Yesterday, holidays officially started at Think Long Island First with the Small Business Saturday events.
Modest but enthusiastic group of guests and artists gathered around our table to decorate majolica ornaments under the guidance of potter Sue Adler, tie impressive bows and gift wrap in eco-friendly fashion as introduced by Kristi Halpern, Jolanta Zamecka, and Ewa Rumprecht respectively, and benefit from the expert knowledge of Feng Shui presented by Sharon LaMonica.
Award winning Long Island limericks were read by one of the judges, poet Joan Digby. Evening ended with holiday poetry reading and music cum historical commentary by fiddler Eric Marten, and his limber jack and beating straws playing wife Trudy.
Painter Yvonne Dagger and wood carver Don Dailey provided live demonstrations throughout the day.
We want to thank All Artists who made the day so special and All Guests who graced us with their company.
C.C. Bookout at Riverhead studio
Photo by Ewa Rumprecht
Let us start with unraveling the mystery of the initials - C.C. in C.C. Bookout - they stand for Calista Coe; the nickname was given her almost the moment she was born. Calista, a name passed through the family tradition, means "the most beautiful". The Greeks celebrated Callisto, the nymph of Artemis, who, by the most unimaginable set of circumstances, ended up in the skies as Ursa Major (Great Bear/Big Dipper).
Teapot by C.C. Bookout
Photo by Ewa Rumprecht
C.C. Bookout's life may not be as convoluted as her namesake's, but it does revolve around beauty and unpredictability of the art medium she chose for herself.
C.C. studied psychology at Skidmore College, as she intended to become a social worker. Eventually she became a nursery school teacher, a profession she enjoyed greatly.
For her first pottery classes she traveled from Manhattan, where she then lived, to the Brooklyn Museum; later continued taking classes at the Riverside Church for a couple of years. She was advised to do nothing else for two years but practice throwing pieces until they would look like what she imagined them to be. C.C. attended many advanced workshops including one at the Great Barrington Pottery where she studied Japanese throwing techniques with an apprentice of Richard Bennett. One class given locally by Joyce Michaud lead C.C. to a Masters Certificate program at Hood College in Maryland, where she studied under many famous potters.
Small vase by C.C. Bookout
Photo by Ewa Rumprecht
C.C. opened her own studio first in Islip, NY, and then in Riverhead, NY, where she moved on one Christmas Eve in the 70s (arrived for the closing with a van full of stuff and spend her first night sleeping on a mattress on the floor). Riverhead then was a farming community, the road that lead to her house was a true farm road. The couple was resourceful and built or adapted a lot of the studio equipment themselves. The base of her wedging table is made of an old dining table found on the side of the road. Her spray glazing is done in a converted shower stall. Her pots are kept moist in an old fridge. She had a gas kiln built on her property, but had to stop using it a few year back. She now fires her work in Watermill or upstate in Cold Spring, NY.
Bowl by C.C. Bookout
Photo by Ewa Rumprecht
C.C. prefers high cone firing and works with porcelain clay to ensure strength. She makes functional and decorative pieces in many styles. She throws on a wheel, creates slab pieces, likes coil building. She mixes her own glazes and adjusts them to each type of clay and kiln. She prizes wood kiln firing with all its potential and unpredictability. She is particularly fond of the large scale sculptures: organic forms, hands holding things, head shaped planters, or female figures with titles like 'Making Strides', 'Standing Firm', 'Going Forward'. They have a strong connection with the fertility and most are intended for gardens, her own included - C.C.'s husband, Henry, is an avid gardener.
Tall vase by C.C. Bookout
Photo by Ewa Rumprecht
Let us conclude with some remarks on beauty and unpredictability of the wood kiln firing much preferred by C.C. at this stage of her artistic journey. In wood kiln firing the shining surface on the pieces comes not from the high silica glazes transformed by intense heat into glass, but from the ashes present in the condensed air of the kiln. Clay must be ready to accept it. The amount of heat generated by the burning wood, the mixture of chemicals and organic matter in the kiln, never the same, produce unique pieces every time. And this is what makes them so unpredictable and ... precious. C.C. is willing to take the risk.
Sue Adler first came across the horse hair pottery at a class given by her teacher, Sea Cliff potter Donna Ferrara. Horse hair pottery is created by a unique process of heating a stoneware pot in a kiln to over 1000F, taking it out of the kiln when it's very hot, and draping long single strands of horse hair over it. Hair instantly carbonizes when it touches the super hot pot and leaves distinct black pattern on the wall.
Sue always had a curiosity about pottery but has not tried it until she found Donna's ad in PennySaver. She had already practiced her hand at watercolor, drawing, and quilting. AAS degree in Ornamental Horticulture and Landscape Design from Farmingdale State College did not come amiss in the attuning of her eye to shape and beauty. Pottery had proven to be as interesting as expected and she delved into it with a passion.
Pot heated to 1000F draped with
horse hair.
Photo by Ewa Rumprecht
Sue continued taking classes with Donna for 5-6 years, attended pottery workshops, joined Long Island Craft Guild and Potters Counsel. Her father found a potter's wheel at a garage sale thus laying a foundation for Sue's own studio. Over the years she organized her comfortable workspace, lined the walls with shelves storing pots at their many different stages of production. She built herself a raku kiln out of a galvanized garbage can, then acquired a large kiln and a small raku kiln for 2-3 pieces. The latter was a great addition, it enabled her to fire at any time of the year (with her first garbage can kiln she was limited to summer months when thermal shock was less of the issue) and allowed her to work on a small batch of pots, important when working on custom orders, not a small chunk of Sue's orders.
Horse hair pot with blue banding.
Photo by Ewa Rumprecht
The chance encounter with the horse hair pottery was a godsend. It enabled her to celebrate horses through pottery. Ever since she first seriously rode one at the age of 15 her life revolved around them. At 17 she bought her own horse, she trained and looked after horses, she successfully competed in the lady side saddle division in the National Horse Show at the Madison Square Garden and at the Hampton Classic. She now works full time as a horse farm manager.
Horse hair pottery.
Photo by Ewa Rumprecht
With her first horse hair pots she made gifts to her friends. Eventually she build a following in the industry. Many horse lovers want to have a meaningful memento of their beloved animals - a beautiful, carefully handcrafted pot with the permanent imprint of the tail hair. Sue is touched every time she is asked to make a custom pot.
Meet the renown potter Donna Ferrara who will present her work at the store. She will be happy to answer questions about her pottery and the creative process behind it.
Donna first studied pottery with the Japanese potter Makoto Yabe and later trained at the Radcliffe Pottery Center at Harvard. She now runs a successful studio where she creates her own work and teaches students at all levels.
Her artistic explorations into shapes and glazes result in highly functional and beautiful stoneware. In plain words, it's stunnig. You will enjoy using these pieces every day.
Thanksgiving is around the corner; take this opportunity to stock up on the serving dishes, plates, tea sets and more, all made by the artist in her Sea Cliff studio. They make great gifts, too!
At the time when I first met Donna Ferrara I was still attempting, clumsily and ineffectively, to center a piece of clay on a rotating potter's wheel. Donna was throwing one pot after another, each one perfectly shaped. That was no accident. She had previously studied with Japanese potter Makoto Yabe at Clay Art Center in Allston, MA, and at the Radcliffe Pottery Center at Harvard. She joined Andrew Quient pottery studio in Glen Cove in mid 90's. After Andrew closed his studio and moved to Massachusetts, Donna worked at various other studios on the island and eventually opened her own in Sea Cliff.
Photo by Ewa Rumprecht
She creates her own works there, but also has a nicely sized group of students, 3-5 per session. She liked the idea of teaching even before, but when put to practice she found teaching very rewarding and inspiring. Some students are advanced, some come with an idea of making a particular piece, maybe a statue of a horse or a dish for some special occasion. There is no strict curriculum, every student is allowed to develop within own area of interest. Donna is there to offer guidance and to teach the technique appropriate for the chosen object.
Photo by Ewa Rumprecht
Donna's professional life before stoneware - she graduated from the School of Visual Arts, with a BFA in painting and printmaking, worked in needlepoint and textile design, was employed in visual display at Conrans - always revolved around creating things beautiful and functional. This carried on into her pottery. You take one of her pieces, it is nicely balanced, it feels right in your hand, it looks beautiful. You want to serve freshly rinsed, ripe peaches in one of her colanders; a hearty meal of pasta is even more inviting in a nice, deep bowl with an earthy feel to it.
Donna's work is ever evolving. She continuously experiments with new colors and shapes. Even the most sophisticated gourmand will settle for a new recipe, Donna will create a new serving dish to match her culinary fancy! This is true luxury and this is how many new shapes come about. Donna takes summers, when it is too hot to fire the kiln, to explore new glazes; she consults pottery magazines and researches formulae recommended by fellow potters.
Photo by Ewa Rumprecht
As with any experiments, some ideas work, some do not. I was half expecting her kitchen cupboards to be filled with the "rejects". I was wrong, she likes to use dishes that match her high functionality and beauty standards.
