Such an Inspiring Time of Year!

It is the time of year where I want to go on multiple walks each day just to be inspired by everything that is bursting into life, blooming like crazy, wiggling and waving in the breezes and you can feel the life force of nature coursing through everything including your own body.

My poor dog has become very patient with me constantly stopping our walks for “just one more photo!” Lucky for him, I return the favor and stop to let him explore the things his nose tells him are fascinating. Our winters are long here in the mountains, and in addition to just sitting and observing its opposite season, I do like to take reference photos that I can enjoy and gain inspiration from when the days are darker and plant life is dormant. I can sketch and design things from the photos in February while huddled under a comfy blanket in front of the running pellet stove (yea, a little less romantic than a fireplace, but it’s what we have).

I am equally, if not more fascinated by, the myriad forms of botanical things as much as their summer color. This inspiration has only begun to appear—in its baby stages—in my pottery as I am now at the point where I am comfortable throwing just about any shape and altering and combining them. I am getting braver about throwing something beautiful and then mashing folds or dents into it to express the malleable nature of clay. I have so many new ideas sketched along these lines and can’t wait to create. I am currently hampered in this by not having my own kiln, and the difficulty of firing large pieces in community kilns or paying for space in other people’s kilns. But it looks like a kiln of my own in in my near future, and I can’t wait to work on my pent up inspirations!

In the studio I am working on things related to wine such as goblets, cups and wine decanter sets, in addition to the large, painted bowls I love to make. I don’t know if I will sell many or any of these things at an upcoming Jazz festival where I’ll have a booth—it is only one afternoon— but it has given me an excuse to explore forms I hadn’t created before and push myself, and I am happy for that.

And here are some nature photos from the past few days. I hope you will enjoy them.