The Blue Brick

Nostalgia

March 14, 2012

The other day I spoke with my first pottery instructor, John Jarvis, for the first time in years. John taught me from 2003 until 2008 ish. It was in the basement of his home with a few other folks on Saturday mornings. It left me nostalgic, and I reflected on the tremendous influence John ended up having in my life. The photos are all pieces I created while at his studio.

John is wonderful. Sometimes you meet someone who, just by being wonderful, ends up being a huge influence in your creative life. He agreed to teach me on a barter basis because I was unemployed when I met him, but really wanted to learn. Him and his equally talented wife Pat would bring tea and cookies or squares down to every class. On Saturday mornings we always listened to the Vinyl Café on the CBC.

John is a genius with glazes. I have no idea how he got those gorgeous saturated colours. I would always beg him to put my pieces down in the bottom of the kiln where it was hottest so the colours would come out as strong as possible. I think he humoured me a lot, but my pieces would always come out looking stunning :)

John is also shy in many ways. He always blushed when teaching someone how to pull a handle for a pot. He would hold that phallic lump of clay and say “I like to think of this as a cigar” and we would all start laughing at him. He took it in stride, his classes were always full of fascinating folks and we all, to a person, enjoyed teasing him.

He was amazing to talk to. I remember us asking him once whether he would rather be young now, or young in the 60’s. He said “The 60’s for sure”, whereupon we teased him about free love and such. He laughed and said “It’s true that youth today have more opportunity, but in the 60’s we still thought we could change the world”. That has always stayed with me, and it reminds me to fight the complacency that can overcome people, the tendency to believe that we don’t count.

He taught me patience too. I wanted to learn everything, right away. He taught me that when clay is too dry, too wet, too stressed or of too inconsistent a texture, it would fail and there wasn’t a ton to be done about it. He taught me to take it in stride when a pot I had spent hours hand painting broke in the kiln, or a tea pot at it’s last stage developed a crack in the spout. He taught me to look back on how I did it, see the mistakes, and be more careful in the future. He also taught me that sometimes, shit just happens.

When I had trouble learning to centre for a throw he had me throw on a kick wheel for a week. I was a pro at centring after that.

When he retired he gave me a beautiful old camera and lens that he unearthed while packing, knowing my love of photography. He also bequeathed to me his last stores of ceradye which I treat like gold and use sparingly to this day, in my new pottery studio.

John still inspires me today. A turn of events after he retired left him unable to be a potter anymore. Never one to just sit out, John took up ballroom dancing and now runs a ballroom dancing club in his new hometown. After being a potter his entire life he switched gears to do something totally new, I can’t imagine how tough that is.

Every summer he has his former students up to his home for a bbq. I can’t wait to see him and Pat again :) I will always be grateful for having met him, and cite him as one of the most inspirational people I have ever had the honour to meet.
Studio lights? No… livingroom window.

March 13, 2012

When you don’t have studio lighting, but need to take really great shots of someone, I can’t overstate the usefulness of using a big window. If you’ve got a white room, this can be like putting your subject inside a human sized lightbox.

I needed to do a headshot series for a friend, and also to get my FO shots for “Put a Little Love Out”. We didn’t have a studio space to work in, so I rigged something using the windows in my bedroom and the white sliding doors on my closet.

Jeanette is standing in front of my closet, facing the bedroom window. I have a camera mounted flash, with a softbox on the flash head, pointed up at the white ceiling instead of towards her face. On the bed in front of her is a reflector (read: tinfoil) which prevents any hard shadows underneath her features from the flash.

The results were perfect. The only retouching I really had to do was removing a slight shadow between Jeanette and the closet. It’s a good solution for quickie model photography on the cheap!

You can put that big window to use in other ways as well – here my girlfriend Lynn is posing in front of the window, and I’m using it as a giant lightbox behind her. I’m using a flash in the front with a softbox mounted directly to the flash to prevent her from becoming a silhouette.

In this case, when you use the window behind instead of in front, you get a nice light halo effect around your subject. In soft photography like maternity work this can work out really well for you.

So there you have it – whether you’re doing portraits or just need to get a good FO shot – you might not need to go far to have a great ‘studio’ set up!
The Artful Life

March 12, 2012

Here are a few photos of my works in progress over at the studio – life has been such a bubble of busyness that making studio time has been next to impossible! I had to get in there though – I promised the Purple Purl a bunch of yarn bowls in time for the knitters frolic next month.

This one is a yarn bell for someone who ordered one from me, oh, forever ago. I’m using the shellac technique described here for the filigree detail.

Next up is a froggie yarn bowl that’s being sent to a convent in Boston. Normally I don’t ship pottery anymore, but honestly, how could I refuse nuns? The lady I dealt with was so sweet I decided to make an exception for her, and what her Mother Superior wanted was a froggie yarn bowl. I’m actually quite flattered by this.

Incidentally, all these photos are being taken with my new instagram app, with which I am hopelessly obsessed. I mean, I’m a graphics professional, you’d think an app with built-in filters and false bokeh would feel cheesy to me, right? But seriously, I love this app. I think the photos are lovely. Of course the baby ferret is my favourite subject matter :)

Other happenings in the artful life include a new series of resin jewellery that’s curing now, a print series I’m doing out of my recent aurora photography and the fact that tonight I’m finally getting in some lamp working studio time after a very long wait.

Tuckered Out

Tito and I are debating about another late night photo shoot tonight to see if we can catch more aurora but after 5 nights in a row of 3am shooting I’m totally burnt out. And it’s a work night. When I was a kid sleep was like bank overdraft; you paid it back once and you were good to go. Now sleep is like a high interest loan, and recovering from too many late nights takes me at least a week ;)

However I’ve got to say that on top of all the other great artsty stuff we’ve got going on those late night trips have been fun. I love living creatively!
Photo-Take-Outter Friday #5 – Be nothing if not determined.

March 9, 2012

I wasn’t going to do this last night. The rain was so miserable and the full moon, when it was visible, was so bright, I thought for sure we would get nothing. Also, the party was pretty good.

But then I remembered that the best aurora pic I ever took was taken quite literally in the middle of a rain storm. A hole in the cloud passed overhead, and there they were, and I shot through it for 15 glorious minutes until the hole closed up, and with it my window of opportunity, but I got the shot. In Parry Sound, at 2 am on a work night.

I remembered that when I finally found a preying mantis it was not while I was crawling around in Algonquin Park with a macro lens on, or up in Tobermory, or even at the Leslie Street Spit. It was on Front St., downtown, hanging out in front of the CBC building.

In short, I remembered that sometimes the shot finds you and you’ve just got to put yourself out there over and over again because that’s how great shots get taken.

We drove through a snowstorm so fierce it forced us off the highway around Cookstown, not nearly as far north as I wanted to go. We drove west, trying to get out from under it, slipping and sliding (occasionally alarmingly).

But then there was that telltale glow in the north. The edge of the cloud came, the stars peeked out and with it were the lights. Just outside of a town called Shelburne, not even an hour north of Caledon. Far south of Barrie. I can only imagine what the show was like if you were even further north, and if the moon hadn’t been full but even so we got some beautiful and rewarding photos.

Before calling it a night (well, morning, to be honest) I had to shoot the other way. The moon was as full and bright as you could ask for. The night was silent, the road deserted, and a fine coat of fresh snow covered the trees. Setting off the whole thing was a thick mist that was coming in. I felt like I was in a Christmas card, and even though the moon was compromising the aurora, it was still something to be savoured.

That same fog threatened to make our drive home difficult, visibility was nil in some areas.

Right before we turned for home we were rewarded with one final glimpse of them from the car.

We finally got home at 5:30 am, tired but excited. It was completely worth it :) And yes, as the sun continues it’s show we’re already talking about going out tonight!
This is all I have to say today

March 8, 2012

From Space.com:

“Such a CME could result in a severe geomagnetic storm, causing aurora at low latitudes, with possible disruption to high frequency radio communication, global positioning systems (GPS), and power grids,” NASA scientists said in a statement.

…Experts also predict that the magnetic storm will likely enhance normal aurora displays (also known as the northern and southern lights). As the effects of the CME bombard Earth, these stunning light shows will be especially visible …”

From the Globe and Mail:

“That means for North America the “good” part of a solar storm, when it creates more noticeable auroras or Northern Lights, will peak Thursday evening and Friday morning. Auroras could dip as far south in North America as the Great Lakes, along the Canadian border, or lower…”

From Spaceweather.com:

“…the storm could intensify in the hours ahead depending on electromagnetic conditions in the wake of the CME. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras.”

And so on, and so on.

So, yes, it’s a work night. Yes, it’s overcast and raining cats and dogs in Toronto. Yes, there is a full moon. And yes, there is a great party happening tonight to boot. But I am nothing if not determined. Wish me luck, and if you live at a higher latitude, get out there tonight and may the shutter gods be good to you!
To the snow, and beautiful Manitoba

March 7, 2012

Because, though my heart is in eastern Canada, the prairie provinces are gorgeous in their own austere way :) These were all taken in Selkirk, Manitoba.

Winter by Walter de la Mare

Clouded with snow
The cold winds blow,
And shrill on leafless bough
The robin with its burning breast
Alone sings now.

The rayless sun,
Day’s journey done,
Sheds its last ebbing light
On fields in leagues of beauty spread
Unearthly white.

Thick draws the dark,
And spark by spark,
The frost-fires kindle, and soon
Over that sea of frozen foam
Floats the white moon.
You don’t have to be a grandma to crochet a doily!

March 6, 2012
I had this gorgeous skein of cottony blue yarn with absolutely no stretch to it, as I found out while trying to make fingerless gloves from it. Because I was determined to make something out of it, and because I was hungry for a quick FO, and because the colour is perfect for my home…I crocheted a doily from it. Yes, I crocheted a doily. This may just be a whole new stage in my life.

Even Ollie doesn’t seem impressed

The pattern is super easy and sort of granny squareish in that it grows on it’s own and you don’t need to pay much attention to it. It was started at lunch, followed me around all day, and was blocking by 8. Beat that, knitting!

Of course now I need to make more – a hexagon tile blanket? Coasters? Oooh, maybe I’ll use what’s left of the gradient yarn to make a doily for the dining table…. or just use it as a stash buster for all my TFA yarn bits and seam them together later. In the meantime, here is the pattern!

For mine I used a 3.75mm hook with 100 grams of worsted weight yarn. You can use whatever your heart desires, it will still work.
- Ch5, join with slip stitch to form a ring
- 1st round: (Chain 6, 1sc into ring) x 6, join with slip stitch to base of first chain 6
- 2nd round: (Ch4, 1sc into next ch6 space) x 6, join with slip stitch
- 3rd round: (Ch4, 2sc into next 4ch space, 1sc into next sc) x 6
- 4th round: (Ch4, 2sc into next 4ch space, 1sc into each of the next 2sc) x 6
- 5th round: (Ch4, 2sc into next 4ch space, 1sc into each of the next 3sc) x 6
See the pattern? Each round you will have one more sc in each group. It’s like a granny square in that way; it grows on it’s own without you having to keep count of stitches. Just remember to work the corners correctly and the rest takes care of itself. You can grow it as big as you like.

Oh, and we didn’t get northern lights here in south Ontario last night but I have hope… it the skies are clear we’ll be trying again!
Random things concerning the sky

March 5, 2012
First, and perhaps most importantly, check out spaceweather.com. Looks like a decent chance of aurora tonight, so if you live in a northern latitude, keep your eyes on the sky for the next few days! If it stays clear I think Tito and I will head north tonight. Perhaps we’ll luck out again like we did with this gem:

Secondly – there was a stunning halo around the moon last night here in Toronto. Did anyone else catch this beauty?

Here’s what wikipedia has to say about moon halos:

A halo from Greek ἅλως; also known as a nimbus, icebow or gloriole) is an optical phenomenon produced by ice crystals creating colored or white arcs and spots in the sky. Many are near the sun or moon but others are elsewhere and even in the opposite part of the sky. They can also form around artificial lights in very cold weather when ice crystals called diamond dust are floating in the nearby air.

Pretty cool, huh?

Thirdly, I had the silliest nightmare. I dreamt that Tito and I were out on the town without my camera. I looked up and there was the CN tower, during the blue hour, with the milky way glowing behind it, and the northern lights on the horizon. I panicked and needed to run home and get my camera but thing after silly thing prevented me from getting there before the entire phenomenon had faded away. I even woke up mad.

To make myself feel better I photoshopped together an image of what my dream might have looked like in the impossible event of
- blue hour
- big city
- milky way
- northern lights
… all showing up at once!

Enjoy the skies for the next few days! Looks like there might be some great shots out there just waiting for an intrepid photographer :)
New family member

March 4, 2012

Our family loves animals – I’ve got 2 beautiful cats living with me, my parents have a bunny and, until a week ago, a beautiful little albino ferret. We also had a dog who sadly had to be put to sleep last spring. I don’t remember a time in my life when we didn’t have animal companions, even my earliest memories are filled with fish, hamsters and guinea pigs.

Last week we lost our beautiful little ferret at a healthy old age. She was loving and funny and full of antics and we miss her very much.

We just knew that we couldn’t be ferret-less so today we brought home this little guy: Meet the insanely adorable ferret who no one has managed to definitively name yet ;) We’ve tried out bandit, pokito (which means little bit), pepe, Tingu (which means shorty) and josé.

He’s a 4 week old sable ferret with a lovely little bandit mask, and he’s already got us wrapped around his little fingers.

He’s as hyper as a Tazmanian devil, cute as a button and settled into my parents home very quickly. By the end of a very active evening he was sleeping in my moms arms. He’s very small, so he still needs lots of ‘mommy’ type love.

Our entire family, the friends he met, the neighbours, everyone is in love with him. I foresee a very spoiled ferret in our future :)
Photo-Take-Outter Friday #4 – Star photography

March 2, 2012
Star photography and northern light hunting is a favourite hobby of ours. I love long exposure shots (and that feeling when you hold your breath and wait to see what the photo will look like). Here are a few of my favourite images, and what I did to get them:

To avoid repetition: all of these photos are taken using a Canon 7D, tripod mounted and using a remote release to make sure
- that I didn’t move the camera at all, even just to press the shutter button, and
- that I had the ability to lock the shutter down for extended periods
Nobel, Ontario – just north of Parry Sound.

This shot got me freshly pressed – thanks wordpress! I lied earlier about all of them using tripods – believe it or not this was dashboard mounted instead. By mounted I mean propped up using mittens and knitting. It was so windy that I didn’t think the camera could be still long enough, and yes, I am shooting through the windshield.
- Exposure time: 20 minutes
- ISO: I’m using an ISO of 100 – anything higher and the shot would have blown out over such a long period.
- Lens: Tokina 12-24, f4.0 wide angle
- f-stop: Wide open baby! As it should always be for long exposure star shots. On my lens this meant f4.0
- White Balance: Set to auto – there was a slight glow on the horizon from aurora and I didn’t want to compromise that.
- Camera Mode: BULB. Bulb means that the shutter is open as long as you have your finger on the shutter button, or as long as you have your remote locked. On other models you go to MANUAL and roll right on past the 30 second shutter mark, the next increment will just say ‘bulb’.
- Post Production: Almost none – the stars were so clear already, and there was no noise thanks to the 100 ISO. I used a high pass filter just to pop the stars a bit more and that was it.
Tobermory, Ontario

For this shot I had the luxury of being in a beautiful B&B living room with a huge picture window facing west. The camera is on a tripod and shooting through glass. When you shoot through glass always make sure nothing on your camera is causing a reflection – in this case I had to use a toque to cover up the red shutter lamp on the back.
- Exposure time: 20 minutes
- ISO: I’m using an ISO of 100 – anything higher and the shot would have blown out over such a long period.
- Lens: Tokina 12-24, f4.0 wide angle
- f-stop: I squeezed it down to f6.0 for this one, because I knew I was going for a long exposure and I didn’t want the shot to overexpose.
- White Balance: Set to tungsten. I was trying to compromise for the lights of a house near me and the result was this gorgeous blue.
- Camera Mode: BULB.
- Post Production: None. I was absolutely delighted when I saw the shot :)
Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia

This shot is a 3 photo vertical stitch of the Milky Way. It was beautifully clear that night and I had to get as much into one photo as I could. This was taken from the grounds of Fort Anne.
- Exposure time: 3 shots at 20 seconds each. Because I was stitching afterwards I didn’t want the stars to ‘streak’.
- ISO: 500 – I needed to get them as bright as I could without needing a really long shutter
- Lens: Canon 24mm f2.8 prime
- f-stop: f2.8, again because they were such short shots.
- White Balance: Auto
- Camera Mode: Manual
- Post Production: 3 photo vertical stitch (no tricks needed for the stitch, photoshops default was perfect) Noise reduction was also needed because of the ISO 500.
Hopefully that was useful to aspiring star photographers out there – if you take your own star pics and feel like sharing I’d love to see them :)