Getting out of the Hospital

My mother should be getting out of the hospital on Friday and hopefully things will settle down a bit. She caught a cold that turned into bronchitis and sent her to the hospital on Monday. Once again, it has been a wild ride, with appointments, and medications, and lovely side effects. I can't believe that our country spends billions on cancer and we still can't really beat it. We are getting better at it and thank goodness for that, but I know the world will rejoice when we can eradicate this awful demon altogether. Thank you to all of you who have called or emailed me about Mom's condition. I may not always be able to respond, but it really does help to hear such feeling in your voice. I can't say thank you enough. I am doing my best to take care of me and my growing belly and it helps to know you all are there.

Gearing Up For Another Week

Today is a beautiful spring day! The jasmine is starting to bloom, as is the pittosporum shrub, and the air is perfumed with all these wonderful smells. It is a perfect day to recharge the batteries and get ready for another week. I did not realize how much I needed a day to do this. Our lives today get so busy with everything, that I think sometimes, your spirit just gets tired. I didn't have the energy to do any of my "normal" activities, even the ones that usually cheer me up. I haven't touched wet clay in a while, ever since we found out about Mom's cancer. I did manage to run the kiln though, so I do have a few new glazed items that I can take to Charleston Crafts. That will be good. My Mom has now been through 6 radiation treatments to the brain and is just starting to see some hair loss. A few hairs in the brush is all, but it is starting. I think that is so hard for anybody, man or woman, to lose their hair so suddenly like that. I just hope she is able to keep her eyebrows and eyelashes for a little longer. I know the chemo will claim those eventually, but for now, I would love for her to keep those. I have started my third trimester in my pregnancy, as of today, and I need to take some new photos to post on here. I'll see if I can do that in the next few days for you guys. This is such a bittersweet time for me right now, with the baby coming in a couple of months and my mom being sick. There is so much to be done, and not enough energy or drive to do it. I do want to try to get back into the clay this week. I know that I have orders to fill and galleries waiting on deliveries. I will let all of you know where I get started on all that. Everyone take care of yourselves and stay healthy.

You never think it could happen to you..

Well, last week, we got some terrible news about my mother's health. You never think it could happen to you or your family, but she was diagnosed with metastatic cancer of the lungs. I can't believe it. My mother, who is never sick, has cancer. It all started with that trip to Tampa for the Gasparilla Art Festival, she started having symptoms there, but those sort of went away. Her symptoms would come and go, and seemed to be so strange and intermittent. Then, last week, she started having serious headaches (she never gets headaches) and nausea, and I took her to the ER. The admitted her immediately and started testing with CT scans and MRIs. Turns out the news is pretty bad. It started out as lung cancer, and has spread to the brain and adrenal glands. We've been in and out of doctors' offices ever since. She started her radiation last Friday and hopefully that will help her headaches and some of the other symptoms. I'm sure it will give her new ones, as well. This is why I haven't posted in a while, as we've been a little busy with appointments. I haven't been doing much pottery or sculpture in the past two weeks, as I have been dealing with so many conflicting emotions. Maybe I can get back to it before too long. Sculpting has always been therapeutic for me. My pregnancy has become so bittersweet for me right now. I want my mother here to meet the little one and watch her grow up. I don't know if that is in our future. Anyone else find themselves in a situation like this?? How did I get here??

5 Minutes of Fame on Lowcountry Live

I went on Lowcountry Live this morning, which is a local TV show here in Charleston, SC. It was great! We had a blast doing the show, meeting the hosts (they were great!) and getting photos with the famous Pinkie Pie! That was a pretty amazing costume, with blinking eyes and a mouth that could open and close. The personality could really come through - it was so neat to watch it! We actually went on the show to talk about our upcoming Open House on Friday, March 28, but the hosts asked us some great questions about our pottery and photography. It was great to be able to tell our stories, even if it was short and sweet. I explained that I was a local potter here in Charleston, and I got started by taking an introductory course. After that Kelly Thiel was hooked on clay! The hosts, Brian and Ryan were so nice and it was fun to watch how a show is produced. We just sat quietly until a commercial break, then during the breaks, everyone could move around or make jokes, or talk about their new chiropractor. It was a relaxed atmosphere, but I started to get hungry by the end of the show, as they had a chef on the show cooking up some jerk chicken that smelled so wonderful! This amazing art and craft world takes me places and introduces me to people that I would not have met otherwise (like Pinkie Pie). How fun it all is!!

Upcoming Open House at Charleston Crafts

On March 28, 2008, one of my galleries, Charleston Crafts Gallery, will host an Open House featuring myself with my pottery, and Jennifer Daly with her black and white photography! We will have some wine, and some yummy snacks, so come on out! It should be a good time. It will go from about 5:00- 8:00, or just whenever the wine is gone. To help promote our Open House, Jennifer and I will be appearing on Lowcountry Live, a local tv show here, that often features the creative things going on around Charleston. Its filmed live, and comes on at 10:00 am. Check us out! I think it is Channel 4, but I'm not entirely sure on that. We are trying to get the word out to locals folks here in Charleston about our little gallery, because there are still plenty of people who don't even know about us. It is a great little gallery to find unique, handmade items perfect for a gift. Easter is here, and Mother's Day is just right around the corner! The website is www.charlestoncrafts.org.

23 weeks pregnant!

Well, here is a baby bump photo of me at the new house. I'm 23 weeks along, so almost 6 months pregnant! The house in the background is the one we are building, and I'm standing on the pool deck in the sun - as you can tell by the squinty look on my face! You can already feel the sun getting stronger here, and many of the trees are already blooming. It's a bit early, but I'm so ready for spring! Spring has become my favorite season of the year, and it always puts me in a good mood. Speaking of good moods, I've been working on a sculpture, getting her finished. I'm trying something different on this one - what is known as 'cold finishes'. It's unfired paints of any sort that you can use to color your sculpture. This is a fun way to finish my pieces as you can tell exactly what color or finish you are going to get. It is never a given with ceramic glazes - you just never know for sure what you are going to get in the kiln! With cold finishes, you can experiment and keep working on the piece until you are happy with it. I find it to be a less of a "get it right the first time" mentality, which can be stressful. I think I'm going to spend some time working on both sculptures and pottery and just try to increase my production. We have a lot going on right now, but it is all good stuff. I feel so unbelievably lucky to love my job!

21 Weeks Pregnant!

Well, for those of you who didn't know, I am 5 months pregnant! This will be my first baby and I'm wondering how I'm going to balance out my artwork with motherhood. I plan on posting updates on how the situation is going - from my growing belly to having a playpen in the clay studio. We will see how it all works out! As it stands right now, I've got a little baby belly, but I can still throw at the wheel with no problem. I sit up a little straighter, but that's a good thing! I'm very careful with my glaze chemicals and I'm making sure that I wear gloves and a respirator when I need to. So far, the only thing I've really noticed, is the decreased energy level. I feel great in the mornings, but when afternoon rolls around, I sure do get sleepy! It's hard to keep working at the pace I used to, so that has been a change. As I get bigger and get some photos of the baby belly, I'll post them. But stay tuned - there's a lot going on my life - building a house, growing a baby, and always working in clay!