Brenda Beeley on sun 2 apr 00
Dear Group,
I became interested in tile making last year when I bought a cabin and
remodeled it. I decided the bathroom was going to be my creative outlet.
I made a sink and glazed it and realized I didn't even think about overflow
or plumbing it up so I went to Seattle Pottery and bought a cone 10 bisqued
sink and glazed it with blue chun and dark blue. I loved the effect and
have built my bathroom around the color scheme and a mermaid theme. I lent
my house to a friend for Thanksgiving and came back to two wonderful
Mermaid and Nymph watercolors that now grace my bathroom walls.
My first tile undertaking was to do a Mermaid design in high relief for the
back of the bathtub. I enlarged a mermaid design to roughly 6 feet by 3
feet and have just finished it after about one year. I worked on it at the
local rec center. It just came out of the gas firing and I haven't seen
the results yet. I made endless mistakes and I know some pieces won't fit
together and I will probably end up mounting it in my yard......but it was
incredible to hang in there for so long with one project from someone who
would rather enjoy instant gratification.
I am actually an acupuncturist/homeopath with a love for clay, gardening
and kayaking. I've been doing ceramics about 8 years - mostly at the
community rec level. I never got really good at throwing pots and last year
I kept seeing these wonderful heads/busts on the greenware shelf. So I
timidly decided to take a class from the sculpture teacher and voila I
found an encoraging, generous mentor. One day she brought in a picture of
a bronze of Salvadore Dali - his head with a pot on top spewing some
beautiful plant in an old French garden. Then I was hooked on doing garden
art/planters/fountains with nymph and mermaid themes. My sculptures kept
getting bigger, the rec center made rules on size limitaions and so I now I
share a 1400 sq ft studio with a wonderful studio potter.
Which brings me to the finale.......I'm looking for other artists to move
to my community. I live on Puget sound with an incredible 180 degree view
of water, Mt. Rainier, the Cascade Mts and downtown Seattle (about 20 miles
in the distance). I get to watch the sunrise and the moonrise, walk on the
beach - it's spectacular here!
But you must like the rain!! There are about 5 houses with great views for
sale in my small community for about $110-120,000. They are so cheap
because i live on tribal land - leased from the Suquamish. The lease is
over in 17 years......I believe the tribe will renew the lease then but
nothing is certain. Also, it is difficult to get a mortgage on leased
property. If you are looking for a change, email me privately......there
is room in my studio for more potters.
Brenda
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