I get by...

...with a lotta help from my friends.  So I've been away from the blog lately and I have a long list that could follow 'because...'

But I think more than a few of us are going through a whole lotta that, and really while I'd love to rant it just doesn't feel like it'll accomplish much.  I'd rather say that in spite of seeing a lot of other people going through a lot of other struggles - many like my own, many not so hard, many so much harder it makes me want to cry ... what I see, hear and feel far more are the smiles, words and hugs of support.  I certainly have a wealth of it in my life, and I see it in and for other people too, and it's not that other people are 'going through a rough time' too that makes it easier.  It's the other people who are there to help, whether it's by packing up a box or just being that friendly voice on the phone. 

I do have many things to catch up with on the blog, and they all involve some of these incredible people - pictures of the move, of the new studio, of the work finally getting made.  And an incredible weekend with the 'Sisterhood of the Traveling Candle Wax' ... as soon as I figure out how to get the pictures off the phone ...

For now, I just wanted to share that my return to enthusiasm for the blog is fueled by my friend Karen.

 She goes by K., but I'm one of the few allowed to stick with 

Karen as that's how I met her and I'm just stubborn that way.  

Karen and I go back to the days of yore, and she's been a big source of inspiration to me through my own artistic travels and continues to do so with her own fearless exploration.

 This is a link to her blog, Big Fat Art Cloth.  

She's entered a challenge with artists she knows to create art and blog every day.  This is a great motivation for me as I've been stupid busy without getting much done lately and needed goals with the right motivation.  That being said, for now my big commitment is to read her blog every day.  Maybe I'll just blog about what I read in her blog. I've been planning this post for two days myself, so that's a good first step.

I'm looking forward to finally seeing more of Karen's work 'out there', but more so I'm excited to be able to hear her voice in these posts.  Her perspective comes from a great depth of experience - personal, professional, academic and artistic.  It's about her art, but you'll get a lot of who she is (and isn't that what we get with any of our art?), and if you follow this blog you'll get to know one of the best people around.  But don't call her Karen unless she says it's ok.

And if you need more motivation in your own studio, check out my blog links and read some cool blogs. Then check out the links list on those blogs - some of the best summer reading, and you never now where the next burst of new inspiration will find you!

Signs of Spring...

Well just a wee bit of catching up to do ...

The studio move is just about complete, and once I collect the holiday lights from outside the little red building on Domino Lane and move some scrap wood, we'll be focused on just one location again. 

I'm grateful for the past two years in that space and all the experiences, good and bad, that came with it.  My studio members shone like the stars they are in helping me get packed and moved and unpacked, and I am most grateful for their support and friendship.  And while the digging out is still in process, I'm already enjoying the new space and am so excited to be in the same location as the reduction kiln ... now just gotta get the work out and fill it!

It's still a jungle of boxes and temporarily placed furniture, but member Matt made it in to throw the first pots yesterday, and I tested out my own work space with a couple at the end of the day.  We have a kiln scheduled just a few weeks away, so if I needed any MORE motivation to get things done and ware on the shelves ... well there it is!

I tidily packed away the camera and only found it the day after the move, so here are a few catch up shots.

We had beautiful weather for the move, and then the next day ... snow!  Here's the new building. 

The great dumping of boxes and furniture....

things slowly coming out of boxes and onto shelves...

rewarded myself with a little wheel time last night...

happy to say the wheel works just fine in its new home!

If I could've crawled more around boxes and furniture to get good depth, there would be more pictures ... stay tuned!

2nd Saturday Artist Market starts tomorrow!

2nd Saturday has finally arrived, and we're all very excited about the start of this season's Artist Markets. 

Excited to be in our new space inside The Rocket Club.

Excited to get the page up on FaceBook and welcome new friends.

Excited to welcome back good friends who were here last year, excited to welcome talented new artists and crafters joining us for the first time. 

Excited to feel the creative vibe of all these incredible artists and sharing that vibe with the community. 

Excited to add food to the overall menu ... excited that our first guest at the 'kitchen table' is Zeytoon. 

Excited to welcome Homeward Bound as our first guests in the Community Booth.  Excited to roll out the red barrel to accept donations for MANNA FoodBank. 

Excited too that right across the street, Drive-By Press will be printing t's at Asheville BookWorks.

Excited we got to flash our 'Asheville Grown' t-shirt and show off samples of the great creations that will be available on MY40 This Morning with Victoria Dunkle.

Let's face it, we're sitting on shpilkes here, we're just a little excited!

Come join us - Saturday, March 13 from 11:00am - 5:00pm (and the 2nd Saturday of each month following, too!).  The Rocket Club, 401 Haywood Road in east-West Asheville!

March Madness at Crazy Green...

Another month that snuck up on me! 

Lots going on this month with Crazy Green Studios - 2nd Saturday Artist Market starts next weekend, and I'm really excited not only for the new venue inside The Rocket Club, and for seeing friends again in those returning vendors, but also for the vendors new to the Market and all the great work they'll bring!  Check out the 2nd Saturday blog for artist profiles, and this month we'll also be getting a tasty preview of what will soon be one of my regular hang outs - Zeytoon.  The Community Booth also returns, and our first guests in the booth will be Homeward Bound. 

The other big news around the studio is moving ... well actually this studio is staying here, but me, my studio members and all our stuff are moving.  While the studio has been buzzing with ongoing and new business, the overall effects of the past 18+ months of running and building a new business in this ... challenging ... economy is starting to show more, and I needed to take an opportunity to cut some costs and start catching up so when things start cranking up this spring and summer I'll be in a better position to move with the flow.

I'm not going far - just on the other side of Haywood Road, actually, and into the WestFire Studio space.  Those of you who have followed along and heard me say more than a few times that I look forward to being on the same site as the gas kiln I fire ... well that's exactly what's happening!  WestFire is where I've been firing, and by the end of this month it'll also be where I'm working.  While I will miss the sunny studio on Domino Lane a great deal, I am more than a little excited to rediscover what it is to have a production cycle that doesn't include stockpiling kiln loads of bisque, packing and moving work, cramming a kiln load of decorating and glazing into a 1-3 day period ... and now my studio members will be able to join me in cone 10 firing and well they're all just a little excited about that too!

I'll continue a small palette of cone 7 work, and in fact will probably be able to develop it more.  I've already started making notes for the test firings on mugs I'll be making for The Beaufort House Inn here in town, and I've got slip trees in many forms in the works for several galleries.

So the studio is in transition - my new studio mate Laura at WestFire and I are starting to work out how our studios will merge, and here we're packing and also still churning out work as production can't quite come to a full stop (at least till it's time to move the big stuff!).

Studio members know we're on 'regular' hours, and anyone wishing to pay a visit to Crazy Green while we're on Domino Lane just give a call to make sure we're here.

Oh and if you know anyone looking for a really great studio space, send them over to check it out or contact me - it's been the perfect space for me for almost two years, and I know it's the perfect space for someone just waiting to find it!

coming soon to a shop near you ...

... well, as long as you're in Asheville that is.

Some fun with a new design and a new fun place to show fun & functional pieces for the kitchen (fun, fun, fun!):

aromatherapy 'tree' diffuser

Sensibilities Day Spa has been carrying my aromatherapy diffusers for a while now, and the lovely owner Jen inspired me to try the new tree pattern on them.  We likey, and soon you'll find the first couple at the downtown store, along with more of the other glazes as well.  If you've never been to Sensibilities, you need to go!  I feel more relaxed just walking in the door, such is the environment created by quality products and more so by the people.  You just know when you're someplace people love to be, and everyone at Sensibilities loves what they do, loves where they do it and they make you feel like they've been waiting just for you to come in - every time!  The same is true of the Biltmore Park location as well as the exquisite Sparrow Spa at the Biltmore Park Hilton. 

oil bottles & inverted salt cellars

I was so happy to see Moda Boutique open just a few doors down from Echo Gallery, not only to welcome another locally owned business to the strip, but also for all the great finds inside the store.  And then to meet owners Sharon & Lauren was yet another bonus.  What I said about Sensibilities - ditto - these ladies love what they do and you know it as soon as you walk in the door!  And while you may know them first for clothing and accessories, they have a small but growing area of goods for the kitchen and home, including some very nice olive oil that is bottled just for them.  And soon, you'll find my olive oil bottles and inverted salt cellars added to the home collection.

And I didn't even have time to take a picture of the last batch out of the kiln, but new mugs are making their way downtown to the French Broad Chocolate Lounge with the cool, new logo.  More are going into the kiln this week, so maybe I'll get them chronicled for the archives before they get snatched into service.

fig & port truffle from the Chocolate Lounge ... O. M. G.

And another batch that got out the door before the camera was charged: new soup bowls for Roots Cafe, with more salad and entree bowls in the works.  Cheryl at Roots did take this lovely shot of one of the new bowls in action, and it's a bit fuzzy as I lifted it from their FB page:

veggie chili special at Roots  (today in fact!)

If you didn't already know that the ChoLo and Roots are two of my favorite places in the world, well then you clearly haven't been paying attention.

As you see at the top of the blog,  I'm a '3/50' business, and I try hard to support other 3/50's - I'm so proud and grateful that my client list is made up of other brick & mortar businesses, and that I get to do business with people I admire both personally and professionally.  Get out and support YOUR local businesses! xo

weathering through...

I think I've started a blog post about a dozen times in the last week, but some shiny object or weather system seems to distract me away from the keyboard.

Since you brought up the weather, I guess I need to admit that I am partially responsible for the last two weekend's conditions that closed schools, businesses & sent so many running to the grocery for supplies.  You see, I'm a member of Echo Gallery at Biltmore Park, and since we've moved into the gallery, we've had a 'weather curse' upon us. 

Let's have a soft opening party - torrential downpour that keeps everyone inside. 

Let's try it again in a month - torrential downpour that has everyone back inside working on plans for an ark. 

We shall not be daunted, we'll invite guest artists and host a reception to welcome them.  I think that one was a combination of torrential downpour and possible ice.

Fine, we'll break the winter doldrums with a new show with new guest artists.  Ah... we see the snow coming so we'll postpone for a week.  Take that weather curse!  The new date comes up and there's a forecast for a little snow but just an inch you say?  Well, we're gonna do it so there! 

So we did it, for an hour and then we all took the next couple of hours getting home in the 'flurries'. 

So I'm sorry if the weather has inconvenienced you.  We don't have another opening until April. Spring showers, anyone?

 

a lovely spread, highlighted by pizza from Travinia and 

brownies from the French Broad Chocolate Lounge...

at least nobody went hungry on the ride home!

February Studio Schedule

Well after saying how fast January seemed to be going by, you'd think I'd be ready for February ... but nope, it snuck up on me good!

No special reasons to change the schedule this month - now that doesn't happen too often! Of course, if we're having severe weather, you might want to give a call before you come, but since I live blocks from the studio, if I can't get anywhere else I can always walk to the studio!

And speaking of the weather:

Echo Gallery at Biltmore Park: we bow to the weather gods, and we'll try for Friday, February 12 for the opening reception of our new show (5-8pm). Several Echo Gallery member artists will be adding new work, and we'll be welcoming new work from guest artists Brian Fireman and Tekla, as well as new guest artists Jenny Mastin and Dawn Dalto. The show is almost up now if you want a sneak peek (but call first this weekend if there's 'weather'), but make sure you come by next Friday for the reception and meet the artists, enjoy some tasty nibbles from Travinia and sip on lovely beverages.

I'll be adding a few new things, but my firing will follow the opening so just plan to make another visit to the gallery to see some new trees.

And in other news:

Applications are now available for artists, crafters and community organizations for the
2nd Saturday Artist Market. First Market date is coming up in March, and notifications will start going out in about a week. Artist/craft vendors get space for up to a 6' table/display for $25. Community organizations may apply for a free space to promote their programs. This year we'll also feature food from some very talented local eateries, and as always we'll be a collection point for donations to MANNA FoodBank. Check the blog at the link above for more details.