Hibernation

The past two months have been a true time of hibernation for me. I have been making work at a very slow pace, but also catching up on other aspects of my life. Years ago in college, I had a talk with one of the visiting artists and she said her life was a constant balancing act between work, family, and resting time. When she noticed any one area was neglected, she focused on that. My very nature is not very good at resting for any length of time. So this winter, I've put some much needed energy into kicking back and hibernating a bit.

I was so surprised that my work on etsy is still making it's way into treasuries since I have not been actively listing new items for some time. This lovely treasury, thanks to Wren Willow highlights some locals in the Hudson Valley. And it is the first one I've seen that puts my work with my good friend's. Can you guess who that is? Hint, she is on an animal kick these days.

Workshop fun

Over the summer I took a workshop with Kristen Kieffer at Greenwich House Pottery. If you're not already familiar with her work, check it out here. The workshop went through her process of throwing and altering pieces along with surface decoration. And the class had time to make their own work. I had a blast. It had been years since I've taken a class and I really needed to get inspired. Months later I picked up the pieces I made. Here is the only thing I made on the wheel the whole time. It is quickly becoming my favorite cup for wine.
Years ago, I realized I preferred to handbuild over throwing pots. I have more control working slower and more intentionally than when on the wheel. It was fun to use someone else's stamps and build in a familiar way. Here are a tumbler and small dish, both handbuilt.
The dish has the most amazing peacock stamp, hard to see with the glaze.
Most of my time however was spent learning how to make curvy covered jars with slabs. The thrown shape that Kristen starts her jars with was easy enough to make without a wheel. Here is one similar to what I made back in August. Waiting to be glazed.

More to come soon...

I had hopes of writing on my blog weekly when I first started. Turns out not to be the case. I have a few orders waiting to be completed and photos of some projects I've been working on to post soon. The cold weather really put a halt on my production though. Luckily we're finally going to have temperatures above freezing this weekend, so I'll be back in action. For now, here's the latest pic from my fiance from a sweet little German town he visited.
I love all the cobblestone pathways and plants growing everywhere. Seeing this gets me motivated to make planters again. When I worked with terracotta, I almost exclusively made planters. Here's one of my favorites from that body of work.
I still have quite a few terracotta planters from my days of doing craft shows and plan on selling them highly discounted on etsy once it's a bit closer to spring.

Sending off

This month I ended up taking more time away from my studio than I expected. It’s not just that my space is so chilly that I have to warm up any clay I want to use the night before by our wood stove. There were many things that were neglected in our home for months which needed tending to. And for the past two weeks, I’ve been spending as much time as I can with my fiancé who is about to leave for Germany for about a month for medical reasons. So needless to say, my etsy shop and overall business are put on a hold a bit until I help him get on his way. Maybe I’ll get into more detail in future posts, but for now, here’s a picture of the area he’s going to… right in the Black Forest.
And a nearby town....love the red roofs.
Starting next week, I’ll be back in the swing of things both by posting on etsy and finally back in my studio making new work.

Regrouping

We're still in a major cold spell in the Northeast. Today my studio was a chilly 48 degrees, making me happy that I have a part time job in a warm comfy building as my day job. I usually slow down production in the winter since my studio is cold and it's hard to want to roll out icy clay. I look forward to this time of year as much needed time to regroup.
And that starts with a major cleaning. This year I went especially crazy and things from years ago. This is a box of pots I am letting go of representing college years to the present. I used to just purge them by smashing them, but my fiance is much more practical and doesn't see the point in creating more waste in this world. So he's going to find homes for them, just not ours.
I had planned on firing a bunch of heart trays and tags in time for Valentine's Day.....
But instead of pushing through another kiln's worth of work, I'm deciding to wait and use this time to experiment with new forms and to search for some glaze colors I've been wanting. In the meantime, I have lots of work to post from the last firing I did the end of last month. Here's a preview.

I'm back.

What a busy few weeks it's been. I had hoped to post before the holidays, but never had the time. Can't wait to get back to my studio and start to experiment with some new ideas. But, here's a quick recap since the last post. I took a complete vacation from the studio, the first in a long time.
First came over a foot of snow.
Then there was a frenzy of wrapping gifts and packing. All leading up to a lovely Xmas with my fiance's family. I love the little elf figurines that were uncovered from John's grandmother.
A few days later we were off to spend time with my parents. Another wonderful trip. Lots of food, some beer, family, and cookies. Did I mention cookies? Ever since I can remember, my mom and grandma have made tons of them. And not to break the tradition, my grandma made trays and trays this year along with her special Hungarian poppy and walnut rolls. Here's a look at some of the goodies I'm trying to resist gobbling down.Last night settling back after a long and filled few weeks, we lit a fire and had a bowl of hearty soup loaded with chard, zucchini, chickpeas, and rice pasta and a nice chunk of bread with brie. It feels good to be eating healthier and back to my normal diet again. That is after all the cookies are gone. Hope everyone had a joyful holiday season!!