Binge Video

I went to the studio with a mission to trim up some large bowls I made the day before. TC has been encouraging me to blog and write more, but I need to feel in the right mood I think. I don't want to blog just for blogs sake. I want to feel inspired..and I want what I'm going to share be good, thought provoking, interesting or fun. Anyways, back to the story... I went to the studio, brought my camera so I could take a video while I trimmed. I thought.. a blog about trimming. that's not so bad. It went alright..I just talked to myself and the camera for about 16 minutes working on this bowl. When I finished up and got home I watched the video and thought, "holy hell this is boring". I don't even want to watch this... I then thought about the imovie app on my Mac and thought..I've never used that..I wonder if it's an editing application... turns out it is. I've spent the last 3 and half hours playing with this program and uploading the finished product onto Youtube. It was pretty fun and I'm going to do some more of these in the future. Give it a click.

Binge Trimming a Bowl

These pots

This is my in my kitchen. I took off all the cabinet doors... I have to see these every day. I've made it customary that wherever I rent..I always remove the cabinet doors. It really turns the kitchen into a tiny little gallery.

Here is Trevor Dunn, Owen Rye, a spouted bowl of mine, a slab of clay by Carrie Smith and one of my favorite prints. Trevor gave me this "Cantado" or whatever he calls them to me after helping him his last year of graduate school. I split wood for his firings, mixed clay and helped him fire. He's a dear friend and I felt lucky to have my pick from his thesis show. The bottle is from Owen Rye, which I purchased after a firing and workshop he did at USU. I think he is one of the most intelligent wood fire guys I've met- calm, methodical, logical..and so old he doesn't take anybody's shit or really give a fuck, yet he still cares. The spouted bowl I made during the last double-wide reduction cooled wood firing I participated in at USU before I left. It was a dandy of a firing..and I have many good memories hanging with my friends and teachers, stoking wood and having a great time. The massive slab of Jingdezhen porcelain I picked up while in China a few years back from a woman I met at the Pottery Workshop. She was really sweet...and we talked for a long time about the levels of Jingdezhen porcelain..and how the purest actually "glows" blue. Have you seen it? It's phenomenal.

This piece, made by Tony Clennell titled, "Yellow Mountain" was given to me as a gift from the maker. Tony made this as a tribute to our experience in China while climbing a mountain called, ironically, Yellow Mountain. To say the least I was glad to be there for Tony and will treasure this piece and the memory of that day as long as I live. The little teacup was made and given to me by Lee Kyang Ho while I was in Korea last summer. I and a few others went to the Lee studio and drank tea for some 3 or 4 hours. Lee and his wife were two of the most kindest people I met during that trip.

I think a lot of potters collect other pots. I have pots that I've made around the house but i don't keep them out for very long, just long enough to test and see, to use and critique...then get rid of them. I think others make way better pots then I do. And plus, when you use a piece of somebody else's you get to know them a little more, especially if you knew them when that particular piece was made. So even now, as I sit in my house, alone, I have many friends near and close to me. Most of them I met while in Utah, California and some from other places... as far as China and Korea. If you were here in my house, I could give you a story for every pot, just like I did earlier in this post. Those are just a drop in the bucket, but the biggest and best drops.

The story, the unseen, the parts about pots that are felt with the heart are what I really love. I'm not only drinking from a teacup that was given to me while in Korea, but I'm drinking from a husband and wife's beautiful smile and welcoming manner when I was so lucky to visit their studio. I'm not only eating from a bowl that Josh DeWeese made, but seeing his bright eyes, bushy mustache or hearing his infectious laugh . Knowing the potter behind the piece is the way I like to collect.

I'm happy and honored to be apart of this living tradition of pottery making. I couldn't imagine any other way of living. So to all of you pottery makers..I salute you.

Robin DuPont

This one is for you, Eden. I thought I'd tag along and show some of the good times I've had with your husband. These are some pictures from the trip we took in Korea. Robin is a damn good potter and an even better guy. Not to mention his awesome wife and two sweet kids. "want to see my new sheets?" "bike!" I sure do miss you guys!

Tatsutzo

Tatsutzo Shimaoka. 1919-2007 (I can hear Neely correcting my pronunciation of this guys name... ) This guy, no matter who is saying his name, is one of my favorites. He was one of the guys I learned about after getting to know Hamada, Leach, the Mingei Movement, and the Unknown Craftsman.

Good strong pots. Rope inlay equals awesome.

I came across this online show of his. Check it out it's really really good!

www.adhikara.com/art/ceramics_by_shimaoka_tatsuzo.html

Unloading

Here's a grouping of pots we got out of our last glaze kiln. Sadly we didn't get to live with them for very long (except the teapot..it pours real good, thanks Neely) because they got a free ride over to Red Lodge, Montana. They'll be for sale there at : http://www.redlodgeclaycenter.com/ in the next week or so under "Emily Free Wilson" on the artist represented page. We unloaded these from our brand spankin new kiln a couple of days ago. Man oh man those new kilns sure are shiny..and fire real nice. http://www.freeceramics.com/

Good 'ole Dad, Mom and the Free Ceramic Crew

Being apart of a family business has been good so far. It's nothing new to me though..growing up with Dad and Mom who created a number of small businesses that were run right from the living room. The best was the one called "Courtesy Printing". Dad printed everything from the programs at the county Rodeo to coupon books and business cards for the small community in Roseburg, Oregon. Not only were us kids forced to help now and then, and of course resent it completely at the time, looking back now I understand now what good 'ole Dad was going through during that time- basically working his ass off to keep food on the table and clothes on his family's backs while Mom payed the bills and ran the technical sides of things and cooking for the family every day. It's some really tough shit to go through and I respect them immensely for it. If anything my parents are both hard working..and when the shit hits the fan they can just crank- the apple don't fall far from the horse's mouth... (is that how the saying goes? haha)

Working on the weekends is nothing new for the potter...and they hardly experience a great deal of off time or vacation..and this is something I'm trying to get used to. Today, since we have a firing schedule coming down on us real fast, we spent the day in the studio working and planning on another full day tomorrow. We're going to ship off two kilns loads to the Northern Clay center by the end of the month..and Monday is our last bisque kiln for it... I spent the day making the goods that will make the display look real sharp: teapots, jugs, and whiskey flasks. A little variety goes a long way I think. Here's a couple shots of the family hard at work. Emily is attaching some handles to some mugs I made and Matt is in the backround painting the underglaze on already bisqued fired pots.

And now since my wonderful girl (who's off in France being a super cool artist in residency) and I found an awesome place to live, just a block and a half away from my sister's place. I get to walk to work everyday..which takes about two minutes, if i walk normal..and maybe three if I go real slow. This last pic is of the alley I take two or four times a day.... Not bad huh? I almost bumped noses with a deer this morning...

Free Ceramics

i took a video of the little studio i call home during the week. it's push time right now.... working workin working.. everybody can't get enough of these pots. the speakers are by far the best part of the studio...prime time sound, people... we just got wireless out there so i'll be able to stream live music from the web..i just have to go find the right connection wire that i can hook to my computer or ipod.

so this is the family business. i make the pots, emily decorates and matt colors and glazes. it's a good setup.. i don't know how many recent grads with their bfa's get to have a job like this... i'm planning on atleast two years doin this..then? I'm not quite sure... anyways if you haven't seen what we make check out the site: www.freeceramics.com

bobbyfree.com has been launched!

When I was younger, about 13 years old, the internet had already been around for some time.. I was fascinated by websites and eventually learned how to publish my own. Back then it was all html coding that had to be done manually.. I remember reading over pages and pages of html code, learning how to link, or to make your text a certain font or color. It was fun. I had two sites dedicated to my two most favorite Tv shows, The Simpsons and Seinfeld. They're long gone by now...and I have to admit I hardly watch those shows anymore at all.

Today is another step in the right direction. I've successfully uploaded and published my artist website. The official Bobby Free site is here for your enjoyment!!!

http://www.bobbyfree.com

Anyways I'd just like to say how impressed I am with the user-friendly application called iWeb that comes with any new Mac. It's a little limited as far as what you can make your site look like, but it's set up for people without a lot of time. I bought my domain from www.godaddy.com for something really cheap.. and godaddy also hosts. They're having a deal right now to host your site, 80 bucks for 2 years (less then 7 bucks a month) And with the iWeb it was really easy to upload...

I have some pictures of pots, prints and sculptures. Hopefully when I start making more of my own work I'll have a gallery where I can put on my own online shows. There still some work to be done on it..like linking the pictures so you can look at a larger picture then just the thumbnail..and other fancy things.

Next step.....

business cards.

p.s. Thanks to Adam for your advice and pointing me in the right direction. I totally appreciate it!