Renegade: Interview with kg + ab

The next few posts will be interviews from artists and crafters that I met at Renegade.

Name:
Katherine Grandey and Andy Byers of kg + ab

Website:
kgrandey.etsy.com

Describe your art:
It’s porcelain from vintage molds. Porcelain figurines and decal dinnerware.

What is your favorite item that you’re selling at Renegade SF:
I think the dinosaur nerds plate is my favorite.

Name artists that are also here today that you admire:
I love Loyalty & Blood, I also like Ryan Berkeley who does prints and our friend Jocelyn of Nous Savons who is from San Francisco.

Where are you based:
We’re from Brooklyn

I was instantly captured by kg + ab's booth when I walked by it the first time. Being the porcelain lover that I am, of course I had to stop and look around. My husband and I actually stopped by there a few times throughout the day. You know what the crazy thing is? We both bought this Porcelain Chihuahua head from them separately as a surprise to each other. So now we have 2!

ceramics class report + finished products

I took a ceramics wheel class in April and May at Ruby's Clay studio in Noe Valley in San Francisco. I'm trying out several creative outputs and since I never took any arts and crafts class in school (besides embroidery), I figure now's the time.



At the beginning of the class, I was being hard on myself. I couldn't figure out how to center on the wheel and could not remember the steps to make a bowl. I started talking to my classmate who have taken several ceramics classes before. She said that I shouldn't get frustrated, that I was doing well and that it's important to practice a lot. This made me feel a bit better. I started coming into the studio during drop in hours to practice.

I placed a tea cup beside it for size comparison.

I put too much glaze on this one so it ran.

Unfortunately, my instructor was not particularly instructive. I learned mostly by asking her questions (sometimes she was helpful, sometimes not), talking to my classmates, watching videos on you tube and practicing on my own time.

My husband says this one is his favorite, because it was one of a kind. This was supposed to be a taller cylinder but I had to cut the top off because it became too wobbly.

In the end, I enjoyed ceramics and have decided to take another class later in the year. I think this is something I can grow to love and enjoy over time.