Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Benny Boy is on Exhibit

 
I wanted to share that
Benny is on exhibit until 23 Feb 18.
We didn't win a prize but
it is cool to me
to have a painting hanging
in a public gallery. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I need to get started painting Hazel that
I have sketched out on the canvas.
This pair will hang together
in matching frames.
 
 
There are so many times that I
question my art abilities.  My
inner critic can be harsh.
I keep plugging away and
creating.  I just have this
yearning desire to make things.
I just cannot imagine not pushing
myself on to my next project.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I do wish I knew more artists
friends.  That we could sit and chat.
Share stories about what we do.
How we do it, and what we think. 
So if any of you would like to do
something like that
message me. Maybe we could
make it into something. 
A joint Artist Blog Chat...
 
What do you think?
 
 
 

Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Pantry Perk Up


I wanted to redo my little pantry closet
for a very long time but I just never
got around to it.  So last weekend on the 
spur of the moment I started taking all the stuff
out.  After I had half of it out I was like...oh
guess I should have taken a before pic.


Basically it was all just kind of
piled in there.


What really drove me crazy is how the
walls were all  marked
up from cans and stuff. Ick!
 


I just wanted to use up spare paint
I had left over.  So I used this darker
green.  Maybe I should have used a lighter
color but I figured oh well it's a 
closet and this will work.
Kind of matches my blog
doesn't it??


I think this is a great
improvement. I did buy
some cheap peel and stick
floor tiles.  I think this is so
much better and cleaner than
shelf  paper or contact paper.
I can wipe it down and it's
more durable.


It is nesting time for Murphy.  So she
really wants to go in little cubby spaces
looking for a suitable nesting spot. 
She was whining to go in and check 
it out so I let her. 


Yep she's eye bawling my pumpkin spice
Belvita that only come out in the fall.
I bought a few risers to better
utilize space. 


and voila!!! so much better I think!


Now  its much easier
for me to find things. Plus
I like the nice clean look.
Maybe I will do this to a 
few other closets...








Friday, January 19, 2018

Graceful Fins


These are my two oldest
Goldfish that live in my art room.
I have had them for over 5 yrs.



The  tank sits in front of where I sit
and make my art so I can look at it them.
The fish are quite aware of me when I come 
in the room.  They stare at me through the
glass most likely willing me to come over 
and feed them some flakes.


I just find their fins so beautiful.


Bubba is my largest fish.
He was a baby of the feeder fish
I bought for our pond.  The others sadly met
an end at the cost of a blue heron that landed in our
yard.  So he now lives in my tank.  Even though I have
bought protectors that float on the edges of the
pond to deter herons I can't bring myself to put him out
in the pond in the summer.   I just don't want him to
meet the same fate.


I love watching them.  It's so relaxing and peaceful.


I took these photo's on a sunny day.
I found the way the sun lit up
their fins so beautiful.  

Have a wonderful weekend!





Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Where do I get Inspirations?


I am inspired by nature, animals and my garden.
I love my Red Echinacea or cone flower that inspired this bowl
 

First I throw the bowl on my potters wheel
  I allow it to harden up for a day
then I go about cleaning up the bottom
of the bowl.  Then I  sculpt and apply the
accents to the bowl.


Each item is one of a kind
and hand made from scratch.


This violet bowl inspired by this...


Then they are slowly dried so they
do not crack.  Once dried the details
are again fine tuned by hand.


Inspired by Daisy's
in my Garden.


They are then bisque fired.
Once they come out they are then
glazed by hand.  The glaze is carefully applied
around the details.  Some glazes cannot be applied
over others because I don't like how they
look after they are fired.  So there is a lot
of meticulous painting of the glaze to ensure
the end result is what I want.
A a minimum of 3 coats
of glaze are applied in each color.
Then they are glaze fired.


This poppy bowl inspired by
Poppies pictured below.  Just like in
nature each item is one of a
kind and different in it's
creation. A different shape or a
different thickness. 


I hope to make ordinary objects such
as a bowl look pretty.

They are all glazed with non-toxic
food safe glazes.
So they can be used with food or
to hold simple objects on your furniture.

I hope you can appreciate
how each of my creations
is made one at a time with
much care and
attention to detail.
 


Monday, January 8, 2018

Michigan Annual XLV Exhibit


I am excited to share that my Benny Boy painting
was chosen by jury to be in in the

 
 I feel honored and excited
to be included with all
the entries from the State of Michigan.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I hope to expand my art
horizons, meet other artists
and make inspiring art in the future.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Thursday, January 4, 2018

Last Years Goals

So last year I made a bunch of goals
or resolutions for myself.   
 
 
I didn't accomplish all of my goals but
I think I accomplished more than I would
have had I not made the list. 
 
1.  Famiy/Friends - I feel like I accomplished working
on expanding friendships this year.  I hosted a few get
togethers and set aside time to get away with friends for
a girls weekend. Plus went out many times
through the year with old friends and new ones.
 
 
2.  My Horse Training  
I am really happy with all that
I accomplished with my horse
this year. I have to say I owe so
much if not  everything  to the
trainer that I love and work with Carol.
She helps me to see things differently and
try different methods that I would
not have discovered on my own.
 
 
I love that she does everything
practicing natural horsemanship
which is how I like to do it.
In a nutshell this means
training your horse
with very light communication &
aids.  Nothing harsh or
hurtful to get them to
do what you want.
 
You can see  my goals:
 
I think I was a bit ambitious with the tarp while
cantering goal but hey- probably one day.  Hottie was a
horse that would spot a blue tarp clean across a field and
snort at it in fear.  So the fact that I can drape it over her
and do all we have is great.
 
 
I love obstacle trainging, I think
it's just fun and it
builds up their confidence to trust you.
 
 
 
 

 
Hottie is a very confident horse with other
horses around.  She is herd bound
and so it's hard to get her to ride off
with just her and I.  We did work on
getting her to ride the trails with just her and I.
 
 
 
 
My goal as I approach 50 is
not to ever fall again....
it hurts too much at my age!
I think its important to always
work at having her
learn new things.  I
use the most lenient bit I can
and have changed bits 2x this year
going to a lighter bit each time.
I am so proud of how she listens to
me and the results I have gotten from
her this past year. 
She has become much lighter and
so responsive to my ques that
I have to pay very close attention
to every thing I do or I will
accidently que her to do something.
 
I love my girl
  
3. Spiritual Faith-  to me this is a private thing.
I have made an effort to
learn & focus on my beliefs in some
 way each day..
 
4. My art goals. - By this I
meant more towards the business end
of my art  This I am pretty pleased with. 
I have really expanded my art in
the pottery field.  I redesigned my header, business
cards and mailings when people buy my art.
I also opened an Etsy shop this yerar! I started
a Facebook Page:
and  Pinterest
 
Check them out and follow me!
I do plan on having giveaways
when I can build up some inventory.
I also have entered an Art
Exhibit and am waiting to
hear if I will get in.
 
5.  Health and Fitness-  This one I didn't accomplish
my grand goals.  I would say I moderately
exercised.  Walking when weather permitted
on my lunch and buying a stepper that I
could use in my office.  I just need to be
more strict with myself
 
6.Hobbies/Interests.  I did complete my Benny portrait.
 
 
I would say and I think my husband would agree
I have made more art in the last year than I
have in the past 10 yrs.  So I'm pretty pleased
with the amount I have created all while working on
all these other goals and working full time.
I am so thankful for a husband
that supports and helps
me fulfill all my dreams....Like buying
me a wonderful kiln for my birthday!
 
7.  Reading-  ok on that one I kind of sucked
I can't remember reading one physical
complete book all year.  Geez! Just not
enough time in my day.  I did however
listen to 13 audio books while
I drove or at work. So that kind
of counts doesn't it?? 
 
8. Blog-  Well like I said earlier- I have
redesigned my header and background.
It matches all my business papers.
I have been posting weekly. 
You can see I've double my
posts in 2017.
 
9.  Home Improvements: 
I accomplished most of them.  I'm still on the
fence if I want to repaint my kitchen.
 
 
 I'm not 100% there yet, I'm still thinking
about it.  My # 1 favorite redo of the year
was the garage and getting my
own kiln.  I love using it.
 
10. Service/ Contribution-  I am not going to
post what I did because I think it's wrong
to boast about things you did for others.
I will say that I did things in private
to try and help people that I felt
could use it.  I also feel like it
is important for me to try and make
 people happy with my
artistic abilities.
 
I would say overall it was a good year.
Although loosing Finn was my
worst  loss this year
 
 
I miss him!
Putting it in perspective though
My Dad had several scary
medical crisis's that I wasn't sure
he'd be able to survive, but with
God's grace he did.  We were so
grateful to have him with us this
Christmas.
 
  One of my favorite
surprises this year was me
raising Monarch Butterflies. 
It was accidental, but I loved it!
 
 
I think all in all I was
really surprised at how
much I accomplished this year.
So I think me listing my
goals helped me to focus on a plan.
I'm hoping 2018 will
be full of lots of new
accomplishments and good surprises.
 
It's a big year...
I will be turning 50 this year!
I can't even believe I am
that old!  I haven't made up
any goals yet for 2018.
I have to think about it!
 
I  WOULD LIKE TO WISH YOU
A HAPPY PROSPEROUS
NEW YEAR!