2016 .... Here we come!

2015 ended on a great note....sales in the galleries were very good, and I came up with a few new 'bird' designs. First I incorporated them into affordable, small bowls, and then into larger pieces. Most have no real resemblance to specific species, but all seem to evolve with a lot of personality.
Also sold, at the Signature Gallery in Savannah, was the largest piece I have made... The Zen Goat. (about 3x the normal size)

But 2016 promises to be interesting. First of all, the Etsy shop set up in late Nov. is doing well. You can go to that site and see between 35-40 pieces.(just go to etsy.com and plug in my name in a shop      or person search). The largest selection I have anywhere. I am now shipping directly from the studio

And I have come up with new shapes and sizes for the new year. Will post as soon as I have finished sculptures.
Last of all, the multi-pic photo, below, is an interesting compilation that came from Instagram, and shows the pics on my page that were the most popular in 2015.
So looking forward to the challenges of the coming year....and wishing everyone a healthy/happy year ahead!

'Tis the Season.....

OK....things are hopping now that the holidays are upon us. I have been busy trying to put new pieces in all the galleries, and even planning for 2016! 

In addition, I have opened the online ETSY shop, and have had a great response. (check it out at etsy.com/shop/tobywolter ) If you aren't familiar with ETSY, it is the premier hand-crafted goods market place on the internet with over 1,000,000 shops.( You can find my space under towo17 or via my name if you do a shop or person search)
 There is an incredible amount of info to digest, but think I am off to a good start. :-)

First of all...the new work.  I have become intrigued with making small animal bowls. Specifically, 'Bird Bowls'. They include a hen, parrot, hawk, plus a couple of no-name birdies that seem to come out of nowhere!

 They are simple, hand-built bowls with attached heads, glazed and fired to 2,100 degrees.
It takes me about half the time to make them, so they are only half as expensive as the other 'Spirits in a Bottle'.

And a new fave piece, which I am using for the bowls as well as the traditional spirit/bottles is a messenger hawk.

 They have a lot of serious personality, and along with all the others, look like they could have been made a few hundred years ago!

So in addition to the output, there is a lot of activity with numerous holiday events. Tryon, NC has a Small Business Saturday coming up this Sat. (11/28) And Thompson's Gallery has a great display of my work....
The Christopher Park Gallery (Greenville, SC) has an open house on the following Saturday( I will be one of 3 artists in attendance),
 and La Petite Gallerie (Blufton, SC) is having a Christmas opening this weekend as well.
Drop into any of them if you are in the 'hood!

And last of all, the Tryon Arts & Crafts School had the opening party in the gallery, two days ago....big attendance, and a truly festive setup. Thx TAC!

my pieces in the gallery/shop

So that brings you up to date....will try to post pics of all events and new work.

Hope you are all ready for the holidays!

ETSY link:  http://etsy.com/shop/tobywolter 

Good news!

For a year I have been trying to find the time to set up shop on Etsy. Every time I would build an inventory I needed to send it off to one gallery or another. But I decided, recently, that it was an important advancement for my studio...so I buckled down and got it together! Please visit and let me know what you think....and constructive criticism is welcome.;-)

 here's the link:

http://etsy.com/shop/tobywolter

and don't forget that I am on Instagram, all the time!   http://instagram.com/towo17/

FALL UPDATE:

Sooo sorry........it has been awhile.  But summer is always slow, and I had very little to report. Kept busy sculpting and supplying the galleries, but no exciting news to share! :-)
 
But fall has arrived, and events have picked up, so here is my update:
Things kicked off with the Trayon Arts & Crafts School's current exhibit of '100 Years of Tryon's Arts & Crafts' show. My contribution is '2016...here it comes!'

This was followed by the annual 'Art Trek'.......the opening of 24 artists' studios in the 4 neighboring communities. Turn out for the opening night reception was terrific...the weekend traffic...not as good.
But it was a great motivator for me....I moved the studio to the space next door, which gave me 3x the space and allowed me to finally be able to find everything!

And then, the following weekend, I was fortunate enough to have the North Carolina Folk Art Society pay a visit on their quarterly meeting trip which, this year, was in Tryon. So just before the group had lunch next door, 25 people filled my studio where I gave a brief synopsis of my work and my journey through the art world. ( My first pottery purchase was in 1969!...a large piece by Texas artist Ishmael Soto)

So, all in all, things went from laid back/slow, to hectic!
Thanks for visiting...next entry will show a few new pieces I am working on.

On Marketing.....

I have been fortunate, in the last few years, to build a small network of galleries that sell my sculptures. Two in Tryon, one in Greenville, SC, one in Blufton, SC and the anchor in Savannah, Ga. Along the way I decided that I didn't enjoy tent/festival shows.....(a lot of planning, packing, breakage, and uncertain weather.) but because my production isn't large the galleries absorb all that I am currently producing.
However, I am also learning that along with current gallery expansion comes the learning curve on marketing. And my new fave outlet is Instagram. In the last month I have endeavored to build a home page which clearly & concisely shows current work while slowly building a following from around the world. Unlike Facebook, where I mainly connect with friends, and don't like over dosing them with clay sculptures, Instagram allows anyone who likes your work to follow when they choose.
So if you like Instagram please check out my page under 'Toby Wolter' or 'towo17'.
And as a direct connection, I am back working on an Etsy online store.....and will post when it is up and running.
Thx for checking in!

On Instagram:

And a little more collecting.......

I was on a mission, this weekend, to add to the collection. So I headed to Greenville on Friday, and came home with............a birdhouse! Nothing in the ceramics arena aroused my interest.

So I didn't give up.  Today I headed to Black Mountain, NC for the Black Mountain Art Fair.. There I found Tennessee  artist Tom Frain who makes beautiful functional pieces at very affordable prices. The small bowl, below, is his. And the pieces are so well made. Plus, the glazes are wonderful!

The small mug, on the left, is by Asheville artist Melissa Weiss who digs her own clay in Arkansas and creates such beautiful, organic pieces back in Asheville. I found her work at a super design emporium by the name of Screen Door.

So, I am happy to say, the weekend was a success! ( and I won't get in to last night's Equestrian Ctr. Grand Prix....a totally different story!  :-)

Thanks for checking in....Next time I promise to get back on track and let you know what I am doing with my own clay work....

On Collecting.....

Although I have only been sculpting for 3 years, I have been interested in, and collecting pottery for decades.  It all began in 1969 when I attended a gallery show in San Antonio, Tx. where a potter by the name of Ishmael Soto, who taught at the Univ.of Tx., I believe, was having a one-man show.  I purchased a great piece which I have lovingly lugged around the country for the last 46 years!

In the same year, a trip to Europe and N. Africa with my brother resulted in another great find.  This piece has never been cleaned, and I admire the primitive colors and texture.  Purchased in a small Tunisian shop, it is probably hundreds of years old, and this one, too, remains one of my faves.

But to show a little diversity, I have a couple of Asian/Asian inspired pieces.  The small Chinese bowl is 18^th or 19^th c. Batavia export ware that was popular with Westerners during that period, and exported in large quantities to Europe. (espec. Holland)  I like this piece for its simplicity and perfect execution.

The rice bowl alongside is by an Indiana artist …Larry Spears…who showed, recently, at the Greenville Artisphere. This one appealed because of the clever chopstick holder and beautiful shape.

And lastly I want to show you several  pieces purchase in the last few years, here, in the Carolinas. If you like pottery (or any craft, for that matter) it is hard not to become absorbed with this area.  I could, literally, buy something to add to the collection every day, but have decided that the anticipation is the best part of the hunt!  So I bide my time………guess what?   This weekend is a great one for shows and sales, so here I go again!

 (from the left: cup from Alberta Pottery in Greenville, SC...19th c. Carolina redware....and jar, cup, bowl by Mariana Menge, Akira Satake, and Cat Jarosz...all Asheville, NC potters)

My advice on collecting:  When I buy I usually just follow my instincts which lean to the organic and primitive. Shape and color are important….size isn’t.  I encourage anyone to just jump in and start collecting ….anything. You can even start with thrift shops until you decide what it is you like, and refine your search a little.  And there are great Facebook groups which can help you to identify just about anything! Happy hunting!