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Next Stage of my Creative Life
As I approach retirement I am reorganizing my life along different priorities, the main one being travelling and writing. I have been writing a travel blog (Travelling Crone) for years and will continue with even more fervour as I collect my adventure stories.
But of course full time travel and creating pottery do not make the best partners so I will be exploring new ways as well as expanding existing mediums that can work and even support my travel aspirations.
I will keep this site as a gallery and momento of that important stage of my life. And who knows maybe my path will lead me back to it.
So this winter sale will be my last…. at least for now. So I hope that you can drop by, have some apple cider & cookies. There will be awesome pottery and I’ve been exploring crocheting (!!!) so there might be some of that.
Red Dog 1017 Winter Sale
When You Find Your Tribe
Punta Nizuc, Mexico. – Underwater Sculpture by Jason deCaires Taylor
I started an Art Monday feature on a FB page I manage, sharing a work that I have discovered during the past week. It has been fun and certainly expanded my mind and knowledge. Today, while researching Cornelia Konrad’s work, I found an art installation site that moved me to tears. Scanning these installations I connected to almost every one. It was like finally meeting people who ‘got’ me. I am fumbling with words to describe a visceral, almost molecular reaction to the photos. To photos for goodness sake! Would being face to face with them be too much? Or would I be disappointed?
How strange we humans are, how differently we react to stimuli. What moves me to distraction leaves another cold and wondering about my sanity. Then I see what moves them and I am questioning their tastes. LOL Did we come by these reactions via nature or nurture? Like anything else about us, I suspect it may be the alchemy of both. But I think back over my childhood and see nothing in it that would come close to nurturing this extreme appreciation of some art. But then so too my family tree. So where forth do you come, oh inspiration? Is it that tricky little thing called soul, that has nothing to do with nature nor nurture? That is only us, our essence that we landed with? But still, the why persists. Why would my soul come so equipped? What would be its purpose? Of course, by ‘soul’ I am not referring to the Christian concept, at all. More the spiritual ‘we’re all one energy ball of something’ kind of thing. Ok, I have gone down a rabbit hole that I want nothing to do with.. so let me just back out of here.
Ok, I’m back. It is all about the questions with no real expectation of answers, at least any that would pass the test of my cynicism. Funny but I think the questions are in and of themselves enlightening.. at least to me.
Go check out the web site and see if you get shivers from inspiration or from left cold. What does send you over the moon?
2014 Winter Sale
Hard to believe it is that time of year, again! And you know what that means? YES! It is time for Kerry and Donnae’s Winter Sale where you will be exposed to wondrously creative clay creations AND cookies and hot apple cider! You lucky lucky people 🙂 So come on over and lets make a party out of this.
Cat hair jewelry? Fur and steel make the “purrfect” combination
Found this post and just had to share. Inspiring, yes?!
No Fun Vancouver
For some reason I posted this to my travel blog, I think because I have been sharing interesting bits about Vancouver that might interest travellers who come here. So I am re-blogging it to my art site. My apologies to the people who follow both, you haven’t drank too much (well, maybe), it’s just me having a brain fart. :()
5 days a week I passed the dark man who never failed to move me as few street people have, and he was most clearly a member of that tribe. He sat under the Burrard St. bridge on a chair in the community garden, leaning his elbows on his thighs looking down at the ground between his legs, dreaded hair hanging forward. Sadness/loneliness/despair, all emanated like mist, almost visible for its strength. His chair sat amidst a garden that spoke of hope and renewal as spring dawned. The juxtaposition making his presence all the more poignant. People walked, cycled, ran and drove by and I never saw anyone give him a glance.
Then one day he was gone, him and his chair vanished. I almost gasped for the lose. I looked around hoping that he, looking for some privacy, had moved deeper into the garden away from the street –…
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Kerry + Donnae’s Fabulous Winter Sale!
Can’t believe it has been almost a year since our last one, it, as always, has creeped up on me so I have been in a flurry of clay trying to create something to offer you all. Have gone in a different direction this year, think animals. :).
Unlike me, Kerry will have her usual amazing array of functional ware that is elegant and a delight to the eye.
Hope to see you that weekend!
Evil Doesn’t Get to Win
When evil descends and tries to smother us with darkness, light burns pin holes in its fabric weakening the weave of bleakness, never allowing evil to win. In the face of overwhelming horror there will rise to the surface good and grace and love; often at great cost. This is the fundamental truth that I arrived at this week – that evil will never ever ever win because it inspires ordinary people to heroism, becoming the counter balance of light and love. But if we try to fight it with hate and vengeance, we are doomed, since that is what feeds the fires of evil. Not easy choices, but choices never the less. Even while I watched the nightmare unfold, my mind searched for the inevitable traces of the heroes and I was not disappointed.
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- Maryann Jacob
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- Maryrose Kristopik
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- Kaitlin Roig
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- Victoria Soto
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- Mary Sherlach
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- Dawn Hochsprung
- School principal Dawn Hochsprung and school psychologist Mary Sherlach raced out of the office as soon as they heard the shots, throwing themselves at the killer trying to take him down.
- Victoria Soto,27, a teacher attempted to hide several children in closets and cupboard and when the killer entered the room, she put herself between him and the children saving their lives and losing hers.
- Maryrose Kristopik, a music teacher, managed to get her class of 20 locked into a closet and hung onto the door while the killer banged and yelled at her to let him in. Then she kept them calm by singing, praying with them and telling them she loved them. They all survived.
- Kaitlyn Roig, age 29, hid 14 students in a bathroom and barricaded the door, telling them to be completely quiet in order to keep them safe. She told them she loved them in case those were the last word they ever heard.
- Maryann Jacob, the school’s library clerk, instructed 18 children to crawl into a storage room where she barricaded the door using a filing cabinet
- A custodian ran through the hallways alerting the teachers of the gunman.
- A 6 year old student, after his teacher was shot and killed, led his class mates to safety.
Evil should be faceless and nameless while the heros and the victims should be named and remembered.
This is my truth, today. Where did you go when faced with this tragedy?
Even a Monster Can Be Moved!
This past week I spent a lot of time playing with social media and enjoying the stimulation that it can provide (not THAT kind!) and a few things art-centric popped up that I want to share with you.
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While I was driving and listening to CBC they played Chopin’s Nocturne in C sharp minor, which I adore. But what moved me even more was the story the host shared with us about of Natalia Karp. Natalia, on her first night in a concentration camp, was ordered to play for the Commandant, Amon Goeth, in honour of his birthday. Her playing so moved the monster that he declared: “Sie soll leben!” (She shall live). Brave beyond all reason she insisted that he also save her sister and he did. Later they even managed to survive Auschwitz. Natalia passed on July 9, 2007 at the age of 96. You can read more about her in this article from Always On Watch blog.
Natalia Karp
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The second was a Facebook posting by Women for Women, an org. I donate to every month. It was about a Pakistan cop, Mehmood Ahmed, who has taken up the brush to draw (pun intended) attention to the rampant violence against women he sees everyday and can do so little to stop. What he sees he paints on canvases outside the police station to draw public attention to this crisis. It is also a form of therapy for him since the psychological impact of seeing these horrific scenes day after day and feeling impotent would be extreme.
Mehmood Ahmed painting
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These are but a couple of examples of how art can heal and save, there are so many more. Please never doubt that what it can do for individuals, it can do for nations and our world. So please support art programs in schools and in your community, the payoffs are enormous!
Do you have any stories of art making positive impacts on people and communities? Please go to the comment box and have at it, I’d love to hear about them.
When Opening the Kiln is a Delight!
( The following is a posting I started writing last week, the idea was to share a visual process of one of my creative endeavors… before I took a picture of the finished product someone scooped it up at our annual Winter Sale last weekend! Sadly – you don’t get to see it but I got a sale & a very happy customer! Yah us! But I thought I’d share what I had with you anyway. :} )
Some things are really worth the wait!
A year ago Kerry’s wonderful sister E., indicated she was interested in a larger version of a vessel I had done ages ago. OK I say, all perky with optimism, that shouldn’t be all the difficult. Yeah right.
First I had to find a mold to use & that meant endless dollar stores to troll. Months late I finally found one that would work.
TA DA:
plastic ugly thing from $! store that will be perfect for a mold!
Then creating the thing… this is what it looks like before the first firing:
Raw Vessel
Then I got to go through 3 more versions after each blew up in the bisque kiln. #%&^^*%^&^& as you can well imagine. ( we still really don’t know why either)
Finally one survives the bisque kiln & glazing. In it went & all I could do was send up a prayer to the kiln Goddess & wait. One week before I got out to Kerry’s to open the kiln.
( This is where the picture would have gone if I hadn’t sold it! Note to self: Take the freaking pictures before putting the item in a sale! )
Focused Energies!
It’s as if I just looked down for a minute & WAM! Two months have passed since my last posting… I have been so focused on clay, mostly working towards making some cool stuff for our annual winter sale (Nov.19th & 20th).
I also finished the latest Phoenix called Motherhood. Some pieces end up far from those first images that flash in my head and yet are exactly what they are supposed to be. Others, rarely, come out of the kiln a physical manifestation of those first visions. Motherhood is the latter. When she came out of the kiln I had to catch my breath it was so eerie, like the clay & glaze had a direct link to my mind without the usual noise & clutter, not to mention the foibles of air pressure, time & kiln moods.
Please understand that this is my concept of Motherhood and since I am without child it will be from that perspective. She has such an intense vulnerability and yet, with her heart nestled between her breasts, intensely protective and nurturing.
donnae.ca 