sculptor not potter

I've clarified my own definition of what I do, of what I love to do. I love sculpting, not potting. I'm sure I'm not at all influenced by what happened yesterday.

On Fri I threw on the wheel for the first time in 3 months. Sat. I finished the bowl, which had some slab handwork around the top. Set it aside before I could trim it at leather-hard stage. That took till yesterday. Must have had a lot of humidity these last few days. Oh, my wrists were sore on Sat. from just throwing about 6 pounds. Ugh.

The trimming was going very well, but I kind of had a huge foot, and then I had a huge hole in the bottom of the bowl. Not the first time. So I threw a pancake and patched it into the hole, and went home. Will smooth it out when I go into studio in an hour probably, and perhaps save all that effort for one bowl. I'm trying to make a singing bowl, which has such thin walls it will make a pretty tone. But with the patch, that's highly unlikely.

I've got none of the goddess-trees finished, but waiting in the kiln room still. There are 5 at least so far...all differnet batches of left over clays. Today I think I'll do some more low fire red tree goddess making. It feels like a good day to start another one. I have a white clay tree that needs glazing, but needs some brush work that I'm putting off till I have another one too.

I did get some reglazing finished on some old mugs. They didn't turn beautiful that way. Oh well. They're functional. T he new glaze was to add some softness to the satin glaze that kind of was underfired looking. That happened, but there's also a kind of dirty cup look to them now, like the coffee hasn't been washed off. They will just be my home mugs probably now. They already have been for a long time!

Tonight is a Rise Up and Call Her Name class at the UU church here in Black Mountain. This is just the 3rd of 13, and the whole series promises to be really great. There are three wonderful facilitators, and this time I'm just a participant.

Oh, I forgot to mention that a week ago I turned in my resignation as the church administrator. Whow, it feels really good...I'm free in another 3 weeks. I'm telling them I won't be available to help after that. Mainly I'm so glad to not be pushed and shoved to be someone I'm not. I don't change my personality at this age. And in spite of lots of good people asking, I'm not willing to talk about it with a committee in order to help. Issues that were already resolved should somehow have a rubber stamp that says, finished, completed, so forget it already. Or perhaps the other parties just didn't want the issues resolved, and told people as if they were still current. The other people and other people and so on...petty politics in my view. At any rate, for me they are over. Ahhh.

I am a sculptor. I make goddesses. That's what I want to spend the rest of my life doing.

Barbara Rogers

Trees trees trees, and goddesses

I've been working again at the BMCA clay studio since March 1...but haven't felt like writing. Sorry about that. The image that I'm persuing is goddess in trees. It's turning into a series actually.
Since none of them are completed yet, there aren't any pictures, yet. Soon though.
Decisions to be made first. To glaze or not to glaze.
The Black Mountain Center for the Arts clay studio now has many new glazes, which can be combined a bunch and really look fabulous together.
But I've had the experience that glazes just have a mind of their own, and seldom look just like those great little test tiles. So it's a leap of faith, and I'm not sure my sculptures would be ok with zooming off into the fire of chance and coming out any way that glass might happen on them.
Trees have been talking to me. I started looking around whenever I was outdoors, which was pretty seldom with the cold winter around here...looking for trees that seemed to have a feminine twist. Didn't identify any, actually. So I thought, why is there a "green man" who's face is sometimes seen in trees? After all, a green woman would be just as possible.
So with that inspiration, I started putting faces, hearts, yonis (is the plural of that word yonis, or yonies?) and breasts...onto sculptural trees. Roots, I love the curves of roots. And branches, both those that are reaching up or out, and those which have now disappeared with the wonderful whorls left on the main trunk. Trees show their histories.
In honor of my friend who recently lost her breasts, I made a tree with inspirational substitutes in the location of breasts. A nest with some eggs sits in place of a right breast, and a mother bird on a branch for the left one. She's a Tufted Tit Mouse, of course. The folks in the studio got a kick out of that.
SO that's what's happening in my creative life. What's happening in yours?