Fence Art

My sculptural garden art is also presented two-dimensionally. I call these pieces fence buttons. They hang on a fence or wall, for people who don't have garden space. I have an idea for another
style of art to hang on a fence.

I made large beads that are about 3-4 inches wide and about that tall.

More beads, a more basic shape.

Much smaller beads. The holes in them are for a wire to be passed through them.

These beads are glazed and waiting to be fired.

This is the beginning of a design. The beads are strung on copper wire and curled to keep the beads in place. I will publish the end product in 1 week.

Stellar Rust

I use an electric kiln for all my work. What that means is that the "fire" won't change the glaze, except to melt it. In contrast, a gas or wood fire kiln can cause serendipitous spots of color on the clay and glaze that the artist has no control of due to the smoky atmosphere in the kiln. In the ceramics lab, we counted on the fire to "save" a not very interesting pot, and sometimes it did. With an electric, what goes wrong is the kiln getting too hot or too cool (a relative term)! These mugs were over fired and the tan glaze became clear and dark brown. Ugh! I experimented with the temperature in the kiln by placing pieces on low shelves and high shelves to find the best temperature to make the glaze look good.

I found that the bottom shelf is the best position for this glaze. This is a sake set I hand built. I can make nice textures when I make pieces from a slab of clay.

This is a canister set that I made and used the same glaze. I am really excited about the finished product!

I made this torso a few years ago but hadn't fired it, because I didn't have a glaze that I thought would compliment the shape. I try not to make figures tan or white, but usually use a color. The glaze effect on this piece is perfect. When I poured the glaze on the piece, the glaze was thicker where it over lapped. The glaze is darker brown where it is thin, and whiter where it was thick. It is the perfect glaze for this sculpture.

Hailey's Antique and Art Show

I will be bringing functional pieces to the Hailey show. I think they will be a
good compliment to the antiques and other art. This piece is a spoon holder,
or a vase.

Saki Set

Tea set

Underglazes

2010 Teresa Burnett - Garden Sculpture

This is a glazing technique that I have been using lately. I "print" the texture and patterns on the clay in the slab stage of the process. Then I build each piece from the slab. The colors are put on with a brush and is called underglazing. The colors are vibrant. After I paint on the underglaze and the clay is dry, I bisque fire. Then the final coat of clear glaze is put on and the fire is done to cone 6.

Ketchum Art Festival

This is a view of our booth at Hailey May 31 weekend. We decided to put our small sculptures on tables, and the larger ones we set on the ground at the corner of the tent. It worked out well. We decided to set our booth up similarly for Ketchum, which was last weekend, July 9-11.
I don't have a photo of the sky at Ketchum, but it gave us very exciting weather. On Friday about 4 pm. it rained hard for about 45 minutes. Many artists art work was at risk of damage from the rain, so many closed up their booths until the water subsided. Saturday was the same at about 2 pm, rain and hail. It was a deluge! We had visitors and so we snacked and had a fun visit. I am very lucky that my art work is weather proof!
I decided to bring less tall sculptures, and more small sculptures to this event due to the economy. I reasoned that people would be more inclined to spend small amounts. However, I sold more tall ones!
Despite the weather, we made a few sales. Two couples each bought two sculptures. One couple took their pieces home and set them up right away. They will get some kind of container to set them in, to hide the bricks. Usually the sculptures are set in a garden and the bricks are put in the ground.
They brought us the photos! It is very gratifying when someone buys my work. It really completes the exercise of art-making!

Boise Flower and Garden Show

I couldn't attend the Flower and Garden Show without becoming attached to the exotics. What an amazing show by the Orchid Society, and also the Bonsai. I found a tiny oncidium than I hope will survive this dry climate. I also found some cymbidiums, and purchased two tiny ones. We'll see what I can do with them!



These are the taller sculptures that I make. The supports you see are only for display. The sculptures are supported with rebar that is cemented into a 6" concrete half brick with goes in the ground, so the support system is not visible at all.


This is our booth at the Boise Flower and Garden Show. It was fun to meet lots of gardeners. Gave away lots of business cards! Made a few sales. These small sculptures are my "Bread and Butter" of my business, because they are a small investment for someone who is not sure how much or how big an item for their garden.

Pottery in January

These are my inventory of beads from last year. I have to give my accountant my inventory this year, for tax purposes. The black fabric on the wall is a twin sized sheet that I attached to the wall. I spread the bottom of it out on the floor to do my photography. When I have a small piece, like a tray with goblets, I set them on a small table with a black cloth covering. It is a very good way to make a black background.



These are beads that will stack on a rebar/conduit set up. I will fire these when I am done with the bisque fire today.

Yes I have been working on pottery. I made some trays, wall flower hangings, and sculptures. I am anxious to finish new pieces to take to the gallery.