Spring fever…
It’s bad this year. My patient husband and close friends have already had to endure my incessant rambling about all I’ve been learning about soil health and companion planting…and it’s only February. This is a special brand of avoidance behavior that seems to crop up on me each winter when it is super cold in the studio. I do have a space heater but it just takes the edge off enough to work. On the days I’ve braved the cold out there, I start with a steaming hot bucket of water and the work that comes from my hands is equally obsessed with all things planty. As I write this it is snowing and the windchill is -22 F. I’m watching this adorable little squirrel out of our office/schoolroom window, nibbling away at one of the mixed nuts I left for them on the front porch (not sure why I buy those each Christmas, since everyone in our family maybe cracks open a few and then they are just left out to collect dust.) I wish I was as hardy as he is. I’m always wishing I had more time to make, more capacity. Then the Lord gently reminds me that what I can make in the time that I have is enough. Everything in its own time–like the Spring that is coming….eventually.
Beauty chasing…
I will forever be a truth and beauty chaser. I am most inspired by things found in nature and in God’s word. I find myself often asking the questions, “How can I do that in clay?” Or “What happens when I put that in my hands?” I have a constant curiosity about the world God made and the truth he reveals through beauty. Much of my functional work is very simple and utilitarian. When I think about the pottery I most enjoy, it isn't the beautiful hand carved vase high on the shelf that took me days to make. I think of the mismatched but well loved bowls that I use to feed my family everyday. I've come to appreciate their individual shape, the way they retain heat, they way their various textures feel in my hands. They are a lot like old friends. Over time, I have come to know and love all of their strengths as well as their flaws. I put a lot of love into my pieces and my hope is that they will bring joy to their owners and reflect the craftsmanship and beauty that God gives to each of us.
Beginning again.
The beginning of each year is a mixture of excitement and freedom for me. I can celebrate what was previously made but also move on to what is next. Sitting down to dream up what forms, colors, and textures I will explore in the coming year has become one of my favorite parts of January. I haphazardly scribble shapes and shadings in my bullet journal searching for forms that will be pleasing, balanced, beautiful and functional. Chasing ideas that have surfaced as the Lord has taken me down rabbit holes while studying His word or in talking with a friend. I’ve been trying to push myself to think more conceptually over the past few years which has opened a whole new world of making up to me. I wonder what 2025 will hold? I wonder what forms will emerge from my hands and my heart. Lord, lead on.