Sheer Stubbornness

In my last post, I indicated I was "incubating." That includes reading excerpts from the blogs of other artists, signing up for RSS feed and e-mail notices.

One artists is Lesli Kathman of Blackberry Lane Pottery. She makes molds of her incredible horse sculptures.

Check out her blog at:

http://blackberry-lane.blogspot.com/

Now I've had a little experience in mold making, but nothing like this. And I'd never say "never," but I don't see myself making multi-part molds. (I can be patient about about a lot of things--this is not one of them) Still, reading her blog has been most educational and awe-inspiring. Lesli is very generous in sharing her techniques and things that go on behind the scenes (so much about the process is not just the making of art, but preparing, cleaning up, experimenting and learning). Perhaps someday I'll get to meet her.

In her January 24, 2010 post, Lesli discusses the steep learning curve of mold making and how so many aspects of the ceramic process require a lot of knowledge and experience. Her last phrase really resonates--

"the most useful trait for someone taking up ceramics is just sheer stubbornness."

To that I would add practice, persistence, and a good sense of humor.

Incubating--Creating without Getting Your Hands Dirty. Sculpting--Getting Your Hands Dirty

The studio was idle for several days as we prepared for the holidays (way too last minute!) and took time to reflect on 2009.

The last year has been a bittersweet journey--mostly sweet, but some doors have closed. I won't go down memory lane here, except to say the healing process has been a journey. However, I do see daily reminders that things that seem to be gone are not really so, just in a different realm. There are some life experiences for which you cannot prepare, and they change you forever. Already, I have seen the influence in my art.

I haven't forgotten that many very big windows opened in 2009, not the least of which was getting the studio operational and the gallery set up!

These days I am plotting out some exciting activities for 2010, doing research for new projects, and sculpting like a fiend (can you say "long days in the studio and lots of hand cream at night?"). That's part of the reason I have not been blogging as often as I'd like.

So thank you for checking in! I promise, a lot is going on behind the scenes, including a couple of new works--the sculpture is almost done on one. It fits in beautifully with my People and Their Companion Animals body of work, but may be a surprise to those who know me. All I will say for now is, it's been in my head, and I am thrilled it's now out in the 3-D tangible clay version.

As soon as I can get my camera to communicate better with my computer, the photos will come faster and furiouser. ;-)

I the meantime, here are some angels for inspiration created by, Yes--2nd graders that I worked with just before the holidays.

Can't you just hear them singing?