Red Roses. White Tulips. And chocolate.

 

I love roses. The way they smell: spicy, earth, sweet. The colors: pink, white, red, yellow and even purple. The variety: long stemmed, miniature, bushy or tall. I’ve grown Peace Roses, Queen Elizabeth, even one named after Audrey Hepburn. They are all beautiful. 

My sweet husband knows this and always makes sure I have some for Valentine’s Day. I’m a very lucky woman, I know. 

Lily Vases and roses. 

I am so happy I get to play with clay. While I’m so grateful to all the people who buy my work, I’m also happy to be able to use it myself. On Valentine’s Day, I got to fill my Lily vases and many other vases with beautiful red roses and white tulips. 

Again, thanks to my love. 

Cookies and brownies.

Last year, without a good kitchen, we didn’t and couldn’t bake. And we both love cooking and baking. So this Valentine’s Day, we spent part of the day doing what we love to do together: baking. 

My husband made his favorite and famous Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies. And I made my favorite recipe, Katherine Hepburn’s Brownies. 

We had our challenges with a new mircowave settings, uneven oven temperatures, and a pan spray that didn’t work well. But eating the mistakes was delicious. Best of all, we have more than enough to bring sweet surprises to both of our ‘kids’ as a surprise Valentine’s gift. 

All of this definitely fits this years word: Enjoy! 

I hope you found ways to enjoy the day, too. 

Love comes in many forms. 

Hoping yours was sweet. 

Hello February!

 

Wow, you’re here already! Even though the groundhog saw his shadow, meaning six more weeks of winter, I see small signs of spring. Little buds and more green are popping out. The birds are flying around and calling to each other. I know I might be overly optimistic but I’ve decided to enjoy it anyway. 

And remember, enjoy is my word of the year. What are you seeing that you enjoy? It might be a nice hot cup of tea while you look out the window at a chilly blue sky. 

Cooking clay. 

One of the most important parts of working in ceramics is kiln firing. I’d like to say, I enjoy it but I’d be lying. It’s stressful for me. I worry about loading each piece correctly. Firing the kiln for the right amount of time. The waiting and not knowing is hard. 

What do I enjoy? All the bright colors popping out. Feeling the clay change from wet to dry, heavy to light. Seeing new pieces stand on their own almost finished. 

Especially seeing new experiments come to life. 

Throwing things. 

There are many ways to work in clay. I love slab building and throwing. I started out doing slab building because I’d failed at wheel throwing. But I faced my failure and fears and now I love to throw things. 

 

I throw teacups, bowls and mugs. But it’s been hard to get back in the groove since our flooded home restoration. 

And today’s throwing day was more about getting my area set up again. Getting my chair in the right place. Fixing my floor props for my feet and pedal. I was frustrated. But once my hands were in that wet clay, it all went away. I really enjoyed throwing bowls. I don’t know why but bowls are my favorite. 

Enjoy Today.

Believe me, I know life is not always sunny. Just like the clouds change outside my window, so does life. As I get older, I want to see more, create more and love more. How do I do that? How do you do that? I think the answer is simple. 

Enjoy. 

Right now, this minute. 

Breathe it in. Sip it in. 

Or throw some clay. 

Whatever it is, enjoy your day. 

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?

2023 Word of the Year: Enjoy

 

I’ve been doing a word of the year since 2010. I didn’t realize it’s been 13 years! And maybe that’s why it’s taken me a while to come up with this year’s word. With over a dozen good words already in the past, it was a bit of a struggle to come up with another one. 

I saw the real question going through my head was, why? Why do I feel the need to have a new word for the new year? Maybe after 13 years, I’ve used all the good ones? Maybe I don’t need one anymore? Then why did I have such a long list?

13 wise words in 13 years. 

Here’s a list of the past Words of the Year:

Freedom

Trust

Strength

Live

Flow, Faith

Curiosity

Hope

Understanding

Believe

Act

Heal

Shine

I can clearly see how these words helped me through my life. Some gave me a light to follow through dark times. Some supported me. Some encouraged me. Some asked me to try new ideas or feelings. Others sparked new creative ideas. 

The last 4 words from 2019 to 2022 inspired me to create word bowls. I used the word of the year in the bowl, then surrounded it with ways to use it in daily life. Each bowl could be a little guide to follow with your cereal in the morning. Or support you at your desk at work or your coffee table at home. 

Which word now?

Making some new bowls in December, a new word appeared: wish. I thought, great! Here’s my word of the year. But as the month went on I wasn’t sure. 

While I let it sit in the background, some phrases popped up: Fresh Start and Take My Life Back. After Covid, quarantine and our home’s flood these phrases seemed like good guides for the new year.

But I wanted a word. So like I always do, I made a list. The long list boiled down to five good words: wish, breathe, create, joy and enjoy. I was leaning toward wish, since I’d already started two new bowls. Then one morning I woke from a dream where a woman reached out and tapped me on the arm and said, “Enjoy it a little.”

Wise words. 

Yes, some days are stressful and scary. 

But quickly days turn into months and years. 

Maybe just for today, I can enjoy it a little.