What a difference a year makes.

My last post was over a year ago. So much has happened in the last year. We lost our house. We were in the middle of a lawsuit that we could not win so to protect ourselves we filed chapt. 13 and because neither of us were making any money we gave up our house. This has been the hardest year of my life and I've had some other really hard ones. Thank goodness my parents are in a position to help us. We moved in with them, which meant moving from GA to NM. My heart is broken leaving my daughter and grandson in GA and moving over 1,000 miles away. But, we had no choice. We have been in NM for a few months and neither of us has found a job yet. It isn't for lack of trying either. I should clarify that, I am an employee of Albuquerque Public Schools but it's a part-time job that I started in April and it was only 3 hours per week. So it about covers the gas to get there and back. And it is now summer and school is out so in reality I'm unemployed.

Every day I worry about my daughter and grandson. She is living on the edge and we are not in a position to help her. Her car is not running, she has missed so much work she's about to be fired and her paycheck isn't enough to cover her rent so she will soon be evicted. I feel helpless.

I used to consider myself a person of faith. It has been put to the test and I feel I've failed that test. I want to believe that God has a plan and He will take care of all our needs. Well, Nicole needs a car that runs and I need a job. I am crying out "What about that????" I know God is in control but I want to DO something - there is nothing I can do. "God, help us! Please"

An Interview with "Art-to-Art Palette.com"

How did you first get interested in clay?

I first became interested in clay when I was in high school. I took every art class that was offered and especially loved clay. My mother still has a really ugly slab built pitcher that I made in high school. After high school my love for art was put on the back burner and getting married and making a living took me down a different path. I lived in Tulsa, OK for a couple of years and they offered wheel classes through their Parks & Rec Dept. The instructor was very positive and encouraging and I loved having my hands back in the clay. But again, life happens, I moved to the Atlanta area and clay was shelved once again (literally I had a 50 lb. bag of clay that I moved from Tulsa to Atlanta that sat on a shelf for several years). I had convinced myself to go back to school and get a degree in Library Science and become a Media Specialist. The first math class I had to take was excruciating and a friend of mine gave me a class schedule and application for Gwinnett Council for the Arts. I dropped out of college and enrolled in pottery classes at the art center and haven't looked back since. I took every pottery class they offered from every instructor. Gwinnett Council for the Arts has a wonderful facility with 2 raku kilns. Raku appealed to me because of the surprise factor. The same glaze will turn out entirely different depending on the thickness of the piece and the reduction time. A sculpture class taught by Greg Johnson was offered at Gwinnett and I knew after taking that class sculpture was the direction I needed to go.

What is your basic approach to sculptures? What is the nature of your raku works?

My basic approach depends on the piece. I sometimes carve the figure out of a block of clay, cut it in half, hollow it out and put the two halves back together. Other times I coil build the body. I always work on the head separately and attach it last. Native American artwork and Southwestern artwork are very appealing to me and influence my work. I think if you asked a therapist they would say that my fascination with mother/child sculptures helps me deal with unresolved childhood issues. Working in clay is cheaper than therapy and way more fun.

My raku kiln is home made out of a trash can and I fire in my back yard. I typically use three glaze recipes, one is a shiny luster, one is a matte luster and the third is clear crackle. These glazes help define the native, rustic look that I try to achieve.

Advantages of Structure

Now that I am not formally employed, I am finding myself floundering with no schedule and no sense of purpose. Art is not selling so I'm not motivated to work in my studio. I don't want to just make a bunch of things that will sit around in my studio. I am excited to have a piece in the Southworks art show coming up in April at OCAF. Hopefully things will begin picking up with that exposure. Anyway, I find myself spending too much time watching TV. I've been reading books too and working on some things for the art center. I'm wondering what other people do to keep disciplined and focused. Maybe it's time for me to look for additional shows to participate in and get back into some sort of structure.

Twentynine years and counting

My husband and I just celebrated our 29th wedding anniversary. Wow, where does the time go? It seems like just yesterday we were newlyweds and starting our family. Now we have grandchildren. My husband told me he didn't regret a minute of the past 29 years, I would say that is a great compliment.

Things are looking up around here. Our daughter & grandson have moved into their own place. We have a great renter in the downstairs apartment. One of my sculptures was selected to be in an art show that will open on Apr. 3. Very excited about that. My husband and I have made a decision about moving when the house sells. And we have had some traffic thru the house in the past few weeks. We are ready to begin the next phase of our lives. I guess you would say we are looking forward to the next 29 years.

We were blessed a couple of weeks ago to be invited to King David Baptist Church in Anderson, SC where I did my presentation on the potter's wheel. They have a program called The Potter's House that is a drug and alcohol rehab facility and it was a graduation ceremony. It is an awesome program and an unbelievable group of people. Hope to be invited back.

Blessings,
C

Just when you think nothing is happening

Just when I thought there was not much hope of getting into a really great Atlanta gallery, I get a call. Of course, the timing is going to make my life a little crazy. I'm getting ready to go out of town and most of my work is out in other galleries. I am going to have to call my consignment gallery to see if I can borrow back some of my pieces to take to the gallery in Atlanta. And then, I'll have to work like a mad woman if the Atlanta gallery decides to take some of my work. I have gone from having a bunch of things sitting around in my studio to being in a panic to make more.

I guess this is a really good problem to have, I shouldn't complain.

Signing off - going to work
Christina

Road Trip

My husband and I are getting ready to drive from Georgia to Kansas. We will be visiting my family and taking a much needed vacation from the stresses of home. We don't always travel well together. My driving makes him nervous and his driving scares the &*(% out of me. I am the designated navigator and if we miss an exit or turn, he gets huffy. Thank goodness for the GPS this time so if we miss a turn or exit, he can get huffy with that thing. He also likes to drive until he's about to fall asleep and then turn the driving over to me, which by that time, I'm also about to fall asleep. All I can do is pray for a pleasant uneventful trip.

Signing off,
Christina

On Hold

You know the feeling when someone puts you on hold and you're pretty sure they have forgotten about you? Well, that's how things feel around here. My house is on the market, I know, it's a ridiculous time to have a house on the market, but we need to down-size. We have had some traffic through and even had prospective buyers come back for a second look. We've been told they have it narrowed down to 2 houses, one is ours. We've been waiting for, I think, 2 weeks now for them to make a decision. I'm ready to move forward but this is out of my control so I'll wait. I'll even try to patiently wait.

Signing off,
Christina