April 2018

It has been almost three years since my dear husband was in a fatal car accident. I am lucky to have found resilence and happiness after this personal tragedy. I have moved to Gunnison, Colorado just 30 miles from my previous location in Crested Butte. I am currently the "potter" in residence at the Gunnison Arts Center. In exchange for studio space, I give them time and expertise. I am also teaching classes off and on at GAC. New beginnings are exciting and challenging. I am looking forward to life's new adventures with an open mind and heart.

I traveled to Haiti in February 2013, 2014 and 2015 to team teach pottery classes to Haitian women in Port-au-Prince building practical skills to foster art-based employment. My dear friend Nicole Copel and I traveled together to Haiti. We met Sarah Jane Gray and Scott Dillman from Grunewald Guild there. In 2015 the four of us helped seven Haitian women advance their throwing skills. It was exciting to see how far they had come in the year since we were there. The potters of Apparent Project are really developing their skills and are selling work through the boutique at Papillion Enterprise. Check out their websites at http://www.papillon-enterprise.com and http://www.apparentproject.org

Getting back to Blogging

It has been over a year since I added any comments on my blog. I am going to try to begin again to keep up with my blog. During the winter of 2013-2014 Crested Butte received an ample amount of snow. Luckily, the resort changed their season pass pricing, allowing Richard and I the opportunity to purchase season passes for a reasonable price. I spent a good portion of my time on the ski slopes and away from the studio. It was great fun and I was so happy to ski quite a few times with our son, Tommy.

In February I went back to Haiti with our team of potters and we spent a couple of weeks with the same women that we taught last year. It was great to see our fellow instructors, Sarah Jane and Scottie from Washington state. My friend, Nicole, and I met in Denver and flew together. Your Haitian potters are working hard and doing great. So fun to see what they have accomplished and help  them further their abilities.

In March I traveled to Milwaukee for the National Council for the Education of the Ceramic Arts (NCECA). It was great to see many friends, old and new, at the conference. It was great to see so many KSU grads in attendance and we met to pose for a group photo. Nicole and I rented a car -- turned out to be a red Fiat -- which we called our Lil'Red Skittle. It was so cute and very small!! We had a great time driving around the area and went to many clay exhibitions, etc.

April is now upon us and I am excited to get back into my studio. I painted the walls a nice golden color and cleaned up all my equipment. Now that I have washed the red clay off all my things, I am ready to begin working with a white stoneware clay. In celebration of the 30th anniversary of  my 30th birthday, I am switching things up in the studio. Time for something new!! Will post some photos when I have some work to share. Might be awhile as I get used to the idiosyncrasies of the new clay and glaze. Quite a shift for this terra cotta girl.

Ciao!

Day 5 Haiti

Today is my fifth day in Haiti. I am here with my friend, Nicole Copel. We are joining forces with two other potters to teach throwing to women at the ApParent Project. So far it is a wonderful experience, enriching and educational. Shelley and Corrigan Clay are the directors of ApParent Project www.apparentproject.com

Yesterday was our first day with the women. We have two groups, one in the morning (8am-11am) and one group in the afternoon (12pm-3pm). Each group is comprised of women that are interested in developing a skill so that they can gain employment and be able to care for themselves and their children. They range in age from 18-40 years old.

Yesterday we taught them to wedge clay, and how to center the clay. Today we repeated those two demos and went on to creating a center hole and opening up the clay. Tomorrow (Sunday) they will have a day off then on Monday we will continue with the next step, pulling up walls of a cylinder. We are teaching throwing in a very different than what each of us does in classes we have previously taught. Our goal is to get these women proficient enough with the basics to be able to make small items that they can sell once we are gone. We hope that they can make a tumbler or mug by the time we leave.

Apparent Project Haiti

Just realized that I have not written on my blog in quite awhile. Boy how the time flies. Finished up teaching at Western State Colorado University. I taught the Intro to Ceramics class for Professor Al Caniff while he was on sabbatical last semester. It was truly a great experience. Finished up the semester Dec. 18th then drove to Omaha for two weeks with son, BJ. Spent Christmas and New Years in Omaha. I even ran in a the Doomsday 5K race with BJ. It was at 9pm, in the dark and on snowpacked trails.

Currently, the big news is that I will be traveling to Haiti on January 29th with my friend Nicole Copel, owner of Pinon Hill Pottery in La Veta, Colorado. We are going to teach clay skills at Apparent Project www.apparentproject.com I am hopeful that we will be of assistance to the folks there as they get their clay program underway. They already have several artisan programs including jewelry making and book binding. Take a look at their website to learn more about their mission.

Taking photos of pottery

Spent some time today taking photos of new work. Here are a couple that I just edited.

Photo Images on Clay - fall class

UPCOMING CLASS BEGINS IN 2 WEEKS!!!!!

PHOTO IMAGES ON CLAY

Capture a special work of art, poem, or photograph and turn it into a lasting keepsake. In Photo Images on Clay participants transfer a favorite digital image to a piece of their pottery.  In the first session students create a simple slab form (plate or platter). In the second class students glaze these forms reserving an area for the selected image. During the final class students learn to print digital images onto decal paper and transfer the image to their piece of pottery. The final firing fuses the image to the glaze creating an enduring memento.

Instructor: Donna Rozman

Location: Donna’s studio 3 miles south of Crested Butte

Time:  1:00pm – 3:00pm

Day and Time: Tuesdays, Sept. 11 6-8pm, Sept. 18 6-9pm, Sept. 25 6-8pm    

To register call Western State College office of Extended Studies 970-943-2885 or visit http://www.western.edu/academics/extended-studies

Photo Images on Clay

Last Chance to sign up for Photo Images on Clay

Can’t beat the price -- $45 plus $12 material fee for three 2-hour classes.

Capture a special work of art, poem, or photograph and turn it into a lasting keepsake. In Photo Images on Clay participants transfer a favorite digital image to a piece of their pottery.  In the first session students create a simple slab form (plate or platter). In the second class students glaze these forms reserving an area for the selected image. During the final class students learn to print digital images onto decal paper and transfer the image to their piece of pottery. The final firing fuses the image to the glaze creating an enduring memento.

Saturdays, April 7^th, 14^th, and 21^st -- 1:00pm – 3:00pm

Taught by Donna Rozman at her studio 3 miles south of Crested Butte. Call Extended Studies at 970-943-2885 to sign up.