Our Sign, Finally Installed-Hand Painted and Full of Memories

Gallery Opening

Village Artists Members (L to R)

 

 

 Anne Goldsmith, Sharon Lorsch, Richard Brennan,  Sallie Pasquinelli, Joyce Riley

We thought you might like to see a photo of some of our members in front of our new store front, 1957 Ridge Road location.  Our hand painted sign which has become our unofficial Village Artist's logo and appears on our website and pamphlets has finally been hung atop our building!
  This sign was displayed for years and hung outside of our house in Flossmoor on Berry Lane.  It became a little worse for wear, weather beaten and chippy.   The ladies refurbished it with a little sweat equity (sanding, scraping, and painting). Thanks ladies- it looks GREAT.

Come and join the fun, our membership is open.
Please call or visit our website for more info. 
We always look forward to meeting new artists!

Members working on new art

Wednesdays are busy days at the studio, painters and potters use this day to work on art and share their latest information.  The Village Artists are a group of artists and a non-profit working art studio/ gallery.  We share the space and have comradeship with fellow artists.

Carol Downs, a potter, was working on an interesting piece today.   A custom order incense burner, one cannot wait to see the final product!

Here Carol displays one of her beautiful bowls.  This glaze has flecks of green and gold. Lovely.

Joyce Riley is always working on a new project.  Look for Joyce at local Farmers Markets this summer.
Here is one of her lovely platters.

Wednesdays are good days to work on new art as well as sharing lunch with friends!
Come and join the fun.  We are accepting new members.  Please contact us by calling the gallery and visiting our website at


http://www.villageartists.org

Our gallery is open to the public the first Saturday of every month.

Kiln and slumping glass

I have graciously been given a free kiln!  I answered an ad on Craigslist and it was made available to me from the Beverly Art Center.  It is a Skutt model 181 dating from 1965 to 1979.  It currently does not work- but I am hopeful.  My goal would be to have my own kiln and wheel and be able to do more work at home.  I am interested in slumping glass besides throwing pots.

Slumping glass involves heating Dichroic glass to a temperature of 1000 to 1400 degrees F , then you must follow four steps: heating the glass, soaking the glass, cooling the glass and annealing the glass.  All of these steps can be accomplished in the same kiln that heats ceramics.  These steps are followed to allow the glass to become smooth and melt and finally cool to room temperature to avoid cracking. The "slump" comes when the heated glass slumps into a smooth ceramic bisque mold.

I personally have never tried to work with glass but I look forward to trying it.  Our lead potter and president, Joyce Riley, has fused glass to the bottom surfaces of her pottery bowls.  The look achieved was one of water and reflection, a beautiful effect and she told me that all these pieces sold!!  Great job Joyce.

Here is an example of fused glass featured project by Delphi Artist Karina Foster in the Binet Catalog. Lovely example of a slump mold bowl!

New art work by member Joyce Riley

I would like to take this moment and introduce myself.  I am Barbara Heine, one of the members of the Village Artists.  I have been asked to be a guest blogger for the group.  Here I am in a photo with my daughter, Becky.

I would like to use my time to talk about some new work by one of our members.

Joyce Riley is a potter and her business name is Ceramic JAR.  Joyce is what we like to call our "lead potter" because other Village Artists members look to her for guidance.  Joyce mixing the glazes for the potters and we look to her for leadership as we fire the kiln.  The potters and all the members appreciate her input.

Joyce has been trying some new techniques by fusing glass to the inside of her pottery. It makes for a lovely effect. She makes wonderful bowls, platters and small vessels for oil.

  Her work is lovely and speaks for itself! You can contact Joyce by calling the Village Artists.
You will find the number under the About Us tab.
I will be showcasing other members in future blogs.
Sincerely,
Barb