Finally moved

I didn't completely clean up the old apartment...but I sprayed the oven cleaner before I left the keys on the counter. The floor was wet from mopping right up to the front door, so I had to put pieces of cardboard down to go back and turn off the light. Then I locked the knob and pulled it closed.

I didn't get Martha's iris, or the pot that's sitting right next to them. It doesn't have a bottom, but works fine in a garden on a slope, so I can let go of it. Also left a dolphin wind chime hanging from the light outside.

But I did dig up the hosta and the spearmint...whoopee. They are so healthy I'm sure I'll be glad to have saved them.

I've got a lot going on in my life, but these are the family that I just visited last week. So they are also on my mind still.

This pot isn't mine, of course, but is in a museum. I did glaze some bowls tonight on my first time back in the studio. Can't wait to get back in the morning at 10 and finish them. One will go in the cone 6 kiln to see if the clay is really stoneware. Hope it doesn't melt into a puddle.

I'm feeling good finally about painting my mountains and trees designs...and people seem to like them. The bowls will be a different version of the scene. It's got a bit of Japanese influence.

Yawn, I was going to stay up and watch a show at 10, but I don't think I will. Just realized I may have to mow grass also in the morning. But it won't be dry for at least a couple of hours.

My darn new phone doesn't seem to work in my house. Must be all the nails in the roof...there doesn't seem to be much else holding the cottage together. It's an adventure!

Rainbows and family

Will gives me a smile by Maria Martinez "black on black" pottery, fro New Mexico. I went out west many years ago and looked at some of her work before I learned how to make pottery myself.

Cayenne enjoyed the Art Museum in St. Petersburg...

Cayenne created a print using marker ink on rubber stamps...saying I love you, Mom and Dad.

Michael Thurston, my oldest grandson, smiles over Cinnamon's head as we work on fixing dinner.

Marty finally took a break as we hiked Ikea in Tampa...a huge Sweedish home store...what a lot of goodies!

Will still loves creating things...with legos that have been in the family about 40 years.

Marty & Cinn danced to the Werlitzer organ at Roaring 20's Pizza in Ellington on the next afternoon. (we are doing things backward because the blogspot people organized this site this way.)

After the rainbow, (see below) we went for a walk with the dogs...Will has dear old Tootsie and Marty managed bouncy Bailey.

The second rainbow barely shows to the right of the brighter one...

When we live most of our lives inside, how often do we get to see rainbows?

Here I'm basking in the gang's energy...Marty, Will and Cayenne all snuggling up to get in the picture.

Old home

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!