April 11, 2010

it sunshiney outside! hope you all are doing well. i have been busy teaching a class for an after-school program with Freshwater Arts in Waterville. there are 12-15 kids in the 4-5th grades and they are very enthusiastic about clay. some of them show a very high ability to manipulate the clay and create realistic animals and other sculptures-very 3-d minded!

the kiln has been loaded with another bisque- this one won! no losses! we fire the first glaze with this kiln this weekend! very exciting!

the sales at the Market in Winthrop is picking up more and more each weekend!

i have been busy working outside in the garden and the pottery area and of course in my barn getting ready for summer productions! I am setting up the home show differently this year- less convoluted and full...so you can see the work better....i hope to be open at home by the end of the month to try and get a head start on summer sales!

happy spring all- write me your thoughts- what would you like me to make?

garden song

LeeLee and I have decided to create a garden this year and really make the outside shine. So with Grumpy, Daddy, Mama Lee and nuncle P we are going at it. Raking rocks with LeeLee was a blast- she dropped her rocks and started cheering-"go gammie, go go gammie!" it was funny as all...! next week we will be bringing her little house out to set up.
with my son Michael's help I am rebuilding the wood pile as a housing for my pottery sales this summer. the ground work has been started and it is looking good.
and if there isnt already enough on my plate I will be teaching 4-5th graders the fine art of pottery for the next 6 weeks at Freshwater Arts in Waterville.

hey everyone!

Its been awhile since my last post. Things have been hectic with Dr appointments for myself and for my son and his girlfriend who are having a baby. This will be her first and his second. LeeLee, his daughter and he spent last week here with us while Leola-his girlfriend spent time with her mother. It was great having the baby here-although she is two now and I should stop calling her the baby...she will always be my baby though! I was heart broken a coupe of times when I had to go to the market for my sales and she didnt want me to go but we got through it. I hate hearing broken hearted crying. it cuts deep!

The sales at UMA went well last week. Liz and I were well received by everyone and it was expressed that we were missed and it is hoped we do it again. Liz doesnt want to do another one in the Spring for Springfest there but I am thinking it will be a good thing to do so I am going to approach the SGA to see if they mind and or will sponsor me to be there. If they do I wont have to pay for the space which is always nice. It is also good advertisement for the Arts Programs there!

I haven't been producing much lately, although I do have over 100 pieces to fire. I am waiting to hear back from the ortho dr on my wrist-trying to behave and not use it like he said. It is hard not to work in the clay when thats allI want to do, but I guess I have to follow dr orders! At least for now...

always-k;o)

its snowing again

I have been doing a lot of thinking and looking at art books- George Ohr specifically and it has made me long again for meking those types of pots again. I think in the next couple of weeks this is what i will do...slowly though since the dr.'s have told me not to use my wrist until they figure out what is up with it. I also found a piece of board with a fish carved into it and am thinking it would make a neat little incense burner. Stay tuned!

January 11, 2010

just thought i'd come in and write a few words about life and how sometimes it just seems to get you down. There are so many things going on in the world right now that one wonders why it just keeps going and then you see a child smile and you know the answer. But it doesn't always allow you to actually feel the hope that you know is there, the rainbow that always follows the storm or the heat from the spring's sunlight after a cold dark winter. That is what happens when your body is just not is a good healthy space. It is so frustrating to want to do things, you have a passion but all you can do is dream, pain corrupts the very heart of your life and there is nothing you can do but endure. That is what my life feels like right now. i have been searching for three years for a job but because of my physical issues that the doctor's cant seem to identify and or diagnose no one will hire me. and also because of this hesitation from doctor's i am not eligible for disability. my husband strives to pay all the bills with his meager income and i know that it is depressing for him to have to do it alone but my hands are tied. i do what i can to help stretch the dollars and earn more.... i do my pottery because i love it but also because i know my own limits and i can set and stick to them without being fired, but getting the business off the ground without any money is a very difficult thing to do. i will continue though because that is who i am. i am bone tired and body heavy. i hurt more often than not and i am grumpy and irritable. i try to hide as much of this as i can but i know it leaks out. my husband is so dear to me for his understanding and love, he truly is a wonderful man! and i am blessed to have him in my life! i just wish i could do more....

Happy New Year Everyone!

Welcome to 2010! Here's hoping all your wishes for the new year come true or begin to fall into place. I have a lot of dreams to collect this year- if even one of them find their way into being I will rejoice an be glad!

Here's to health, happiness and new tomorrows! and may they all be without to much pain and lots of growth!

k;o)

Boy, truer words and such were never spoken!

I believe in Kiln Gods.
It is the last thing I do before I light the Kiln.
Molding a form with clay, entrusting it to protect the work within.
It is like giving yourself up to the universe.
The Kiln God signifies that I am open to the possible.
Already I have done everything to the extent of my knowledge in the pursuit of a vision.
Aware of the unexpected, making room for the possible
Divine intervention.
I assume responsibility for the things that I know.
The rest is why I get up in the morning.~~Mark Chatterly- Ceramic sculptor/Artist

There is magic happening in the kiln. Magic and wondrous miracles that come from the above, the creator. How vast his mind and abilities when he can transform our minds into using the creative thought processes in which he gave us! My kiln God actually reflects my spiritual believe in my God so to speak for without Him nothing is possible. I do not use the kiln god as an icon to disrespect the creator but rather as a figurative tangible object that represents my Creator. It is a prayer that I offer up that all will go well inside the kiln and outside also, for the firing doesn't stop when the electricity shuts off-there is still the cooling process and transport process etc before the piece is actually done. By done I mean that it has been recieved by another person and is no longer in my hands.