Abortion, Visual Art, Weaving Coasters

Some babies die by accident, none should die by choice. Wake up, abortion supporters in this country...let's not kill our youngest! Life is a miraculous gift and there are so many couples who cannot concieve. Let's encourage and support pregnant women so they follow through, carry their babies to term and give them up for adoption...bless the lives of couples who are suffering heartbreak and heartache and emptiness for want of a child. Give the gift of live to them!

Another topic: school starts soon and that means new art will be created by lots of kids. I'm excited to get my students started! We will start on Sept. 14 - I just can't decide if I want to start with some basic color theory or the principles of design. Actually, we'll probably review the art elements first and then go from there. I have lots of returning students and a few new ones, too. It is always fun to have new students as the group dynamics change and that is fun for all.

I've got a set of coasters on my table top loom...plan to get those off the loom this week and knot up or sew the edges, depending on how my time goes the rest of the week...my 'list' is long! I really want to get a denim rug woven on my floor loom, too but it needs warping first and that is SUCH a big job! I almost feel too old to get down on my hands and knees to get it done. I wonder if I can pay someone to warp it?

Last night when I was walking the ice cream truck came down the street. It had the music blaring to alert the kids that it was in their neighborhood. The not-so-seasonally appropriate song it was playing? Silent Night!

Our rabbit trap has not been successful all summer...but our window well was. Eric found the fur and skeleton of a dead rabbit in the window well last week. One down, 10,000+ to go!

Sunshine is energizing!

The sun is shining! And it is energizing me! Today I listed a lot of new items to my etsy shop and have more to get done tonight. Then I'll be adding new items to my own website shop, too. And I placed new items at the Canad Inn, Third Street Gallery, Forks Frame Up and Dakota Harvest Bakers. It feels so good to have those tasks taken care of for a short while, anyway.

I've been researching artfulhome.com as a possible place to list my tables, lamps and lamples. It is a juried online shop and print catalog so I've been working on my application. The need for professional photos are creating a quandry for me. Should I invest in a better camera, lights and some backdrops and 'set up' a photography studio for myself? Or should I bite the bullet several times a year and pay a professional to take the photos for me? Anyone have advice for me?

I'm excited to get to work, now that it is spring, on some new tables. I want to use the diamond willow branches that my brother-in-law kindly hauled 350 miles east for me. And I want to do some new ceramic table tops to go with them...lots of ideas.

I'm really missing our little granddaughters. We had so much fun - I just finished putting together a photo album that will help them remember their visit with Grandma!

I sold 5 tatami mats this morning that have been taking up space in my closet for over 5 years. The buyers were thrilled to have them and I was thrilled they will store them instead of me!

I only have 3 times left with my weekly students before we take summer break. We are finishing up with sculpture and I'm really looking forward to that. I love three dimensional work with kids - it is something they usually don't experience!

NCECA in Phoenix

I laid awake all last night in our hotel room in Phoenix thinking over my experiences at the NCECA conference the last three days.  Besides being lucky enough to win a couple of nice door prizes, I met up with a friend I met at Anderson Ranch a few years ago and had lots of shared experiences with our daughter, Amy.  We met quite a few new potters, listened to some interesting lectures and discusssions, watched demonstrations by other ceramicists and potters, and learned about new tools from vendors.  All in all it was a wonderful time - I hope to make good use of some or all of the new information in my work and with my young students.  Hopefully, they will benefit from my time here, too.

Gourd clock photos

I finally got a few photos taken *actually my hubbie did it* of two of my mini gourd clocks. We had a busy weekend with our oldest daughter home, with her two little girls. They are one and three years old and both of them are happy, joyous toddlers. We LOVE having them here!

Today I'm continuing my cartooning unit with my art kids. We learned about Charles Schulz and Roy Lichtenstein the previous two weeks. Today our artist is Keith Haring. After learning about an artist we are sketching in note books. Each student will have a collection of cartoons by the end of our unit. They will then pick and choose features that they like and put together their own, unique cartoon character. Hopefully, they will use the character in a short 3 or 4 panel comic strip. It has been really fun for me to learn about cartooning and some of the artists who are famous because of the cartoon or comic strip look of their work.

I hope to get the mini-gourd clocks listed on etsy after the Valentine Art Show on Thursday.

Clock Fix & Photographing Art

Thanks to Cindy for her hint on finishing up polymer clay with Future Floor Finish! I'm busy today redoing all my clocks and wine charms to rid them of their sticky feeling - I'll be glad to have that project finished so I can confidently box them up and ship them off to happy new 'clock watchers'. I can say they make me happy, lined up on my work counter, when I turn off the lights at night and their little buttons glo in the dark!

My hubbie is working diligently to figure out our new camera and how best to use it to photograph art. He has stools and a ladder in the living room, with clamps to hold up the lights, a cloth draped down the front of the fireplace and across a low, Japanese-style table. I'm so thankful he'll mess around with it because I don't have the patience for it!

Two of my pottery students, a fifth grader and a third grader, had success yesterday centering their ball of clay on the pottery wheel - all by themselves. They were thrilled and so was I...it is such a feeling of accomplishment for all of us!

My felted wall hangings, madonna and child, and landscapes will continue showing downtown through the holidays so that was good news. I guess they don't have another artist scheduled yet - happy accident for me! I'm going to lend my curio cabinet to our daughter, Amy, so she can show her pottery there for a month or so (go to amyuthus.com to see some of her work). We are both in the process of getting shopping carts on our websites - hopefully, that work will be done in the next 10 days or so.

Thanksgiving was such a fun time - our daughters (3) were all home, along with our son-in-law and two granddaughters. My youngest sister, Julie, and her family also came, my parents and two other sisters/hubbies. We played Wii (Mario Cart was a fave), cards, 'Katie's game' (a word/drawing game, sort of like written 'telephone') and Chase the Ace - besides eating more than plenty all weekend! Such fun to have company!

I've posted my schedule of Sunday kids' classes for January through May on my website (www.jackiesart.com). I'll add a pottery class or two a bit later...

Happy day to all!

Pottery, new classes, weaving - so much to do!

I am home for 4 days and can't believe how much I have on my list of things to do...so much to do in my pottery studio - for myself, and I need to take care of my students' work. They are waiting patiently for me to get it in and out of the kiln. I've a million things to do to get my fall art class schedule posted on my website and some lesson plans in place. Plus I have a tapestry idea that is exploding in my head and looking for fruition! I'm so blessed that "I'm bored, I've nothing to do" is not a possibility for me!