Here!

The building arrived on wednesday and this weekend my Dad and I insulated! oh the joys of fiberglass. Waiting for the electricity to be turned on and then I get to hang drywall! Soon, very soon. Muhahahahahaa! Then I get to move in and start working!

New Studio!!!

Here is the new studio site! I have two lovely old cedar trees on the road leading up to it, they are named "Herman" and "Leroy"... Herman is the one with the chains. Strange fellow, but we get along great. Laid out on the ground are the corners of where my little space will be. Pig the sweet pitbull off to the side is my guard dog. As long as you try to rob me during a thunderstorm you'll be fine. She'll hide under something the whole time. The large pile of trees and branches in the background is the bunny palace! For spring I'm planning a straw and mud roof, to be decorated with wildflowers. I think the bunnies will approve.

Land of Goshen

Since I've arrived home I've continued to build the body of work I started while in Wyoming. I'm planning for three wearable pieces to soon be finished and shipped off to a show in San Antonio. I'm also lucky enough to have a 10' x 16' building coming this wednesday which will serve as my studio!!! Yah! So I'll soon have my bench, enameling kiln, raising station and christmas lights up and running! All I need now is for my good friend Marty to come home for a visit to see it! ( I think you might be the only one who reads this, miss you!)

Home

Arrived home in Virginia on September 13th at about 5:29pm. I stayed long enough to unpack my bags and boxes that have been slowly accumulating in my room during this past year of travel. Last week I was at Arrowmont, reviving my soul. Being able to spend time with all the amazing people there was such an unexpected gift. I went for the weekend and somehow didn't leave until the next Friday. There was just too much to be done, running to get the keg, making a white bunny pinata, watching the bunny be killed, polishing a belt buckle, all the most important things in life. Now I am home in Goshen once again and will leave for Penland next week. I'm assisting Marlene True in her class Tin Handbags, Purses & Attaches. YAHHHHHH!! and the peasants rejoice!

Packing

 We all know Lynn D was the real culprit behind the empty wine bottles!!

Some of the pieces I made this month. Everything got hung on the wall.

The studio is all packed up. Finishing a few final pieces and soon I'll be on a plane headed back to the east coast. Hello Virginia! It won't be easy saying goodbye to so many amazing ladies. We have had a great time during this past month, group dinners, hikes in the snake hills, lots of laughing, adventures, river floating, blaming Tawni for all the empty wine bottles, and yelling at grey kitty for stealing the strawberries! While I was able to see a real live cowboy at the Occidential bar in Buffalo, I didn't get a picture. Sorry. Photos of us all in our orange vests headed for a rumble on the road with the purples will have to do. Coming soon.

Wyoming Work.. and play

So since my arrival I've been playing with my steel wire. I'm borrowing some basket making techniques and creating forms larger than what I usually deal with. I'm very excited about where this month will lead, but right now I'm enjoying playing and creating some new forms.

Hello Wyoming

This is my home for the month. Yes, that tiny clustering of trees holds a house and studio complex for 6 artist. After getting in and settled into the studio and my lovely room, some work was started and of course a hike in the "1,000 acres" was required. Two of my fellow residents and I were only about 1/2 mile in when a lovely large rattlesnake stretched across the trail gave us a good heart check.
My wildlife experiences this year have been amazing. Let us review: Gatlinburg, TN- Black Bear, Columbia, NC- Bobcat,  Deer Isle, ME- Bald Eagle, Jentel, WY- Rattle Snake & Porcupine.  Yes, I am getting work done, more pictures will follow in a few days when the pieces have a little more body to them.

Haystack 2011... Like a ripe banana

Marlene True and I just returned from our grand adventure at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts. This was my first visit to Haystack and I couldn't have wished for a better time. The class of ladies I was fortunate enough to assist was amazing! We had a great time joking around, reading poetry and most of all MAKING!!!  The mornings began with erotic poetry readings by one of the many handsome men on campus, and got everyone's blood flowing and ready for a day of pounding. My personal favorite poem read was "The Cinnamon Peeler" by Micheal Ondaatje. You can check it out if you like. Image beginning your day with this and having the sent of cinnamon linger down into the studio from the kitchen. Delicious.

Here is a shot of Marlene demoing one of her magic tricks for the class. 

Thanks again ladies for being amazing and stealing my heart!

Tomorrow I leave for Wyoming and begin my residency at Jentel in Banner. I'll be there for one month and then back to Virginia, where the lovers are. I'll try to post a few images of my work and location while in Wyoming, but no promises.

mid-way

Ok, so I'm at the half way point of my 2 month residency here at Pocosin. How did this happen?
Last night on an adventure walk across to the other side of the scuppernong river I spotted a BOBCAT!!! My first one ever live and in the "wild". I was walking along an old abandoned bridge talking to myself (of course who else would I be talking to) and saw her, she was sitting on the side of the bridge beside two old glass bottles ( one brown and one green). As soon as I saw her, she turned and jumped back into the wild marsh land. Ohhhhhh!!! So exciting! I know you can hardly stay in your seats.
Hey, it's a small town this is all the excitement I get- ok.
Work? Oh yes, I'm making some pieces to get out to galleries and getting caught up on trades I owe. (If you happen to know anyone who would be willing to barter a car for an engagement ring or fancy silver container. Please send them my way. JAH-RULE has passed her 250,000 mile marker and I'm afraid she might be headed to retirement. It is odd how attached we become to our vehicles.)

I'm still continuing with my wall wire guys. At some point in the next 2 years I want to completely fill a gallery with them. At the opening I'll continually make up random stories to tell people about the forms and their interactions with each other.

Small Town America

Columbia,  North Carolina- the hardware store down the street from Pocosin has a grab box of nuts, nails, screws, ect for .10 cents each. There are tomato and green pepper plants on a rack outside, down the block is the post office with two windows, but one always seems to be closed. I get to check the mail P.O Box 690. Across the street from the post office on the corner is the only bar in town, you have to go upstairs from the restaurant. No weapons, please. thank you- management. I like to say that my window over looks the water, but it really over looks the chain link fence surrounding a city property parking lot, that over looks the water. By water I mean the Scuppernog River, which leads to the Albemarle Sound, which leads to the Plamico Sound, which leads to the Atlantic Ocean. I'm thinking about exploring my inner Huckle Berry Finn and building myself a fucking raft. We'll see how far I get with that.
Since I am no longer responsible for the resident blog at Arrowmont, hey!! I've decided I'll spend some time with my own. Aren't you feeling lucky. Well?
My residency here at Pocosin, so far is going quite well. A completely different feeling from Arrowmont. Here, the total staff count is 3, 4 maybe depending on how you count.  This non-profit arts & crafts program is fighting for every dollar, but the people here are making it happen. Feather ( isn't that a lovely name) is the fearless leader of Pocosin Folk Arts. You have an idea about how to get help, or to make something happen and BAM! Feather has made a few phone calls and has meetings set up to discuss the matter. Everyone works together in a large room upstairs from the gallery/ studio spaces. There are no offices here, just ONE office. Gone are the days of lunch break nookie in the office with your blinds down. Dang.
Change of Topic: Tonight on my jog about town I passed a house that was on brick supports/ stilts, and clearly had no one living there. I'm going to get pictures tomorrow to share with everyone. And of course if you are planning a trip to the beach, please stop in and say hello!

Move!

My first of many moves this year has taken place. I left the lush, cool, green, Tennessee Smoky Mountains for the hot hot hot heat of Columbia, NC to be the new artist in residence for Pocosin Folk Arts School. I'll be here for about 2 month, of course I had to pick the hottest 2 months of the year. Sorry I'm just bitchin. Plan while I'm here... work work work, and do some reading. I've got lots of projects to get taken care of and need to get some new items out to galleries. So there is my life update, but let me just say leaving Arrowmont was horrible. For now I'm off to see my twin get hitched this weekend in the Chesapeake of VA. Enjoy the weekend.

Snowy Day in Gatlinburg

Well... we have snow in the lovely city of Gatlinburg! I've returned from the Holiday break and now have only 2 months before the Arrowmont Artists-In-Residence show goes up. So for now it is work work work.  Currently I have a table covered in lovely lady coins, compliments of my good friend and housemate, Shawn. I'm piercing out the sexy ladies and giving them a background. Several of the backgrounds are old buttons from my grandmother's collection. I've also recently begun a love affair with pearls... so I'm throwing a few of those into each piece so far, just for good measure. There is a beautiful piece of jade I was gifted by my two bestest friends, that will soon become a quite spectacular brooch/pendant. I'll get a picture up soon enough, so you can see the mess that is my studio.