Have you ever decided to clean out an area only to feel guilty that you should be doing something else? Maybe not, but I have! I just spent the last couple of days cleaning out my studio and the whole time I’m saying to myself “you should be throwing”. But I pushed through and got my space all organized. I decided to take my reject pots and break them up and use them as decoration in the garden. I threw out bits of dried out saved clay, donated some to my friend Dorothy (who has a pug mill and can reuse the clay) and reorganized the rest. I even found new clay I didn’t even remember having. I created zones for the different processes of making pottery. I even made a dedicated shipping area for my Etsy sales. It’s a beautiful thing! So yesterday I tried on my new space for size. It felt so liberating to be in a clean, well organized space. I felt at peace while I worked – even my work looked better. Ah – now to tackle my clothes closet!

I am finally getting a break from school and am in the studio again to work. I set up my “booth” because I needed some pictures of my set-up to send to the McQueen High School Craft Fair people,and realized I am frightfully low in merchandise! Next week is going to a have a mug day! I’ve been making some large bowls for pasta or salad, which is a lot of fun, but have been neglecting the smaller stuff. SO, on my to-do list for next week: 1. Make mugs 2. Make egg poachers 3. Make water decanters with matching cup for the night stand (ok, so that one is just for fun).
I’ve been listing some of my newer stuff on my Etsy store. I’ll be the first one to admit that my photos are not the best. I need to work on that.
I’m optimistic for this coming year. I plan on doing several fairs. I enjoy getting out there and meeting people and talking about my work. In May, I plan on doing Bark in the Park. Its a great community event that raises money for our local animal rescue. They have great dogs and cats looking for a great home. Plus its fun to spend the day in the park watching all the dogs.
I’m off to the studio to make some glazes! Have a great day!

I’ve always contended that red was the one true neutral.  “Red goes with everything!”  I would proclaim.  I can find a shade of any basic color that goes with red.  But now I’m committing adultery on red with orange.  I have become smitten with orange. Orange is one of those “I stand on my own two feet” kind of colors. Orange doesn’t necessarily go with everything, like red. But oh does it make my heart jump for joy when I see it. Maybe because I’m in the throes of gray winter and orange is a reminder of the warmth to come.  I am so over winter. I can’t wait to move somewhere else where winter isn’t so gray and cold. I miss the winters of So Cal when Christmas was in the 70′s and going to the beach over Christmas vacation was expected. I look outside and see frozen fog covering everything and it just reminds me how cold it is outside.  I think its time for a change of venue. Orange here I come!

Well, if you’ve read my previous posts, you know I’ve applied to grad school to become a Physician Assistant.  Although I’ve been rejected by several schools and am still waiting to hear from the last two that I have applied to, I press on.  I’m taking a Nursing Assistant course so that I may get some hands-on patient care experience that is required by some programs.  I have the science courses behind me. Gratefully I walked away with A’s in Anatomy and Physiology. But the road ahead is difficult.  My husband is facing losing his job after 20+ years and probably taking another position with his company somewhere else.  So we’re probably moving by the end of this year.  I will apply one more time for PA school and see if I can get in with additional experience under my belt.  If I don’t, I’ll focus on my art work.

Last year, I lost the zing that creating gives me. I think it was primarily my work load at school, but also the custom orders I took. Even though I like making specific things for people, it does tend to take the creative fullfillment that doing art with complete abandon gives. This year, I’ve decided not to do custom work unless I can retain creative freedom and allow for the serendipidous nature that art can have.  I have also promised myself to spend more time in the studio.  Spend more time contemplating the possibilities through art.

There’s nothing like a change of scenery to get a new perspective on your work. The week spent at the beach opened my eyes to new ways of creating. Taking inspiration from the elements on the beach and in the tide pools, I am looking at clay with different possibilities. I am excited for the things I made today to be finished. I lack patience when it comes to waiting for clay to dry. Very frustrating.

By the way, check out my new friends at Thorpe Woodworks http://www.thorpewoodworks.com/

If you ever have a group of people that you’d like to spend a relaxing week with, I highly recommend the Vistamar house at Seabright Beach in Santa Cruz. I spent a week with my family ~ 15 adults and kids ~ and it was great! The house is comfortable and well appointed. We each took turns cooking dinner which was easy in such a great kitchen. The view was priceless. The beach just steps away from the back patio and best of all it was a great way to celebrate my dad’s 80th birthday. I can’t wait for us to go back!

As I’ve been preparing for the Christmas season – not just making pottery to sell but also looking what I’ll give as gifts, I’ve been surfing Etsy for the fun and unique.  Please take a look at my favorites. There are some really talented artists on Etsy!

I’ve just listed a pair of personalized mugs for grown ups.  I’ve made some as wedding gifts and they have been a huge hit! Who wouldn’t want something with their last name on it?

Giving a gift that has been made by human hands I think holds a special significance. There is something mystical, organic and beyond the ordinary in things made one at a time.  When I make pottery to sell, its not a series of motions I go through mechanically.  I take care in each piece I form thinking of not only its aesthetic value but about the person who might ultimately use this piece.  I know many artists who feel the same way about what they make.  Giving gifts that are made by an individual also gives the recipient a comfort in knowing how this was made, where it was made and what materials are used.  The Reno Artists Co-Op has as their slogan “Be Original – Buy Orignal” that I think sums it all up.

So as you are contemplating what you will give this year, because you know you will, think about supporting the artists in your local area or try one on Etsy.  You will not only be helping a small business owner, but more importantly you’ll be giving something that was fashioned by hand, not mass produced with unknown materials and processes.

After the divorce and some much needed maturing on my part, I went back to college.  But with two little girls, med school was definitely out of the question.  So I got a business degree, which kept me gainfully employed throughout the years and forgot about med school.  Funny how life has a way of making your path for you and then bringing you full circle.

So I recently went back to school to take some science courses to see if I still had it in me. Believe it or not, I did.  Now I’m not going to say it has been easy – quite the contrary.  I’ve spent countless hours studying the material, carrying around my flash cards that I can whip out when I have a spare few minutes and truly dedicated myself to learning as best I can.

This week I sent off my application for Physician Assistant school.  I applied to five schools hoping that one of them will see my potential and offer me a spot.  My daughters are in grad school now or will be soon.  We could possibly end up at the same school! Weird!

The pottery continues to keep me sane. Through the last year and a half I’ve come to depend on my time in the studio;  to be able to unwind or ponder over what I learned that week. I will forever be an artist, now I’ll just be an artist with a paycheck – hopefully.  .  .

Domatcha green tea! It’s good for you, full of anti-oxidants and lots of other good stuff. It has caffeine but not the jitters that coffee gives you.  Sometimes I need a little extra boost to keep me going and this does the trick. Ray is going to be working 6 days a week for quite a while, so I figured what better time to get caught up on my work.  Just a good cup of tea and I’ll be a workin’ fool! I will get my pottery inventory caught up, paper work done, the book will get closer to being completed, finish getting my Christmas presents together — this will be a good thing.

By the way, if you call me and I talk too much, just chalk it up to the tea. Oh, and tell me to quit talking so much and get back to work.

Today I found out that my daughter’s best friend’s mother is dying of cancer. My daughter is not yet 29 so this woman who is dying is probably my age. I feel sad for this family. This woman gave herself to her children and her marriage. She always put her family first. Her oldest had her first child this year. She has been able to meet her first grandchild who was just born a few months ago. But this child will not have the good fortune of knowing his grandmother personally. Like in so many families, the mother is the center of it all. With her gone, things are just not the same. I am reminded to be grateful for having my mother with me still, she is 75. I am grateful to be of good health for my daughters.

It also makes me realize that life shouldn’t be squandered. A day should not pass that you don’t tell the people you love, that you love them. Savor every memory you can make with them. Cherish every conversation you can have. Remember every happy time. Don’t waste time with the petty, insignificant squabbles. Put things in perspective. Share yourself to the fullest.

I hope that those whom I love, know I love them. I hope that I don’t let the opportunity to laugh with them pass by. Life is too short. Our time on this earth is limited. Don’t waste it. Make your life count for something. Not in material things that mean nothing, but invest in your relationships, invest in people. Live your life with no regrets. I don’t want to get to the end of mine wishing I had done more or loved more or anything more. I want to get to the end of mine and think I lived my life to the fullest.