News/Upcoming Events
April 2024
I loved every minute of exhibiting my vases in Paris with 1000 Vases last September! I felt honored to have my work included in such a beautiful collection, and meeting the other artists (57 artists from 25 countries) was both special and inspiring. Since then, I've worked again primarily in porcelain and am especially excited to be making 100+ porcelain vases for my daughter Grace's wedding! I continue to sell my work by private sale, so please contact me if you'd like to schedule a studio visit, either in person or virtually. Naturally I'd love to have another backyard sale, so I hope things might fall into place early this fall.
September 7-10, 2023—1000 Vases Exhibit in Paris
I am honored and thrilled that two of my vases have been accepted to the "1000 Vases" Paris exhibit (actually 82 vases by 57 artists from 25 countries) during Paris Design Week. One pit-fired vase and one horsehair raku vase--titled together "Serenity, Motion & Joy''--will be shown at Galerie Joseph in the Marais September 7-10. 1000 Vases is on Instagram @1000vases.
August 2023
My mom died suddenly last December, so the year started very slowly for me in the studio. But I joined a pit firing this spring, and I took two wonderful week-long workshops this summer--a soda firing workshop with Matt Long in Berkeley, and a glazing workshop with Ruth Easterbrook in Idyllwild. I'm happy to be spending lots of time in my garage studio again, and I continue to focus on porcelain. I still love raku firings too.
November 2022
Thank you very much to everyone who so generously supported my October Instagram raffle of four pieces (three vases and a bowl) to raise $3150 for the National Network of Abortion Funds, Protect Democracy, The Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, and Earthjustice.
October 2022
Where has this year gone? I’ve had lots of nice studio time this year, and I attended another terrific alternative firings workshop with Randy Brodnax and Don Ellis this summer. I finally had lots of electrical work done in my garage studio to support an electric kiln, so I’m thrilled to finally have my own kiln! I have a lot of fun experimentation ahead as I transition my work to electric firings. I continue to raffle and sell my work on Instagram @annwagenhals to support good causes; in March, I raffled a porcelain vase to raise $4085 for humanitarian relief in Ukraine. Moving forward, I plan to use my work as often as I can to support the National Network of Abortion Funds. I hope maybe to have another sale next spring. In the meantime, please contact me if you’d like to arrange a studio visit.
December 2021
I'm spending lots of time in my studio and am starting to build inventory for a sale--I hope we can do another one in person again soon. Until then, please contact me if you're interested in a studio visit, either in person or by FaceTime. I look forward to many happy hours in my studio in 2022--I plan to continue working primarily in porcelain, and I'm especially excited to begin adding more color to my porcelain pieces (you can see the tulips that inspired this on Instagram @annwagenhals). Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to all!
September 2021
I'm back in my studio after attending an alternative firing workshop in Lake Tahoe and a porcelain workshop with Martha Grover at her studio in Maine. I'm also firing again in my community studio, so I'm finishing the many pots I threw during Shelter-in-Place and am filling orders as fast as I can. I'm also finding plenty of time just to play with clay!
June 2021
In March, I raffled a red vase on Instagram and raised $3500+ for organizations working to combat the horrifying racism directed against Asian Americans. I continued to throw pieces in my home studio throughout the pandemic and am finally firing again in my community studio. It's great to be back! I also plan to attend an alternative firing workshop at Sierra Nevada University this month, taught by Randy Brodnax and Don Ellis. It will be wonderful to be in the mountains doing ceramics and meeting new people!
February 2021. Pots for Progress on Instagram @annwagenhals raised $6300+ for excellent causes and candidates (with a few orders yet to fill). Thank you to everyone who helped! I'm delighted that together we did some good and that more of my work is in people's homes to be used and enjoyed and to become part of their lives. I am back in the studio, although the pandemic continues to slow my completion rate. In a burst of optimism, I registered for a weeklong August porcelain workshop to be taught by Martha Grover in Maine; I very much hope to be able to attend. I look forward to hosting another backyard sale, and I imagine I'll start an online store. In the meantime, please do reach out if you'd like to see more of my work.
August 2020. Pots for Progress Benefit Sale is back--on Instagram! From now through the election, I will post pots for sale on Instagram and will donate 100% of my proceeds to specified organizations and candidates. Please follow me on Instagram @annwagenhals.
June 2020. This has been a devastating year for our country. And my work had already slowed down last fall when my dad died, and I suddenly needed to take care of my mom. But massive change is needed now more than ever at every level, and I continue to work in different ways to make that happen. As an artist, I sell my pieces as often as I can to benefit causes that I support. While another backyard sale continues to be a goal (I don't yet have a kiln, and social distancing presents challenges), I'm making alternate plans for a benefit sale. Please stay tuned.
While sheltering in place, I have worked primarily in porcelain, and have applied slip (liquid clay that looks and feels like runny frosting--so fun!) to many of my pieces. I have felt extremely lucky to have Jem Hank, my fourteen-year-old golden retriever, still by my side.
I had planned to study the use of porcelain and slips to create transitional color with ceramic artist Michael Sherrill at Penland in North Carolina for 12 days this summer. The workshop, of course, has been canceled because of COVID. I hope to attend Penland another time.
I hope you all stay safe and healthy.
Two vases accepted to the "1000 Vases" Paris exhibit (actually 82 vases by 57 artists from 25 countries) during Paris Design Week. One pit-fired vase and one horsehair raku vase--titled together "Serenity, Motion & Joy''--shown at Galerie Joseph in the Marais September 7-10 2023. 1000 Vases is on Instagram @1000vases.
Week-long workshop, Ruth Easterbrook, Idyllwild Arts Academy, Idyllwild, CA, “Mapping Glazes,” June 2023
Week-long Alternative Firings Workshop, Randy Brodnax and Don Ellis, University of Nevada, Reno at Lake Tahoe, July 2022
Week-long Porcelain Workshop, Martha Grover, Bethel, Maine, July 2021
Week-long Alternative Firings Workshop, Randy Brodnax and Don Ellis, Sierra Nevada University, June 2021
Week-long workshop, Steven Hill, Idyllwild Arts Academy, Idyllwild, CA, “Throwing Relaxed, Gestural Forms,” June 2019
Pots for Progress Sale, Palo Alto, CA, October 2018. Sold $7500+ of my ceramics and donated all proceeds to the ACLU, Planned Parenthood, the Southern Poverty Law Center, Swing Left, the Surfrider Foundation, and the Wingman Foundation.
The Village Hub, Woodside, CA, December 2018. Exhibited and sold my ceramics at juried show.
Member, Association of Clay and Glass Artists of California.