Greetings one and all, and welcome to my (hopefully) weekly update emails about my time in Kansas. For those of you who do not know, just over a week ago I arrived in Harper, Kansas.
I started my two day drive on July 4th and sailed into town in the afternoon of the 5th. It took me 13+ hours with stops for gas, food, and three rounds of disc golf.
The reason I’m in Harper, Kansas is to be an artist in residence at Gallery Mostaza with Isaac and Karina Shue. 20 hours a week I work as a studio assistant. Each morning I arrive at 8am to the studio and get busy.
Tasks include: painting the stems of ceramic pumpkins, waxing the bottoms of said pumpkins, and glazing, again, said pumpkins. Why so many pumpkins? Well, the main reason the Shues needed my help was to prepare for their fall-fest event they call “The Pumpkin Patch.” Each September Gallery Mostaza hosts an outdoor event featuring music, food, and of course, loads of ceramic pumpkins.
Once I’ve completed my studio task and the clock strikes noon, it’s lunch time and then on to my favorite part of the day; studio time.
My time at Gallery Mostaza is a work exchange. I work for the gallery, and in exchange I receive housing, a monthly stipend, and full access to the ceramic studio. In my my studio time so far, I’ve been experimenting and trying to create without inflicting harsh self-judgement. I’ve been having fun with sculpting both face mugs and small character busts, both seen below.
Above are just two of a whole family of face mugs and pitchers I’m working on. Still workshopping names for these two, but right now I’m thinking Winston and Herb.
Another funny pair. Name suggestions from Instagram range from “Bernard & Dale” to Art (short for Arthur) and Fart (short for Farthur).
I’ve been getting to know the Shues and other locals in the area through visitors in the gallery and the local Mennonite church. It’s been a blast. I’m extremely thankful for this experience and I can feel already that I’ll look back on it fondly.
Welp, it’s late as I’m typing this, so I’ll bid you all adieu and good morrow! Thanks for following along and reading this far. Cheers to updates through September!
-Nathan (Potter Pauls)
potterpauls 