Super-Feel-Good Week Adjusting to New Roles

Incendiary Grenade Sculpture

Small bowls waiting to be trimmed

Spinning coming along

Final bounty of the season

I had a great week. I confess that some (many) days the past couple months have been utlra-challenging. I've tried to focus on the positive and keep moving forward. So, in comparison, this past week felt like things were really starting to flow and make sense again. I am beginning adjust to my new routines and assignments; for a while there, it felt like total upheaval. So, this week I celebrate!

I have, in the past, been someone who would take a project and focus on it for hours on end. I like that intensity. But now, the shake-ups in my life have me moving in several different directions on any one given day, both at work and home. Yesterday I tried the new "way of doing things" in my studio - and to my surprise- it worked!

I began the day with a three-hour wheel-throwing session. Afterward, I spent four hours on a project for a client, then two hours on a tapestry, one hour spinning fibers, and an hour reading a book for a class assignment. I feel like I got quite a bit done and will try that same sort of routine today after I blog.

Other interesting highlights this past week included a technology workshop. My former profession before switching careers to art education was technology-based (both design and a quick stint teaching at college level before moving back to Maine) and I had thought that that part of my life was behind me. But it is funny how those things come back around. I am excited about the possibilities for our local students with the interactive equipment that will allow them to take their education beyond the walls of our school, to far-off places like the Smithsonian or even classrooms in other countries.

Another role that I play at school this year is that I am filling-in for the music position until a permanent teacher is hired. I never thought that I would be teaching music, but here I am. Who'da thunk it. Now that I am moving beyond the stress of being a "first year teacher" again, I am really enjoying it. It might just be hard to give up that position when the time comes!!! My history with music does go way back, from watching my mom's balalaika orchestra performances to my college job in a music store where I was exposed to all types of music and met many performers, to my time playing and performing with an awesome African drum ensemble when I was in my late twenties. This week, supply orders finally arrived at school. It felt like Christmas opening all those boxes. I think my favorite item that arrived was a Steel Drum. The kids love it too. I can imagine a steel drum band starting at our school. We'll see.

Spinning fibers is not as easy as it looks, but I think I just might be starting to get the hang of it. This week I will ply my first batch of yarn. Hopefully it will be usable for a tapestry, albeit a bit unruly, funky, and inconsistent. I have been working on two different tapestry projects; one for a client and one for a class assignment. I have come up with a an idea for a tapestry series and can't wait to see it unfold. It has sculptural elements and is definitely in the beginning experimental stage. I think that if I can structurally make it work, that this will only be the beginning of what is possible with that medium for me. I worked out the structural element while on a walk last summer. Crossing my fingers it all comes together!!!

Another awesome event this past week is that I finally finished the wet work for the "incendiary grenade". It is part of a clay sculpture series that I am working on and it draws in elements of both new work and a series that I began in 2007. Right now the sculpture is in two pieces but will eventually be permanently attached. I enjoyed the process with this piece, working large scale, combining wheel and slab work, and making those little faux bolts. Ultimately, the piece will incorporate light.

And just when this week couldn't get any better....Northern Tides launched their new website! It's a beautiful, professional site and I am pleased to be a part of their list of artists. Check it out. Deb and Jerry have been instrumental in changing the face of Lubec - or maybe better stated - in the "facelift" of Lubec. The downtown is starting to perk-up and is looking great!

Let's see, have I left anything out? Yes, lots of things, but I will blog about those later on. Today I am itching to get back into the studio. On a final note, I will share with you a video clip of the song "Steal My Kisses from You" by Ben Harper. When I hear this song, I can't help but smile. The toes start tapping, then the legs moving, the volume knob gets cranked...it just puts me in such a good mood. Enjoy!

source: youtube

Immersed in Art

The beginning stage of a sculpture currently in progress

A new sculpture that I began this past weekend, again, in the beginning stage

This little vase is from the last firing, and is one that I particularly like. It sold yesterday and is on its way to Texas.

An intense sunrise mid week.

I didn't think I would be able to blog this week because I am packed-solid with commitments and deadlines. But seeing how I woke about 3:00 this morning and there was no chance of me falling back to sleep, I thought I might be able to slip in a little blog time before the official alarm sounds at 5:15 a.m.

The Two Countries One Bay Artist Studio Tour was a success. I loved meeting folks from near and far. In past years, Sunday would present a succession of lulls, but not this year. I barely had five minutes to myself. I managed to spend a little time throughout the day on a tapestry project and some sculpture time at the end of the day, but other than that, it was all about the meet and greet.

Early in the week I attended our monthly "Lubec Arts Alive" meeting and was re-invigorated by two new members who joined us with fresh ideas and a bounty of enthusiasm. It's exciting to think about how the arts can, and will, grow in our little nook of downeast. I look back over the past nine years here in Lubec, and feel honored to be part of this transition that is happening, from sleepy little town to colorful artist community. I can't wait to see what the next year brings!

After the LAA meeting, I hurried home to enjoy a lovely homemade pesto pasta meal (compliments of Chris' fine culinary skills) with our Brooklyn friend Pam who is in Lubec on a writing fellowship. The literary conversation was a bit beyond my realm of expertise, but nonetheless incredibly interesting. Two Shakespeare enthusiasts sharing bread made for a perfect end to the day.

I have had a list of art-related to-do's that needed attention - so spent a night with those things: lightbox photos, bios, phone calls, bookkeeping, etc. I knocked a few of those items off the list and headed into the weekend full-speed ahead with the internal GPS set for the studio. I got in two excellent, full, eleven and twelve hour days consecutively. I worked on two different sculptures and seem to have one piece complete, as far as the wet work goes. Ideas are flowing right now faster than I can produce, so I am jotting down words and sketches to return to at a later date. I have an idea for a sculpture that I think is pretty good, but I won't have enough time to do it justice until the turn of the new year.

I loo forward to this new week. I am of course busy with teaching during the day, and the afternoons and evenings are slotted full as well. I hope to squeeze in some studio time in-between guests and appointments. I am most excited for our friend Barbara's visit. She is a fellow weaver with years of experience and load of talent who will teach me how to use that fancy new spinning wheel that Judy gifted me this past summer. I can't wait!

I will deliver a fiber piece to a local fiber show mid week. I need to come up with some sort of semi-eloquent bio. I have written a ton of these in the past, but need to rewrite to fit the venue and selected piece. And that reminds me, I also need to provide another bio to Northern Tides, a very cool gift shop here in Lubec, which is going online soon. That bio will be different and require a bit of thinking as well.

Before I sign off, I will mention that I feel honored to have gotten a little blurb about my artwork in the current edition of "Saltscapes", a Canadian arts and culture magazine. I am humbled to make a presence alongside some area artists whose work I admire. If you get a chance, you can check out the article online. It showcases some of the area talents that participated in the Two Countries One Bay Artist Studio Tour a couple years back. The writer, Janet Wallace, did a phenomenal job, I thought, capturing the essence of this area and how our surroundings inspire us. The article is titled "Art Off the Grid" (pg. 44-47). Thanks, Janet!