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.....

Inspiration Through Exploration

Don't know about you, but I am a country girl. I grew up in the regular old "suburbs", but over my lifetime have gravitated toward rural, uninhabited areas. I have spent time living in cities, and metropolitan areas, but never felt like I could breathe in those places. I was always wondering "when can I get out of here and back to a more peaceful place"?

I know many people are stimulated and find city living quite fulfilling and could never even consider an alternate lifestyle, it just has never been for me.

Many of my pottery pieces are inspired by the colors and textures found in the nature that surround my home. A number of my pieces have been imprinted with leaves, flowers, and shrubbery stems found locally. People who live in these parts recognize their favorite flowers or plants and many purchase items that are made with them. It is a fun thing to walk outside the studio and just hunt and find the items I use to create my pieces. The tray above was created from a local sycamore tree. The tray measured about 14-20 inches, really turned out well, I thought.

It is also interesting that when my husband and I go on "vacations" we tend toward less crowded areas of the world, in general. We also seek out areas of natural beauty. Lucky for me, my husband also tolerates cities, but just doesn't like being there too long. So we are a great match in that area.

This weekend we are headed a little west from our place into an even more remote and uninhabited area. We have not been to this exact spot, but I spent summers in the area as a child at a summer camp. So, it will feel familiar, but still be "new".

We are going skiing and the resort just got a foot of fresh snow earlier this week. So with the temperatures rising a bit, we may just luck out with a nice little break!

Should be fun! I will let you know.