Saddness.....

Someone took my guerilla crochet tree warmer down. I took my best friend Steph to see it today. We had a great walk in the park laughing and talking until....we passed the tree and it was empty. The only thing left was the green yarn that I had used to stitch the crochet on to the tree.
Tomorrow another one goes up.

Contemplating Bottle Forms and Handles

I like to work in a series. It seems to be a productive way to approach working for me. Also, I have a hard time letting go of certain ideas and need to see many versions of the same thing before I am satisfied.
When I was in school and just learning to make pots on the wheel, I was fascinated by the bottle form. I loved the skinny neck, the way the neck met the breast of the pot, the fact that they were hard to make...everything about the form really.

Being back in the studio this year, and after the BIG FREEZE (see post below), I was reluctant to throw. SO....I pulled out my sketch book and made a plan to make 100 bottles. I want to try every possible shape and size. Pushing my throwing boundaries and my imagination.
The first round of bottles I made 15. They are relatively small.
I began to cut feet into some of the smallest bottles and put on sassy handles. It is amazing how much personality comes out of 2 small pieces of clay and a couple of slices off the bottom for feet.

First Guerilla Crochet Accomplished!

Here I am walking down the wooded path in our new park in Oak Ridge. I have to tell you I was quite nervous. When we got out of the car I put the crochet piece under my jacket. Will thought this was hilarious! He got the biggest kick out of the fact that:
Number 1: There was no one at the park.
Number 2: I looked like a woman pregnant with a square baby.
Number 3: I was crazily looking around looking like a character in a crime movie.
Number 4: There was no one at the park.

I had decided that I wanted to put the crocheted piece some where on the wooded path. Me and Will looked for quite awhile for the perfect tree. Then there it was! We found a tree that just peeks out at you as you are walking down the path. I think it will be a nice surprise for walkers as they are getting some exercise.























































Here is the last of the head lice series. I decided to make only five.
We had a really bad cold snap and everything in my studio froze.
I lost two days work and 2 heads. So, discouraged, I decided not to remake them but just to have five total.
We are working on getting a heater in the studio but until then I am hauling pieces and clay from the house to the studio.....can you hear the cussing from there?

Trial Run

Grrl+Dog has issued a Global Guerilla Knitting and Crochet challenge.
The idea is that you make something knitted, crocheted, sewn, braided...you name it. Then you attach your (in my case crocheted) piece to something like a tree or telephone pole. Or you can leave your piece in the public arena on say a park bench for people to enjoy. Public art that is removable, hurts no thing and no one but is fun and makes one think..."why is that there?, what does that mean? Wow! I like that!"

Here is my trial run in the back yard. Tomorrow I am going out to do the first run of my participation in this great fun project. I wanted to time my performance so I can know how early I have to get up so as not to be spotted.

When I first saw these lovely knitted pieces it was on the blog of Jafabrit, who with others in her amazing Yellow Springs community, were making headlines. On the way home from London last spring I saw their trees in the news paper on the plane. My hubby showed me and I said, "I know those trees!." And from there I have followed the progression of this public art pouring. Not sure where it started, but I love it! Wanted to give a shout out to Jafabrit!

I won an award!
The Lovely Heart Award from:
Leslie at Flowers of Life

And I am to nominate 8 other bloggers to give this sweet award to so here goes:
The Heart of Seed
cook.eat.think
blackburn arts
dirty footprints
Queen Crafty Girl
Rediscovering Art
Oh! I got tired! Everyone who comes to my blog are charming and sweet. I give the award to ya'll all! Please feel free to award yourself this award! and thanks so much to Leslie for the honor.

"These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."

Finished?

I think I finished the painting with Tofu...the neighbor dog...What do ya'll think?
Finished? I can never decide. Sometimes it takes months for me to figure out whether or not a painting wants to be done. I used to be so much more decisive in my younger days of arrogance
( early 20's). I didn't have the self editing that seems to plague me now.
Here is my very organized( for me) painting spot.
Unfortunately, it won't stay that way for long.
I am the worlds biggest studio slob...of course not as big as Francis Bacon...not that I am comparing myself to the painting God himself....but he was a Slob! Take a look.

Back in the Studio

I'm back to work, finally, shaking some of the blues from my head on onto the clay.
Here are some recent photos of the new Crazy Head Series.
The series will be meant to hang on the wall. There will be 5 or 7 of the heads, depending on how I feel about them after I make the fifth. So far I am loving making these sculptures. Seeing all these crazy little teethy mouths clamping at me makes me laugh. Something about visualizing what is going on in one's head and trying to recreate it in clay is exciting and exorcising at the same time.















And here is a new painting in its beginning stages. We have a neighbor dog named Tofu. She and her mate Sheefa are a Japanese breed called Shiba Inu.
They are just the sweetest dogs and make the strangest noises. I am fascinated with them. So Tofu has ended up in this painting. I keep thinking the name of the painting should be "To Dance with the White Dog" which is the title of a book that I adore written by Terry Kay.
Here is the amazon link for the book.
I don't know if the person will stay in the painting. I may take her out and fill that space with more birds.

Saving Crow

New Year's Eve, my friend Jeff called and said he had found a crow in the road with some head trauma. The crow was physically in tact, wings and legs working, but his eyes were bloody and one was closed. Jeff took him home and asked if we could help him. So, he brought the crow to me and I then took the crow to one of my greatest friend's Janet and her husband Eric. Eric and Janet are amazing with animals and Eric is a great rehabilitator of birds and well, any animal. Amazing as they are, they fed the crow steak and egg yolks and nuts...anything he wanted actually. Day by day, they nursed him back to health and eventually were able to release him into the wild. Janet said when they opened the cage door, he stood for a few minutes looking out of his cage and then took off and flew over the trees. If that is not a sign of a good New Year to be than I don't know what is.
Thank you to Janet and Eric for their great love of animals and for saving the most beautiful bird in all the world...a crow.

***in picture Vance ( a friend ) feeds the crow***

May your Heart Soar into the New Year

Happy New Year Everyone!
May you have great adventures and many many blessings in 2009.