The fascinating thing about art is finding out the process of making the lovely things you see. Sandi McNeil shows us how she prepares the materials she uses from wood she finds.
Image #1 – July is the time of year for gathering and processing basswood bark. Four trees waiting to be peeled.
Image #2 – Trees after peeling them, tools used, waste tree/bark material and coiled basswood bark ready to use.
Image #3 – Cut and coiled. Basswood outer bark is grey in colour while basswood inner bark is blonde in colour. (Sandi says it will go grey if left outside)
Janet McDougall & Sandi McNeil are part of studio #13. It is located at Nichol’s Cove Studio at 1291 County Rd. 36 in Trent Lakes.
Janet makes earth toned pottery inspired by the nature around her and Sandi creates wall weavings and unusual baskets of all sizes, exclusively made from natural and found materials. They often collaborate as well! Visit their studio this year to see their lovely work.
Sandi McNeil has just completed beautiful Basswood tables topped with pottery tiles by Janet McDougall. These collaborative pieces are always popular on the Victoria County Studio Tour. vcstudiotour.com.
basswood tables
No Kiln!
In November when I first had trouble with my kiln I was not overly worried. Regular maintenance is required for any piece of equipment and to be expected. After replacing the elements, the thermocouples, and the relays, I was starting to get worried. There really isn’t much else to replace!
December came and went….January arrived and it was time to call in an electrician. Maybe it’s not the kiln but a problem with the connection. No such luck. Now at the end of February I am starting to get worried. Fenelon Falls Station Gallery opens in May. How will I ever get my pieces ready by then?
Being without a kiln doesn’t mean I have been idle. In fact, the ‘silver lining’ is that I have been able to just throw and hand-build. Normally, because of my small space, I produce for a couple of weeks then stop making and start the firing process. First the bisque firing and then days of glazing and then glaze firing, before I can get back to making again. Without a kiln there has been no break for firing. I have so many amazing pieces in my studio…well all over the house now…just waiting for firing. Hopefully I will have my kiln fixed soon (still no idea of why it is not working) and will start glazing….
End of March – Hurray! A working Kiln. I have been glazing and firing for days and have now a number of completed pieces. What a relief.
paper being prepared
Labels are a necessary thing. Most items we buy come with some sort of a label, and art is no exception. Of course the price of the art is important, and that is often the first thing people look for when they look at the label. But in addition to the price, artists are often asked to include other information on their labels. Sometimes this can be confusing for the potential buyer. Other information usually refers to things such as; the artist’s name, an assigned code using artist initials, an inventory number, a title, dimensions, and materials or medium used to create each piece. Of course all that information needs to be presented in a neat, easily readable manner.
Ya right. No problem. The most common issue is distinguishing between the price and the inventory number, even though one starts with a $ symbol while the other starts with a # symbol.
Removable stickers are very helpful and allow for changes to codes and inventory numbers as art is shown at different venues.
The very first time I did a show, all my baskets had open faced labels with individualized information printed on each label. I was very proud of all the work I had accomplished, including
each label tied to each basket. During that day it rained, only very briefly, but long enough to get the labels wet. All the ink ran and the print became unreadable. I was so disappointed. I knew I had to replace all my labels with something that would provide some resistance to rain.
the cutting process
So back to the drawing board….What if I made folded covers for my labels out of fake parchment paper? The parchment paper would keep the information on the inside dry, and it could withstand a bit of rain without being ruined. Inside the folded covers, I could attach my business card, and include another folded paper insert that had all the information that is usually requested. Finally, each label could attached to the art using recycled telephone wire. So that’s what I did and it works!
When I make the parchment paper, I like to include dried silver dollars and the seeds from the silver dollar plant. I make the paper in the summer when it is warm enough to work on large tables in the garage. I use a lot of white glue in the process, and summer temperatures allow it to dry in a few days. After the glue has dried, the parchment paper needs another warm day to soften it before cutting it into size and then folding it in half. I use a large paper cutter to cut the parchment paper and paper inserts.
It takes me a lot of time to create the labels for my art, but some people tell me that they like the label so much, and they want to keep the information it contains, so they leave the label attached to their basket. That makes all the work worthwhile for me!
Yes, labels are a lot of work but labels are a necessary thing.
finished product
Sandi McNeil is getting her rocks in a row to choose the perfect base for her wire trees. If you want to see what they look like with a tree wrapped around them, visit her page on our site at https://victoriacountystudiotour.com/sandi-mcneil/ She, Carol Nichol and Janet McDougall welcome you to their studio.
A few years back, I was asked if I would consider making flower Memory Vases. This family had recently lost both parents and the siblings all wanted something uplifting as a memory of their parents. The request was to make a flower vase for each sibling that had a glaze make from the ashes of their parents. I had never done this before but undertook the task and everyone was pleased with the results.
The Glaze colour chosen
A dear friend remembered these Memory Vases when her husband passed away. She asked if I could do the same for her; making vases for each member of her family. She felt that having a small vase with the glaze made from her husband’s ashes would be a wonderful way of having a gentle daily reminder of her husband, while to others who would see it on the shelf or table, it would be just a lovely flower vase.
My friend asked for small vases with lots of interesting texture. I set about making a wide variety of vases for her to choose from. I needed 20 so I made 26….this would allow me to have extras for initial glaze testing as well as providing the necessary “oops” factor so prevalent in pottery.
The project is nearing completion. The final glaze has been selected and I will be glazing the memory vases soon. I have been honored to do this for my friend and her late husband.
Janet McDougall is getting ready to glaze some wonderful new pieces…. and trying out some new glaze recipes. You’ll see the wonderful results at this year’s Victoria County Studio Tour.
This past winter I had a most unfortunate experience while dog-sledding. While on a rest break, my dogs reacted to a red squirrel and before I could find my brake, I found a small tree. After a very brief, violent encounter with the tree, both my hands and wrists were mangled, bruised and bleeding. After a visit to Minden Hospital, I came home with ten stitches across the back of my left hand. My right hand escaped stitches but was cut and bruised. I looked like I had Frankenstein hands! This was not good. I need my hands for basket weaving!
Sandi with Dogwood
I cut and gather and process natural materials all year round so that I can leisurely weave baskets as the snow flies and the wood stove burns. Now I wasn’t able to use my hands, so there was no basket weaving happening for a month and a half! Not to mention, no more dog sledding or cross country skiing.
Once I could use my hands again, the pressure was on to race against Mother Nature. I use fresh dogwood and willow, and the warming spring temperatures were quickly closing my window of time before pussy willows and leaves would start to emerge.
Forget about the leisurely weaving! Now I was weaving baskets as quickly as I could, all day long, and Mother Nature was cooperating, keeping the temperatures cool enough that my dogwood and willow were not drying out. As long as I had fresh materials, I could continue weaving. The last few baskets I made actually had willow that was trying to sprout their flowers.
Dog Sled Team
The baskets I make in the winter represents my stock for the rest of the year so I was happy that my season was extended with a cold wintery spring! My right hand has fully recovered and my left hand bears the scar of impact and I will probably always have a wonky ring finger. But I can still weave baskets. Of course I’m not very fond of red squirrels anymore and I will be wiser when I resume dog-sledding next winter.
A few years ago I travelled to Italy to take a pottery course. A few of us have stayed in touch and decided to travel to Portugal, see the sights and take in a couple of pottery workshops. It is a wonderful way to experience a country and get to know “the locals”. After a couple of days of sightseeing fun in Lisbon, we travelled to a wonderful small town on the coast called Estoril.
Our workshop was with Helena Brizido, an internationally known and very talented potter who is currently focusing on alternate firing methods as she creates unique sculptural pieces. Three days working with Helena has inspired me to revisit alternate firings for some of my work. Helena introduced us to some new twists to some well-known alternate firing methods such as raku, naked raku, and barrel-firing.
I am excited to get set up to work with all of these firing methods again but I am especially looking forward to exploring the ‘new to me’ India Smoke. It will require some work to set up and some new equipment but I am up for the challenge!
