Take me Home, Country Road

Oh, John Denver may have been onto something....

Ok, I admit. It's an overplayed and somewhat cheesy song but it's been playing in my head the last week or two.
Possibly with good reason.

I'm packing up and heading home soon.
I return with a few more physical scars, no less wounds than before, more knowledge about myself, my work, my process, and my limits for each.
I'm excited to get back into a healthy routine, continue the artwork, love on all my people, and look forward to the next big adventure. Whatever and wherever that may be!



...to the place where I belong!.....

lame duck

There isn't any point to making new work since I'm about to leave soon.
It's been this way for about a week.

SO.

I helped prep the kiln.
Now that it's firing, we play a waiting game.
I've wrapped and packed up my finished work.
I've cleaned my studio.
Tomorrow, I'm cleaning out my car and packing it as much as I can.
We're hoping to unload Wednesday.
I'm hoping to take the work from the kiln to my car.

So, I'm hanging out. It's raining.
I'm hoping the rain clears long enough for me to hike Overlook.

waddle waddle.
quack quack.

quick update - 9/10/10

We will finally be doing a first firing early next week. I will be cranking out work til then. And immediately after since we'll be firing again just a short time after that. I am hoping the larger pieces will help fill the kiln faster. We'll see.... it all depends on if I can manage to stop killing them. I require a high tolerance of abuse from my pieces... and the change in scale means a learning curve for just how much the new scale will take. and when. It's a learning curve I'm not fond of, but necessary. I'll deal with it and learn in the process. It'll improve when my throwing large skills improve too. They often coincide.

In the meantime, it's life as normal on the side of this small mountain. I see the same few people every day. Pluse a new resident who is kind, smart, and funny. The days blur together... weekends blending into weeks and on and on. I crave my routine back home, as chaotic as it is. It's familiar and maybe that's what I miss the most.

It's cool here. Fall has hit. and you can see the evidence in the tip top of the trees.... the beginning of some kick ass beauty.

Back to the studio....

frustration

There is a point of frustration in which you know you must walk away or destroy what you've just created. One or the other. This is where I am today.

I'm challenging myself by working larger. It's been going slow but surprisingly well. I clearly need practice to improve these skills that haven't been exercised in years. But, today, my muscles and my clay are not getting along. In the process, both are exhausted and my patience is pushed to its limit.

I feel I see the same 5 people every day. There seems to be a great lack in variety.

What to do now?

If I try to push through, I risk giving in to my frustration and throwing my work against the wall. Most likely while screaming at the top of my lungs. If I walk away, I risk losing precious working time.

It seems I lose either way..... which is the greater loss?

today we try something new

Today... it's try something new day.

Or, I should say, try something you haven't done in years day.

I want my work to be larger... so I need to throw larger.
This is a CHALLENGE.
I know I can... I've done it before.
but..... that was years ago.

SO. Today we try something new.

Prayers, thoughts, and good vibes are highly appreciated today.
I will need a huge shield against my own frustration today.

gypsies

Not much to report.
I'm here.
I'm working.
I haven't been eaten by a bear or gone entirely stir crazy mad. (yet. if it rains again, beware.)

News? Gypsies! that play kicking music!

Turns out the Byrdcliffe Property Manager is a talented little musician and is part of a gypsy band. We happened to hear a tuba (he plays a tuba) drifting into the house the other night, realize that it was their band rehearsal.... so what'd we do?

Crash it.

We grabbed our beer and went down to the barn where they were rehearsing. It was such an enchanting experience I don't even have words for it. The barn was all clean and glitzed up since there was a wedding there this weekend... twinkle lights all over the place. And these gypsies (who aren't really)... an accordion, a tuba, a violin, and one handheld drum instrument (maybe Russian?). It was absolutely gloriously happy. We drank our beer in perfect contentment, happy as larks, bouncing around enjoying their beautiful and jovial sound.

They had a gig in town the next night. We ventured out to hear them. They had an amazing performance but it didn't have the same vibe. They are fairly new and are adamant about sticking to the streets. They will play gigs, house parties, various venues, etc but refuse to engage virtually. No facebook, no youtube, no digital. It's a refreshing change in thought.

I'm planning on buying their CD so I can carry the gypsy joy home with me.

Other than that:
We went hiking this morning. stunningly beautiful.
I'm making work... and trying to get out of my new found artistic existential crisis.
*but, as my best friend put it... "if you had the answers you'd be done... enjoy the process" and she's right. and I am. mostly. sometimes art making is a painful process... I do seem to have some semblance of a direction now, though, and that is a glorious beautiful thing.*

That's all for now. If my hiking post didn't satiate your picture lust, you can find more on my flickr. It's a pain to upload photos through blogger so I'll probably just link to flickr from now on.

I love and miss everyone back home!!

Studio - 8/16/10

The whole point of running away from home was to focus and get some work done. Right? right.

Well, you'll be proud to know that is actually happening! I am managing to fight my way out of my funk and make some new work. I am still struggling to find some definite direction but at least work is being made. I've included some pictures so you can see things in process. I am trying out several different clay bodies to see how I like working with each and to test them out in the soda kiln. We'll see what happens! I am excited about that element, if nothing else. The opportunity to fire in soda again! ...it THRILLS me...

I've had some ideas start to roll around my brain lately, so I'll likely start those up in the next few days. You never know sometimes. It seems the best way to get these ideas out of my head is to start making them. In some cases they succeed enough to spin me into a new direction. In others, it's the failure that causes me to learn and to move on to something else. It's all part of the process....

All in all, being surrounded by clay and clay artists reminds me why I love this medium. It's also making me see just how lazy I've become. How many different clay bodies exist out there? And how HUGE of a difference can that make on your work? And WHY have I been ignoring such a simple part of the potter's process? I think partly it's money and convenience. I don't always have the money to buy a clay body. I definitely don't have the money to buy a clay mixer (oh, how I wish). And my despise of waste brings me to recycling my clay to the point of it being an indeterminate mixture of white stoneware and porcelain. It works, but is it the best for my work? I don't know the answer. And firing temperature ranges and styles... all sorts of different solutions and approaches to working in clay. I feel like I've been ignoring an elephant in the room for the past 3 years. I have much to consider, much to rethink, and much to test.

My creative funk this year may have been a huge blessing. It has given me enough pause to look into residencies... to get accepted to one, and to make the trip happen. Now that it's here, I am thankful that I have that pause to see all that I haven't thought about in years. Why? I'm not sure. Part laziness, part blindness, part stubborn youth.... I'm sure there is more to it than all that. Whatever the reason, I'm glad to be here and to have the opportunity to feed off other clay artists, their ideas, their process, and to chew on their feedback and encouragement.

I'm thrilled just to be making new work. I'm sure I'll reconsider and reevaluate my work when I get home. I hope to always keep things in check. Every artist should. Given that I have certain opportunities here that are currently unavailable to me back home, I will explore those first and foremost. The rest.... well, I'll have to make time for it on my return.

My studio!

My studio entrance...

The first of the cast feet!

And a peek at what I've been up to!

Woodstock Beginnings

I have arrived.

Be warned. You will get few updates and blog posts from me. Why? It's not for lack of trying. This is far more remote than I had anticipated. Yes, there is a town. Don't blink too much though... you might miss it. Yes, I'm only 2 miles from that town. As I have found, though, 5 feet can make or break your internet connection. SO. Don't expect much, okay? And don't even try to call. Though, I usually get my text messages!

I'll try to post something every other week or so as I get down to the library or the coffee shop to do some work.

This week's update includes..... not much.

Not much has happened really. I survived the long haul of a drive. I have massive mosquito bites on my feet from a backyard in Arlington, VA. (Thanks, Cody. I appreciate that memento.) Thanks, Mom, for the magical ointment. It's working wonders. I also managed to drive through NJ Turnpike traffic and not die. Or kill anyone else. Marge's window (my car, Marge) is still yelly and unhappy.... but we managed. With the right crack of the window and appropriate volume on the radio, you hardly notice. If it's raining... well, it usually pipes down during rain. The real problem remains a mystery. Rich, the ceramics coordinator suggests I call NPR's Car Talk. I think this is a fantastic idea. If only I had a cell signal to do that.

It's going to be an adjustment, living here. Those who know me, know that I don't handle silence all that well. It's REALLY quiet here. I mean, really. quiet. I am enjoying the fresh air, untainted by soggy hotness. I love falling asleep to a symphony of crickets, cicadas, and who knows what else. I've been told there are bear and coyote and I hope not to run into any. One of my roommates (there are 3 of us in one house, not 10. yaay! apparently the Ceramics residency is separate. and more fun. go figure.) informed me she saw a bear on the road a week or so back... thankfully she was in her car. Hmmm... Thanks, Dad, for that unreasonably large maglite. It's coming in handy. It's also SUPER dark. It's both nice and really odd. Maglite.... super handy. So, yeah, I'm the city girl from South Carolina.... who isn't really a city girl. except by comparison.

I'm going through some disconnect withdrawals. I'm oddly accustomed to seeing quite a lot of people in one day. And accustomed to having the interwebs at my fingertips. Odd on both counts. I will adjust, in time. Needless to say, I miss everyone.

I am settling into my studio, which is awesome! I rode up with Rich to Albany to get some clay this morning. As potters do... we stopped at a local Italian bakery. I bought some bread and can't wait to have some of it. Cheap and delicious. There is also a closer clay supply in Kingston which is a short drive... I'll be going there later this week. I'm throwing new work... trying to get my bearings on where I'm going with everything and planning to fire the soda kiln by month end with Rich. HOORAH!!

That's all for now. I'll see if I can post some pics tomorrow.
love from Woodstock!

tick tock

I can almost feel my summer slipping away from me. I have a few short weeks before I head up to Woodstock, NY for the remainding 2 months of the summer.

Every weekend of my calendar until then is full and bursting at the seams.
an impromptu 3 week show.
Helping my sister move.
Packing my own apartment.
a Yard Sale.
a 5k race.
2 hopeful concerts.
a sleepover with my niece.
Moving my apartment.
and hoping to make some artwork in the midst of all that.

so much to do, see, and soak in.... and so little time!

slacker

I haven't been very diligent about keeping up with this blog, for a variety of reasons. I'll spare you the list that just cropped up in my brain.

At any rate, I'm still around....

And I'm running. I had a 2-3 week hiatus recently as I had a Spring Show to prepare for and a corporate boss in town. I have new orthotics and took them for a 3 miler yesterday. The orthotics were great. My body was not. In a short period of time, I have lost some of my already short endurance. I'm starting this week easing back into a routine. 3 miles, 3-4 times a week, cross training in between. I'm tired of battling shin splints. I'm bound and determined to shake them this summer. It's going to take effort and focus on my part, but I know I can do it. Once we get there, I'll start on my next goal. McDaniel. the entire length of it, no walking. From there, I hope to be training for a fall half.

I'm still in the studio. I have been sitting in an artistic funk since March. I'm attempting to pull myself out of that dreadful hole day by day. I've been accepted into an artist residency program in Woodstock, NY this fall. I'm pumped about that opportunity and the breakthroughs that go with it. It's a huge incentive to get myself creatively juiced up before I get there. In the meantime, I'm simply saving cash like a madwoman in an effort to be able to eat while I'm up there!

I'm hoping to use this blog as a way to streamline keeping people informed during the two months I'll be in Woodstock. I know I'll have a lot of people wanting to know how I'm doing and what I'm doing. check here. It'll be the easiest way for me to stay in touch.

In other news, I am working on getting rid of those marathon pounds I gained over the winter. I've shed some of them, still working on the rest of them. I have a feeling that if I stay focused, get rid of my shin splints, train smart.... I'll get back to where I want to be.

In the meantime, I have a dear friend signed up to run Nike Women's with Team in Training this October. I cannot wait to run with her, train with her, and help her along in her experience with TNT. I miss it and cannot wait to do another race with a great and amazing organization.