france – Rae Dunn - Fine Handmade Pottery

Friday, July 13, 2012

the heavy show.

i’m setting up my show today for this weekend’s ACGA festival in palo alto. i’m bringing a herd of these vessels that i made in france + a few teapots. mind you, it was no small feat getting these home from france. i knew my suitcase would be “over weight,” but when i hoisted it on the scale, the ticket agent was mortified. “NO NO NO, THIS IS NOT POSSIBLE” she kept saying over and over. i had to open my suitcase right there and then to lighten it’s load (embarrassing, yes). i ended up having to hand carry 15 lbs of ceramics on the plane and was still charged $75 for an overweight bag.

the only other thing in my suitcase, aside from my tiny pile of clothes, was 8 jars of caviar. i even left 2 pairs of shoes in france and shipped a box of books, heavy leather bag, and coat home. it’s times like these that i wish i was a jeweler and NOT a ceramic artist.

(p.s. the box that i shipped home made it there door to door in ONE WEEK. amazing. i think it must have been on the same flight that i was on !)

ceramics, france, palo alto show, rae dunn

Monday, July 02, 2012

picasso, picasso, picasso.

the musée picasso in antibes is my new favorite museum EVER. it has amazing art, it’s a beautiful building, and it sits right on the mediterranean sea with killer views out of all of the windows. basically, i’d love to live in this museum.

one of my favorite paintings.

it also has a large selection of his ceramics.

france, museé picasso antibes, picasso

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

m e r c i .

MERCI to jan, at poppytalk, for the great story she did on my residency in the south of france.

you can read the post HERE.

air vallauris, clay., france, rae dunn, residency

Sunday, June 10, 2012

say cheese.

i am in cheese heaven. i love french cheese . . . the stinkier, the better. we have come across AMAZINGLY delicious moldy cheeses that smell not unlike dirty socks (in a good way). it’s a good thing that i run to the sea every morning and swim, otherwise my new cheese gut would be twice as large.

cheese, france, rae dunn

Friday, June 08, 2012

friday field trip (from the sketchbook).

june 6, 2012
vallauris, france

i am trying my hand at acrylic painting and am still not quite sold. it is so antithetical to watercolor. the paint just sits there and doesn’t absorb into the canvas, i’m not used to that. i will be spending half of my residency here in france painting. there is so much to be inspired by.

france, macaroons, painting, rae dunn

Sunday, June 03, 2012

at peace.

i love vallauris at night. this is the view of the moon taken from my bedroom window.

there are no words to describe the peacefulness i feel here.

just me + my moon.

france, moon, rae dunn, vallauris

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

the dark side.

i have moved on to the dark clay here in france. this just might be my favorite clay EVER. it’s a spanish black clay and it is DELICIOUS. it’s the perfect consistency, like heavy wet sand, it is easy to hand build with, and so VERY forgiving. i am in heaven.

clay., dark clay, france, rae dunn

Monday, May 28, 2012

life’s a beach.

the mediterranean sea is a mere 2 miles away from my residency. i run there every morning and swim. it’s the most amazing way to start my day. and today i went there TWICE. my fellow residents and i took a mid day beach break. the beach in golfe-juan is full of sea glass, which i am a HUGE fan of. i believe that mediterranean sea glass is the most beautiful sea glass there is. and you can quote me on that.

france, mediterranean sea, rae dunn, sea glass

Monday, May 28, 2012

studio scene.

luckily, my studio tools are very minimal . . . my main tool is my left thumb !

clay., france, rae dunn, residency, studio, studio tools

Sunday, May 27, 2012

i am what i am.

i’ve started working in the studio, but for some reason i am off to a slow start (well, slower than last year). we went to the clay store the day we arrived. i decided to start with french porcelain and then move on to my FAVORITE spanish black clay. since my studio is small, working with white + black clay at the same time is near impossible. more studio updates soon . . .

clay., france, rae dunn, residency

Sunday, May 27, 2012

cannes.

this is me on the RED CARPET . . . we were lucky and got tickets to the cannes film festival (vallauris is just 10 minutes outside of cannes) ! we watched a FANTASTIC film called CAMILLE REDOUBLE. then we strolled around cannes, had an incredible meal, and even crashed a party ! life on the french riviera is pretty darn sweet.

cannes, cannes film festival, france, rae dunn, the red carpet

Saturday, May 26, 2012

vallauris.

i finally made it down to the south of france to start my residency, and it’s as if i had never left. the weather here is just perfect. it’s like coming home again . . . i grew up in fresno, california which has mediterranean climate and so it feels subliminally familiar to me. i am ready to get my hands dirty and to see what inspires me. this is where i will be living for the next 5 weeks . . . top floor.

france, rae dunn, residency, vallauris