What does this Mean?

I have to share something with you all.  I'm not entirely sure what it means, and I'm still thinking about it, trying to figure it out.


As many of you know, my mother passed away 2 years ago, and it totally devastated me.  She was not only my mother, but my best friend and my clay partner, too.  We did shows and workshops together, shared a kiln and glazes, and we could bounce creative ideas and goals off each other any hour of the day.

So imagine my surprise the other day, when I was flipping through a recent issue of Ceramics Monthly (all you clay heads know what I'm talking about), and I saw an ad for Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts.  My mother and I had taken a sculpture workshop there, probably 4 or 5 years ago, and just had a ball.  Anyway, in this ad, they had a picture of my mother's hands and the sculpture she was working on.  I knew instantly that was my mother's hands and I recognized the sculpture too.  There was no doubt in my mind.  And do you guys know what a Ceiva Picture Frame is??  It's one of those digital frames where the photos rotate each day - well, on the same day I found the ad, photos from that workshop were on the Ceiva, and I was able to double check the ad with the photos on the Ceiva.  Yep, those were my mom's hands.  Kinda cool, but it kinda made my heart clench too.  What did this mean?  Was my mom telling me to get back in the studio and quit faffing around??  What do you guys make of this??  I need some female insight to help me figure this one out!!

And by the way, if you've never heard of the Arrowmont school, you should totally check it out.  Awesome, awesome place that has lots of workshops and I'd love to go back.  It's in Tennessee, for anybody close by... And if you decide to go, let me know, I'd enjoy taking another workshop there.  Those guys are great!

Hope everyone had a great Easter!
~Kelly

Sunday Journal Page

Hello there!
I wanted to share a journal page with you this morning!  I've been slowly taking the Alisa Burke's class Sketchbook Delight, and I am having fun!  I'm trying out some new materials like the Micron Pens, and I broke out my watercolors, which I haven't used since college.  I wanted to take this class because I feel like I often get caught up in making my sketches so precise and I've decided that is just not the way I want to sketch (at least not everything!).  I want to capture the things that inspire me, without having to spend three days on a pencil sketch.  I need to loosen up and be a little more free, so that was my reason for taking the class - and I'm so glad I did!


This page came about after I took a walk around my little beach community the other day, and I plucked some dollar weed off the side of the road.  I love their shape and they look so much like nasturtium leaves! (I hope I spelled that correctly!)  They just looked like they'd be fun to draw, and so they were.


Hope you guys have had a great weekend so far.  I've had a good weekend, but it's been a little crazy with a sick dog and a nutty 2 yr old running around :)
~Kelly

Blogging Block Continues...

 I don't know what has come over me!  I'm hoping that it's pregnancy hormones (I'm now 22 weeks!) but I am just crazy these days.   I fluctuate from being on a total high and feeling so, so happy, to feeling like a slug and unmotivated... Hmmmm... this is rather unusual for me, so that's why I think it must be a little pregnancy-induced madness.   My poor husband - I feel kind of bad for him.  I think he must not know what to expect each day!


I read a blog on Sunday, though,  entitled "Lately, I've been _______" that really spoke to me.  It made it me get off the computer and head for the art journal.  I felt the need to get some things off my chest and didn't want to spend too much time doodling, sketching and making things pretty.  So I just took a page that already had some color on it and started on it.   Here's a peek at what the final product was...

 Anyway, hope all of you are doing great and having a wonderful, creative week!  I'm heading out to the studio now to get in some work while the kiddo naps on this rainy day...

~Kelly

Finished Journal Page

I've been feeling at a loss lately for blog posts, and so I decided to show you the finished version of the things I showed you in the most recent post.  I actually like how this one turned out, and that you can see some of the stamps in the background through the sketched features of the face.  I did end up printing face sketch onto vellum and then glued it on top of the background. 

I have also been playing around with my website, adding more content and fleshing it out a bit.  If you care to have a peek, look here.   Please let me know what you think!


Hopefully, my writer's block will fade away soon.  I've been in a quiet mood lately, and have been getting out of the studio recently for afternoon walks, and sketching under a tree in my yard.  It all feels like good stuff for the creative soul.


Hope all of you are well,
Kelly