Jun 16 2020

Catching Up!

In mid-March, Brookhaven College (where I take a ceramics class) closed for Spring Break! And then, due to COVID-19, it didn’t reopen. Fortunately, I was able to continue working and building pieces in my home studio. Some of the results were great; other, not so much.

Anyway, here’s a sample of what I worked on (some of these are from earlier when I did have access to Brookhaven’s resources).

: Face Vase

: Artifact

: Totem

: Message in a Bowl

: Soda-Fired Bowl

: Tiny Dancer

May 7 2020

Snack Plates with Messages

I’d been thinking for a while about COVID-19 and pandemics in general and wondered if the word “pandemic” came from a Greek root that also gave the name to Pandora. According to the myth, Pandora was given a wonderful box. But she wasn’t supposed to open it. Curiosity got the better of her and she opened it, releasing all the plagues/ills of the world. At the bottom of the box was a small piece that said “HOPE.”

Pandora = pandemic but at the bottom of it all is HOPE … which is why I created this small set. Of course, one of the words had to be HOPE and it was created first. The others are qualities that we need in this time of pandemic … PEACE, JOY, MERCY.

May 6 2020

The Saga of the Bunnies

About a month ago, Ginger (my large puppy) was scrambling around in the ferns up close to the house. Well, it turns out there were a couple of baby bunnies nesting in them and she flushed them out. Since it was dusk, I brought her in and figured the situation would resolve itself overnight.

Nope. The next morning one bunny was “hiding out” in plain sight on the driveway. It didn’t move as I approached it; so, I thought it was dead, scooped it up and put it in the trash can.

The other bunny was hiding in a clump of mondo grass and didn’t even move when I went to pick it up. I brought it in and put it in shoebox until I could figure out what to do with it. I started thinking about the first bunny … the one in the trash … and thought that maybe it was alive and just very scared. Yup! I pulled that bunny from the trash, wiped it off a bit and put it in the shoebox too.

After I posted a picture of the bunnies on Facebook, a friend recommended a wildlife rescue group and I called the phone number listed. The volunteer who returned my call recommended a couple of people who could foster the bunnies; one was more than happy to take them it. Hooray!!

So the bunnies in the shoebox got loaded into the car for the trip across town. I left the shoebox on her front porch and, a while later, she sent me this picture of them settling in. They were chowing down on alfalfa and drinking goat’s milk. She lives near White Rock Lake and said that eventually she would probably release them near the lake.

Sure enough, when I contacted her a couple weeks later, she said that they had been released and sent me pictures of them, thus ending the saga.

Mar 11 2020

Honored to be part of ART214 in Dallas

My piece “Chemo Brain” has been juried into ART214 in Dallas.

It will be on display at the South Dallas Cultural Center (3400 S Fitzhugh Ave, Dallas, TX 75210) from April 4 through May 30th.

This year, the ART214 committee received more than 1000 submissions from artists across North Texas. The chosen artists’ work will be displayed at various venues across Dallas. Check out specific information for each venue and the artists chosen.

UPDATE, March 22: Due to the coronavirus quarantine in Dallas, all ART214 events have been cancelled. This piece will stay in my closet gallery for now and, perhaps, be displayed later this year or in another juried show.

Feb 19 2020

Fe Fi Fo Fum

This is the latest BIG pot. Fun to create, it turned out pretty much as I wanted. It’s not a pretty pot but, hopefully, gives some people memories of childhood.

Remember all those so-called fairy tales? Yes, they had a princess and a knight. But they also had darker characters: ogres, giants and more that would scare the bejeezus out of young children. You can look at this pot in the daylight and realize that those monsters can’t hurt you.

Jan 20 2020

Little Air Plants

When Significant Other and I went to Hawaii in December, we stopped by an orchid nursery. While lovely, I’m not all that crazy about orchids but I’m fascinated with air plants. So, I took out a $20 bill and bought some to bring home.

The first week, I anchored them to pieces of driftwood with copper wire. They looked fine and were even getting bigger when I discovered that copper wire is a no-no. But, little pots are fine.

I made these little pinch pots a few years ago as an experiment with crater glazes. They’re cute but not really practical … until now. They’re the perfect “home” for the air plants.

Dec 30 2019

Better Late than Never

This year (2019) my hands were busy in clay rather than on my computer keyboard. But, finally, I’ve taken photos and attempted to document my pottery journey.

The pieces vary from raku and alternative firings to works in terra cotta and some random experiments.

Take a look and feel free to leave comments. Just click on the little “conversation bubble” at the top right of this post.

Dec 26 2019

Hawaii Vacation

Significant Other and I decided to visit his son in Hawaii. His doctors cleared the trip; so, we made plans and went. For details on the trip, see the page under the Photography tab.

As for the picture of the rooster/chicken … they are running wild all over the island (Oahu).

Jan 3 2019

2018 Texas State Fair – Part 2

By the time we finished in the Creative Arts building and make a quick stop in the Texas Products building, it was time for a mini-snack. And then … on to the Hall of State Building for the 2018 Special Exhibits.

This year the focus was Texas Innovation, Inventors and Inventions. Some (Southwest Airlines, Fritos, Fletcher’s Corny Dogs) are well-known. Others (Shelby, Weedeater, Pacemaker), I didn’t realize were invented in Texas. Once we finished in the Hall of State, we headed home. Temps were getting warm and the Fair was getting crowded.

Oct 26 2018

2018 Texas State Fair – Part 1

Significant other and I made our yearly trek to the State Fair on Saturday, September 29th. It was the second day of the fair and, although the skies were a bit overcast, it was a great time to visit.

We arrived early and decided to park in the handicap lot (Gate 11). It was actually easier than parking in the valet lot at Gate 5. Coming in this way, we passed the Chevrolet test track and the Mattress Firm tent. We passed the back side of the Cotton Bowl where trainers and other support personnel were arriving for the game between Prairie View A&M and Grambling which was scheduled for later that afternoon.

We also saw the backside of some Midway rides. Side note: we steer clear of the Midway because (a) we’re not interested in the games, (b) Midway is usually the most crowded spot in the Fair, (c) there are few rides we’d get on. One that we might try is this circle on a pole. It looks fairly harmless. But, we were not deterred. We pressed on and …

Our first stop was the “birthing barn” where we saw twin lambs that had been born two hours earlier. Several other very pregnant sheep were in another pen; some very pregnant cows were across the room; and some very pregnant pigs were being kept comfortable and warm. Newly hatched chicks were in a glass-enclosed cage while other eggs were being kept in an incubator.

We kept walking (rather, I kept walking; significant other has a wonderful red scooter) and eventually arrived at the Creative Arts Building. With the quilts, pottery, knit and crocheted items, jarred produce, walls of photographs, it’s a feast for the eyes and, almost, overload for the senses.

We stopped at the information booth to get a list of where my pieces were displayed (with over 70 display cases, we’d be searching forever if we didn’t get a cheat sheet). So here are photos of my pieces at the Fair.