Showing Up

 

I can’t believe I haven’t written a blog in almost a month. And on the other hand, I can believe it. I’ve been very busy. And that’s a very good thing for me because this past year with all the life changes and health issues, I’ve been the opposite of busy. While I’ve had good reason to rest, recuperate and reassess the way I live my life, it was time to get moving. 

This is what it looked like in my studio last week. I had a very big ceramics show this last weekend. I had a lot to do to get ready on my end: making work, pricing work, inventory and packing.

Setting Up. 

I’m lucky I had my wonderful husband to help me haul my bins from home to the show and back home again. I used to do it all myself, but this year I needed help. Once it was all stacked in front of my shelves, it was time for me to set up my display. 

I admit, I love doing the display part of this multiphase job. I’ve always loved decorating my spaces whether it’s my office at work, my kids play spaces or my home. So setting up my work to display is fun. 

Standing Up.

Doing this show involves much more than my own little set of shelves and pedestals. It takes hundreds of people, including myself, to set up the display areas, sales area, gallery area, kids clay booth and more. I worked in the gallery area setting up the display and keeping it looking good throughout the show. I love working doing gallery display. 

I also worked ‘manning’ the gallery and group booth. It’s a lot of standing and walking and waiting, too. Again, with my past year, I was very worried I wouldn’t be able to manage the work load. I was worried I’d have to pull out at the last minute. But I did it! 

Not only did I handle my own work, I did my work shifts and I sold some of my own work, too. 

My biggest win

Wasn’t showing my work

It was showing up, doing the work

Talking to other artists

And feeling strong. 

What have you enjoyed this week?

Since I shared my word of the year for 2023: Enjoy, some new things have happened. They’re really just ordinary things. Like right now, there’s blue sky peeking around the gray rain clouds. A crow just flew past my window. And I hear my neighborhood crows chatting away in the trees behind my house. 

Like I said, it’s all just everyday stuff. Why does it feel new? Because I’m looking at it all through a different window not in my home but in my mind. I’m looking at everyday things through a window framed around my word of the year: enjoy. 

Bubble wrap and packing tape. Enjoy?

I sold one of my favorite pieces last week and shipped it out to its new owner. I enjoyed that my Leaf Platter sold! I love gathering the leaves in the fall and making plates and platters. Each one is so wonderfully unique in shape, size with its own individual set of veins, folds and edges. I enjoy bringing out each leaf’s qualities in clay, paint and glaze. 

But I’m not a professional packer, so shipping scares me. Especially with all the delicate edges, preparing and wrapping the leaf platter felt overwhelming. So I took it one step at a time. 

First: find the right box. It took two trips to different FedEx stores to get two different sized boxes. I used the bigger box than in the picture: 20x20x12. Each leaf point was bubble wrapped. The whole plater was bubble wrapped. The the box was stuffed with paper and bubble wrap to cushion the platter. Topping it with more bubble wrap, paper and bubble wrap. Seal. Tape. Weigh. And enjoy delivering it to the UPS store. 

Enjoying black, white and color. 

In the studio this week, I painted. I started using a wash technique years ago and I still love how it brings the textures I put into each piece. I did a black wash on my new Lily vases. Many of my new sculpture pieces got washed with black too. 

Then I decided to try something different. A few new leaves, vases and bowls got a bright red wash. Some new pieces got washed with turquoise. 

Will I like the new colors? I don’t know. 

What I do know: I enjoyed trying something new. Even with bubble wrap. 

I enjoyed knowing the Leaf Platter arrived safely and the customer loves it!

What have you enjoyed this week?