Swimming Into Fall....

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming.....

I love living in a place where the seasons change.  It is so inspirational to see the world change its color palate every 3 months.  So surprising to watch the subtle changes of emerging plants from year to year.
Even the wind gives me ideas....

The movement of fish through the water is so interesting.  How certain species move, glide, sprint, or jump!  It is all interesting for me to observe and I find that ideas about pieces I would like to make can be attached to how my senses react to changes in the environment.  This piece is my "fall fish."  I make a lot of beach/nautical themed pieces during the summer months, but this fish seemed to want to belong in a deeper, richer setting.  Playing with the scales, and various inscribed patterns on the fins was an interesting contemplation of both movement, and providing surfaces for reflective relief.

Without, getting to "deep," I think this guy came out quite nicely, and I am thinking about trying another fall themed piece with perhaps splashes of purple.....

A Fungus Among Us!

New to the Big Dog Pots neighborhood this fall are these fabulous looking mushrooms. They have flourished this year due to all the wet weather we have had over the past few weeks. These beauties are growing at the base of a large tree right outside a window in my studio. They have been lovely to look at. I have enjoyed their layering, and their asymmetrical growth pattern. The color has been magnificent!

Thanks Mother Nature, we appreciate your dropping these little wonders in our neck of the woods.

WARNING: Do not eat wild mushrooms! Even though they make look wonderful, or even just like the ones you can buy in the store, don't!

In The Pink

Daisy and Max are enjoying some explore time on the second floor of the house. Potty training has gone fairly well, and every now and then the gate is removed from the stairs. The other day when they were "free" they went to explore my daughter's room. I think they like the "fuzzy" bed.

Later that day, the gate was back up. You can see the smart cat in the house likes to snooze JUST beyond their reach, but still in plain sight.

A New School Year Begins!

The house is silent. #2 child is at her first day of Middle School, complete with Hello Kitty lunchbox and sandals (open toed shoes were never allowed in elementary school) but really it is all about the LOCKER. #1 child is sound asleep after completing his first run in a local community theater production. Incredibly supportive husband is tucked away in a conference room at work.

What's a potter to do?

I was contacted by our local kennel club and asked to join in a show that will take place on Main Street next Friday night. It was lovely to be thought of by the kennel club and I am looking forward to my inaugural show of the fall 2011 season. My summer "work" schedule has certainly lacked due to play practices, day camps, trips to the vet for our 2 new puppies, and trips to visit family. Unfortunately not too much was accomplished. But I am hoping to have a major growth spurt of my own and get back to it.

So, enough of this posting "stuff"...back to the mud!

FALL.....RUSH......YIKES!!!!

Not sure about you, but my busy time is NOW! The bulk of my shows are happening now; galleries that I am working with would like "as many pieces as you can spare" now; kids are back into their worlds and I need to be available to escort them to their commitments....yes now. And the list continues.

I know, I know, all of this is self imposed. Or is it?????? :)

Including the "just have to plant for the spring" frenzy that takes place...yes now!

In addition, I have added some governmental hoops and dashes which eventually will benefit my child....but yes, all those dashes and jumps happen...now.

Oh well, I guess there are worse things in life than being a little too busy. I guess there are worse things than having to pick and choose what you do and who you do things with.

But I would really enjoy some rain, that way things will get cancelled and I can just veg-out.

How does this little rant relate to pottery. Well, last weekend I did a show for a local winery. The event was lovely, and they were very patient with me as I muttered to myself trying to set up on a SLIGHT hill. To some, non-potters out there, this is not a big deal, sort of a "what is all the fuss about" judgement from a distance. But to the potters out there who take their pieces on the road, they know exactly what 2-6 inches of slant MEANS!! Yikes!!

Still getting over that set up. And yes, I return again Saturday for more punishment.

In the meantime, I am focusing on LEAVES. I love this time of year. Love to use nature's gifts that float into my yard as decorations. Working on finding good background combinations to accentuate the leaves. So far I am really happy with the results. More are ready to glaze from a bisque run last night.

Now, if I could only get that black bear to find something else on HIS calendar than to slink around my studio. 200 pounds of black fluff, in this case is not soothing.

Green

Well, I had some time to experiment with various green glaze combinations. I think I have hit on a nice combination. It was sort of by accident, but I am quite happy with my result. Let me know what you all think about it.

Life here at Big Dog Pots has been pretty shut down this week. My son and I came down with Swine Flu. Or the Piggy Plague as one of my nephew called it. Luckily we caught it very early and got right on medications within the first 12 hours of symptoms. Everyone in the family showed various symptoms, but my son's were the worse. He is coming along and getting slowly back into his regular routines.

So, I guess this is good news. Now I don't have to worry about going to all these shows and catching Swine Flu!

I have 3 shows in the next 2 weeks and am looking forward to a brisk show season. Hopefully, shoppers will be purchasing this year. Last year my traffic was pretty low, but this fall so far the pace has picked up.

I have decided to support a new organization that I have become aware of recently. It is the Reesie's Project. It is a wonderful group that supports families who need to give up their animals due to financial or health reasons. They also do outreach into the community with coat collections and distributions. Their website is www.reesies.org. Check in and see what they are all about.

Well, my car is packed and my pieces are ready for the show tomorrow at the Warrenton Boys and Girls club. Off we go!

LEAVES

Don't know about you, but September means everything and everyone is back where they belong. My two kids are snuggled into another year at school, my husband is at work, and I have my space to breathe again. I really did not have much time over the summer to work on pottery, which bothered me. But, I did keep a notebook of ideas I wanted to try and also glaze combinations I wanted to test.

I brought back some HUGE leaves from a trip to the ocean, and made a number of free form trays out of them. I already have found a glaze combination that I love to use to highlight leaves, and now, I perfected a multi-layered blue glaze combination. I was so excited to see tray after tray emerge from the kiln all looking like they were supposed to!

Now that I have "mastered" blues, I am moving on to greens! It took me about a year to come up with the "perfect" blues, now I begin on the search for the perfect greens.

Wish me luck.

My first show of the fall is this Saturday. The weather doesn't look like it will cooperate, and I have a firm rule of NOT doing outdoor shows in the rain. The foot traffic just isn't worth all the effort of set up. So we will see if this Saturday is a go or not.

I am enjoying seeing patches of bright red in the woods around me. Although the days are still warm, the red reminds me of the cool and cold that is just around the corner.