1.07.2009

The tease....


So Monday we got back to the normal and I was surprised to find that I was Ok with that. I started my new Yoga routine in the morning, packed up some pots, got going on my online course and got the kids off to good start with evening routine. Tuesday I started a new class schedule at Clayworks - from 2 - 4:30 I teach an intermediate class and from 6:30 to 9:00 I have some advanced beginnings. I spent the few hours in between that working yet again on Art History stuff while I enjoyed my dinner. I have to also admit that I did miss not picking my kids up from school but i thought I'd give this new schedule a try this session and see if Joey, I and the kids to adjust to the change.


So....where does my clay come in and what is this talk about stoneware???I had many people asking me this at Clayworks who read my blog. Today, I plugged out some wonder white, cone 7-10. Ann Riggs whom I bought the salt kiln from was kind enough to give me lots of stoneware. Here is it in my glaze barn just gathering dust. For me January is all about getting back into the swing of things and doing something differant to jump start my hands and mind. Tonight I plan on cleaning all the porcelain off my wheel and throw some stoneware. Why.......??? Well, it all has to do with my salt kiln sitting in the backyard. I'm not sure yet if I'm ready to purge my feeling about what is going on with that as of yet. I started to talk to my friend Julie about it yesterday and I could feel the emotions well up. CRAZY...right? But these emotions, thoughts and a bit of a funk I might add that I've been dealing with over the Holidays shows me how personal what we create and do for a living really is to all of us.


My good friend Ron Philbeck is letting me put some pots in his salt kiln next month. I feel like I need to see my work once again in the salt. I haven't done salt work since grad school and at the time, that was all I lived and breathed. I need some clarity on what path I'm planning to take with my lonely salt kiln out in the backyard that calls to me ever time I'm loading my electric kiln. Like I said.....if I can dig deep one day maybe I'll purge my feelings about this a bit more. For now, I'll start by throwing a few mugs this evening.

5 comments:

Tracey Broome said...

Jen: I had some serious reckonin' to do with myself over the kiln I wanted to build from the John Britt workshop I did. It seemed every path I took to building that thing turned into a road block until I finally just stopped and thought about why this was happening. Then, when all of my Raku sold and my daughter seriously talked to me about doing Raku, everything started clicking. I ordered my olympic Raku/gas kiln today and have scrapped the building idea. It was very emotional for me, I really saw myself building a gas kiln. I don't think the universe saw it that way though. Things that are meant to work for you always win out in the end. Can't wait to see the stoneware!

Jen Mecca said...

Thanks for the support. We'll see what happens in my universe!Jen

Michael Mahan said...

When clay particles get misaligned, we've got rewedge.

How about a good massage?

Michael

Michael Mahan said...

I meant to say "we've got to rewedge."

Michael

Jen Mecca said...

Ah..Getting rewedged may help. I'm trying to do that with my yoga!jen