It’s a busy busy snow day around here. snowmen. weaving. dress up. book making. carving. I know MORE gems…. after I carved these they went straight into the ink onto paper then they migrated to the clay studio to have some fun in the dirt. I’ll have to play with the composition a bit, I just really couldn’t stop myself.
I took a moment this week to check out the drawing clay exhibit at Central Michigan University. Showcasing pieces on loan from artists all over the country such from Jenny Mendes, Beth Lambert & Woozel, Israel Davis and JustinRothshank, see more here. I took my nut along and she made a little art of her own, of all the slides on the wall she chose a frame of the Guggenheim museum and drew her own rendition.
It was so refreshing to see art in 3-D, I have been looking at lots of images lately but appreciated experiencing the pieces from all sides and getting to see the spectrum of colors of the unglazed portions of clay, earthenware, terra-cotta, stone-wares and porcelains. I am encouraged by the realm of possibilities in the different firings (wood, gas, electric) and the different types of surface design on clay. Many prints, decals and layers of slip & glaze. Inspiring for sure, it runs until Saturday.
I have been reading out loud to my girls the Judy Moody series. Judy is a moody little girl and I think my kiddos are starting to see the humor in her swings, in which she famously voices her displeasure by announcing “roar”.
It has been busy the last few weeks making extra pottery for the holiday shopping season. This week I opened a glaze load which for most potters charges the “mood” of a child excited on Christmas morning. After initially getting excited my mood turned sour when I recognized that the glaze flowed down the pieces onto the shelves making a “roar” of a mess. This happens from time to time for various reasons, in college some blamed “kiln gods,” others blamed bad chemistry, but it is simply the mystery of the trade – pottery can be a craft of luck. A lot of the pieces turned out just fine, some I will need to clean the bottoms of, but more than I like will be thrown out. Nevertheless EVERY shelf was left with glaze pieces that need to be scraped off, which is like 100x worse than any spillage you’ve ever had in your oven… totaling hours of work. Not exactly how I wanted to be spending my few moments in the studio – “roar”.
I humbly share these photos, instead of beautiful finished pieces today because this was a good lesson learned for me. Needing a little break and encouragement I turned to my lesson in Acts for a little reprieve. Leave it to the Lord to teach me a few things about moods. Paul and Barnabas had been teaching in Lystra and preformed a miracle, which sends the crowd in the wrong direction. The people begin worshiping the men as the gods of Zeus and Hermes, Paul rebukes them and pleads his mortality stating “we are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them.” They were in danger of stealing God’s spotlight for the miracle, setting the record straight that only God is the creator and ALL-mighty. I love that our lesson linked this Acts passage with Romans 1:25, ”They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the creator – who is forever praised. Amen.
Ugh – how important is it for my heart to hear that going into this Christmas season. My desire to make things is in danger of diverting my attention from remembering God’s most precious gift that he gave us. My gloomy “roar” must sound like a bitty kitty compared to the lion’s “ROAR.” We are called to preach the good news that Christ has come, just as Paul and Barnabas had to the early church. Their road was laden with hardships but also glimpses of glory. I can just hear the “ROAR about your little bitty pots Kate, I am your creator who breathed life into you! You make things that can be destroyed, but I made you a vessel that can bring me praise!” I know that this all seems a bit dramatic, but isn’t this necessary sometimes to realign us in our place and focus our attention on the everlasting. I am very thankful to be able to have this gift of making things especially the ones that bring my attention full circle. There is only one perfect gift!
It’s been a busy week, not as much catching up on sleep as I would have hoped for. This weekend the weather is supposed to be beautiful, so I am planning a little nap in the sun and hike in the autumn woods – we’ll see if the kids cooperate. It seems like I have had a little container theme happening this week with my posts. Next week I will branch out, promise, fall is so inspiring for me. Did you catch my leaf rose tutorial on design*sponge this week? Eek, glad so many folks loved it!
I will be returning to my needles once the chill returns. I have had some requests for these little knitting bowls – don’t they just make you want to learn how! These clever little guys neatly hold your ball of yarn and you can wrap your yarn through the “y” or thread it through a hole. Each bowl is a little different – I am loving this new green glaze which pools into drips of silver. Quite a few are now available at Back Alley Fibers and most of these pictured will be listed in the shop. Lisa from the fiber shop gifted me with a beautiful skein of white yarn and a new pattern. Thanks Lisa, I can’t wait to try it out! Have a great weekend y’all!
It’s the last week of summer vacation – we are too busy to grieve it. This week has been about 1-on-1 breakfast dates with the girls, parties, friends, camping, bike rides, and movies just because in the morning. I am trying to squeeze every last moment of snuggles and tea party time. I have barely been down to the studio, but I did manage to squeeze a few yarn bowls and buttons in. Next week school begins and I will resume my kiln loading schedule.
I have also been a bit of a book-worm this week, mostly with Madeline l’Engle’s book Two Part Invention: The story of a marriage. There is something beautiful about one sharing their story, the rawness of emotion and ability to see beyond the figures, to get lost in their pain and caught up in their joy. Maybe that is our nature to be curious about others journey not from the outside but in its raw state. I am savoring and pondering her words, I may have more to weigh in on later. For now, here is a raw view of my clay, still wet and vulnerable to change. Fingerprints still visible on the surface as they are slowly dried and waiting for transformation; first in the heat, then their surfaces will be painted. Afterward they will be admired from the outside, the seen form. Will the beauty of the rawness be forgotten? Will anyone see them for the love and personal touch that is underneath? That is the real story, the process, the making, the transformation.
As promised I have been working on these and quite a few are now available in the shop. More to come shortly. You can learn more about these journals by reading this post, which was picked up by WordPress’ Freshly Pressed.
Luckily my mom came up this week before the **last** storm of the season (fingers crossed). Fortunately we were blessed with two snow days – I am reflecting merely on the “time together,” not being blessed with the new foot of snow. It was great to have her around and I am thankful for her hands-on-time with the girls. I was able to get a bit more done as I have been planning some Spring events for camp, finishing art projects, taking photographs, listing items on etsy, cooking, cleaning, multiple (6) loads of laundry, and held a friend’s new baby, who was just 1 day old. As a side note I ran 15 miles this week! I don’t think I have ever run that much, but it feels good to get out and takes less time than the pool. Now it’s the weekend, time to slow down and enjoy the much-needed sunshine.
I think I am really liking photography too lately, hope you enjoy:
I opened my first glaze load Tuesday morning, which yielded some of the richest colors! I am so pleased at so many of the results, I have a hard time picking my favorites, I just love colors and variety. I will be updating my etsy shop this week, so be checking for first dibs! The book covers will follow shortly as they take a bit more time to hand craft.
Handmade For Japan’s mission is to raise money through an online auction on March 24-27 for relief efforts to assist the victims of Japan’s catastrophic earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear emissions.
In Kasama and Mashiko, centers of ceramic production that are about halfway between Tokyo and Sendai, potters were hard hit by the quake when brick kilns collapsed and years’ worth of production shattered in minutes. Moved by the desire to support their fellow artists, three enterprising women in the United States have organized Handmade for Japan, an online auction of handmade work donated by Japanese artists and American artists with ties to Japan.
Ayumi Horie, a Japanese-American potter who lives in Hudson, N.Y., recruited her friends Kathryn Pombriant Manzella and Ai Kanazawa Cheung to solicit donations and set up the auction, while the illustrator David Gordon designed a logo overnight. Offers of support, in-kind donations and handmade goods have poured in via Twitter, Facebook and e-mail. And artists including the illustrator Lisa Congdon, the textile designer Kaoru Oka and the ceramists Jun Kaneko, Justin Rothshank, Kathy Erteman and Diana Fayt, to name a few, have contributed paintings, shawls and, of course, pottery. The auction will go live on eBay on March 24 and will run through March 27. Through GlobalGiving, 100 percent of the auction proceeds will support relief efforts in Japan. To see more, check out Handmade for Japan’s Facebook page and Twitter feed.
read more of this NY times article here.
This is actually an ugly sketch… but, I don’t want to waste any more time. I off to my studio to thow a couple of these ideas on the wheel.
This morning I stopped by the art center and cracked open a class kiln, so exciting to see how everyone’s things turned out! amazing! I was able to sneak a few of my own things in the empty space as I am testing out new glazes. I’ll have to take some photos this week.
Time to get these hands dirty. Have a beautiful sunny day, glad I have a window downstairs.
