Shannon Butler Ceramics

2011-06-21T15:56:00.001-07:00

Hi peoples! Sorry I haven't been keeping up with the blogosphere to well lately. I now have a website: www.kilnhouse.ca please check it out! I am still open at kilnhouse studio Fridays and Saturdays 10-6, and respond quickly to emails that are emailed to my personal account at msbutla@hotmail.com or phone moi at 2502710066. Happy summer lovin!!!

2010-06-21T17:17:00.000-07:00

2010-03-12T13:10:00.000-08:00

some new big ass planters for my upcoming "rainbow owl and The Spring Collection" show at Peace Gallery North, opening night April Fools Day!

warning-graphic content!

Lady with the rose crown-planter

i waited 2 months for my 10cubic foot bailey kiln to get here, ordered from new york city! it took 8 men to unload this kiln from the truck! then my bro helped me get it into place. it then took 3 different electricians to figuere out all my electricity bullshit! last night was my first successful firing-praise jesus!

ain't she pretty!

meet my new hydrangea Francesca, i love her but she is high maintenance-that's what it takes to look good i guess eh? i am also selling new works from cathy terepocki at http://www.hornofplenty.ca jason larque at http://www.LarqueBYjason.etsy.com sheila at http://www.woolbrain.wordpress.com and amy wakefield at http://www.avwakefield.com

new planter i painted for the fort st. john arts council.

rainbow owl show...

2010-02-19T09:34:00.001-08:00

jar!

new rainbow owl mugs drying in the sun, awaiting their handles...

new rainbow owl teapots for april show

rainbow owl thinks life is short but also long so find someone to shag, and laugh with...

2010-02-12T13:57:00.000-08:00

it's been awhile so here's a bit of an update!
number one. my little character "rainbow owl" has kinda exploded, and i am now having my first solo exhibition at peace gallery north here in fort st. john featuring rainbow owl. it will be for the entire month of april and rainbow owl mugs, tshirts, tumblers and teapots will be for sale! crazy i never knew he would be so popular, but i think people appreciate his authenticity, as he is brutally honest.

and that's when rainbow owl realized he had fucked his own life... (tumbler)

i have been busy preparing for my annual valentines day sale! who cares if you're single, you can celebrate by treating yourself! i made tons of vases and planters and tumblers as you will see here...and they are on sale tomorrow (feb 13th) from 10-6 at kilnhouse, so stop by if you're in the area!

rainbow owl extravaganza...

2010-01-17T17:38:00.000-08:00

so i've created this character named rainbow owl.... he is an ironic, honest, loving, neurotic little wise owl, who also gives cultural commentary on living in the north. he is now on twitter www.twitter.com/rainbow_owl, check him if you like! i started with doing watercolor paintings of him, now i've made him out of clay, and tomorrow i will be unloading a whole series of "rainbow owl mugs" from the kiln, some of the favorites are the ones in which he wears a welding mask or is sitting on a welding truck, this is because although rainbow owl is a therapist, his secret dream is to be a welder ha! the next step is to get some tshirts for both men and women done up. here is a pic of rainbow owl in his ceramic form, also some pics of my sketch book, a nice "ass" drawing, a new "blue jean bird" mosaic", my new show of watercolours at whole wheat n honey, new batch of necklaces and the sunset outside my stude! god i would love to go to spain...just my thought for tonight!

it's friggin' cold!

2010-01-06T17:30:00.000-08:00

i have had the blues lately. it is hard at times to live in the frozen north, where winters last 8 monthes and -20 is considered a warm day and -57 has already happened! and also it is hard to be an artist for inumerable reasons (is that a word?) anywho this is NOT whine-fest 2010, i have a point...and it's coming...

so because of this weather i have spent the last 3 monthes with a sweater on and most days a touque as well and this is INSIDE my studio while i make pots. i love sweaters and it really does help the days if you have something cozy to wear. because of all this i have been inspired to create a new series of cozy mugs named...you guessed it "sweater mugs!", they are puffy and cute, their handles are hollow to add to their puffy-sweater appeal...just imagine drinking piping hot coffee outta one of these babies! oh yes and here are some new mosaics i'm working on with the addition of lace.

kilnhouse christmas party

2009-12-13T14:22:00.000-08:00

whew...well i have to say that the "kilnhouse christmas party' was a success! it turns out that it is true "if you build it, they will come", and also if you decorate, make tons of pots, have live music played by friends, offer wine and cheese and email out invites they also will come! here is some pics of how the eve went down :)

hairy green wall!

2009-12-05T11:27:00.001-08:00

leather-hard new work setting up...

bisque-fired work after staining (step one of glazing process)

that handmade wreath was no easy feat!

my claim to fame, the green hairy wall!

good old organic beef hamburger sauce on rice with milk :)

so...christmas is coming

2009-11-27T15:05:00.000-08:00

in preparation for christmas i am a. not partying and b. working my ass off and c. preparing to host a "kilnhouse christmas party". that's right time for me to lay off the rum and eggnog and work every minute of every day. life is grand. i had a very productive week in the stude. tonight is decorating/wine drinking night for me hehe ok so i'm a hypocrite... i am creating an christmas installation. not the usual store bought christmas decor will you find around here. i will be using only natural decorations as is my habit for every ocassion, no tree will be cut only the bows which i hauled 3 miles this morning from my parents farm. it's true there is probably better ways for me to utilize my time than making chandeliers out of spruce bows and covering walls to create a "bow carpet" but what the hey, i feel inspired to do so :)

pots. fabric. dinner

2009-11-18T22:41:00.000-08:00

christmas is coming...aka the only time for an artist like me to make some coin and pay off some freepeople.com debt hah! so i am gettin to work in the studio...in case you didn't know http://www.freepeople.com/ is a very inspirational super fricken awesome clothing company where i pull a lot of inspiration from. my work has always been very influenced by fashion, fabric textures, and of course music...sometimes i think i went into the wrong line of artwork...but then i realize no i loooove clay, why? because you can do ANYTHING with it! you can literally make anything you can imagine! here are some of my new "beer drinkin tumblers" that i just glazed today, i want them to almost look like really pretty sweaters, i like to think of them as pretty yet rough around the edges...it makes them real. not too pretty that you're afraid to use them. an authentic type of beauty...i dunno. anywho i am also framin up a storm and working on some fabric collages, enjoy:) oh yeah and that is my crazy artist dinner tonight.

my interview

2009-10-09T17:21:00.000-07:00

http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAwRKXCLDIs

30 pots!!!

2009-10-05T21:45:00.000-07:00

hi peeps,

recently i have made a deal with myself that i have to make a "huge" pot every single day for thirty days. i don't have to make more than one but they have to be as tall and sometimes as wide as possible. my wee kiln can only hold pieces up to 21" high, but that IS fairly high in fact. especially since i have been making mostly mugs/tumblers and other smallish pieces during the summer. today is day 9 and i am happy with the progress. here are some pics of my journey:)

i am very inspired by clothing and music. with these "sculptural functional" pieces i married the vintage lace texture with song lyrics. each piece has the lyrics of a song either inside or somewhere on the outside, not always easily found but definitley an integral part of the piece.

happy harvest

2009-09-12T10:51:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to let you peeps know, I have been interviewed by CJDC news and it will air on our local channel evening news(fort st. john) on tuesday september 15th. A very nice lady kathy mueller, did the interview and i'm hoping i didn't make too much of ann ass of myself. I will link to the segment when I get a copy later. In the meantime though I am preparing for a festive fall at kilnhouse. With the theme being "harvest", I am inspired to create an atmosphere with warm tones and lots of root vegetables and pretty colours on display. Here are some pics of my studio from this weekend, the swiss chard stems are lovely colors, I am also preserving rosehips for the winter. I am working on a series of tall jugs and hope to have many to sell for Christmas. They are inspired by women's dresses.

cupboard installations

2009-09-04T19:37:00.000-07:00

this is one of my new cupboard installations. i plan on applying for a bc arts council grant to try and create an entire "kitchen installation" including the fridge stove sink and many many pots! this is my new green cupboard series...

new "reclaimed" work baby!

2009-07-25T12:45:00.000-07:00

so i've been workin' my butt off lately, reclaiming my clay. this is something i've put off a long time because it's so much friggin hard work....but in the spirit of acting "environmentally friendly" and also saving money i brought out the big drill with the huge mixer bit, mixed the reclaim daily and dried it on shards of plaster, creating a huge brown mess around my studio and on my clothes. anywho, these are the pots that came from that work...

2009-07-11T10:27:00.000-07:00

With my new tumblers I have been focusing on muted tones...gives them a vintage feel.

inspiration

2009-07-08T13:37:00.000-07:00

people always ask me what inspires me...it makes me realize that i really am not inspired by other pots. in fact i really try to not look at much pottery or "ceramic art", i find i will subconsciously copy or pick up on elements in their work and i don't like feeling that way. i get my main inspiration from music and fashion and life...the people my friends, relationships troubles and triumphs, late night conversations over wine, analysations about truth and importance, and dreaming...i have a chalkboard in my studio where i write down things people have said that struck some kind of chord of truth or comedy with me.

golden room

2009-06-26T15:13:00.000-07:00

So I just got back from my island trip, the money ran out and I didn't make it to Vancouver, that's OK though I feel I saw enough beauty and although it wasn't as much of a "business trip" as I intended, at least I had a full week to just be, to think and to be. Of course as a result of having so much time on my hands I decided to change many things about my life... pottery and otherwise. When I got home last night I cried just from the adjustment of it all not really because I was sad. I am so sentimental and in one week I rekindled my relationship with Vancouver Island even though I deeply trust this place. The one thing that turned my frown upside down was to stand in my golden room. Especially at night, my little gallery just glows a warm golden. It's taken me a long time but I finally have my little room of good energy to share with everyone. Cheesy, yes very.

2009-06-06T14:17:00.000-07:00

Some new tumblers I just made and would like to keep myself to drink beer out of!! Also an example of my new necklace series hung on hand dyed silk-pretty pony!

under exposed

2009-05-22T20:20:00.001-07:00

I'm thinkin' I need some more expsosure in bigger cities and as a result am planning a trip to the island(victoria) this summer...I am going to take mugs to the BC Gallery of Ceramics and maybe Crafthouse on Granville Island. Does anyone know of any galleries/clothing stores in Victoria or Vancouver that might consider my work?? I also want to hit Purr, I know they sell ceramic necklaces and I have a ton of those.

come to kilnhouse

2009-05-16T13:20:00.000-07:00

Come by and check it out every friday and saturday!!

the meaning of making these things

2009-05-09T10:10:00.000-07:00

Since I've opened kilnhouse I haven't had a lot of time to think about showing work elsewhere since it's an on going struggle to keep my two hands making enough objects to let's face it-make a living. I am now realizing I'm going to have to try and show a few places a year if I want to be eligible for any grants. My dream is to have a show at the BC Gallery of Ceramics, go to www.bcpotters.com ,the work show-cased there is soo lovely. I've been thinking more deeply about the meaning behind all of theses tumblers I've produced lately. I love it where the clay is bare, and just a wee bit of glaze is used to exploit some design or texture. I like to think of the clay as flesh/skin and the glaze is clothing or a tattoo. The aesthetic I am going for is that of a poor seamstress, who is pretty and creative but her clthes are hap-hazard. She is making these loose fleshy tumblers...They work but they're primitive... anyways this is all fresh in my head but I thought I'd get it written before I lost it.

Tumblers and Mugs

2009-05-07T12:52:00.001-07:00

I've been working hard the last few weeks, trying to create some beauties for Mother's Day. These tumblers/mugs will be for sale at my studio on Friday and Saturday-first come first serve...there's some nice ones this batch. :)

Each piece has vintage lace and stamps impressed into the surface-while dark stain exploits these textures, I juxtapose commercial glossy foodsafe glaze on the insides and some detailing. In the end my aim is to create beautiful and rustic work. Very aesthetically pleasing but not just "pretty".

Amelia

2009-05-04T09:58:00.001-07:00

This is Amelia, one of my new hollow goddesses. She's just been accepted into the art of the Peace Juried Art Show taking place in Grande Prairie!! She will be on display June 16th till June 21st. For more info about this event go to www.artofthepeace.ca . Amelia is a Vintage Circus Performer that is contemplating her acrobatic performance. She is hand built porcelain with stains and glazes. She is #9 of my Goddess collection.

Donation to Peace Gallery North Annual Art Auction

2009-05-01T13:29:00.000-07:00

This is my most recently created goddess #10, which Surerus Pipeline generously donated on my behalf to the Peace Gallery North Annual Art Auction. She is very tall! Tallest lady I ever made, measuring approximatley 2 feet tall....and quite difficult as she is completley hollow-built porcelain. Vintage stamps and lace were used to create the impressions on her lovely dress. She was stained with a rustic brown stain to further exploit these textures. On her head is a perched peacock..."modesty versus vanity" was one of the themes I thought of... The peacock is glazed colourfully to contrast with her bareness.

Juxtaposition of Materials...

2009-05-01T12:55:00.001-07:00

That's gotta be my most favoritist things to do with my artwork. to combine things that do not "normally" belong together and make them look pretty. For example rustic matte surfaces with vintage lace impressions juxtaposed against hot pink glossy commercial glaze. Also, weather old end-gates from a grain truck against shiny shards with vintage decals on them. I am trying to create work that is both rustic and beautiful. Work that is not easy to pin-point, seems simple but really is not. The more you look, the more you see kinda thing. Here are some examples...

Mother's Day Sale

2009-04-30T15:49:00.000-07:00

Hello Peeps,

I am having a Mother's Day Sale on Saturday May 9th from 10-6 at kilnhouse studio. Here are some of the "works in progress" that will be completed for the sale. Expect to see handmade one-of-a-kind porcelain planters, tumblers, mugs and more.....

2009-04-28T10:17:00.000-07:00

Yay! I am now selling on the boxsocial website http://www.boxsocial.ca/, look me up under artists if you're interested! they also havemany other talented artists from Western Canada selling their works.

These wall pieces are examples of my unconventional mosaics that I make constantly at kilnhouse out of old shards of my work and weathered boards from my parents farm. I find their is a nice juxtaposition between the materials

Art that moves you project

2009-04-23T16:20:00.000-07:00

Hello,

This is my bus panel painting I just did last week. It is for a Fort St. John Bus, who will be wearing it all summer! I call it "Moose in the Treescape". Oh and here are my new owlies fresh from the kiln-completley hollow handbuilt porcelain.

Box Social

2009-04-21T11:09:00.000-07:00

Box Social wrote a little blurb on their blog about moi! Here's the link...http://www.boxsocialdesign.blogspot.com

2009-04-20T12:24:00.000-07:00

Coming Up Next works

2009-04-20T12:18:00.000-07:00

Here is my work that I am sending to the Alberta Craft Council in Edmonton today for the "Coming Up Next", show. Including a Tumbler Installation and some Jugs.

2009-04-13T10:02:00.000-07:00

This is a new take on my porcelain cylinder vases that I've been making in the past year. This time I added hollow "branches" to the sides of each vase, creating a type of lace tree. I like that these pieces combine bring many elements together in an unexpected way. The rustic and pale outside contrasts with the bright commercial glazes of the inside, and the little red birdies just give a pop of color for your eye to hang on to. All of these are still for sale at my shop or contact me via email msbutla@hotmail.com.

New Branching Vases and Vintage Pendants

2009-04-12T10:21:00.000-07:00

This is my latest grouping of my work shown here on the table in my showroom. Three Branching Vases made of porcelain and impressed with lace, along with many tumblers and mugs with hollow handles.

Here are some of the pendants I have recently made. They are fired three times to achieve this effect. The vintage images are permanent. Hung on real hand dyed silk, all my pendants cost $25!

2009-04-11T12:47:00.000-07:00

Cupboard Installation....

2009-04-11T12:33:00.000-07:00

Hollow Love Owl Sculpture

2009-04-11T12:13:00.000-07:00

Hello Everybody!!!

This is my FIRST BLOG EVER, so please bear with me. I am an emerging ceramic artist, living in Fort St. John, British Columbia. I run a studio/shop named kilnhouse studio, which is open Fridays and Saturdays from 10-6. I am located at 10510 101 Ave. So come see me if you're in the area!! I make medium fire porcelain handbuilt objects. Some functional some sculptural as you'll see...I work a lot with mixing old and new, (vintage lace and commercial glaze). At the moment I am working on a series of hanbuilt hollow sculptural "love owls", along with some tumblers and jugs for a show that I recently got into named "Coming Up Next". I'm really excited about this show....it is in Edmonton AB, at the Alberta Craft Council. If you're interested in buying anything that you see on the blog-just email me msbutla@hotmail.com, I accept Visa/MC and am willing to ship anywhere!!