Ah, the times we’re living in. I find myself squeezed between anger at the rising situations and disbelief in our society. And yet, we move forward, there is no stopping. Even with everything that’s going on I’m still a happy person overall. A big part of that has been finding solace and happiness in community, both the one I live in and the one I make in. Recently, we’ve had our annual summer festival for the first time in two years. As a vendor I was there for both days and it was great! It was[…]
It’s Summertime!
When I was growing up in Montana, summertime was intertwined with our huge veggie garden. First it was planting and the dreaded weeding, and then the excitement of everything growing and finally the reward of the first veggies. Were we live now, I can plant in April instead of early June so my garden is already growing like crazy and I love it! Besides the garden, our town festival signals the start of summer around here. Since my last class session just ended, I’m taking two weeks off to prepare for the Fairfax Festival. I’m making[…]
Throwin’ It Down
Thanks to my student Catherine, I’ve been watching The Great Pottery Throw Down lately. If you’re unfamiliar with this, it’s a British show very similar in format to The Great British Bake Off: an elimination contest of amateurs, judged by well known professionals with some sweet, understated, British charm thrown in. I use throwing for producing multiples of functional work, but generally it’s not the way I explore ideas and try new things. Confession time–watching this show is inspiring me and I feel like trying a bunch of the techniques and challenges that have been presented![…]
Necessity is the Mother of Recycling
The world of clay is being hit with the same shortages that the rest of the world is having. I went to buy 500lbs for my next class session and was met with ‘Sorry, it’s out of stock. We don’t know when we’ll get any and it will be rationed to 100lbs per customer once it gets delivered.’ Wow!!A quick look at their out-of-stock board displayed about 30 names compared to the four names listed last time. I hadn’t considered that all the personnel shortages would make a difference in making clay. But, of course it[…]
Taking the Long View
I always find it interesting to evaluate what’s happened in my ceramics world during the past year. It gives me valuable information that I can’t really understand when I’m in the middle of things. It’s taking the long view, standing back and comparing my plan for the previous year with the realities of what happened and forming my ideas for the future.I’ve used the Annual Review Worksheet from Alyson Stanfield https://artbizsuccess.com/ecourse-annual-review/ for the past number of years and it’s always helpful because she asks questions that I might never ask by myself. So, I’m reviewing and[…]
Always Something Going On
Wow! It’s December and it seems like there’s always something going on! Time for the final big push before the quiet of winter can settle in. Lots of things are happening this busy month. This weekend will be the first of two events–our Open Air Open Studio! Please stop by on Saturday or Sunday and see Sam’s beautiful paintings and my newest work. There will be plenty of choices for holiday gifts! If you can’t make it to our event this weekend, you’ll have another chance to buy gifts for everyone on your holiday list. Next[…]
Thanks Gonna Change Around Here!
Things are always changing. Little changes everyday–the weather, the plants and trees around us, daylight, how we’re feeling, what’s happening in our relationships, the work we’re doing, what we dream about, what we long for and what we aspire to be. Paying attention to change helps us adjust what we’re doing and shift our actions to better match our aspirations. I’m often so adaptable to circumstances that I’m really slow to enact changes. But recently, there have been a few pointers that have made me realize it’s time to stop adapting and start changing. A few[…]
What Color is This? Do These Go Together?
Lately I’ve been feeling like my work is getting a little boring.I’ve been concentrating on making functional pieces and because of that, throwing more of my work and doing it in batches. This leads to more repetition. I don’t have time to hand build enough functional pieces and the work thrown in batches looks very similar to each other. How to solve this boredom problem? Well, I love texture so I thought–a new batch of mugs all with different textures on them. Those have been fun to make and hopefully not too strange in their outcome.[…]