April Vacation: Painting, Mead Mugs, and Portland

It's been a great vacation week. My only complaint: it went by far too fast. As soon as school was released last Friday, I went right to work painting the bathroom. The new tile came out fab, and by Tuesday, we had water, and shower, once again. Chris was away at the Terry Plunkett Poetry Festival in Augusta, so I took advantage of a completely open schedule to get some projects done.

Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday I worked in the barn studio. I threw some basic spiral bowls, but also decided to give my hand at throwing some new "Mead Mugs." I hadn't made handles, or mugs, in over ten years. My last memory was that I hated making handles, but decided that it was time that I try again. The handles came out much better than I remember in the past. That was a plus. They are a lot more work than anyone realizes. So when you folks out there buy a mug from a local crafter for $20 - know that you are getting a great deal! I did check out the mugs at Maine Potter's Market in the Old Port yesterday, and was glad to see that the prices were closer to $30 for a handmade mug, and Edgecomb Potters had a steeper price tag on their mugs. It better reflects the time spent making them, I think. I get so inspired when I see the work of other artists, and have loved the work of Edgecomb Potters for many years now. It was hard to be so many miles away from my studio this past weekend when I felt fired-up to create.

Chris and I had a great time in Portland. We get there only twice a year and what we do may seem mundane to most, but keep in mind that we live in Lubec! It is quite remote here, so eating out at an ethnic restaurant or going to a movie theater is a luxury! We usually make plans to do so much more, but time just seems to slip by. We had a great dinner at Fuji. We hadn't eaten there before, but wanted to spend some time with my neice, Christine, and this is her fave place to eat. We had a great visit, and the food was yummy. We also tried, on her recommendation, Mexico Lindo. Fantastic! (the review says otherwise, but our meal was delicious, the service wonderful, the prices fair). And of course, we ate at our fave Japanese restaurant, Sapporo. Yum Yum. The movie "State of Play" was excellent, and I enjoyed a visit with my potter friend Becky. Her encaustics are amazing!

Other than all that, lots of sightseeing and shopping. Shopping mostly consists of things we need. We don't get out of town too often, but when we do, there is usually a long list of things that we need, like Pottery supplies from Portland Pottery. The car is always a bit weighted down on our return trip - with hundreds of pounds of clay. We also spent some time in Freeport at LL Bean and Body Shop. I needed a new bike helmet, and Chris bought some camping supplies.

The trip began and ended with my family in West Gardiner, celebrating my sister's birthday. Great food, company, conversation. Staying at my parents' place is like staying at a B&B!

Photos above: Shanna at Fort Knox, View of the Old Port, and Mead Mugs

Remodel Mayhem

It was a wild week - between a school field trip, submitting student artwork to a competition, and remodeling the bathroom. My head is still spinning, by body a bit sore from the odd contortions needed for painting tight nooks and crannies, and I feel like I could use about a week's worth of sleep to recover. Nice start to April vacation!

Kudos to UMM for putting on another great "Thou Art Fair" for Washington County high school art students. Our music teacher and I took about 20 students to the fair on Thursday. Each student displayed a piece of their artwork, and the high school band performed Pearl Jam and Kenny Wayne Shephard songs. So much talent in these kids! The day was spent painting, making t-shirts, playing games and various instruments, sculpting, collaging and watching belly dance and live musical performances.

About seven students' work was selected to be on display this week at Machias Savings Bank for the annual Women's Club Art Competition. The work looked good - I am crossing my fingers that at least one of my students places in top three. There is always some tough competition!

Remodeling Mayhem. Yes indeed. The bathroom was in dire need of a makeover. So enters "Extreme Home Makover Lubec". It all began last summer when I had a plumber in to fix some leaky pipes and install a couple new faucets. Talks began about a new tub area. The plumber neglected to return most calls, or lost dimensions, colors, various specs each time. I am amazed at how irresponsible some tradesfolk are here, not returning calls or showing up when promised. I wouldn't think I would have to practically beg someone to take my money, but that seems to be how it is here!

We have a builder now who seems to be more consistent. We began talks last November about tiling the tub area. I wasn't able to select tiles until January, but by that time he was off to Florida for winter retreat. In March, I got a call as soon as he returned. Wow! Someone called me back!

Excitement, knowing that after two days work I would have a new shower - complete with the gorgeous new faucet and shower head and new window trim. I could survive two days without a shower. It was for a greater outcome.

I am now on day #4 no hot shower. And....It looks like I will be waiting until Wednesday! The shower head was defective, causing extra (costly) hours of work, and a BIG nasty leak. We only endured one night with no water in house, but the stress of not knowing when we would have water again was a bit unsettling. The new shower head is on order and should arrive on Tuesday, and the builder says he will return then to install it. Yey! Let's hope it goes as planned.

For now, I am happy with the tile. It looks great. The new window trim is sweet, and I did a marathon painting session to brighten up the bathroom. Hopefully we will get a new toilet and floor this summer coming.

I am about to head out to the studio to throw. I am wondering how well I will be able to clean my clay-covered body without a shower. Hmmmm.... always an adventure.

Snowy Easter Day Downeast

Yes, it is true, it is snowing here in Lubec on Easter Day, April 12, 2009. It's coming down at a good clip too. Who would have thought this would happen so late into the season. But here it is. My big dilemma is that I was quite productive in the studio yesterday. Yes, dilemma. Since the nights are still below freezing temps, I have to carry all my wet work into the house for drying. Today the pots are ready for trimming, but that means lugging them all back out to the barn. I need to figure out how to get them safely into the studio through the wind and wet. (Covering with plastic I foresee a disaster with the wind!). I am holding out one more hour before I lug the pots out. Maybe....maybe the snow will subside by then? A little bit anyway?

Easter is a quiet holiday for Chris and me. Our family members are each doing their "own thing". We prefer to keep things low key, no travel, and enjoy the quiet. Chris will no doubt be writing most of the day, and I will spend time in the studio. I woke at 6:00 a.m. and did some general housecleaning and put on a special pot of Corsican Beef Stew for dinner tonight. It all feels pretty mellow.

It felt good to be at the wheel for the second weekend in a row. Jumping back in last week left my body a bit sore, and a wheel burn on my forearm. I'm not used to sitting at the wheel for hours on end yet. Yesterday's session feels like it went a bit more smoothly. I moved from the smaller mini pots (my warm-up) to some medium-sized spiral bowls. Also, a couple fellow-Lubeckers are opening a yarn and dog supply shop (yes, you read that right, yarn AND dog supplies....I know, funny sounding combo isn't it?) and they asked if I would make some yarn bowls. I had never heard of a yarn bowl before, so I did some peeking around on the web. I am going to see what I can come up with. Since I am often victim to the stray-rolling yarn-ball myself, I can see how this may be something very useful.

Off I go...to get the studio ready for a morning of trimming.

Centered

This morning I feel like spring is finally on its way. I walked outside at 7:00 a.m. to turn the heat on in the barn studio, and as I stepped out into the back yard, I heard the loud drumming of a pileated woodpecker. The deep, rhythmic, sometimes offbeat, knocking is distinct. I have only heard it once before, three summers ago, just moments before the bird swooped over me and landed on a dead branch of the walnut tree. She was followed seconds later by her mate. It was an amazing moment and one I won't ever forget. This morning, she has returned.

Animals have a way of showing up for me at times when I am seeking guidance. I have a multitude of happenings in my life right now - things on the verge of coming into being, but nothing solid. The prospect of being on a new path excites me, but at the same time, new directions can be scary. Having choice is a good thing, but working it out in my mind how to make the best choice, to try to foresee all possible outcomes, is the tough part.

The pileated woodpecker and the eagle have come to me in profoundly moving ways. Three summers ago both showed up in a way that I had to take notice. At that time, major life changes occurred (or opportunities) that helped move me along my path in a creative and rewarding direction. Now, the two birds have returned and I feel that I need to not take their presence in my life for granted. I need to be open and receptive and hear their message.

Whether it is a dream image or a real-life experience with animals, I like to refer to a book called Animal Speak: The Spiritual and Magical Powers of Creatures Great and Small. This morning I read (or re-read) the passages for both the eagle and the woodpecker. The words were completely relevant to what has been rolling around in my noggin lately. Just yesterday, I began to doubt a decision that I recently made, but this morning, I feel clarity once again. I needed to revisit my personal philosophies, and ask myself what is the best way for me to reach my goals and dreams.

I feel centered now.

Partly because of this morning's drumming visitor, but also because I am back in the studio after a five month hiatus.

And now, back to the barn studio I go.....

Five Months is too long...

Five months is too long to go without my clay "fix." Since last November, after my annual holiday sale, the studio has been closed-down for the winter. (In Maine, that includes a little bit of fall and spring as well.) Once the nights fall below freezing temps, and the snow starts to fly, it is just too cold to work out there in the barn. Even if my body can take the torture of a cold floor and walks to the house in wind and snow for bathroom or food breaks, the clay simply won't put up with it.

Once frost hits, hundreds of pounds of clay needs to be lugged out of the barn and into the house cellar for winter storage. The unused clay will be fine if it freezes, but the extra wedging necessary afterwards is just too much on my shoulders. The work I have sculpted or thrown, however, cannot be left outside in the barn on those cold nights. I learned the hard way. After a productive day of potting, I went into the studio the next day to see that my pots had froze, and in the thawing, cracked horribly. Lesson learned. Now, it is a ritual, in late fall and early spring, to produce, lug all work into house and store it on floor and tables, then lug it back out to the barn next day for trimming, then back to house for drying. After all work is dry, we once again carry it out to the barn for firing. Not exactly efficient, but it has to be done.

Eventually, all production comes to a halt when the the small propane heater just won't suffice, and the walks between house and barn are just too icy and treacherous with arm-loads of pots on wood trays. It is always a saddening event when I close-down the studio, and on an equal level, frustrating in the spring when I want so badly to begin working again, but the studio is not ready for me.

I usually get back to the barn studio in late April or early May, but this year, I just couldn't hold off any longer. Yesterday, I spent the entire day sorting through boxed-up supplies and stored equipment from barn-side". I got the finished pottery piled into condensed areas, and organized my glazes. By the time I finished, my hands were frozen, but my heart was happy knowing that soon I would begin.

My plan is to jump back into wheel throwing next weekend. I am not sure how comfortable it will be out there since March days can still feel like winter in Maine, even when the calendar tells us otherwise. I will begin with "warm-up" production type projects like mini pots and rice bowls. I like to begin with items that I know I need to stock for summer sales, then I feel mentally freed to begin the scultpural pieces that come from a deeper space in my soul.

Nature's Gifts

"It is a wholesome and necessary thing for us to turn again to the earth and in the contemplation of her beauties to know wonder and humility."
-Rachel Carson

Now that warmer days are approaching, I am back to my outdoor ritual of three mile walks down North Lubec and Maple Tree. I love this stretch of road because it is fairly unpopulated by vehicles, and quiet enough to hear the birds and other sounds of nature.

Last Tuesday I arrived home from school eager to "suit-up" and begin my jaunt. I had gifted Chris an MP3 player last solstice, and thought I would give it a try. I knew I would be drowning out the sounds of nature, but I do so love music as well, and maybe this would give a little more bounce to my step.

"Suited-up", headset on, I opened the front door. What?! Where did this chill come from? Just thirty minutes ago it was a warm, sunny, spring-like day. I turned back into the house exclaiming "it's too cold!" Chris, my exercise motivator, sternly said "Alright, looks like the treadmill today." The thought of another boring treadmill session was enough to re-motivate me....so back out the door I went.

The 100 yard walk down the driveway was treacherous. I had to take baby steps to make it safely across the ice to the end. And even at the end of the driveway, cold cold cold. I thought, maybe once I am in the sun, I will warm up. So I turned a right out the drive and onto the pavement, and right into a strong northeast wind that pummeled my face. My ears were quickly numbing. I wanted to turn back, but Chris' words...."treadmill today....." echoed through my mind. I could see a patch of sun a bit up the road...if only I could withstand this cold long enough to make it to that warm spot.

Indeed the sun provided a bit more warmth, at least psychologically, but the wind was still fierce. I bargained with myself that I would do a half-walk, just as far as the market and back. I had Chris' MP3 player afterall, and the music selection was, well, interesting. A bit of Rolling Stones, some Michelle Shocked, Jules Graves, Dire Straits. Yep, I can handle that. But what is this "Rage Against Machine", "Ramones", and "Angry Samoans" stuff?

Well, I made it to McFadden's Market, and I just didn't want to turn around. Yes, I was chilled, but maybe....MAYBE...those trees up ahead on Maple Tree Road would provide some sort of protection from the wind. (I know what you are thinking, why didn't I just dress warmer? I don't know! Strangely, it just didn't occur to me). I kept walking.

Maple Tree Road is remote. I pass three homes at the beginning of the road, and the rest of my walk is tall spruce on either side, the old mines, and a stream. As I approached the far end of my walk, I was given the most amazing gift.

To my left, in a leave-less, dead birch tree, just beyond the stream, were three bald eagles. At the very tip top, a young eagle, a few feet below, another, and below that a mature bald eagle. I turned off the MP3, and stood in winter's last days' stillness, and experienced the awesome power and beauty of nature. These eagles were less than fifty feet from me, and I could see the detailing in their feathers, look them in their eyes. Within a couple minutes, I looked up overhead to see two eagles circling over, in a mating ritual, so close I could hear the flapping of their wings. The sounds were slow, loud, long, it felt like time was frozen around me except for these majestic beings flying over.

I stayed with the birds for what felt to be five minutes of more, until each eagle left the tree, one at a time. Each flight I heard the wings begin their movements as the birds jumped from a branch to take flight into the blue. They hovered my area for a bit, then drifted off.

I didn't feel so cold anymore as I turned and began the return part of my walk, headed home, feeling humbled and reverent.

I am fortunate that I kept walking that day, despite the chilling temps and ice.

It was my best walk ever.

Entering the World of Etsy

I've done it...I have finally, as my cousin put it, "succumbed to the world of Etsy". My friend Becky Wheeler has been selling her work on Etsy for over a year now and it has been a very positive experience for her. Thankfully she was willing to guide me through the process of setting up my own site. There is a lot to it to get started, and I still have so much to learn, but the ball is rolling.

Almost immediately after posting my items, the hits started to roll-in. I had no idea it would happen so quickly! I was even more excited to receive my first "convo" (a.k.a. email from a viewer) which later resulted in my first sale. It took less than 24 hours! To add to my already steep learning curve, the first buyer lived in United Kingdom. I tried to figure out the postage info online, but seemed confusing. It was a bit of an ordeal to get it down this first time, but now that I have done it once, I think it will be much easier in the future.

That's the hope anyway!

Paypal has been another learning experience for me. Still working on that one.

Nonethelss, this Etsy adventure has consumed much of my time the last few days. I will tweak it as I go along - but for now - I really REALLY need to get back to work on "Arting-Up Downeast Maine: UMVA and Lubec Community Art Project." (something like that!)

About 14 weeks left of school...time will pass quickly with a zillion projects to complete, art shows to put up, field trips to go on, grades to pass in, murals to paint, etc.

Summer is already looking to be equally as busy.