The Importance of Community

Dawn asked me to bring in some of my work. Actually quite a few people at Clay Space have asked so on Saturday I took a few pieces in to share. I will admit to being nervous. I should not have been. The reception was so overwhelmingly good. Tom Davison immediately started taking photographs. He loved the backs as much as the fronts and took  20 photographs including the one that I am sharing here. Thanks Tom! I am so ready to get into my studio to work.

I gave Ken Maloney a small quilt of mine as a gift. We discussed that we are not into tit for tat. I simply thought that since he had gifted me a bowl, he should have a piece of my artwork too. It is what friends do. Again, I had no idea if he would even want the piece. He loved it!

I worked on the Day of the Dead mask that I am giving to John, the intern. He continually tells me that I am cool. To have a 25-year-old man tell me I am cool always makes me feel like a million dollars. It was so much fun experiencing his excitement as I checked in with him as the mask progressed. I want him to be happy with his gift.  I finished it last night and will give it to him on Saturday. I made this one larger than my first one. He is 7" x 10".

On the way out, I found three small pieces of copper pipe on the ground. I love these kinds of finds. Now I have to figure out something to do with them. Have you found anything cool lately?

I feel so blessed to have this community. A part of me wishes that it was a fiber community like Kindred Spirits in Houston. What I had not realized until lately is that I have missed being around creative people on a regular basis. When I walked in the door yesterday the first thing I heard was Ben saying, "Hello beautiful. I am so glad you are here." Besides community/people, it is good to get out of my comfort zone, to be a beginner, to fail, to explore, to learn something new in a supporting environment. I feel truly blessed.

Hope, Gratitude and Clay

Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul- and sings the tunes without the words- and never stops at all. - Emily Dickinson

The older I get the more friends I have that seem to need comforting- health problems, deaths, divorces, broken hearts. For a while I sent my little "Mending a Broken Heart" hearts. Now I have feathers which I have been sending. Just small reminders to let people know that there is hope and I am thinking of them. My youngest son insists (daily lately) that I need to sell them so I am now in the process of setting up an Etsy shop. This is more of an undertaking than I realized but I hate to disappoint him. He is such a great cheerleader and he loves what I am doing. I know that I will get asked so here's the scoop and maybe you can share your thoughts with me. I am thinking about selling the larger feathers for $10.00 each or 3 for $25.00 plus shipping. The feathers are individually made and approx. 7 inches long so no two are alike as you can see. They are light enough to ship first class which will keep the shipping cost down. I have also considered including a small card with the Emily Dickinson quote on it. Thoughts?

Wednesday was a tough day. It was one of those days that started out full of promise and quickly turned into a day where nothing seemed to go right. That is until I arrived at Clay Space and found a bowl from Ken on my shelf. I didn't think he was serious when he said that he was going to give me the bowl. Ken is a new friend. He and I are totally honest with each other which is so refreshing. We can critique each others work. We both love the positiveness from the people from Clay Space but we both want constructive and honest feedback not just cheer leading.

When I finally ran into ken to thank him, he said that I could throw it in the dumpster. I have to say that at first I thought the bowl was a hot mess but on closer examination I found the shape of a tree. The bowl went from ugly to interesting. Ken was thrilled that I have seen the tree and happy when I called it a "hot mess." I am keeping the bowl as a reminder to not be afraid to try new things (Ken was playing with wax on this piece), friendship, kindness, and gratitude. Do you have something that reminds you to focus on good things?

I am making this my Off the Wall Fridays post.

Day of the Dead Mask

I continue to play with clay and maskmaking. Last night I finished my Day of the Dead mask. I have always loved the historically rich Mexican culture and especially their view of death. This one is smaller than most of the masks I have been creating. It's 6" x 7.5". I am giving myself the freedom to use anything that will help me create the piece as I have imagined it. I was surprised, although I probably should not have been, that some people at Clay Space asked me if what I was doing was "allowed." Just as my thinking in the beginning was that I needed to use glazes, there are those who stay within those perimeters. Not everyone gets what I am doing and that is okay. It has been the story of my life. I am finding that most clay people seem to be more open to those who think outside the box and for that I am thankful. Right now I am having too much fun! What have you done lately that feels you with glee?

Incubating Ideas and Feeling the Fear

For nearly two years, I have been thinking about creating a crow painting to honor the female crow that has adopted me.  Saturday after open studio at Clay Space, I decided that I needed to just do it! No more thinking about it. No more kidding myself that I was letting the idea incubate. It was way past time. If it did not work, I would not have to let anyone know. I used Golden fluid acrylics and once I got started it just flowed out of me and it felt so good. That less than an hour had passed when I finished was truly a shock.  The painting is going to rest for at least another day then I will decide if I want to tweak it. It will hang either in my office or studio until it finds a new home as many of my artwork does.  Every time I face something that frightens me, I feel empowered. Whenever I let go of trying to be perfect, I feel better about myself. Perfectly imperfect. That is where I am and where I will stay.

Acquiring some understanding of why we do things is often a prerequisite to change. I am still trying to figure it all out and in the mean time, I am going to create more art! I hope you will join me.

Pushing Yourself to Try What Isn't Easy

It's interesting to be in the "student mode" again. I've returned to ceramics/pottery after a month's break and in many ways feel as if I am starting all over again. Ugh. I know that the only way to get better is to practice, practice, practice. I also have to work at silencing the voice inside my head that keeps telling me I'm never going to be any good on the wheel. This comes from a teacher who told me that I needed to give up pottery. "You will never be any good."  At the time, I was living in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the class was at LSU and we were using kick wheels. I was not very coordinated (not sure I still am) but she was one of the most discouraging teachers I have ever experienced. I'm still amazed that I made it through the entire semester. Anyway, hand building and specially being able to make masks and the wonderful community at Clay Space are keeping me going. I am determined!

I know that when you push yourself to try something that isn't easy is when you gain the greatest reward and satisfaction in the end. I've noticed in my teaching that adults seem to think that taking on a new skill should not take time and effort and yet I believe that doing new things keeps us young and interesting. I call it "putting stretch marks on your comfort zone." How have you pushed on your comfort zone lately? Have any plans to do so in the future?