New goddesses!

As Goddess of the forge, hearth, inspiration, smithcraft, cattle and dairies, and healing, Bridget is a Celtic wonder. My form is a lantern herself, in stoneware. You can lift her off the base, where all kinds of attributes are inscribed, and insert a votive candle.

She holds another lantern, much as a smithy might make.

Her cloak is closed with an ancient style clasp, a circle of metal with a pin piercing the cloth through it.

On her shoulder is her emblem, the Bridget cross, or an equal armed cross formed of folded reeds.

Saint Bridget is the Catholic version of much the same woman. (her name is spelled many different ways also) As a goddess she once asked the ruler of Ireland for more land on which to graze her cattle. He said you may have as much land as your cloak might cover (being a benevolent person). Her cloak then showed her powers, for as she flung it out, it magically extended to the shores on every side of the island. If you visit Ireland, I'm told, you might well believe she is more the patron of it than Patrick.

Bridget's day is Feb. 1st. She is also known as the one who taught us how to keen, and how to whistle.

This is the lyre player. She doesn't have a name yet, as I haven't researched much as to goddesses of music. I remember some wonderful medieval nuns...but I'm pretty sure some goddess must have been attributed this great gift to humankind.

The lyre player is also stoneware, and lifts her head above the crescent moon in inspiration.

Sacajawea graces this torso, altered of course. Stoneware with a lid, and on top of the lid is actually a coin with Sacajawea face.

There are four faces depicted in the four directions, with eyes open, closed, or winking at you.
This is partly because I enjoyed making more anatomically correct breasts on this pot, and laughing at how I could exaggerate them, and how different visitors to our studio would have reactions to them. It's all art, and it's all in fun!

And of course a womanly figure does have more than breasts, as the reverse side always shows.

This is an uncovered goddess torso pot. She wears a bit of necklace to remind us of her royal status, though she is proud of her breasts, the source of nurturance and her own erotic pleasures. It's such a shame that our western culture has allowed women's breasts to become objectified (i.e. sex-objects for men's interest). So these pots are my attempt to help women reclaim our own anatomy, in a way.

The end.

walking and enjoying NC

One of my "venus pots" with dahlias, roses and Mimulus. Roses keep getting some white moldy stuff on them. Drat. I hate to spray poisonous stuff.

Love those Mimulus flowers! What a lovely plant.

We are resting at the crest of the trail, about to go down to the Broad River, a couple of weeks ago.

Here's the lovely little river, the quest of our panting and sweating. I was told this view used to have little stone sculptures piled up around here, but that they have washed away from all the rains this spring. Guess that's a fair exchange.

This little dome is called The Light Center.

Here are Arline and Robert. You can guess which one is which.

I had to pose next to Mildred, who lives close to Robert. Guess they must be pretty good friends by now! Arline says there's an energy field between them, but I wasn't able to be quiet enough to feel it. Maybe next time.

We had lunch at this nice new restaurant that's on Hwy. 9.

Arline liked hearing the rooster crowing, from his pen up the hill. Can you see him? Maybe it's a chicken.

And as we left, the cows started coming home. This was mid afternoon, so they must be heading for some shady place to nap.

Nice horses were pastured beside the road and the restaurant.

My small contribution to the studio~!

Whow...all my pots sold last weekend at the Pottery Market! So I made a small contribution to the studio...and I'm going to show you which ones they were. If I have a photo of them.

Well, just look at the end of the last post for 2 of them. And the blue one never got a photo taken of it. And my "self-portrait pot" was one, the lighter colored female/goddess shape above.

The hand built one doesn't have a photo here on my computer any more...I've got a pic of it somewhere...a kind of squarish torn slabs glazed with white & green.

And the 2 smallish mixed color vases shown at the top of this posting.

I'm estatic.

2 more "touristy" pots, and me a tourist

I started on a mini-retreat last Fri...driving across the western North Carolina area, from home to Franklin, then driving on a lovely gorge highway to Highlands. I think it's Calusaja Gorge, but don't hold me to spelling.

And I played tourist a few times, like this "side-of-the-road" falls, which actually you can drive under, the way it's paved. It falls into that little green pit, which drains under the highway into the Calusaja River.

Here's another view I couldn't resist, as well as the swimmers who would climb up the rock face with a rope to the right, then probably ride the falls down again.

This is the same stop, looking downstream.

Then I got to Highlands, and sat down on main street (in the shade, in my folding chair) and proceded to sketch a pen & ink of The Old Inn. This is a second sketch, because the first one I sold right on the spot to a couple who were staying in the inn. That was great...I hadn't planned to sell it, and that paid my gas for the weekend!

Here's another lovely old building that I had planned to sketch, but after 40 min, I was tired and ready to go to my retreat!

THE MOUNTAIN, the UU retreat in Highlands, is on Mount Stuby, at 4200 feet. This porch looks out on National Forest, the Blue Valley. The porch is right outside the Lodge, where I stayed. There are many little cabins, which most of the folks stayed in this weekend. We were there the week before the summer camp started...so only families with little kids were there. Next week it's going to be full of school age kids.

Julia was one of the staff who hostessed the community social time every afternoon before dinner. I teased her that she was the wine hostess. I had fun mixing up my ine spritzers for different tastes.

The upper level of the lodge, my room is the one closest to me. Windows were open most of the time because it's not air conditioned. We got creative with leaving various doors open to get cross ventilation. There were certainly lots of gusts of wind, and very few bugs. We didn't have any rain until Sun. morning. (Lucky, I guess)

The view out my window was of the bluffs (?) on Chinckapin. Some of the people hiked over there and back on Sat. I instead went to Glenn Falls...and sketched a picture there.

As you go into the dining hall, there are these lovely lamps in the ceiling.

All over the top of Mt. Stumpy there are ancient knarled oaks, which Julia said are from 400-600 years old. Very short, covered with scaley bark, lovely.

The view from the porch at the lodge as sun sets on the opposite side of the valley, I enjoyed watching the shadows creap across these hills/mountains.

After dinner I met a little friend, who looked at me, settled on her haunches as I talked with her and took a series of photos of her.

OK, finally, here are the pots. I stopped by before leaving Black Mountain on Friday.

The Black Mountain Center for the Arts had their annual Art in Bloom fund raiser last weekend, and there was a first time ever pottery sale, with a good percentage going to the studio. I hope it went well!~

One of my pots sold before I got there to take pictures, so it is a little orphan, out there in the universe without any record kept of it. Probably for the best.

This glaze is a mix of amber and MB Green, with painted glazed scene.

This little guy is done in amber glaze, with details painted on carved scene. Kind of touristy of mountains, woods...but I liked it.

And I enjoyed getting to look at different mountains and woods over in Highlands. But it was also good to get home. I was so glad Bill came in to feed the cat. I didn't worry about her at all while I was gone.

Now I've cleaned out the fish tank a bit, put out new bird seed, cleaned and refilled the hummingbird feeder, watered the plants with the fish water, and am finally ready to get creative myself! Glad to have Mon. off after a weekend away. It sure felt nice to not have any chores to do for 2-1/2 days. Many thanks are sent to the staff of The Mountain for making my stay so restful and enjoyable!

Dentist day

Waking up, remembering that today is dentist day. Big event in my life. Isn't' it in everyone's life? But I like my new dentist, and staff. Just don't like having my mouth pried (?)open and drilled upon. I gag easily when lying back with my mouth open...so there's the trying to breathe through my nose thing too. And of course the pain afterwards where the shots of Novocaine had been administered...so I always take aspirin for that.

But I've been unhappy to see a cavity in front of my mouth when I brush, so I know I need it! Just wish it didn't cost so darn much!

As I mentioned on my last visit, most of my mouth is now man-made. Thanks to dental care which was somewhat cheaper while I was working and paid for insurance. In the long run, having that payment taken out of a paycheck before I saw it still cost about the same amount. And now I wonder how much longer these teeth will even last.

I've let myself get concerned about world events lately. That's not particularly good for me...and doesn't make a whole lot of difference in the world itself. Acid stomach. Sleep problems. Nervous energy. But I hang out with activists. That in itself was my answer to dealing with my reactions to world problems...they will be taking some kind of action, and then I will know something is being done, at least on a local level. Again, there's not much feeling of real solutions being bred by their actions, but at least they know they've done something. I'm a vicarious activist. Boy is that lame! But I give my support as I am able.

Dreaming again...at a conference, with a friend, we put our things down at a dining table, then she goes off leaving her dog there (?). I pick him up and her coat, when I find out these are not seats for us, but for the caterers. Then I have to go to the ladies room, and the dog disappears. I frantically search all over, and find a white dog instead of the black one that's missing. Eventually I learn there's a construction door hidden in the wall of the ladies room, and the dogs get straighted out. And then my friend shows up, and we move our stuff, including the right dog, to whatever seats we're supposed to be in. I just recognized (now that I'm awake) that the first dog is one that a nurse brought to work at Park Place in Tampa for years. The other one is imaginary.

My own dream work tells me this has a lot to do with my feelings about world events. But also more about my feelings of leaving my cat alone while I go away next weekend. I have someone coming to feed her, but I am aware that she will not be happy for my being gone. So I'm having anxious feelings about disappearing pets/pet owners! The construction door which is hidden in the ladies room is a surprise, somewhat unethical (if it happened in real life), and also an unexpected solution to the mystery. My friend's disappearance is similar, sometimes having closeness with a friend is fleeting and unreliable, not easy to develop, then friends may be gone when I need support from them.

But what about the bigger issue. Bringing a dog to a conference! Leaving it sitting in a chair! I surely created this scenario of illusions. And my gullibility in picking up all her things, including her dog! Boy, I need a slap upside the head sometimes.

Last night I worked on painting glazes on some of the recent goddesses. The Queen of Heaven is finished, a low fire white earthenware done with dark skin (I hope) and dregs, a pale blue and turquoise dress and wings.

The lute player is finished, with brown and orange and yellow kind of loosely applied.

Bridgett is about half done. I'm going to leave her skirt clear of glaze, where there are slits in a lantern pattern...and a little candle can certainly be placed underneath. I have to paint the lantern she holds black, holding it up to light our way, bringing us fire and metal working. She also has a little Bridgett cross on her shoulder, as well as a great cape, to remind us of the story of her asking the ruler of Ireland for some land for her cattle. He said you might have all the land your cape can cover, and her cape was flung out, magically extending all the way to the shores of the land. Thus Bridgett is the land of Ireland.

OK, now I'm aware that this is procrastination, just writing away rather than actually dealing with what today holds. Mmmm. Another coping mechanism. Sometimes I wish I'd never studied psychology. I could just go around coping without the intellectual definitions! Like cats. Like dogs.

Paths taken, thoughts given

Memorial Day parade, the little girl looking at the camera (held by my son?) is my granddaughter, with her mom (in red) waving also. I wasn't there for this, but really appreciate whenever they do get the camera out and send me pics. Keeping track of grandchildren growing from a distance is hard.

This is a path I walk many times a week, just to see changes, people, and of course geese and ducks. There have been wood duck babies this year (didn't see any last year) as well as Mallards. I haven't seen any Canada Geese babies, and don't know why there are fewer and fewer on the lake this year. Last year they stayed throughout the summer.

OK, I drive by here every.once.in.a.while.

This post was more for me to do some musings...after going to the Women of Black Mountain College's movies last night. MC Richards was the tops, though I'd already seen her movie, it again inspired me. What a woman! I also enjoyed Ruth Asawa's film, mainly because I had never seen her work besides as still pictures, and seeing them moving, especially the wire sculptures brought their dimensionality to life. I mean more than just being able to see around them. You see the interactions through the wire surfaces, which are semi-transparent. They are alive that way. The Albers film was interesting, but I've never "gotten" Alber's squares...though it showed how much work was in them. Guess I just can't have patience enough to look at minimal changes...when there are so many maximal ones going on all around me. Just look at the rest of my pictures...from around here.

The Springtime... I think this is pink dogwood, but it could be a fruit tree also. I love waving to the folks here who sit out in their yard on sunny afternoons, in the shade. I take this shortcut from the studio or the library over to the lake.

In Winter.... This was the first time I went out when we had a snow that actually stuck to roads...and gradually melted in that Feb. sunshine.

The other things in my emotional stock have to do with Dr. Tiller's murder recently in Witchita, and a couple of days ago, a murder in the Holocaust Memorial museum in DC.

UU activists in our Social Action committee are part of organizations like Western North Carolina Citizens for an end to Instutional Bigotry...and I'm forwarding information about people doing demonstrations, writing letters, and keeping the info out there. Contact Monroe Gilmour at mgilmour@main.nc.us

I really appreciated Starhawk's blog in "On Faith" at the Newsweek-Washington Post link about Dr. Tiller. (sorry, but I can't paste anything into this darn blog anymore, or I'd give you the link...but you can google it) It brought home the feelings not just of anger that this kind of thing is still happening, but that my own fears as a result of the murder were just what was intended by it. Each woman, whether she ever went to a women's clinic or not, for whatever reason...has become terrorized by the lack of safety that is evident by these crimes...a safety to health care of her choice that is ensured by law, and has been worked for by so many people for so long. And it is erroded by these events.

For a Jew, or any person of any minority, or just any other person going to the Holocaust Museum, there will now be second thoughts about safety issues.

We cannot let terrorism take over our lives. Our safety and well-being cannot be undermined by the extremists who become violent. Just as my granddaughter and daughter-in-law walked cheerfully down the middle of the street in a parade, we as Americans need to feel secure in our freedoms. Free to say what we feel when we disagree with other's opinions, respectfully if at all possible.

The anger I feel is there. I will not let fear become a force that freezes my life into inaction.

This roadside attraction is in the town square in Burnesville, for those who look off to the side, rather than whirling around as fast as they can. Traffic is not too friendly to tourists here.

The barn actually is more upright, and the road it banked on this curve in the road up to Penland...I love this barn.

Just looking at the texture of the rocks being worn down by the water is only part of this shot. Check out how man's effort at paving mountains is doing also.

I am addicted to vistas. I discovered I'm not as interested in hiking and being close to nature, being along streams, seeing all those wild flowers, and watching my step, and breathing hard, to finally get to a vista which makes it all worth while. So I'm going to be driving to look-outs and then stopping to see what the vista has to offer. Perhaps I'm far-sighted. But I've never liked just looking at green up close...I need the distance to be peaking on the other side of close foliage.

There are repairs happening on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Thanks.

I've a feeling I should be meditating more, and writing letters to important people more to get my opinion to the places it might matter. But for right now I'm going to take my breakfast out on the patio and enjoy that I'm alive, the sun is out (for a brief while anyway), and life still has wonder to me.