Day 5: Phoenix

Day 5: Phoenix

Department of Clarification: Our hotel is in Tempe, not Phoenix. We are driving all over the Valley of the Sun,  in and out of the various subsumed cities like Scottsdale.

Department of Amplification: One of the faithful followers provided the following: birds on the utility box are a Northern Cardinal (male, and Pyrrhuloxia (female) and Canyon Wren (unisex) 

Up early for breakfast (yogurt parfait and English muffin for THB) and another jaunt up the mountain, accompanied by our co-leader, D. 

On the way back, a stop at Starbucks: it is so crowded (and out of NYTs) that THB leaves the other two and departs to the hotel to get ready for the day (i.e., finish posting).

First up today is a visit to a private collection, this one emphasizing works in glass. Several overlaps with THB and DB's collection, and a couple of terrific pieces not in glass (Viola Frey figure is especially good).

Reekie

Hank Murta Adams

Viola and Leslie (she'll be leading us around in KC NCECA next month)

Zuber

Turn around and make it back to The Museum of the West in Scottsdale; it's been open around a year (after many years struggling to get financing). To THB it is a) full of pretty awful art and b) glorifying an Anglo version of the history of the west: conquering and tormenting the natives for the benefits of whites moving westward. 

From there we regroup on the bus and motor on to the house and studio of an ASU professor, Sam Chung. A very nice lunch in the backyard (salads, sandwiches, even wine, and cookies), followed by Sam giving an overview of his work and his unique way of approaching ceramics.

"bottles"

Back on the bus and motoring again across town to visit Mission Clay (a repeat visit for THB and DB, we can't quite figure out when we were here the first time...2006? 2009?), where they make industrial clay sewer pipes and promote artists to come and make work there using the pipes. It's a unique program, and we get to try our hand at decorating small pieces of pipe (sorry, no firing so we don't get a finished product...that takes weeks!). 

Jun Kaneko

Kiln

John the plant manager

John the artist/instigator of the program

The artist with one of his more impressive works

We're running a bit ahead of schedule so we take a brief stop at the Lisa Sette Gallery. She's got a pretty good show up and it was nice to fit a visit in.

For the last visit of the day, it's dinner and a studio visit with Susan Beiner, another ceramicist who isn't afraid to fill a wall. Dinner is catered: roast beef sliders, veggies, fish sticks in lettuce wraps, various small cookies for dessert. The big disappointment: for the second night in a row, now alcohol. Tonight the alcohol is locked up at the CRC (ASU Ceramics Research Center: the students and staff are gonna have one hell of a party after our tour leaves town).

Susan has an usual bathroom: the toilet and sink are from a residency at Kohler (we've visited them too, a fascinating stop!). 

Back to the hotel, exhausted. You have to be in shape for these tours....

And, a bonus video (these rarely load and play) of extruding pipe: