Snow day number 4 and "stuck" in the studio

So, Atlanta has been hit with some snow and ice.  In any other city- where there are more than 8 plows and maybe a salt truck or two... the maybe 5 inches of snow that fell on monday would be a total non-issue; dealt with on monday... a quick pass through with the plows, a scattering of salt- maybe some sand- and good to go.  But here in the south, we are just not prepared for weather of this nature.  It literally shuts us down.  School- and all county and government agencies- has/ have been closed for the last four days.  There will probably not be school again tomorrow-- and then it is the weekend!  oh- and MLK day on monday- so no school then either!

I know that many people around here are getting pretty stir crazy.  Admittedly, it is a little harder having children around for so many days in a row.  Thank goodness my in-laws are so amazing and helpful- aaaaand- right around the corner.  The children are with them for the day and having a grand ole' time.   And i am here, "stuck" in the house and i couldn't be happier.  Really.  I could be "stuck" here for weeks on end and not have a thing to complain about.  I am listing things on Etsy that i haven't been able to get around to forever; like this tray and these earrings....  and many other wonderful things!

I have also been taking photographs of many more items and editing editing editing....  as well as finishing out some other pieces so that i can run a bisque fire.  Trying to stock the shop with some items that will be good for valentines day.  I also just finished a painting and am beginning another right now.  These paintings- the images - are intended for a very special occasion/ opportunity that i can't mention yet, but hope to be able to soon.  stay tuned!

I hope you are all having a great day.  If you are feeling "stuck" inside, i challenge you to do something creative.  Maybe pull out some watercolors and doodle with paint...  Grab a box of your kids' crayons and get down to some scribbling.  Crayons are really underrated. :o)

here is a shot of our cozy, twinkly house as the snow was falling on Monday night

snow days are also great for organizing cupboards and cabinets

and for photographing the hundreds of items you have waiting to be listed in your etsy shop

Now, if you will excuse me, i have some scones to make. :o)

so.. yeah. um.... it's been five and a half months

do you think that i will ever get into this regularly?  because i would very much like to.  

not to mention.... i was going to do a give-away when i hit 50 followers, and now i am at 63.  which is great!  except i haven't done my give-away yet!  grr...  so today i will gather a couple of goodies together and draw a name and we'll see who we get!  it will be good to cross that off the list!!

it was a crazy insane summer leading into a doubly insane fall.  the tea house is a busy place that consumes much energy and resources... and that is wonderful.  it also makes it a lot harder to be in the studio for any regular hours, and so my ability to work on artful things is pretty cramped and hindered by other responsibilities.  i don't say this to complain, but only to help me keep things in perspective.  like this blog :o)  i want to write regularly and i see it as something that will evolve....  but i need to be understanding enough with myself to see that there really hasn't been an opportunity for it to become a part of my routine yet.

Anywhoo...  i babble. 

when i have been in the studio, it has been great.... and as always i have so much fun working with the materials- whether it is clay, or paint or wood....   i was spending a lot more time painting through the spring and into the summer than i had in years, and that was feeling really good.  I am working with a friend on a book of prayers for   children, featuring my artwork, and it has come along really nicely.  hopefully we will get it fine tuned and off to a publisher soon.  We have a thumbs-up for the most part and now are just waiting to get it completely polished.  That will be fun to share with you when it is available.

Other than that, i spend time with my true love--- CLAY!  making lots of dishes and serving pieces as well as jewelry and buttons galore.  i have so many pieces to photograph and list on etsy and have been so busy running in different directions that i haven't had a chance to photograph and list them.  I just keep renewing items that are already there so i stay visible in the category... but i need to get listing some new items because i have so many fresh pieces just waiting in the wings!

Okay, well, i must get back to my house-cleaning - which is the task of the day (and much neglected of late.  the dust bunnies have morphed into something more closely resembling cattle, and i fear that my small children may be trampled if i don't take care of them)....  but i will leave you with a couple of photos of this and that...

hope you are all having a happy, cozy sunday.  i and i WILL be back again soon.  i promise. 
pinkie swear.

this is a painting/ clock that i did for a fundraiser held last moth for G-CAPP and an even that was held at Ikea here in Atlanta.

here are some of my leafy tapas plates getting ready to go out for a custom order.  i have some left that i will be listing as sets and individually in my etsy shop soon. 

magnetic bud vases-- all of these have been listed- chARiTyelise.etsy.com and a few of them are already gone... but there are some still for the taking.  They make such great stocking stuffers and teacher gifts, that i really need to get making more so that i can have a bountiful selection for the rest of my holiday shows.

okay-- that's all for now.  have a great day!





















  

bloggety blogging.....

...is so hard for me!!  but i really want to get better at this!!  ....  i am so inspired by people who post regularly- and interesting, thoughtful things....  i feel like i spend so much time running around like a chicken with my head cut off, that sitting down to write about it seems like a waste sometimes.  but i really want to cultivate the regularity of it and make it a habit for myself.   so- don't give up on me y'all!  i have a lot to say..... i just need to remember what it was!!  hehe.

in other news, i got out of town for a few days last week.  it was a much needed and very appreciated time away from my day to day, and a renewing and invigorating opportunity to be with other artists and people who appreciate the arts, at a wonderful conference in Pensacola, Florida.  The conference is called, "Wings to the Spirit", and aims to explore, among other things, the relationship between art and our spirits.  There were a number of wonderful presenters and workshops...  One of my favorites was a talk given by a wonderful, and very well known Canadian painter named Sasha Rogers.  SashaRogers.com  who also happens to be the daughter of another painter who i love named Donald "Otto" Rogers.  Her work is evocative of great landscapes and expansive vistas, but none of it is painted from landscape....  she talks a lot about her work describing the "place-less" and as an exploration of light and the spaces in between....   this is a terrible summation of her work, and she describes it all so brilliantly and articulately....  (you can read more about her work on her wonderful website).  I was inspired, not only by the works themselves, but the way she spoke about them, her process and the things that are the most rewarding about others experiencing her work.  The people who buy and live with her enormous, incredible paintings, often come to her telling her that they sit with their coffee in the morning and look at the painting... and that it is sort of a meditation for them that helps them start their day in a wonderful way.....  or that, when they come home and sit and experience the image that it calms and soothes them; helps them to find peaceful places within themselves.  She said that this type of feedback is the highest compliment that she can receive.

It got me to thinking more about why i do what i do and make what i make.  It is not a new question that i posed to  myself, i think about these themes often...  but since i have been doing more painting of late, and was getting ready for an exhibition at the tea house...  i found myself thinking again about my artist's "statement"....  which i have never really formalized into something that is typed up and printed out for anyone to read....  i have always found myself sort of stumped by what to say, and feeling like what i make is too "all over the map" to describe or talk about in any kind of tidy or succinct way; so i always veer away from trying  to describe it too much.  Anyway, i have been thinking about it more and more and what i feel about it right now is that my own work is very much about joy.  Joy that i feel from the process of creating it, joy as the "stuff" from which it is inspired... and joy as the hopeful outcome and experience for other people.  For me, one of the highest compliments that i ever receive about any of my work is that it brings other people joy; that they are happy when they see it, or use it- or give it as a gift.  There are other ideas and themes that i like to explore and that i could talk about here, but i will save that for another post.... because what it all boils down to right now, as i think about it, is this theme.  JOY.

well....  that's all for now.  heading into the studio for a few precious moments to see what i can come up with.  joyfully!

yellow butterfly

one year ago today my best friend's father passed away.  He was like a second father to me and i loved him as if he were my own daddy.  (and i still do).  i was with him when he passed, along with so many of his dear loved ones.  For days we surrounded him with prayers and love- for him, for one another.... and with song-- one of the languages he spoke so well.  and our hearts broke and simultaneously rejoiced as he slipped from this life into the next; no longer plagued by his pain.... the spring trees were bursting with blossoms and the birds were singing with all of their hearts; yellow butterflies flitted between the trees and flowers and Danny's soul departed from his body as we sang him home.


I think about him almost every day.  His  life example inspires me and spurs me on to be better and greater, more patient, more loving, to work for unity and peace and create work which makes others happy.... which may, in some way, inspire someone else.  Thank you Danny for your love in this world.  i feel your spirit whenever the wind blows.

27 followers!

thanks guys!  yay! i am more than half-way to my first goal of 50 followers!  thank you so much- i appreciate your being here!  i am working on a few things right now to make part of the surprise package when i reach my first 50 followers, and i will post a picture soon of the actual contents of the box!  for now, it is back to the studio to finish up this mug order, glaze some earring components, work on some paintings, do some paperwork and catch up on some other orders.  oh- and list some more pieces in my shop  --like  this one 

 Have a great day all! thanks again for being here!

hi there!

hey there!  just checking in to say hello and that i have not forgotten this little blog!  i have been sick with the cold that never ends for a couple of weeks now and i am finally on the mend.... but nursing a bit of a head-ache today....  that, coupled with the gray and rain today sort of make me want to just drink peppermint tea and curl up with a good book.  Alas, i am fasting and there will be no tea for me until after sunset and i have approximately 19,000 things on my to do list, and so i don't have the luxury of doing much relaxing today. 

i pulled a fairly good sized mug order out of the kiln the other day and was so relieved to have it out of the way, as it had been hanging over my head for much too long.  The mugs were picked up and the check was written and then i got a phone call; "The mugs are too small".  all of them.  and so i need to re-do them all.  harumph.

but i did pull some other sweet things out of the kiln that are colorful and springy and now i need to take a bunch of photos....  but let's see if i can find a picture to share with you for now, before i head back into the garage to throw some bigger mugs.  ugh.

   totally unrelated to the post above....  these are some little magnets i made about 2 years ago.... i am thinking of making some more.....

and these little flower components...  because they are so bright and cheerful

and i am so eager for spring!

where have you been all my life?!?!?

OMG.  i never really say that.  but it kind of makes me laugh.... and it did seem sort of appropriate right now because i am sooooo excited!!  so- OMG!!!  PRECIOUS METAL CLAY--- where have you been all my life???  my friend Molly, of Rockwater Glass, here in atlanta, gave me a little package of this stuff to play with a couple of months ago... and then she fired it for me and it went for a little tumble in her rock tumbler the other day.... i used a silver tarnish on one set of beads- just experimenting, and the other pendant and beads i left in their super, shiny, fresh from being tumbled state--- and i am IN LOVE!!!  these photos aren't the best, because i have missed the best light of the day and am taking these in the office with very poor light--- but i was just too excited to show them off to wait for the correct lighting!!

i think i am going to have to keep these for myself.  Then again, i always say that, and somehow, i always end up selling the things i like the most.  I guess i will just have to make more!!  my head is swimming now and i can't wait to get  my hands on more of the stuff!!!

 

  

  

 

i can't wait to try something else!!  look out for these 

and forthcoming pieces in my my etsy shop soon!