A Chapter Closes

I am really not one to ruminate on the stressful things of life even when my current circumstances take up a large percentage of my waking thoughts.  The last three years I have been to hell and back and would be remiss if I did not express how grateful I am that I not only came out of it alive and with my sanity intact but with a greater sense of peace and a deeper understanding of myself and my capabilities.  Making it through has taken a lot of faith, prayer, meditation, and introspection.  I couldn't have made it through without the support of my family, friends, professors, counselors, and my faith.  Oh, and a LOT of dark chocolate!

Three years ago my son was hit by a car while crossing the street to the university on his way to a ballroom dance class.   What followed was a fractured tibia and fibula and four surgeries later to get his leg back to some semblance of normal but with chronic pain.  That was the easy part.  The harder part was the smack to his head that resulted in a moderately traumatic brain injury.  I have resisted mentioning any of this on my blog for numerous reasons including legal and privacy.  But with legal resolutions comes a deep sigh of relief.  One journey is over.  Now another one of continued physical and mental healing for everyone can commence.  The journey is far from over but now we can all focus on more positive aspects of our lives.

As if that event had not been enough, ensuing difficulties in my marriage led to a separation four months after my son's accident and an eventual divorce.  While this was extremely difficult it was necessary for my continued growth as a person and an artist.

So when I look in the mirror every morning and it seems like new patches of grey hair are sprouting exponentially, I can say, " I have earned every one of these grey hairs."

Throughout all of this my crazy, bottle fed as a baby, now twelve year old, cat has been a source of humor and comfort.

I iz writing down your life story.

You put this down here for me, right?

On a much, much lighter note, it was 74 degrees in my yard yesterday!  If that is not crazy I don't know what is.  I took advantage to enjoy the weather and did some clay reclaiming and raked some leftover fall leaves off the lawn.  That's it for now.  Peace out, I am off to go play with some clay and prep my mind for some new adventures!

Long Walk

I took a long walk today trying to burn off some frustration.  I walked through the cemetery and when I saw this I realized it pretty much described just how I feel today.  Some days are great, some not so great.  But seeing this kind of helped.

Heart Tile Wall Hangings

When I first started back to college in the fall of 2007, my first ceramics class was intermediate mold making.  One of the projects was a multiples assignment involving tiles that needed to be 2" high.  I started by making a clay positive and then cast it in plaster and used it as a press mold.  Being fall, I wanted to use plant materials before everything fell off the trees.  I used maple seed pods in this one and rubber stamps for the lettering.

Returning to school was a stressful change and I found myself doing whatever I could to remind myself of peaceful, happy things.  These tiles were direct reminders to me of what was important and what I needed to do for myself.  I created about 30 tiles, all with different impressions and wording.  I was told that the hearts brought to mind the work of Jim Dine and the many heart paintings and sculptures he created.

Most of the tiles were finished in 2007 but I recently unearthed a bunch that I was still doing some tests on and had not finished.  The completed tiles had been fired at cone 04.  The above tile had a wash of purple mason stain and I glazed it up with a satin clear and fired up to cone 5.  I am quite happy with how it came out.

 

This last one also had purple stain and I applied a combination of commercial red glaze and a crackle glaze that fluxed into the red and added some color variation.  This one is also fired to cone 5.

I have had so much that I have needed to catch up on since graduating and then I am really trying to keep myself focused on making sculpture for my portfolio and grad school applications.  However, these tiles keep sneaking into my mind and I feel like making a few more. I better use them as a reward for when I get the sculptures finished.  They are a nice relief project. Pun intended.

In the meantime I have listed these in my Etsy store.  I can't keep everything I make no matter how much I love them or there wont be room to make more.  Sigh...

Have a delightful weekend full of peace, stillness and love!