Thankfully the little one, Frances-Pepper, doesn’t mind hanging out in the studio with Mama as long as I spend lots of time playing with her later.  It is a good exchange.

So here are few sneak peeks of work for the Christmas season. 

If you are going to be in Nelson you can find them at the third annual Boutique Christmas Sale December 2-4 at Bijou.

I am sending new work out to galleries for spring. Here is a sneak peak:

And inspired by the newest and most beautiful addition to my life…

I have been making kid’s sets…

Because kids need pottery too.

My goals with this recent series of work was to work with a specific palette of slip, glaze and lustre, repition of pattern or elements of patterns in different applictaions and to leave more of the clay body exposed.  I am going to continue with some of these ideas but attempt to distill them even further. 

I have recently had the priviledge of doing some guest teaching and lecturing at the Kootenay School of the Arts, so for those of you in the Kootenays a selection of this work will be exhibited in the KSA Faculty Show: Connections Materialized at the Kootenay Gallery in Castlegar, BC with the opening reception taking place March 11.  The show will then travel to the Grand Forks Art Gallery for the month of August. 

Back to the studio….more pots underway.

The months leading up to Christmas I spent every minute I had in the studio.  Making, making, making.

Then…everything was out on the road.  Pots shipped to galleries and the rest packed up and on the road with me and my sweetie to Edmonton. 

Once in Edmonton I was at Make It: a handmade revolution, selling pots and getting to know some other Canadian artists and designers. 

Thanks to everyone who came by the show. 

I then made my way back to Nelson.

Where with a group of amazing local makers we had a Boutique Holiday Sale. 

Then suddenly it really was Christmas.  Had a couple of weeks out of the studio,  spending time with friends, walking in the forest, eating good food and feeling deeply grateful. 

Now it is a new year, the days are beginning to get longer and I am back in the studio.  Renewed and excited with some new pots. 

Should have them glazed and fired in the next couple of weeks.

The last kiln load seemed like I had finally achieved something I was deeply satisfied with.  Maybe that means no more decals?  I am undecided as of yet.

It seems as soon as it is finished I send it on it’s way in the world to become part of other peoples lives.  It is a nice thought to imagine the pots I make becoming the witness or companion to day to day life. 

I did manage to photograph some things a couple of weeks ago before shipping them out:

I guess this is ordinary in Montana.

 In Helena I  was attending a workshop at the Archie Bray Foundation.  I sort of think of the Archie Bray as ceramic wonderland. ……

The workshop was taught by Mark Pharis and Andrew Martin.  They both use drastically different processes both of which I was interested in expanding my understanding of.  Mark’s pots are hand-built using paper patterns which he now primarily generates from a computer program. 

Andrew is a mould maker extraordinaire and makes highly decorated slip cast pots.    

Over the two weeks I made nine moulds, slip cast plates, press moulded plates and hand-built some shallow serving dishes. 

The lightness and delicacy of the slip cast plates is a delight but these press moulded plates are generous and yummy. 

I felt like drawing plants and flowers.  So…. I have been and they migrated onto some pots.  I love pattern and repetition and have used mostly that as decorative elements on my pots but this has been an exciting change. 

I have also been experimenting with some new pattern designs.  Not completely sure about them yet.  I look forward to seeing everything glazed but that will have to wait.  I leaving tomorrow  for The Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, Montana for a two-week workshop with Mark Pahris and Andrew Martin.  I can hardly wait.

so these days when I am not making pots i can be found digging in the dirt at the community farm.  this isn’t a typical community garden where each person gets a plot to grow, this is an acre of land in a beautiful rural setting just outside nelson where 20 people are cooperating to grow food for themselves.

it is early in the season but the bounty has already begun.  there is so much lettuce, spinach and radishes with snap and snow peas on their way.  i thinned the beets this week and look forward to cooking up the little ones with butter and garlic maybe.  it doesn’t get better than that. 

in my garden at home i have a forest of arugula growing.  with it i have been making arugula pesto.  if you have never had it, i recommend giving it a try.  i think i even prefer it to basil pesto.  chop a couple of cups of fresh arugula throw it in a food processor with 1-2 cloves of garlic, 1/2 cup raw walnuts, 1/4 olive oil, juice of one lemon and salt and pepper.  serve over pasta topped with parmesan or asiago.  mmmmm…….