A dusting of snow

Woke up the day after Christmas to a white Sunday.
We thought we moved away from the snow but it followed us.

View from the back porch

 We decided on this house because it feels so private in the back in spite of the close naighbors.

The miniature magnolia tree and the neighborhood

I love that we have this magnolia that I always wanted but never had except in my parents yard in Damascus, Syria when I was growing up. good looks, good smell yum.

And the dust has setteled

We are here. The dream house has sold painlessly to worthy people, and we are settled in our new home, cozier, easier and just right for this stage in our lives.

And this is how it looks now

 It feels like home because we are surrounded by homey things and it is not all white anymore it is colorful like our lives with plants all over.

My favorite space

 I love sitting here where I can see outside and enjoy the Jasmin, citrus and lipstick plants we moved with us.

I am going to like it here with friendly neighbors and clubs as scattered as my interests and above all a very nice communal pottery studio.
Orientation on the 5th yes!!

Change

 This is where the old chairs will go

 I am busy with making changes in my life. I am sad and joyous, expectant and anxious.

We will be leaving our dream home in almost heaven to go south where the grand babies are and the winters are warm.
The yard is much smaller and the house is easier. But no more personal pottery since they have a wonderful community pottery studio right in there. Besides the pools and gym and and and...
Now comes the hard part trying to separate what I need form what I want and what I desperately want to keep. trying to fit it all in half the space, and trying to accept a change in life style that was coming on ever so slowly.
There is a comfortable resignation about my Clayville Pottery but also a regret that now that I figured the business part so well I am leaving business behind and moving to making pots for pleasure , exhibitions and as gifts.
I think it will be good for me as an artist to have new challenges as I was getting pretty comfortable here with my modest local fame and collectors that keep coming back for more.

 Entrance into the dream house

Furniture inherited from a past generation with hope for next generation

So it is moving with us

Goodbye WV Hello SC

Ending and Beginnings.

I started making pottery about 15 years ago. In the beginning it was almost all wheel thrown with a lot of altering carving and addin beacause I could not keep my hands off the clay.

One day my niece is visiting and we go in the studio to make some and she wants a sculpture of her and her mom, and we do it and that is how the first Claybeing was born.

And it snowballed from there with the birth of Clayville and all the Clayons and Clayettes that inhabited it from then on.

It was a lovely ride with a lot of fun along the way and as it happens the last Claybeing was of my niece but this time it was of her and her future husband a "Promise" to adorn her wedding Cake.

Competitions

Funny how things work out in juried competitions, the things that I think will be accepted don't make it and the things that I enter reluctantly because I am not quite sure about, make it. In the end, both entries sold and I had to deliver the back up replacements, hoping they will sell too:).

Breakables

My granddaughter comes to me and says "Mimi I want some breakables". Of course being a potter I can make "breakables" all day, and  I did.
Now, a year or two later the pots are broken and I am to make more.

This is William's first set.

  Olivia wanted a repeat of her ducks

Kate's favorites are flowers and the color pink.

And Sam gets a creature of my choice.

This time I got wiser and made extras just in case.

Let's hope this time they will last more than a year or two.

Damascus

I just got back from my annual trek to visit my mom and the land I was born in. I usually go visiting other places while I am at it but this time I stayed close to my Mother's house. walked everywhere I could and was blessed with good weather all the time I was there.

This is where I grew up.

Every time I go I come back with different thoughts. This time is: Contradictions

Syria is: clean and dirty, green and arid, beautiful and ugly, has the best people and the worst. but mostly it is old as earth and quite young.

Contradiction. no comment necessary.

 

For more pictures of Damascus:

Picture of Damascus; New and old 

 

Beth Cavener Stichter

I just got back from her Ceramics workshop, my head is still spinning with  images, information and processes.

 Beth and "Bolt" at the gallery of Huntington Museum of  Art

Beth Cavender Stichter is a wonderful presenter full of knowledge and information that she graciously share for the asking.

 

 In the beginning

She start with a maquette made from plasticine on armature to have a working idea of where she is going and how to get there including placement and length  of armature and supports

Clay on Armature

She builds a replica of the armature to the size she wants the work. She builds solid and then cut up hollow out and compress from the inside to end with large sculpture that are not too heavy and very expressive.

Beth, sculpture and little Maquette 

You really have to go to a workshop to get the full flavor. This is just a little spoonful like they do at Baskin Robbins .

Eyes on you

Although this was not hands on but it felt like one because she was so sharing on individual level. Here are all the eyes she had us make to have a feel for the process and the use of shadow instead of color to paint.

 

Hanging from the ceiling.

Finishing touches 

 

All Done

Now she will cut it up bit by bit hollow, compress and refit but for purposes of the worksop it all went in the recycle to my chagrin.

you can go to my Picasa page for more pictures:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mayssan1/20100308

Also to her website  fro pictures of actual work ;

http://www.followtheblackrabbit.com/