Not Meant for Costa Rica

So I've wanted to go to Costa Rica for 11 or 12 years now. My hubby got to go 4 years ago, but that was a boys-only type of trip. Poor thing, I've given him hell for four years about taking me to Costa Rica. Now my chance is finally here, and I discover that my passport is expired!! After the initial shock fades, I get online and figure out that u can hire a company to push your passport through in a super speedy way, for a fee. ($335 total). Not bad! Let's do it! Off to the Fedex store to overnight the package ($60). So we estimate our adjusted travel dates and even change our flights. This is where things start getting really expensive. So we've just paid $335 for the passport company and now we pay out a change fee to the airline of about $1700 to change flights for the whole family. Ouch. Big ouch. And this morning, my package should have been delivered by 8:00 am. At 11:00, this is what I see: It says: Package In Transit. Wait a minute here!! This was supposed to be delivered this morning! So we call Fedex and one of their planes broke down! Are you kidding me???? We immediately call the passport company and they are swamped with people like me, trying to get a passport by New Years Eve and they are also dealing with people, like me, whose package is late due to the Fedex plane breaking down. Now the US Passport office is closed on New Years Eve, but they are open on Friday, Jan 1. But it's a Friday and it's the day after New Years Eve, so how much is actually going to get accomplished that day?? And then it's the weekend and Monday is jan 4th and I'm supposed to come home on the 7th??? Is it really worth it? Plus I'd have to change another flight and pay another fee.... Oh jeez. I'm not sure what to do... Stay tuned for more fun and adventure in Passport Land! - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Christmas with Marley

This is the first year Marley has been old enough to participate in Christmas. Last year she was just six months old. But this year, she learned to open gifts and she certainly had fun with all her new toys. This is her and daddy opening gifts..





Another new thing is that she had really come out of get shell all of a sudden. Last night, all she wanted to do was hug her friend Lily. In this photo, Marley is on the left and her friend is on the right. They could be sisters with that blonde hair. That's my friend Jordana behind them.


So on a creative note, not much is happening right now. I've got a sculpture in the works, but with the holidays and travel, it is not going very quickly. I'll post photos as soon as I can. Stay tuned! - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Marley Loves Santa!

Well, we took the little munchkin to see Santa, and as you can see, she was scared to death! I'm not really surprised as the stuffed cows at Chick-Fil-A scare her too.


So poor thing, she wad so terrified, she didn't even want the doll Santa gave her.


And then here's the funny part: my girlfriend was standing there with us after the whole episode was over, and she looks at me and asks if we were planning to take Marley to the mall to see Santa!! I just laughed and said I thought we had tortured the poor kid enough already!! Once she realized how silly that was, she giggled too. Poor Marley. Here she is looking cute before her visit with Santa...


Maybe next year we will try again. Maybe, maybe not! - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

A Day for the Beach

Hello all, Today would have been my mother's 63rd birthday. There are not words to describe how much I miss her. I will be walking the beach today, rain or shine, to be close to her. She loved the beach and everything about it. I love you, Mom. That's all for now.

Influence of the Holiday

As most of you know, I have been sculpting a lot of birds lately and just a couple of days ago, I started a new sculpture. It will be a bird with a woman's face. I'm not doing the whole bird, just the front half of the bird. So yesterday I went into the studio for some clay time, unwrapped my sculpture, and thought - woah! That thing looks like a mounted Thanksgiving Turkey! (It has a square base - thus the "mounted" part of it.) So I spent the next two hours cutting away, and adding clay to get rid of the Turkey and make it into more of a falcon type of body. Thank God I caught that - can you imagine if I went through all of the process of building a piece, to fire it and all, and then take it out of the kiln and think - "that looks like a holiday turkey"????? I didn't take any pictures of it, on purpose!! I just couldn't stand the sight of it anymore and got to work right away. Sorry. Just use your imagination and think "bird, right out of the oven" kind of thing! Anybody hungry?

Christmas madness!

This is the second year that I have not had to go through the Potter's Christmas Hell due to the changes in my life, but this is what it was like for me in years past. Since getting pregnant/having a baby and the death of my mom, things for me in the studio have changed. Last Christmas I had canceled almost everything due to my mom and this Christmas I am slowly moving forward and getting back into the clay swing of things. If you don't know much about the "potter's life", follow that link and read the post by ceramic artist Whitney Smith. It really gives you an idea of what we put ourselves through! But the funny thing is: this year I am really excited about Christmas. Is it because I have a cute little girl to share it with, or because I'm not so stressed out that I can actually enjoy it? Or maybe a little of both? I was in Lowe's in mid-November, and I actually bought some Christmas decorations. Huh - never done that before! And normally, I feel like Scrouge when all the stores start decorating and setting out their Christmas stuff, but this year I am excited. It feels so nice after two years of stress. I hope you all are feeling the spirit this season. Best wishes!

Another Girls Night in Studio #2

We had our second Girls Night in the clay studio tonight and it was just awesome. I think the ladies had a great time, and boy oh boy, were they ever productive! We went through about 30 lbs of clay and they really made some fun items. I love seeing people just play and have fun, and not get so caught up in perfection. So many folks don't get any kind of clay experience in school and they come to these parties completely virginal. They use tools in ways I've never even thought of, and do things in a completely different, and fresh way. I love it when they drink a little wine, loosen up and do lots of laughing and playing. I'll have to finish these pieces that they made tonight, and that's not as much fun for them, but in the end, they will get complete pieces that (hopefully) will be functional. There is no way I could get all of these ladies back into the studio to finish their work. Tonight's ladies live all over the country and it was a way for them to have a family night during their Thanksgiving holiday. But what is important to me is that they had a good time, and learned just a little about the process of making pottery. It is an unbelievably time consuming craft (or art) and most people do not realize how much goes into making a single mug or bowl. I think it was just awesome and I hope to do more in the future!

American Craft Council Show!

I just received word yesterday that I have gotten into the Atlanta ACC show in March! This is great news for me. I did an ACC show in Charlotte at the end of 2008 and I had an awesome time. All of the other artists were so nice and welcoming, and I was very happy with my sales. My mom was very sick at the time with her cancer, so this show turned into a bright spot in my life. I am looking forward to the Atlanta show too! I'll be selling my sculpture, which has always gotten pushed aside for other things. And right now, sculpture and big coil-built planters are all I want to do! It just feels right to grab a hunk of clay, twist, squeeze and smush it into itself to create bigger pieces. I don't have the patience to throw on the wheel right now. I personally, don't feel centered enough to throw pots on the wheel. So for now, this is what I am doing, and I am having a blast with it! So I better head out to the studio and start making some sculpture for the show. It is in March, but I best get started now! With the kiddo around, I don't get as many hours in the studio as I would like to have, so I will get going now! If you are around Atlanta in March, think about coming to the show. I know it will be a good one!

Another Girls Night in Studio

Last week's clay class was successful and super fun, and lucky me, I have another one tomorrow! I don't know these ladies, but they will be bringing the wine and apps, but I know we will have a fun good time. I have three options for them: throw on the wheel, make plates and platters a la Chinet brand paper plates, or they can make square (ish) nesting bowls. I'll be sure and post some pictures after the class is over. Talk to you soon!

Girls Night in the Studio

We did it! We had our girls' night in the studio last night and I think everyone had a blast. We had a couple of folks back out at the last minute - they just didn't know what they were missing, right?? Plenty of wine flowed and yummy apps were eaten, and then we got down to business. Two girls got on the wheel and tried their hand at making bowls, and the others made plates and platters using Chinet brand paper plates as molds. I pulled out some texture making things and just let them go to town with it. A couple of the girls had never even touched clay, so it was great to give them a chance to experience that. It is so funny, the personality quirks that come out when one plays with clay. You can see who is nervous and worried that her piece won't be awesome. It IS sort of scary, to be presented with so many options and only two hours left, so in your head you are thinking that you better get busy! Welcome to the clay world! I hope to do that again sometime in the near future. I think it is a huge amount of fun to share my "clay bug" with my friends. And sure enough, they were talking about taking pottery classes before the night was over! Ha Ha! We suckered you in (insert evil laugh here)...

Girls Night in the Studio

Next week I am hosting a Girls Night in the studio. This will be the first time I've done this, as my old studio was way to small for anybody except me. I'm looking forward to sharing my clay with some friends. We will probably have 7 people, with plenty of wine flowing. I've already figured out some projects they can work on, unless they come with ideas on what they want to make. I have also been working hard to get the studio organized and put away. It has taken me months (I'm not kidding), months! to get everything squared away. And you know how it is, it is never really finished. If you are like me, you hoard some stuff that you don't really need, but you think you might use in the near future: a bowl of colored slip, a really big piece of egg crate foam, some good, sturdy boxes that would be just the right size... for something. All that crap takes up space. I have thrown some of it out, but there is still a lot. When I die, someone is going to have a huge job of cleaning out my studio crap. Perhaps a construction dumpster would be the way to go.... But anyway, back on track.. So, Girls Night: I'm really looking forward to it and I will take some photos of our masterpieces and be sure to post those. Have a good day!

Ikea

On Saturday, my hubby and I (and the kiddo) went to the Ikea, in Charlotte. I was so tempted by Ikea because you can get some nicely designed items for an amazingly cheap price. I'm not sure how they keep their prices so low, and I'm almost afraid to know how they do it, but I do enjoy the benefits of it. So I walked into the kitchen and dining section, and wham! I see dinnerware for 6, an entire set with bowls and everything, for $19.99!! As a potter, that does all sorts of crazy things to me. I can't believe that plates and bowls can be found so cheaply. We, as potters, struggle to make a single plate and sell it for $25. Even I was tempted to buy a set (I didn't though!) just so I could set a pretty, and different holiday table. So easy, $20 later. If I were to go home and make a set of plates, would I even have them done by the holidays? Would I like them enough to use them? It is so hard to compete with those low prices, and the general public has no understanding about the process of pottery making. It is hard to teach them, especially when they can find prices like that. Now I did end up buying some stuff - a coffee table for my studio, an art easel for Marley and a huge 10 x 12 rug for the living room. Again, all items that could be handmade, but I went to for the inexpensive items. You gotta pick your battles.

A Good Pillow Fight

Wow, Marley just had her first pillow fight, although there wasn't a whole lot of actual "fighting". But she loved getting hit with the pillow! And I was using my cool, new iPhone 3GS to take the video. I love my new phone! How cool! And boy, this little girl is turning into an artist. We mistakenly bought her some crayons and left them out for her... and now we have crayon on the walls, crayon on the cabinets, crayon on the washer and dryer, crayon on the white window trim... You get the idea. And, no, those weren't washable crayons! But just today, I went to Target and got her a slew of washable crayons, so that our furnishings will be a little safer. I can't get too mad because when I was a kid, I drew all over my bedsheets one day when I found an ink pen lying around the house. Mom was a little pissed about that!!! And here I am, 37 years old, and I still love to draw! So hopefully Marley will continue to love to draw too. With washable crayons, of course!

Birds will have to sleep this weekend

We are heading to Charlotte today to visit our good friends. I am looking forward to seeing them, but I have a sculpture in the works out in the studio and I hate to leave that unfinished all weekend. It's a woman who is morphing into a bird, and I need to work on her wings. I hate to leave a project when I haven't reached a good "stopping point". I guess I'm a little OCD that way. I also have all these other projects around the house that I want to work on, like landscaping our front "yard". There are just never enough hours in the day! But here is a photo of my Bird Lady. I still need to give her wings and feathers, but you can see what is going on... That's a bird bath she's sitting in. She'll just have to sleep all weekend and be ready to work Monday morning...

Birds, birds and more birds

This is an entry from my personal journal: "Why Birds? Why Birds? Why am I totally fascinated with birds right now? Marley loves them too - maybe that's part of it. Mom loved birds too - she was always sculpting them, and even painted them a bit. Birds can seem strong and scary or dainty and sweet. Birds can fly high or swoop down or ride with the wind. Can birds fly all the way to heaven and back? Can I be a bird - fly up high, visit Mom and then return to the ground for my life here? Don't we all want to be birds at some point and just fly away when things get a little rough? If I ever become home-bound due to illness or whatever, I want a bird feeder - fird beeder - outside my window so I can watch their comings and goings. " I wrote this one night and I was just letting my brain run wherever it wanted to go. I think that these thoughts are what's behind my latest sculptures. Other ideas that are all mixed in are: motherhood, passing the torch from my mother to me, raising and protecting kids, transition, and more. Ever since my mom died, I've been feeling all these emotions and they are all mixed together. It is not just one feeling, but a crazy, mixed up pile of emotions, all tied together. I think that for me, sculpture is the only way to get it all out. At least I hope so. Maybe if I get it all out of my system, I'll be able to sleep at night! Soon, I'll post some more images of my current clay sculptures.

Charlie's first Triathlon

We are in Savannah, here for Charlie's big triathlon debut. When we got here, we found out that they cancelled the swim portion, as the quality of the lake was too poor due to all the birds!! And birds were truly everywhere. And not just cute little chickadees either. We are talking geese, ducks, egrits, and vultures. Ugh. But anyway, here is Charlie going into his last lap! Go Charlie!!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

iPhone Damage!

Marley's two favorite things in the world: her pacifier and my iPhone. But then she had to go and drop my phone on the concrete and cracked the hell out of the face. It still works for the most part, but you can feel the cracks and I'm afraid someone is going to get cut. Lucky for me, Charlie gave me a gift card to the Apple store here in Charleston for my birthday and voila! A new iPhone 3GS, with video even! I haven't had a chance to really play with it yet, but I have a feeling I will be posting videos on here, now that it is so easy. Thank you Marley and Charlie! As for things in the studio, I've been making some small-ish bird sculptures and I guess that will be my next post. Not quite sure how I want to glaze them, but I think I will try some different finishes. My gift to myself for my birthday was a propane torch, and I cannot WAIT to "fire" that thing up! I'm thinking melted wax finishes, or maybe melted crayons..... There is no telling what the future holds!

Munchkin!

I have been taking a couple of days off from the studio since the completion of the big address pot, so I thought I'd take an opportunity to write about the munchkin of this house. Yesterday we went to Gymboree, which is a kid's class/activity gym for those of you who don't know. Marley was just so cute and sweet all day; it leaves me feeling all warm and fuzzy towards her! Today is supposed to be a bit chilly here and probably a bit rainy, so I think we will go to the gym (for me) and then on to the mall for her, to buy some bits of her Halloween costume. Marley is going to be a triathlete for Halloween, just like her daddy. So we need to get some sneakers and a jersey of some kind. But I have included pics of Marley from yesterday, just because she's so damn cute.

Delayed Nesting??

Over the past 6 weeks or so, I have been in the strangest mood. I have been feeling a real NEED to get organized and settled. This is very much not like me! A year ago, when we moved in, we didn't really ever get a chance to really finish unpacking and decorating. Up until a month ago, my studio office still had quite a few boxes of things that I actually needed. I would just dig around in the box until I found whatever it was I was searching for. So something happened about 2 months ago, and I started unpacking and organizing! And cleaning, because you know wherever there is clay, there is clay dust! Here is a photo of my studio office, and it has gotten cleaner since that photo. I have hung some more stuff on the wall, like magazine racks to hold my many magazines that I'm addicted to, and another ribbon holder too. I didn't know I had so much ribbon! But I love ribbon, because when I ship to individuals, I like to wrap and decorate the package. Not to mention when friends have birthdays and things... Here I sit at 5:00 in the morning, listening to my baby girl on the monitor playing music. And I'm thinking of ways to organize our laundry room! Our laundry room is a combo playroom/laundry/mail room and it needs some serious help. I started on it last night. Now I think I need to head to Target later today for some inboxes and things of that sort. How weird! I normally hate going through stuff and organizing. It usually seems like a waste of time. There is always something more fun I could be doing with my time. The only reason I can come up with is that I never got to "nest" when I was pregnant due to an upcoming move (why organize and decorate when you will be moving in 4 months??) and a very sick mother. I didn't know that the nesting instinct would come back and hit me! I better enjoy it while it lasts!

Completion of Address Pot

Yay! This morning I got up early, before anyone else in the house. I made a cup of java and headed out to the studio to work on the Address Pot. I knew I was close to being done, and yesterday was frustrating since I only had 25 minutes in the clay studio to work. I seem to be a little obsessive about leaving some projects unfinished. I like to stop at a good place, and when the completion of a project is near, it is ALL I want to work on! I'll let dishes pile up and bills go unopened, just so I can get some work done. That is how I was feeling yesterday! So this morning, when I woke, I thought "Carpe Diem!" So off to the studio I went, and I was able to finish my birds and thus the address pot is complete! I need better lighting for the final shot, but you can get an idea here. There are detail shots in previous posts.. The finished height is right at 6' tall. There are 5 sections, not including the three birds. I think I will epoxy them on after firing. I think that bond will be stronger, and I won't have to worry about accidentally snapping them off. Let me know what you think! This is the tallest project I've ever made and it took me over a month just to build it. It will be a while before it gets fired....

Three Little Birds Sitting on some Foam

Three little birdies sitting on some foam. I made these birds to go on my address pot. I am a bit obsessed with birds right now, and so I expect they will be showing up in my new work. And now I can get started on new work, now that I have this monster of a project complete. Whew! I don't think I have ever spent over a month working on a single project. I'm usually looking for the end, already thinking of the next piece I want to make. But anyway... these little guys kinda made me smile, all sitting there together on the foam. Or laying on the foam...they DO look a little like three dead birds on foam don't they?? :)

Work in Progress

Finally! I have finished building the main body of the address pot and now I'm just making birds to attach to it. One big bird on top and a few on the ledge of the pot. I was working on the birds today in the rather warm studio (my AC is out!) I am having a blast sculpting the birds. I can't wait for the next project, so I can do more bird-related stuff. I've been thinking about that... I seem hooked on birds and all things birds recently, but that is a whole 'nother post. I will put some photos on when my camera and my computer begin to play nicely again.

Address Pot - Work In Progress

I am finally nearing the end of the column part of this piece. It has been slow going, but it has also been a good lesson for me. Don't stop, just keep going!! I have never taken so long to work on one piece. Usually my attention span (or lack thereof!) prevents me from working this way, but since I am getting so little time in the studio these days, it is the only way I can work. On the photo on the left, you can see the three different sections of the column, separated by toilet paper. It keeps the clay from one section sticking to the next section. It just fires away, no need to remove it! The photo on the right shows that I had to switch out my stool for a ladder to work on the top portion of the column. I couldn't see what I was doing. I'm just a short thing, only 5'1", so a ladder is a must in my studio. So the next step I'm working on now is finishing the column and then I'm on to forming birds to attach. I am looking forward to that- something different to work on! Yay!

Studio Dog #2 - the Original Studio Dog

This is Kendo. He's the Original Studio pup. I think of him as my first born child. He is always in the studio with me, and as you can see, he has a bed under my slab roller. I even keep chew bones in there for him! He's so funny - if I make even the tiniest squeak of surprise, he comes running like, "What is it? I'm here to save you, Mom!" And he's Guard Dog Extraordinaire. Let's just say I wouldn't want to be a burglar sneaking into our house some night. LuLu is just scary looking, Kendo can be just plain scary when he wants to be!

Studio Dog #1

This is one of two studio dogs that I have. This is LuLu. She came to live with us after my mom died in February. All of my family was so worried about LuLu. They'd ask in a sad tone, "How's LuLu - is she okay??" And I'd respond that LuLu was just fine, fitting in quite well at our house. As you can see, she really suffers here. This is her perch when I'm in the studio. On my little futon couch. But it is nice to have company in the studio. Sometimes, I don't even play music, I just work quietly, and I can hear LuLu breathing as she sleeps. It's rather comforting! Now I need to show you Studio Dog #1. He's the Original Studio Dog. But you will have to wait until another time. I need to get a good photo of him!

A VERY Early Morning

Well, I had an interesting night last night. Recently, I have been waking up easily around 6:00 am, feeling great and energized. So I've been sliding out of bed and enjoying the peace that the early hour gives me. Last night, I woke up, feeling pretty good even though my eyes were a bit tired. I quietly grabbed my clothes and shoes and crept downstairs. I was already starting to think about coffee, toast, and then out to the studio. But then I came around the corner and saw the clock on the oven - and it was 1:05 am! Oh no! I knew I was in trouble then because I was feeling wide awake. As someone who has had a lot of insomnia over the past couple of years, I am all too familiar with being up in the middle of the night. Its not fun, ESPECIALLY when you have a baby or toddler that will wake up early and be ready to play all the next day! So I read some blogs and tried to go back to sleep, which probably ended up being around...4:00 maybe. Ugh. And here I am again at 7:30 am, wide awake! Today I will leave you with a little pic of Marley and Charlie on the pier here at Folly Beach just the other day. We were killing time before dinner and she loves birds, so we walked the Pier.

Banana Corn Fritters | Weelicious ™ - Fast, Easy

Banana Corn Fritters | Weelicious ™ - Fast, Easy & Fresh Homemade Home Made Baby Food Babyfood Recipes, Toddler Food (and now for big kids too!) Posted using ShareThis

Man, oh man.. You've got to try this recipe. I've never had Banana Corn Fritters before, but the picture just looked so yummy we had to try it. Even Marley liked it and she's going through a picky stage right now. We had it for breakfast this morning. And it was good- a variation on regular ol' pancakes, with the added benefit of the corn for a kid who won't eat much right now. Hope you like it! Hint, Hint: it tastes even better if you serve it on a handmade plate... :)

WIP

Oh my god, progress on this big piece is soooo slow. I just don't get much time in the studio these days, and so I will put a coil on whenever I have 30 minutes or so to work. Normally, that seems to get me somewhere, as far as progress, but when you have about 35" to build, one coil at a time goes pretty slowly! Think about it: If I get to put on one coil a day, it will take me about three weeks just to build this one section!!! It gets so frustrating if I spend too much time thinking about it, so I try not to! But here is a photo of the "address pot". I am currently working on the column part, where the numbers will go. You can see the sketch on the blackboard in the background...

Visitors in the Studio

Charlie and Marley came to visit me yesterday in the studio. I was just finishing up putting plastic on my big "address pot" when I heard a little knock on the door. Charlie decided the futon was looking comfortable and he wanted to try it out. Marley found a couple of tubes of glue to play with (and I checked to make sure the lids were on tightly...) and they were just as happy as can be. Check them out... I can't believe she is 15 months old now. It's just crazy how time flies..

Work In Progress

This is a work in progress that I thought I would share with you all. You can see the sketch on the blackboard in the background, but it is something that will go at the end of the driveway with our house address on it. I'm not really sure what to call it - number column, address totem, what?? If you have any ideas on what this should be called, please let me know!! It will be 6' tall when its done and it will have 5 or 6 sections to it. Here, I am building up the 3rd part.... These are detail shots of the carvings on the main portion of the "pot".

Handmade Things in a Home

It has been one crazy year since we have moved into our new house. I didn't really get a chance to decorate when we first moved in, as life was just too insane to even think about it. But now, I've been spending some time slowly making different items for the house. I really believe that having so many handmade things in your house gives it a different spirit. I always wanted to make some things for our new house, so I started with some light fixtures. I made these pendants and they hang in my studio. I love how they turned out. I didn't know what to think of them at first, but them when I saw them hanging, I thought they were great! This is a clock I made out of stained glass. I loved doing the glass mosaic part of it, but I sure didn't like all the glass fragments in my hands! Charlie said that he got tired of the blue and yellow splinters in his feet! (I did all my glass cutting at the dining room table...) This clock hangs in my studio and it is what I use to keep track of time... It hangs over my sink where I can see it clearly from my wheel or work table. These are some curtains I made for Marley's room. I really wanted to do it all from scratch, but I found these cheap curtains from Target that I liked. They were way too short, so I bought some brown fabric, some ribbon and some trim and got busy with the sewing machine! I haven't sewn in probably 20 years, but it was a lot like riding a bike - you just don't really forget how to do it. The next thing is Marley's name spelled out in tiles that I made. I cut out slabs of clay, carved the letters in, painted the background design and glazed them. They hang over her changing table and we practice spelling her name every time we change her diaper. She really seems to get into it!

And last, but not least, are these little drawer pulls I made of Marley's feet. She had just turned one and after much trial and error, I got her footprints in clay. I cut them out, fired them, painted them and installed them onto her dresser. So cute! I'm having lots of fun making different things for the house. Finally, I can get some of these ideas out of my head!