Wednesday, May 22, 2019

Up and coming activities!

I tend to neglect informing people of my where abouts.  I guess it's that independent nature that has been instilled in me just dealing with the challenges of life. So I'm going to make a list of up coming events that I plan to participate. Believe it or not, I'm trying to cut down...getting too old for these outside shows.

June 1&2 - Mulvane Art Show - Washburn campus, Topeka KS
June 15th - Summer Solstice -  Springfield, MO
June 29th - Art by the Spring - April Davis, Joplin, MO (south of Joplin, north of Neosho)

July - time off....too hot anyway

August  9th &10th - Women's World - Branson, MO, I'll be with Kristin Girard, Brenda Hayes and Dianne Miller....we are the Market Artisans for Empire Market

September 14th - Art in the Yard - Bobbi Kemna' place, Ft Scott, KS
September 20th & 21st - Art Fest - Joplin, MO

November 1st and 2nd - JRAC (Joplin Regional Artists Coalition) First Annual Studio Tour (of which I'm the head of the founding committee to organize this event).

These are in addition to working my shift at the Empire Market and what ever workshops that I plan to do.
 Let's just say that I'm really looking forward to July when I'll visit my  youngest daughter and her "puppy" in Atlanta with my "baby" Lucy, my St Bernard.  Oh the puppy is a German Shepherd who will be 8 months old by then.  We will also go visit Max's brother Duke during that time.  Then toward the end of the month, I'll go visit my oldest in London with a side trip to Menorca.  Oh my gosh, I can't wait!!


Tuesday, March 26, 2019

Wow, we are three months into 2019!

You know that old saying, "The faster I go the more behind I get"?  Well, that is me.  Sometimes juggling a full time job, a full time hobby plus all the organizations that I'm involved in, plus paying attention to my girls, my dog and my cat ...well, it get's the best of me.

So let's get caught up....again.  I'm no longer at Local Color.  It was just too much to do trying to work in MORE hours to work there during my actual work time.  Finally, I realized that I just couldn't do it anymore.  It's a great gallery and I was honored to be invited to participate.

Most recently at the Bourbon County Art Council's Fine Art Exhibit, I won not only first in the Pottery division, but Best in Show for the complete 3D division!  My favorite tea set did it again!  The same one that got me into the ICAN calendar for February.  Guess, I'll have to expand upon that whole concept.

Oh, and there was a generous cash award that went along with that title!  A little bonus as it were.

Work is continuing nicely with ArtForms.  I'm starting to teach wheel throwing at Cow Creek Pottery (which is just an off site location for ArtForms).  A big thanks to Sylvia to allow us to use her studio!  I've enjoyed seeing people progress in this area.  It's harder than hand building, but the rewards (I feel) are greater when there are successes.

JRAC is working on our first annual Studio Tour...guess who is spearheading this event?  Yep, me!  Sometimes, I feel like that is the only way to get things done.  Maybe when it's a success then others will take over.  The tentative date will be November 1st and 2nd.  My hope is that it will expand to two weekends at a later time.

The Joplin Empire Market is getting ready to celebrate their first anniversary!  And our group, The Market Artisans, will be there into the next year!!  I just love this group of ladies!  We get along and compliment each other's work nicely.  We appreciate each other.




Wednesday, February 6, 2019

Brrr - winter

Brrrrr....winter. 

Not my favorite time of year.  I guess, it makes us appreciate the other seasons so much more.  It is a time to regroup after the busy Christmas season when it's hard for me to even catch my breath (so to speak - I breathe just fine).  It's a time to plan for upcoming shows and events.  It's a time to try new things.

The regrouping consists of getting a handle on my inventory.  After much thought, I decided to remove my work and myself from Local Color Gallery in Joplin.  Christmas season was good there and I had a very successful Christmas Tree workshop, but I just can't squeeze in the hours that I'm supposed to work or justify the rent.  They are a great group of talented artists and I wish them the best. 

The first event will be this week.  I'll have my work at Memorial Hall in Pittsburg along with the other great artists from ArtForms.  Set up is tomorrow with the opening reception on February 8th.  So if you are in the area, stop on by.  We have great food and you can visit with your favorite artist.

I keep telling myself to slow down, that there isn't a fire, but it's a very hard thing to do.  I need to work with my beloved St Bernard, Lucy, to get her working as a therapy dog.  She's almost 2 1/2 years old and is finally starting to loose all the puppy behavior although she can get distracted easily even yet.  I know we can do it!

But I look at the shows coming up and wonder....do I really want to travel to Topeka? It's an art show and I did pretty well despite or in addition to the fact that my tent literally blew away.  And a fellow potter loaned me her tent....don't you just love people like that?  Otherwise, I would have simply packed what remained and just left.  And Mountain Home Arkansas looks intriguing in September, but that means three weekends in a row with shows...and less time with Lucy.

After more than six weeks, I finally dragged myself down to the studio and threw some mugs and my triple vases..all of which sell very well, so I was low on those despite an excess of work in the multiple tubs in my garage. Here's a fun video of them right after I pulled them out of the kiln...they are singing their song!


So I've got some things to mull over