el(ain)e d.

Nearly 28 years ago, we immigrated to join our dad in Virginia, but the first time I stepped foot on US soil was at DTW. Since immigrating, DTW was always either our first or last touchpoint before making our way over the Pacific to visit the Philippines or coming back to the US. I always wanted to visit and see Detroit, but I never imagined it’d be for ceramics. I’m so glad it was because there was something so healing about this trip from being the first time I got on a plane since Covid shut everything down in 2020, connecting with so many Fil-Am and Asian diaspora ceramicists, stepping foot into a Catholic Church turned gallery space, and eating so much cultural foods made with love. This trip was for that little duckling who always wondered if she could ever belong. Ahh! Some highlights! It was so hard to choose the photos for this post. 1. 2002 me standing in front of the fountain at McNamara Terminal waiting for our flight! It was my first time going back to the Philippines since immigrating. 2. From ACNH to real life, finally got to meet @_beckyla in person 🥹🥹 3. Ducks always manage to find a body of water (Hawk Island in Lansing, MI) 4. From IG DMs to real life! Got to experience NCECA with @debbiecarlos and @samaaj_ ! 5. Filipino Potters: Community within the Diaspora with @filipinopotters @tipbulante @adrenieline @sa.lapok.ceramics | such an emotional, beautiful, and absolutely healing experience 6. Ran into @tipbulante and @mola_mola_studios at the @potstickerspopup ! 7. Will now forever me thinking about @warda.patisserie ’s quiche and cardamom rose latte 🤤 and bless @debbiecarlos for being my IG boyfriend 🤣 8. Outdoor art sculptures in Little Village 9. In awe of @theshepherddetroit ’s architecture and how a former Catholic Church is now a gallery space 10. Experienced healing in a former confessional booth 11. @ceramics_x_fiber : Sconces from Kate Tremel & Barbara Bushey’s collaboration. Was obsessed with how the sconces showed both shadow and light in such a mesmerizing way. 12: @ceramics_x_fiber : Anna Gukov & Nikka Wolfenbarger’s That’s Close Enough (More in captions) #nceca #detroit #puremichigan #ncecadetroit

2 years ago, we drove out to a cabin in Shenandoah the day after I came home from my first NCECA conference in Richmond, VA. While we were trying to watch the sunset, Daniel proposed. And now, two years since that day, I’m wrapping up my time at NCECA Detroit with my heart (and stomach) full and excited to come home to my spouse—not sure if I’ll ever get used to the title change 🤣 The week after we got married was hectic with me leaving for Michigan, so I’m looking forward to coming home and getting to enjoy this new chapter of our lives 🥹 I’m thankful for him for holding the fort down while I’ve been gallivanting around Michigan. And a massive thanks to @jenicky18 for being our best human, helping us stay sane as we made our preparations, planning an incredible trip to Asheville, and capturing these memories for us. @j_erguiza323 & her mom for helping us navigate the courthouse and making sure we had what we needed. And @hkayvcruz for making my hair dreams come true 🥹 #mawwiage

Apparently the sparkle emoji (✨) is now being associated with AI because AI companies are trying to sell you on the idea that AI is magical when it’s really not. All it’s doing is harming our clean drinking water, mining our data for their profit, killing our critical thinking skills, producing slop, and so much more. But one thing AI will never be able to do is what actual humans do creatively. So swipe through the carousel if you want to actually see something ✨ magical ✨ that I accomplished with my time, learned skills, and my brain’s ever abundant creative capacity. The translucency of these pieces is absolutely unreal, and I’m looking forward to further combining my knitting and ceramics abilities together. #ceramics #knitting #knitporcelain #porcelain #pottery

I learned how to knit sometime between Fall 2011 and Spring 2012 after watching @j_erguiza323 knit a blanket at the Webb Center in between classes. I immediately fell in love with knitting after buying myself a kit and watching countless YouTube videos. I mostly made scarves, hats, and blankets with easy/beginner patterns. At some point I became fascinated with lace knitting, but I burned out towards the end of 2020 and ended up taking a 5 year hiatus. And even before my hiatus ended, I didn’t think I’d knit anymore until I kept seeing videos of other folks showing off their knits and @michellelikesbirds on Jeopardy with her knits. My hands were itching for an activity after burning out from making 80+ porcelain Christmas ornaments (that are all still sitting in a container waiting to be glazed). So I found my needles and pulled out some yarn and made a Sophie Hood, and I was reminded of how much I used to love knitting. And in the last month and some change since picking up my needles again, I’ve finished two projects and cast on several more. Prior to my hiatus, I only ever considered myself a beginner knitter. But since restarting, I’m realizing I can call myself an intermediate knitter. I’m able to fix stitches and read my knitting, I’ve learned so many more techniques, I know the theory behind the modifications I make to patterns, and I’m able to knit things without a pattern. And I think I can credit ceramics for how much my knitting skills have grown in the last month. Although knitting and ceramics are two different mediums, both are so tactile and have centuries of history. My goal by the end of the year is to finally make a sweater for myself, but I’m also excited to further combine these two crafts/art mediums. #knitting #knittersgonnaknit #knit #knitknitknit #knitter

Art and things in Asheville, NC that either took my breath away, had me itching to touch clay, made me laugh/giggle because whimsy, and/or brought up so much emotion in me that I wanted to melt into a puddle and cry. 1. Cat portrait inside intricate frame inside @biscuitheadavl ’s bathroom. 2. @wesleyclarkart ’s “My Big Black America” (2015), made of salvaged wood, stain, spray paint, and latex inside the @ashevilleartmuseum lobby. 3. Next two slides include pieces from the Asheville Art Museum’s Highwater exhibit. Highwater is a clay company, their WNC facility was greatly affected by Hurricane Helene and its owners made the difficult decision not to rebuild. Pieces within the exhibit were found and rescued from the riverside location. 4. Jane Peiser’s “Vase” (circa 1990s), made with custom-blended porcelain by Highwater Clays using an adaptation of the millefiori glassmaking technique on ceramic at the Asheville Art Museum’s Highwater exhibit. 5. Eugene’s (Rosa May and Winton Eugene) “Miss Lillie Teapot” (2002) made using Laguna B-Mix and Celadon glaze. Used a coil-built technique and Chinese relief carving technique. Asheville Art Museum’s Highwater exhibit. 6. Lore Kadden Lindenfield’s “Judith Jamison” (circa 1974-1980), made from plastic raffia and warp fiber. Asheville Art Museum. 7. A tea kettle set at @dobrateanc . 8. @viviansaich ’s porcelain vessels at @odysseyclayworks during RADfest (River Arts District Festival) 9. Carlisle (and @mogrizzles ’s artist bio) at @clayspaceasheville . 10. All of @amymasseystudio ’s ethereal watercolor paintings in Asheville’s River Arts District, RADfest. 11. @hal_brindley ’s animal illustrations, specially “Tyrannasaurus digging a hole” at RADfest. 12. @chaipani ’s ceiling full of marigold garlands. #radfest #riverartsdistrict #asheville #avl #art #ceramics #painting #watercolor #pottery #ashevillenc

@eldzmn made beautiful ceramics and the proceeds go towards bail funds, NGO’s in the Philippines, and more. I got a matcha cup from her which has made me VERY SERIOUS about my matcha technique haha. Check out @eldzmn ’s page for more - there is also a selection available at Bayside Area Library available until Oct ends!!! 🇵🇭💚🇵🇭💚🇵🇭💚

Happy Filipinx-American History Month! Head to Bayside Area Library this month to see my ceramics on display! A majority of pieces are available for purchase, and all proceeds are being donated to NGOs in the Philippines! A bit in my feels with this being my first exhibition, and for it to be at a library makes my book-loving heart happy. So many of these pieces are so special to me, and I can’t wait for them to go to their new homes. And a massive thanks to Bayside Area Library and Kris Eldred (@saberdog__ ) for having me 🥹 #pottery #ceramics #virginiabeach #fahm #filipinoamericanhistorymonth #filamhistorymonth #potter #ceramicist #ceramicart

Finished pieces from the last couple weeks! There were unplanned glaze drips and other funky glaze behavior, but trying to take things in stride because you never know what could end up happening in the kiln. 1. Group photo of the batch 2-4. Mofusand Napa Cabbage cats based on @debbiecarlos ’s two cats, Kino and Monty 5-7. Radish spirit! One of my favorite characters from Spirited Away. 8-10. Mofusand fruit cars for @smthornton20 . 11-12. Surfing snoopy for @nerissamonton ’s birthday on Friday! 13-16. A variety of Mofusand cats for @jenicky18 . 17-19. Howl from Howl’s Moving Castle for me! 20. A Sailor Moon cup for @_beckyla Can’t wait to get these completed pieces into the hands of my friends! Really pleased with how vibrant @kiwi.underglaze is after glaze firing! Ran into some patchiness issues, but I think it’s because I have a tendency to water down my underglazes so they’re a bit easier to work with. I’ll be working through these issues with the next batch of cups. #underglazepainting #underglaze #kiwiunderglaze #pottery #ceramics #ceramicsofinstagram #potteryofinstagram #studioghibli #howlsmovingcastle #mofusand #mayco #potterystudio #ceramicsart

The last month has been spent with a lot of clay and a lot of underglaze. Thank you to my friends and pottery friends for giving me ideas for these cups, and I’ll get them into y’all’s hands after they’re fired and done! But for now, give are currently in a bisque fire and one’s waiting for its bottom to be sanded. I’ll be working on a few more cups in the next couple weeks, and I’m definitely enjoying my @kiwi.underglaze underglazes! I’ve also been testing out Amaco’s SMUG in black for the line work. I think the time I spent playing with watercolors during the spring, has helped me improve on my underglaze painting skills. I’m really looking forward to how my technique and skill grows. #pottery #potterylife #potteryart #ceramicsofinstagram #potteryofinstagram #ceramics #underglazepainting #underglaze #kiwiunderglaze #studioghibli #spiritedaway #howlsmovingcastle #snoopy #mofusand

A couple months ago, @ambrpierce asked me to make a Ponyo cup for @matthewstevenpierce . Ponyo is one of their favorite films from Studio Ghibli, with an emphasis on the Chicken Ponyo still from the film. What Amber didn’t know was that I wanted to make them two cups to enjoy together. Happy anniversary yall! ☺️ After nearly a year of not making any illustrated cups, it felt so good to tackle it all again. I love how they came out. The underglaze came out so vibrant (major props to @kiwi.underglaze for having such spectacular underglazes) and the glaze combo reminds me of the ocean. Clay body: Laguna Frost Underglazes: @kiwi.underglaze Glaze combo: Mayco Celadon Bloom 3x under Mayco Sea Salt 2x #studioghibli #ponyo #ceramics #ceramicsofinstagram #ceramicsart #pottery #potter

I’ve picked up watercolors again. Sometime before I started ceramics, I donated a lot of my art supplies. Thinking that painting and I were no longer getting along, and it was time to move on from an interest I’d loved since I was 18. Thankfully, I’d kept a few things supplies like some paper and a few brushes. I’ve been relearning concepts. Making notes in my notebook as if I’m back in that IB Studio Art class from high school and taking notes on artists and pieces I’d like to reference in the future. I’m trying to get a better understanding of color theory. It’s been a lot of fun meditating on colors and doodling. I’m thankful for ceramics. It’s allowed me to get away from the perfectionism that I used to hold onto. And it’s been interesting to see how the shapes I’ve been carving into clay have also appeared in these doodles. #watercolor #doodle #art #artist

Luminaries are magical. Honestly blown away by how this came out. Results are a little exaggerated because there’s a clip-on running light inside, so it’s giving off a lot of light. But with a battery-operated tea-light, it gives a nice glow. This one also doubles as an incense burner hence the three holes you see as it spins. Clay Body: @kentuckymudworks White Lightning Glaze: @lagunaclay Catalina Crackle #pottery #ceramics #ceramicsofinstagram #potteryofinstagram #potter #artist #porcelain #potterywheel #wheelthrown #ceramicsart #luminary #porcelainluminary