Emma Hurley
I will show my original art screen printed apparel showcasing native CA marine and coastal life. I will also have wheel thrown pottery, both midfired which I will handcarve in the sgraffito tradition, and anagama kiln woodfired work.
Directions to Studio #25 at 35250 Old Stage Road, Gualala.
From Sea Ranch, turn east on Old State Highway (becomes Old Stage Road), go 5.7 miles. Studios are on left.
An alternative from Gualala, go north to Pacific Woods, turn east and go 1.3 miles to Old Stage Road, then left on Old Stage Road. Follow tour signs.
From Point Arena, go south on Hwy 1 to mile marker 9.7, then east on Iversen Road for 6.5 miles, just past Fish Rock Road, and our studio will be on your right.
Studio Tour Hours
Aug 24-25 & Aug. 31-Sept. 1
10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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​Notifications
This Studio will be closed Labor Day Monday
No Public Restrooms
No Pets Please
I was born on the ridgtop above Point Arena. Gowing up barefoot and tangle haired, I spent every possible moment exploring the wilds of beach, river and woods. Art projects were dragged outside and I used the natural world as my muse; a trend that continues today.
In 2014, bridging work as a fisheries biologist and an environmental educator, I created a line of ocean art apparel: NorthCoast Brine. My original pen and ink drawings are screen printed by a friend onto a carefully selected garment line. Inspired by the life and environment of the cold brine waters off of Northern California, my goal with the apparel is to encourage ocean stewardship and love for its species. My wearable art work puts an image to the declining kelp forest and to commonly eaten species that are beautiful amazing animals in their own right. BRINE \ˈbrīn\ water saturated or impregnated with salt; the water of the sea. My pad and pen studio is ever changing: the beach, the bluffs, the local wild river bank, or my rustic homestead in the pygmy forest.
My inspiration from the riches of the wild earth extends to functional pottery. In 2015, I was employed to help a sculptural ceramicist glaze his large pieces. After months of glazing, I was given one quick lesson on a wheel and given access to the studio. There began my mostly self-taught road into pottery. I focus more on surface decoration than on other aspects of pottery. My wheel- thrown functional pieces are richly decorated with waves, fish and kelp, flowers and mountains. Before firing, I lovingly hand-carve the still damp surfaces of my pots, a process that can take hours and hours and makes each utterly unique. I love seeing these functional pieces find new homes in kitchens and new meanings to those who touch and hold the same chunk clay after me in its new form!
This past winter, I participated in my second wood-firing; An Anagama kiln is continuously fed wood in a hot 8 day firing. The natural ash from wood and highly dynamic environment of an Anagama kiln, transforms clay in amazing ways. Look for a few of these wood-fired ceramic pieces to be mixed in my normal mid-fired pottery for this year’s Studio Tour.