springing forward
In the spirit of my word of the year, diversify, I have been doing my best to switch things up in my studio practice and beyond. This season of Spring (a quite early and warm one) has brought changes with it from having all my hair cut off into a modern little pageboy to ripping out some old dying hedges that flanked the entrance to my studio and replacing them with climbing roses and hydrangeas. I have also leaned heavily in to wholesale production, some thing I had started to move away from over the course of the pandemic. It feels good to get into a groove sometimes of making many multiples of the same thing. For me it not only helps to perfect a style and/or way or creating something it also makes space for dreaming up new ideas. I also enjoy the fact that my work is in small, curated boutiques throughout the country finding their way into people’s hands and homes through that avenue.
Along with wholesale and a few custom orders that I sent through the kiln I also managed to install the tiles I made earlier this year in my kitchen as a backsplash behind the stove. This was my first attempt at making AND installing tiles and I have to say I am very pleased with how it worked out in the end. Custom tile work is something I do plan on going forward with making. I have yet to set up an area on my website for inquiries but if you’re interested - just shoot me an email!
In other non-pottery news, we adopted a 10 month old puppy from our local country shelter last month. We lost our sweet boy Buster last summer to old age and ultimately cancer and have been waiting for the when the time felt right to bring that pup energy back into our home. So far Boudreaux has been a real pleasure. He’s very smart and sweet, loves cuddling and is extremely social with other dogs and people. Having a puppy to keep an eye on has definitely made it harder to zone into deep work mode in the studio but I am not so sure that is a bad thing.
Looking ahead, I plan on getting back on the wheel this coming week to created a collection for my annual Spring Open Studio Sale, which will take place on Saturday April 29th with an online update the following Saturday 5/6. This collection will be heaving on planters along with mugs, cups, creamers, some oil bottles and perhaps some plates & platters. If you are in or around Athens I hope to see you there!