Electricity

Here is some more art for today. Officially titled Study 4, I like to call it Vagina Boat. Stoneware, cone 6 oxidation. That is all for today.

We're closing in on the last big things in the studio renovation. I finished painting inside through the hot, soupy weather. Seriously. I changed clothing at least twice each day since the beginning of this week. Horribly tropical here in SE Kentucky at the moment. Part of nearby Berea got hit with a flash flood yesterday; 6 inches of rain in less than an hour. Amazing.

Anyway, we picked up the heavy-duty electrical supplies which will used to upgrade the electric currently in the garage. How inadequate and dangerous is the electric now? Well, while damp-wiping a drill press that was plugged in but not turned on, I leaned my bare leg against a metal filing cabinet next to the press and got zapped. Not good. After we upgrade, I'll be able to run a kiln. Woo!

Last note for today, I saved a big, hairy spider from certain death this morning, inside the house.

Religion and responsibility

I have a gripe. It's about a certain kind of attitude that seems to inhabit quite a few religious people I run into, usually in a non-direct way. My experience is with a certain "brand" or "flavor" of Christians here in Kentucky but this type of smug, self-righteous attitude occurs in any religious group all over the world. My story is here, Kentucky, with some - not all- local Christians.

Anyway, it has to do, specifically, with using one's religion to justify bad behavior or absolve oneself from any responsibility to practice good behavior. Example: a friend posts a "status update' on a popular social networking site that says in effect, "I wish the world was in perfect harmony! Or even semi-harmony!." I had to agree. I often feel like current public discourse (TV, politics, movies) centers around conflict, fear and aggression. It saddens me and I wish we could even take a small break and simply agree to disagree and enjoy a little of life on this planet instead of throwing more gasoline on the fire, perpetuating the contest of the extremes. So I added that I, too, could go for some semi-harmony. Then some of her Christian friends chimed in with what I felt were excuses for not being kind to your fellow human being. Things like, "Keep wishing!' and "We'll have harmony when we're all dead and some of us are in heaven." [emphasis mine] More Christian friends continued the "when we're in heaven we'll have harmony" theme with, "one day the lord will call his people home" and "we will have it one day in heaven!!"

And I thought, why wait until then to practice some harmony? How shortsighted to use religion to absolve yourself from doing better towards your fellow human being? What kind of childish, selfish justification do you need to keep being a prick to people you're threatened by, people who aren't like you? Rather than sit back and say, "Oh well! When I die, I'll get some harmony. I'll be kind to others – others like me – but not others I don't associate with," why not spread a little good will, patience and tolerance today? Right now. Right here. In your own community. It's so easy to pick apart the littlest thing and criticize and judge. And it's so easy to be kind to people "just like you." But, to reference the religion Christians profess to practice, how about being kind to those you don't like so much, ya know, loving thy enemy? How about showing some love and kindness to them? Not self-righteous, patronizing pity but a real smile, a "thank you" and "Have a good day." And mean it. It won't kill you.

Slogging through...

Incidental Observer
Oak burl, Stoneware, cone 6 oxidation, glaze, slip
12"w x 8"h x 6"d

Still working on getting the studio space ready. Right now I'm all about the priming and painting of the walls until the electrical supplies come in this week and we get a sub-panel hooked to the side of the building so I can run a kiln and an air conditioner. The work is twice as hard as it needs to be since its been so hot but mostly, it's been so fucking humid. I've changed out clothes several time in a day for the last three days. My shirts and shorts as stiff with salt when they dry. I've sweated in places I didn't know I could. Eyelids??

Everything is white. I have other colors but if I can get a base coat in white for now, I'll be happy. I'm leaving the floors raw concrete. No point getting too fancy since I'm working in dirt, primarily. I think I'd have to spray the floor down and clean it a little bit first before I could reasonably put down a coat of paint.

I'm getting anxious to get working and this is putting me so behind in producing things but it has to be done or I'll never have a working space at home. I could spend a lifetime using other spaces and never accomplishing my own goals so I might as well sacrifice a little now.

And Now... Art.

Items in an upcoming show...

Window

Knocked out the back wall and finally installed a new window. Not only will I be able to cool the space in the summer, I'll have a view of the bunnies that live just outside! I still have to prime and paint the walls and ceiling and move everything back into the space. Plus, there's the electric upgrade. I lament about the process and worry about how long it will take but I'm looking forward to some growth and stability in a workspace. The trench digging for the new electric and to help with the drainage behind the building went well but we had a little glitch as the Ditch Witch got stuck in the trench that was just dug and we bent the tine that held the auger in place. The gear still works but the metal is bent and the auger is out of alignment so that means money out the door for a repair. Boo-hiss.

Prep Work and Progress

Took about two days to clear the area. Did I mention how hot it was? For all my 3D work, you would think I would have a better sense of the layout when it's finished but I don't. Time will tell.




They guys doing the work are almost done. We still have some electric work to be done but I'll have basic electric until then. In the mean time, I'll be priming and painting and sorting out all my shit. Oy vey!

Getting my shit together

Sometimes I feel my moves to a successful career are glacially slow, but when I look back, even only recently, say, in the past six months, I realize I'm making real progress in moving towards the career and life I'm envisioning. The trick, so far, has been accepting that it doesn't happen overnight. To someone who is already handling a successful career, particularly in the arts, that may seem obvious, but when I think of the hundreds if not thousands of artists who wish for success but get discouraged and give up, it's not so obvious. For whatever reason, and I have to give my husband a great deal of the credit here, I have changed fundamentally from who I was 12 years ago. I have learned to plug away, stay focused (even if it doesn't feel like it), come back to a problem, organize (as much as possible) and trust my intuition. Am I making oodles of money? Hell, no. I'm still in the red but I'm making smarter investments.
This week we've begun renovations on our garage so I can work in a dedicated, functional, four-season studio as opposed to the ad hoc accommodations I've been dealing with for the past 5 years. It's not the final incarnation; we plan on a total garage/studio remodel in the future, but this will keep me from having to schlep materials, tools, greenware and finished pieces all over hell and creation and on a university schedule. It will also allow me to store and catalog my work. And, finally, it will prevent me from using the old stand-by excuse that I can't do [_____] because my stuff is not in one location. So we'll see how the work progresses. In the mean time, since I really don't have a space to work in , I am sketching and researching and planning my workload. Cross my fingers!