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Words for Wednesday
The quality of the light has changed in my Valley. The heavier tones of Winter are being replaced by the lightness of Spring. That does not mean that the 24″ of snow on the ground won’t have a topping of more white stuff. It does, however, signify that there is plenty of mud underneath just waiting to be caked on the dogs’ feet.
Nuthatches, woodpeckers, juncos, tufted titmice, chickadees, finches and brilliant red cardinals are visiting the feeders, singing the songs that suggest that Spring is on it’s way.
My Word-A-Day calendar has brought pages of words to me, some new, others, old friends. Here’s a sampling:
**Conventicle: a noun. 1. An assembly of an irregular or unlawful character. 2. an assembly for religious worship, especially a meeting for worship not sanctioned by law. 3. a meetinghouse
**Fulgent: an adjective. Dazzingly bright: radiant.
**Parry: a verb. 1. To ward off a weapon or blow. 2. to evade especially by an adroit answer.
**Infix: a noun. A derivational or inflectional affix appearing in the body of a word
**Clepe: a verb. To name or call
**Rectitudinous: an adjective. 1. Characterized by straightness or moral integrity. 2. piously self-righteous.
**Harbinger: a noun. 1. A person who goes ahead and makes known the approach of another, herald. 2. anything that foreshadows a future event; omen; sign; 3. a person sent in advance of troops, a royal train etc., to provide secure lodgings or other accommodations.
As always, feel free to leave me a comment, or a stone (o), to let me know you’ve stopped by.
New Work: Porcelain Tiles
I’ve been working on some new pieces. I find that the more I let go and relax, the more the work flows through me—from the heart through the hands.
I love working with porcelain clay. I love its purity of color and texture; I love the way it challenges me—they way it manifests my energy of the moment. Here are some small tiles that I’ve just completed, and a large piece in progress.
Wordless Wednesday: Tiles
About Winter
I love how colors change this time of year. The whiteness of the snow and the dark shades of the trees seem to amplify a monochromatic scheme. There are shades and tones rather than color. Part of that is due to the Great Lake called Erie. It gives NE Ohio cloud cover for more days than not, it seems. If one looks carefully, though, colors pop. It’s really wonderful when that happens, I think.
Works in Process
The Story of Touchstones
So now I will tell you the story of the Touchstones. It was just before 9/11. I had been holding a piece of porcelain in my hand, musing about it’s texture and how it felt. It was like a stone. I rolled it into a comfortable form, and picked up a tool that I use for carving the tiles. I began to write words on the stones. No thought, just action. I rubbed colorants into the carved areas, like I do with the tiles, and fired the pieces.
These little pieces were like those that people all over the world hold: worry stones, beads and stones, and the like. It seemed that in the business of daily life, we—-I—-often lose track of things that I need to remember. These little pieces of porcelain were touchstones—-reminders—–to pay attention. I carry them in my pocket, and as I handle them, they help me remember.
A year after 9/11, I was in the studio. A couple came in. They were from New York City. We started talking. They were planning on walking, with a group of bagpipers, at dawn, from Battery Park to the place we now know as Ground Zero. The woman wanted to buy a touchstone that had PEACE on it. I gave her a dozen and a half or so, and asked her to pass them on.
A week or so after that, I received an email from a man who had been given one. He wrote that he had been in his office near the Twin Towers on September 11, and that receiving a touchstone was a life affirming experience—a connection with others who cared.
I continue to make them, on and off, when the time seems right to me. We sell them at our gallery in the Village of Peninsula, and I give them away when it is what I need to do. And that, my friends, is the story of touchstones.
As always, feel free to leave a comment, or a stone (o), to let me know you’ve stopped by. If you choose to leave a comment, I will enter you in a drawing for a touchstone.
Holiday Musings: A My Town Monday Post
When 6 of the 8 tiles I had painstakingly carved cracked in the bisque kiln, I was somewhat disappointed. I had expected to have them ready for the holidays. The patterns were wonderful; yet the cracks were certain to migrate through the pieces. I left them on my work table, wondering what to do.
An artist friend came into the studio, and we talked about the pieces that were less than perfect. What is it, I wondered, that makes an item a “second.” Could I embrace the crack as the nature of that particular piece?.
I began to think about the whole concept of perfection. We look at ourselves and question our hair, or our eyes or our body types. We look at our homes or our jobs or our families and compare them with what the dominant culture tells us is perfect.
Nature does not determine that an oak tree or a rock or a lake is less than perfect. Why do we as humans tend to put conditions on our environments, our relationships, our lives?
When Amish women make a quilt they intentionally make a mistake; mid-Eastern rug makers do the same. Only the gods are perfect. A finger mark or tiny crack on a hand-crafted piece is really the mark of the craftsman. It lets us know that the piece was made by a human, with all our imperfections, rather that a machine.
The mark of the craftsman does not detract from the beauty of the piece; rather, it enhances it, I think. And it is the challenges and experiences in life that give our lives texture and richness.
It is, I believe, time to let go of our notions of perfection, and embrace that which makes us human. Keeping that in mind, I wish us all an imperfect holiday.
These skilled hands wish you kind, happy, healthy, loving and peaceful days.
Visit My Town Monday for a look at other places on this fine blue planet we call home. and, if you are so inclined, please visit, Cups of Kindness, our benefit for the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank.
As always, please feel free to leave a comment, or a stone (o), to let me know you’ve stopped by.
Sharing Kindness
Why Buy Art
I have mused about art, it’s creation and what it brings to my life. What is it’s purpose? Does form follow function? What makes a piece work—or not? And why should I buy it. Why buy art?
Cat Bennett answers the question clearly:
Why buy art?
-To lift your spirit
-To expand your spirit
-To meet your spirit
-To brighten your day
-To brighten your home
-To brighten your life
-To honor an artist
-To declare your value
-To have fun
-To know yourself
-To inspire yourself
-To inspire others
-To share your wealth
-To laugh
So many reasons.
Art feeds the spirit and soul; it brings light and life to being. Art can make your heart sing and your spirit soar. Something that comes from the heart through the hands. It is no accident that there is art in heART.
When you support an artist, you affirm the creative spirit. You have the opportunity to see the world in a different way, as the artist’s vision is manifested in the piece he or she has made.
When you buy art, you support your local economy, both the economy of your community and the economy of the spirit. You can know that you are buying something that was made with care, one at a time, by hand.
What does art bring to your life? As always, feel free to leave me a comment, or a stone (o), to let me know you’ve stopped by.
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