as i continue my personal education and exploration into cone 6 glazes i feel like i am stuck in groundhog day. and just like bill murray, i learn things the hard way, adjust, and follow with a TINY step forward. then, at the end of a long day, i close my eyes to rest for a new day. i wake to my alarm only to find out "OMG its february 2nd........AGAIN!"
ok, so its not quite that bad....but it definately feesl like it sometimes.
these are the days i miss my mountain potter community the most. i unloaded the kiln yesterday. of course i didnt remember to put my witness cones in...(i was in a hurry, it was sunday, the sun was shining and it was warm. i wanted to play outside. now, you know i didnt end up leaving the studio until after sunset....but....i digress). the last firing was slightly overfired on the top shelf. i thought i had maybe poorly loaded it. nope. something needs some tweaking! i am taking the day to research, pouring over books and clicking from website to website website. I CAN DO THIS DARNIT! :) but boy do i miss my potter community. instant easy answers, where are you???
for now, this expirience will mae me a better potter, and a better person. i just know it! and i will reward myself: starting some seeds in the garden today, fixing yellow tofu curry for supper tonight...all is not lost. two thirds of the "cycle" complete :).
wishing you all the best and as always thanks for reading!
~trista
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
seriously intrigued
the art of margaret kilgallen
i recently watched an art documentary called "Beautiful Losers". the movie was about a group of what i might call modern-day-urban-folk-artists. this group of "street artists" (yep, graffiti) formed what came to be known as the mission artists in san francisco. i wont recap the entire movie, (but if you are into that kind of thing, i highly recommend watching it for yourself). i was so inspired by several of the artists featured in the movie. the one that spoke to me the most though was margaret kilgallen. it was like i met my art soul sister or something. inspired by southwestern and mexican artists, folk art, and the handpainted taquerria signs in california, her work is romatic graphic art, often in super large format. known as a graffiti artist under the tag names "Meta" and "Matokie Slaughter."the latter name, a homage to folk musician Matokie Slaughter, was specifically used for freight train graffiti, a hobo tradition that strongly influenced her work. kilgallen was an accomplished banjo player and became an avid surfer after moving to California. i am amazed and inpired by her work, and her life. margaret tragically left this earth too early in 2001, but her legacy will live on in the women whose life she ectched with her beautiful and simple illustrations.
Friday, February 11, 2011
best quote ever...
a potter friend of mine put this on her facebook page today:
"i have decided that making handles is like therapy. you have to work through the anger, the pain, the shame, the humiliation till you get to a place where you have something or someone you would enjoy having your morning coffee with."
-wendy wrenn of wrenn pottery
"i have decided that making handles is like therapy. you have to work through the anger, the pain, the shame, the humiliation till you get to a place where you have something or someone you would enjoy having your morning coffee with."
-wendy wrenn of wrenn pottery
Wednesday, February 09, 2011
its everything...
why is art and pottery everything i see? everything i do?
my favorite of the seas shells are the broken remnants of conch shells. i love it when the big curved planes of the shell fall away, leaving only the graceful spiral curve that makes the skeleton. the spiral is the heart of a wheel thrown pot. i see spirals everywhere. they are something i've always taken note of and admired: the conch, to the muscles wrapping the human form, the eddies of a river, the swirls in the clouds, or a horses coat... this leads me to my next question. was i always meant to be a potter? or did i become a potter because i loved the spiral? it is innate? or coincidence?
or i am ridiculous for bothering to wonder about these things?
maybe. probably...
but as a potter, and a person, i find myself constantly reviewing the interconectedness of the world. its hard not to....earth, garden, clay, dirt, food, life. love.
Sunday, February 06, 2011
slacker
okay so i'm not really a slacker. but i have been slacking on the blog, that is for sure. time for an update i guess. here goes...
the pottery is doing well. i am excited about my new glazes and working hard to put out new pots. in the works? platters, big bowls, teapots, big pitchers, mugs, pendents....all my favorite things to make. well except maybe the mugs. i really don't like naking mugs (not sure why). BUT i really like to USE handmade mugs. therefore, i suck it up, and try to make a lot of them....
other fun stuff?
as a potter its hard not to always be thinking about food. the last time nick and i spent quality time in asheville we started to eat a lot of vegan food. to those that know my hubby, one would say "nick??? vegan!!!!!???? what????" . well, what we realized is that we found that cutting really far back on our meat consumption has made us feel really really really good. we still eat meat from time to time (i cannot understand life without bacon and chorizo!) but have adopted a new barely-meat-eating diet. combined with our old organic-less-processed-food diet. now i find myself busy busy busy in the kitchen all the time. so much freshness. its truly amazing. its been super fun!!! i dont miss our heavily meated meals...but now i havent quite as much free time. the conclusion?? its is definately worth it!
as a potter (and a foodie!!) its hard not to think about gardening all the time. here in the coastal region of nc, its that time!!!! yay. back in the hills we'd still be scraping ice off our windshield every morning. here, as of february first, i can start my collards and greens and turnips all those yummy wonderful cold weather veggies! some i have wintered over and those are starting to blush with happy green-ness. but others i am starting this week in little portable seed beds. yay. which we brings me to my next point...
wanted: pet friendly gardeners yard :)... we are currently renting a home here in bft. unfortunately, our rental home has been sold to new owners. we are looking for a new home in bft. we hope we have found one. we are keeping our fingers crossed.
yep, we are busy bees!
otherwise, life is good, dogs are good and spring is starting to tempt us with occasional warmish sunny days. i am so ready. oh lovely equinox hurry hurry...
see you soon!
thanks for reading and wishing you well!
~trista
the pottery is doing well. i am excited about my new glazes and working hard to put out new pots. in the works? platters, big bowls, teapots, big pitchers, mugs, pendents....all my favorite things to make. well except maybe the mugs. i really don't like naking mugs (not sure why). BUT i really like to USE handmade mugs. therefore, i suck it up, and try to make a lot of them....
other fun stuff?
as a potter its hard not to always be thinking about food. the last time nick and i spent quality time in asheville we started to eat a lot of vegan food. to those that know my hubby, one would say "nick??? vegan!!!!!???? what????" . well, what we realized is that we found that cutting really far back on our meat consumption has made us feel really really really good. we still eat meat from time to time (i cannot understand life without bacon and chorizo!) but have adopted a new barely-meat-eating diet. combined with our old organic-less-processed-food diet. now i find myself busy busy busy in the kitchen all the time. so much freshness. its truly amazing. its been super fun!!! i dont miss our heavily meated meals...but now i havent quite as much free time. the conclusion?? its is definately worth it!
as a potter (and a foodie!!) its hard not to think about gardening all the time. here in the coastal region of nc, its that time!!!! yay. back in the hills we'd still be scraping ice off our windshield every morning. here, as of february first, i can start my collards and greens and turnips all those yummy wonderful cold weather veggies! some i have wintered over and those are starting to blush with happy green-ness. but others i am starting this week in little portable seed beds. yay. which we brings me to my next point...
wanted: pet friendly gardeners yard :)... we are currently renting a home here in bft. unfortunately, our rental home has been sold to new owners. we are looking for a new home in bft. we hope we have found one. we are keeping our fingers crossed.
yep, we are busy bees!
otherwise, life is good, dogs are good and spring is starting to tempt us with occasional warmish sunny days. i am so ready. oh lovely equinox hurry hurry...
see you soon!
thanks for reading and wishing you well!
~trista
Wednesday, February 02, 2011
days off...
one might ask "what does a potter do on their day off"?
i live on the coast. i take part of monday and all of tuesdays off . you can probably guess what i do on my days off from april to october: read books on the beach, swim, paddle, ride on the boat, fish....not too bad eh?
but its colder now. bathing suits are NOT fun right now no matter how you look at it. its easy to forget about the wide open expanse of water that first drew us to this amazing place. a reminder that the ocean, while not as "useable" right now is still as beautiful...
yesterday, we went for a stroll down the beach. watching the dolphins roll down the surf never loses that childhood thrill. as i searched the shore for unusual shells, a funny collection of shells got my mind thinking about life and fate and meaning. it made me want to write a blog about it. but i'll do that tomorrow. for now, i'll just give you pictures.
cheers, trista
i live on the coast. i take part of monday and all of tuesdays off . you can probably guess what i do on my days off from april to october: read books on the beach, swim, paddle, ride on the boat, fish....not too bad eh?
yesterday, we went for a stroll down the beach. watching the dolphins roll down the surf never loses that childhood thrill. as i searched the shore for unusual shells, a funny collection of shells got my mind thinking about life and fate and meaning. it made me want to write a blog about it. but i'll do that tomorrow. for now, i'll just give you pictures.
cheers, trista
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
another snow day
another snow day in bft. this is where the magic happen :).
it was supposed to snow last saturday. the weather man called for a scant 1 or 2 inches. the snow started falling around 8:30 a.m. it fell and fell and fell. all day. it was beautiful, but almost unbearably cold with a whipping wind and near white out conditions. i decided to leave the studio and drive around and take some pictures. i didnt last long. scared myself with over confident driving. i decided i did not belong on the road, so i went home and stayed there. it continued to snow until 6 pm. we ended up with 5 to 7 inches depending on where you live. too bad theres no hills here. i love sledding :)
Thursday, January 06, 2011
Happy New Year!
the year finished up in a flurry. the new year has begun!
i wanted to give a huge huge HUGE thanks to the people in this funky little town called beaufort. i cannot ever go on about how amazing it has been to have been so easily embraced by this community. as the year came to a close, it became even more obvious how lucky i am. a few people i didnt know came in, but a ton of people i did know did. this is so cool on so many levels. because hello? thank you so much for supporting local craft and local art. but even more, thanks for supporting me! <3
after a long holiday season of working my rear end off...i m taken some time to be home with my family. friday, we are finally heading to asheville to spend time with my folks, my little brother, my big brother, his wife and his kids. i am so excited for some fresh mountain air and some good old fashioned hudzik family fun!
see you soon!
happy new year and as always, thanks for reading!
i wanted to give a huge huge HUGE thanks to the people in this funky little town called beaufort. i cannot ever go on about how amazing it has been to have been so easily embraced by this community. as the year came to a close, it became even more obvious how lucky i am. a few people i didnt know came in, but a ton of people i did know did. this is so cool on so many levels. because hello? thank you so much for supporting local craft and local art. but even more, thanks for supporting me! <3
after a long holiday season of working my rear end off...i m taken some time to be home with my family. friday, we are finally heading to asheville to spend time with my folks, my little brother, my big brother, his wife and his kids. i am so excited for some fresh mountain air and some good old fashioned hudzik family fun!
see you soon!
happy new year and as always, thanks for reading!
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