wood shepherds flutes, Morgan on the drum, Hanna vocals and shaker and 'Our Ragan'(T Shirt print-maker extraordinaire) percussion flute and juggling sticks...Plus another couple of guys as well. I tried to make a video but the sound didn't work.




Neither Ang nor I believed the weather mans prediction of showers  (lets face it they've been predicted for about two weeks now) so we were caught a bit short and our tent isn't quite rain proof. So I got to and designed a new line of 'Bubble Sheik' rain apparel which we launched with great success, in fact we made quite a splash!

   

That's it for now I'm off to bed with a book!

Till next time 
Cheers from the Bluedoor (Rose Maguire Ceramics)

Rose Maguire, Getting It Right?Throwing Tea Pots off the Hump

This video is incompleate I'm creating this post as a trial to see how much I can compress a video file without compromising the quality or the upload speed. I have a feeling it will be back to the drawing board! Please leave comments on Quality and speed!

Thanks (Rose Maguire @ the Bluedoor)

Simply Gorgeous Autumn Day...Well Thats My Excuse

This is My view ( the back view of THE BLUE DOOR STUDIO) as I sit with chin on hand taking a breather from sorting through images for the slide show (showing the making of the adorable ceramic slippers/shoes I made for the Greenhill Galleries Exoteric exhibition)that I'm putting together for the Blog.

You may not be able to see it in this pic but it is raining! real rain!!! and pretty chilly for us, and I have found a good excuse to play on the cyber highway (Well of course I was researching...)

Don't you love the fore ground distortion that the fly screen wire creates infront of the window in this photo....mmmmmmmmmm ideas for yet another print project. (layer upon layer upon layer... you know what I mean)

Any way, The farmers were right, Our long dry weather broke around ANZAC day with big rains over a few days and some cool but deliciously sunny Autumn days.

Anything deciduous rolls from green to amber red yellow or orange, the gums stand white/silver amidts the remenants of their discarded summer robes the apples blush apologeticly ( they're a bit slow colouring this year) and YES, we have a 5 ocklock shadow of green, spreading on the padocks between here and Mt Pleasant, not to mention the rest of south australia (Darn it... forgot to take my camera with me yesterday!!!)

So this post is really a diversionary tactic...........I really am getting that slide show together.

The exhibition at Greenhills came together really well and looks Fantastic. Thanks to Beck and too all of those that came along to the preview and opening it was great to see you all... + A few special guests for each of us...Yes you know who you are!

Slide show will be up over the next few days.
Till then Cheers! (Rose Maguire Ceramics)

'Exoteric' Work Finished

Don't forget...You can click on the image to see it bigger

Well it's been a very busy couple of months with not much time for Blogging. I pulled the exhibition work for Exoteric out of the kiln on Sunday and Love Love Love it all. A series of 3 pairs of shoes tittled 'Could I Walk a Mile in Your Shoes?' and a 6 piece series of Bowls I call 'The Journey'

I've also posted my artist statement for you to read...

The inspiration for the series ‘Could I Walk a Mile in Your Shoes?’ and the ‘Journey’ series emerged from considering notions of Home and the implications of Immigration and Multiculturalism.

The series celebrates the differences and commonalities of the many cultural groups that form the rich and vibrant 21st century society in which we live and acknowledges that life is a journey that we all share.

As someone once said…There is no place like home…
Wherever that may be.

Rose Maguire

April 2009.

The hard work really paid off and all went according to plan so I thought I would do a wee slide show on the construction of the peices. which I will post ASAP

MMMMM Think It's Time For Bed!!!!

It's been a long night organising and editing this blog (where does the time go?) so it's time for a cuppa and good night from me!

Mud Sweat & Tears or... Where it All Began

Hi my name is ROSE MAGUIRE and I am a clay addict!
My first Clay memory is as a small girl, in the 60s, in New Zealand, standing on tip toes and peering over the top of our neighbors big old kick wheel and being transfixed as a slimy wet lumps of spinning brown mud became pots right before my very eyes.
I loved spending time in the huge old brick floored X barn, surrounded by the smells and sounds of the Pottery. Usually sitting on the floor listening to the slow rhythmical clunks of the kick wheel mixed with the gentle rise and fall of men’s voices as Dad and Bob Huck discussed life the universe and everything. I loved peering at eye level through the long lines of newly made pots on the dusty ware boards.

My Journey in clay really started though in the late 90s when I decided to do a year at the local TAFE in Mount Barker, South Australia. Then, I thought, I would be able to make my living from the pots I would learn to make!!! How naive! The first half of that year was all ‘Mud Sweat and Tears’ but I learnt so much in that year under the guidance of Helen Doubell and Auriel Collins and the supportive eye of Ute and partner Bob and realized I had only just begun my quest. But at least I finally knew what I wanted to be when I grew up!!!

So it was of to North Adelaide School of Arts( as it was then-now ACArts)where I concentrated mainly on Ceramics and Sculpture. John Woods was head of the Sculpture department followed by Andrew Stock and John Coulter was head of the ceramics department He was a fantastic teacher and Mentor. 2 more years of full time and a further 2years of part time study I finally completed the Bachelor of Visual Arts and Applied Design.

In my current practice I continue to make domestic tableware as my main stay bread and butter line and have teamed up with my old Art School buddy Ang to sell and promote our work for the past few years at the Stirling Market and a few special event markets and fairs in the Adelaide hills. I also exhibit more sculptural/conceptual work during the year with Ang, Ali, Tracey others under the name of The Clay Collective…

The Clay Collective is a group of emerging and established ceramists based in South Australia. We have either meet during our studies or have current or past links with JamFactory Contemporary Craft and Design. Our numbers Eb and flow a bit but usually there's 10 to 15 in any of our exhibitions. So... Little did I ever dream as that small girl in the 60s, standing on tip toes and peering over the top of Bob's big old kick wheel...
That I too would have a big dusty shed and make a living from transforming slimy wet lumps of spinning brown mud into pots right before my own childrens' very eyes. I now live and work from an Orchard property in The Adelaide Hills with my Partner, the youngest of my two beautiful daughters and the cat and continue to play, explore and generally indulge my addiction and I am as happy as a Pig in mud.
Carpe argillum, Seize the Clay!

Slide Show...ROSE MAGUIRE CERAMICS @ THE STIRLING MARKET

A Peek @ Some Cone 6 Glazes

Not having my gas kiln hooked up has forced me to develop a palette of lively glazes for cone 6 oxidation, which have the feel of life about them that you would normally associate with a reduced atmosphere. Here are just a few examples

ROSE MAGUIRE CERAMICS

Rose Maguire Ceramics
Hi and welcome। My name is Rose Maguire Ceramics is my passion! This is my first Blog so for the next few weeks it will be a work in progress as I compile images stories etc, that will illustrate the ongoing life of Rose Maguire Ceramics So please bare with me while I get it together.CheersROSE (ROSE MAGUIRE CERAMICS @ the Blue Door Studio)

My studio sits on the top of a hill in Apple country (LENSWOOD) South Australia amid a proliferation of elegantly barked
gum trees. The Bluedoor Studio is a great space to work in, it used to be the old orchard shed and is what I like to refer to as my '5 Tractor Shed' lovley and cool for most of summer but a bit drafty during the winter months. However I have lots of room to spread out.
A few weeks ago A couple of friends, Alison and Ang, spent the day up here with me and we had a great time playing around with some image transfer techniques...with varying results. I'll gather some pics to add later..
Although I've had quite a few visitors working up here this was the first time THE BLUEDOOR STUDIO hosted such an event and hopefully the start of many more