2012

I seem to find New Year's Day a good day to clean up all the Christmas stuff, get the tree out of the house and purge my cupboards to make way for some new things that we got over the holidays.  Not that I've taken off my new 'Major Tom/ Lifetime' sweater long enough to need the cupboard space to put it in, but it felt as though clothing purge was in order. It's been a while since the kitty has been able to sit up and see herself in the mirror on my dressing cupboard. Christmas can seem so excessive: why is it that we always end up with more in our car on the way home from family gatherings then when we left the house?  

So, a new year! For some reason, I'm not ready to get back to the studio this year with full steam ahead.  Something inside of me (plus my low energy level from this cold that's hanging on) is telling me to sit back, take stock, and to think things through before getting back into the grind of the making cycle.  I've decided not to do one of the shows I had been considering for Spring because the dates conflicted with NCECA, a National Clay conference that is happening in Seattle this year.  I've been meaning to go to this conference for years, but either I couldn't afford it or it was happening in the eastern US.  I was hoping to do some sort of residency this year, but my family is still not quite ready for me to leave them for a month or 2.  With that in mind, a weekend conference in Seattle geeking out on clay ought to be a good substitution for the time being.  So that's about as far as my planning for the new year has gone.   

I hope you are having a restful day off- I'm baking bread and have started to clean out the kitchen cupboards now.  It's so nice to be at home.

Hello 2011!

Why hello there 2011!  Here I am, ready (or not?!) to see what this year has in store for me, my little family, and my little business.  The boys are back to school tomorrow and I'm heading back to the studio to clean up and start fresh for a new year!  It feels great to start fresh, although as I'm writing this, I realize that I hardly have a box of clay left over from last year, so I will truly be starting from scratch, ie, driving out to the pottery supply store to pick up clay and supplies for the next few months.

I still have to come up with a plan for the year.  I feel slightly lost without a plan, like I'll be making work, willy-nilly.  I have some goals in my head, some shows I'd like to do, shops I'd like to invest my energy, but still need to finalize how to make it all work out, considering my family's schedule and what is feasibly possible for me to manage this year.  I have high hopes this year to be a little more organized, a little more prepared, and a little less stressed out at the end of the day.  I'm also hoping to be a little more deliberate about my blog here.  Figure out what I hope to accomplish with my blog, what kind of a story I'd like to tell.  Perhaps it's fine the way it is, me just posting 3-5 days a week about what I've been making or what's been happening for me.  But that's something I'd like to sort out over the next couple of weeks here- so don't mind me while I figure things out a little.  And while I find the battery charger for my camera, which has been missing since just before Christmas.  Perhaps when I pack up the tree ('cause we only put it up a little late this year and I might just keep it up for a few more days...) I'll find in among the Christmas boxes.  Perhaps it's in the car.  Or at my in-laws.  So much for being organized and prepared...

Happy New Year!

Just a little note to wish everyone a Happy New Year!  We had a fresh blanket of snow fall on our friends' cozy place on Silver Star Mountain and have been enjoying great food, some sledding, ice skating on frozen lakes and ponds, and even seeing a play on a horse drawn carriage!  Tonight there will be fireworks to bring in the New Year!  I'll be back at it next week with some photos, but for now I'm basking in some much needed family time and time off!  

Thanks for all your support and encouragement this year! I truly enjoyed meeting and connecting with so many creative people and am looking forward to more of that this next year!  All the best and have a safe New Year's Eve! (I guess we are one of the last ones in the world to bring in the New Year over here in the Pacific Northwest!)