Summertime in the Studio

Each year the energy of the spring and summer bring about a burst of creativity for me in the pottery studio.  I'm often torn between being outdoors, either in my garden, hiking a trail, or making pots in my studio.  Being outside in nature feeds my creativity and inspiration for making. This spring and summer I have been exploring a variety of vase forms to prepare for a potters market featuring ikebana containers for the International Ikebana Conference. Ikebana is the Japanese art of flower arranging and it is fun making a variety of different vase forms for this event.  

Other forms I've been exploring are variations on segmented trays. It's fun to challenge myself and experiment with something I don't know how to make, and stay in that challenging and uncomfortable place for a while.  That's where the new ideas emerge from!

In June I taught a Soda Firing Workshop here at my studio; students brought their bisque fired pottery and glazed it in my studio, we loaded and fired the soda kiln together.  I am planning a hands-on pottery workshop at my studio, with a focus on carving and making handles. Contact me if you are interested in either of these workshops,  dates are TBD!

My veggie garden is right outside my studio windows. I can't wait for these sunflowers to bloom! My artist's eye is drawn to the way a leaf connects to its stem, the bud of a flower just about to open, and the rays of morning light shining on the dewy plants. This time of year in Western North Carolina is bursting with life and abundance and I often feel like this fuels my own creativity in whatever I pursue.