Finding my way back home...

I'm back.

Back home.  Back in the studio.  

It's been a very long summer full of stress and oddities and not enough art.

I moved my mother and her partner-in-crime to a 

retirement center 3 weeks ago and am only just finding myself again.

They chose to remain in Florida which meant driving 8 hours 

every other weekend all summer in order to help them prepare.

That's ok.  I enjoy driving, and the return trip was a time to decompress.

(And I now know where all the Starbucks are between here and there,

as well as a great Barnes and Noble for emergency audiobooks.)

Watching my mother try to process all the changes was heartbreaking.

Add to that the stress of trying to make it as easy as possible for them 

(and in a short time frame) it was... intense.

I shall be forever grateful 

(I want an uber word for grateful... it isn't strong enough)

for the help and support of dear friends and family.  

I absolutely could not have done this nor remained sane without you.

The move was a success, and I'm relieved to say that 

they are settling in well and enjoying themselves.  

Not having to cook is a particular thrill!

 

 The cats and I extend a very special thank you to my neighbor and co-Queen, Karen Smyth, for her loving care while I was gone.

 And Earl da dementia dog is happy to be home.

a shallow sgraffito bowl... wasabi dish for sushi?  a cookie?
jello would be fun...  

Lack of sleep and excess stress has made my occasional 

double vision problems worse.

Maybe that's why I wanted to put glasses on the cat.  

Guido, unfortunately, has discovered he reeeeaaaally likes
my studio chair.  Without chain mail gloves it is too
dangerous to remove him. 

There are 2 shows coming up in November.  The Terra Madre Show 

November 10th and then the Foothills Guild the following weekend.

I will just do the best I can.

It will be whatever it is.

Tripod dishes & random thoughts

Ready to glaze a few new sgraffito tripod dishes.

I get a kick out of designing and carving these.  In part because
sgraffito (carving) forces me to loosen up... there's no erasing ; )
Everything ends up kinda quirky.

Neville the ring-tailed lemur.
I love these guys.  Couldn't have anything to do with
that black n white striped tail...



Random thoughts...

I wish I didn't crave coffee at 1am.
or that I liked decaf.

I find it odd that I often get hung up on the idea of
posting stuff in chronological order.
I sometimes hesitate to post something
(or don't post at all) because I think an earlier
event 'should' go up first.  really??!

I have the best kids.  ever.

I am not able to say the word 'mango' without smiling.
It's a funny word.

I probably shouldn't post stuff when I'm this tired.

Guido and sgraffito!

Guido poses and keeps me company while I dive into this coil-built bowl.
I like to use a Tombow watercolor pen... with a brush tip...to draw
guidelines on the underglazed surface.  And if I mess up?
Just grab a different color!  

Carving the design is great fun!
Although I have guidelines, I don't always follow them.
Spontaneously adding details is part of the joy,
as is watching the design appear bit by bit
The technique is also soothing and makes the time fly by.  Which is one of
the reasons I get to bed sooooo late.

After hours of carving it takes some time to
stretch out my ring finger (right hand.)  That's the one that had
trigger finger surgery in December.  I'm grateful that it doesn't hurt when I'm carving!

Can you find the 2 cats, 1 bug and 1 bird?

A side view as the bowl dries.
Here it sits on 2 boards so the bottom can dry more easily.
I also rotate it often, and turn it upside down on some foam.
These photos were all taken before the bisque (first) firing.  I'm thrilled to
report that it came through that firing just fine, and tomorrow I will glaze.

It's the little joys...

My new key holder and favorite Mike Quon illustration.

Bwahaha!

Here's my happy solution to having a loose key in the studio.  

No longer must I fumble around in a little bowl for

the key to the studio/patio door whenever 

Earl da dog wants in or out.

Bonus... the bird is also a whistle! 

This would be perfect for signaling Earl da dog 

to come in... if he weren't so deaf.

and now... back to work.

Color... lots of color!

I had a little hand surgery at the end of December.  

It was just a trigger finger release, 

but it kept me out of the studio for a while.

  

And what better way to get back into the swing of things than  

underglazing happy, colorful bowls?  

And not just any bowls, thank you very much...

but Bill Capshaw's lighter-than-air creations.

It was an honor and delight to play with these.  Play being the 

operative word.  No pressure.  Just fun.  LOTS of color.

This collaboration was for the Oak Ridge Art Center's
popular fundraiser, Souper Bowl.  

Custom designed mug

Here's a mug I made this past fall for a friend's husband's birthday.
It features their cats Oscar and Chloe.

Here's Oscar... complete with his dog bone name tag... chasing small animals,
one of his favorite activities.

Birthday mug in action.

The first time I made a mug like this the cat inside had longer arms.
This put his head well below the 'coffee line' which disturbed me to no end.
I couldn't bear to have his head submerged!
Now all cats have shorter arms... like Oscar above.

Chloe with her favorite toy... a catnip stuffed banana.

Kitchen Elf

Guido.  Kitchen elf extraordinaire.

It's 1:45 am Christmas eve, and I've just finished cleaning the kitchen.  We have our big turkey dinner the day before Christmas... a tradition I started about 23 years ago in order to share a relaxing day with the family opening presents and eating leftovers on Christmas day.  


Tonight I made the stuffing and a creamy crab soup. I used my favorite Karen Davis wooden spoons and a variety of lovely handmade ceramic bowls (ok, except for that blue plastic one in the photo.  It's the biggest bowl I have.)  These handmade items I use everyday... they're like friends.  I love that they don't match and that each one reminds me of where I bought it.  Maybe I was able to meet the potter.  Maybe the artist is a friend... someone I admire.  Maybe it's one of mine. They all make working in the kitchen pure joy!  


And then there's Guido.  Tonight he came in as I finished washing dishes, and he popped into the sink (he only likes a clean sink, thank you very much.)  There he kept me company... the picture of serenity.  Life is good.