First Craft Show Countdown

Spring is here, birds are singing and a few brave flowers have poked their heads up.  I am working away on final preparations for the Halifax Crafters Spring Fair.  The work is pretty much done, well, on saleable products anyway...  As for a booth to sell from, well that is a diffrent story. 

There are a few ideas rolling around in my brain, most of which are large and elaborate things that I lack the time to complete / Would be so heavy the table would suffer structural failure / cost $$$$. 

We'll get there one way or another though.  I'm not too worried, the basic expenses for the show are pretty minimal so, hoping for a little bit of profit anyways. 

If you happen to be in Halifax, NS on Saturday April 30th or Sunday May 1st please do stop by the Olympic Centre on Hunter and Cunard between 11 and 6, there is no charge to get in, and plenty of lovely people will have beautiful crafts for sale.

Craft Show Preparations

I've been accepted to the Halifax Crafters Spring Show! Yay! If you happen to be in Halifax Nova Scotia on April 30th or May 1st please stop by and say hello.

This will be my first craft show, and I'm excited / nervous about it.  So many things to do, to make, to organize...   I know it will be fun and exhausting, I hope that it might be profitable as well.  I have a bit of a backlog of work piling up in the studio at the moment.  Selling it on and letting others enjoy it would be a whole lot of wonderfulness.
Just have to wait and see I guess

Show Proposals, Concerts, and other exciting things

Hello!

There are many things a brewing in the studio these days,  Working on commissions and building inventory in anticipation of a craft fair or two this summer.  I had such a lovely time at the Halifax Crafters winter sale a few months ago, I figured that it would be the type of craft show to do.  As this is my first craft show application I am a little nervous....   

Work is starting to pile up mightily in the studio however, so it is high time I tried to get some of it out there into other homes. 

I've been having loads of fun attending concerts in Downtown Halifax for the Canada Games, 6 concerts in 7 days will have me spoilt before long. 

Toodles blogosphere, until next time.

Should I stay? Or should I go?

So I've just applied on some exciting jobs that are in my field! Yay! Unfortunately they are not in the same province, and are short term deals...

So here is what I am trying to figure out, at what point is it unreasonable to relocate for work? Where do I draw a line in the sand between cost/inconvieniance/stress/moving and opportunity/excitement/ new horizons ?

There is a part of me that would beg her way around the world for a light at the end of the unemployment tunnel right now, but seeing as how emotionally shattered I've been lately I have to ask myself "Is it worth it?" I really don't know, and really I am getting ahead of myself, but is moving 1400 Km for 6 months of part-time work a viable option?

Biting off more than I can chew.

Well now, being the dreamer and the optimist that I am given to being... I have gone and proposed a hugely ambitious project to a reputable art event that I am not entirely certain that I can pull off.

I mean, it is reasonably possible, but that is theoretical at best.
How will I make 12 foot tall ceramic sculptures?
How will I fire them?
How will I set them up to be sturdy yet easy to take down (only 6 hrs of exhibition time)?
What will I do if it happens to rain that night?
Where on earth will I put these sculptures while waiting to be shown / after the show is done?

But I've got this picture in my mind that I would love to share with the world, or at least the good people of Halifax.

So wish me luck, clear skies, and a bit of wind for October 16th 2010.

Fumbling with a paintbrush

Painting.


Taking up yet again my long and tumultuous history with "serious" painting. All through my time at NSCAD I wanted to take a class or two on this subject, lacking the ability to breath in the painting studios however kept me from doing so.

And so here I am, fumbling my way around a pallet and canvasses with the goal of participating in a local group show. . . . Fingers are crossed and expletives quietly muttered, stabbing around in a semi-blind state. I've a few weeks to go, I'll keep you updated.

Midwinter continued

The long stretch of midwinter is here, a multitude of ideas are trying to germinate, but the growing part is just not happening at the moment... as is the was with winter in these Northern regions. A few weeks ago I did have the opportunity to get my hands into some clay ( and my nose, love that earthy fall smell! )

Just a quick sketch really, mucking around and not at all about pottery. Trip planning has been overtaking the art time this last week or so anyway. Researching, bugeting, making lists upon lists of things to do and see.... daydreaming

Well until next time dear blog

January

The days are slowly growing longer, and here in Nova Scotia they seem to be growing colder as well.

A cold that crystalizes, that distills the mind. Winter is far from over, there will be many more glistening snowfalls, and crunching walks, and biting cold winds... precious quiet moments.

There are many partially painted paintings and half finished projects around, but slowly slowly everything will get there.

Twenty-ten, its time to start again.

Under the cover of fresh fallen snow, ideas incubate.

2010, I'm banking on this year being a good year, a better year than 2009... For one thing there is a wonderful trip planned this summer, for my husband and I. Back to Europe for a working holiday. The plan is for 6 months in Italy and a year in Ireland. This trip will be about food and art, culture and experiences. We will be taking less stuff and trying much harder to stay out of comfortable ruts.

I am very excited

I so fail at internets

Well now... again it has been ages, again I am sorry, and again I promise to try and be here more often.

I hope that everyone out there is having a lovely Winter-Holiday-of-choice. I am making quite a few of my own presents, as I do most years. This time however I'm not also at Uni full time so I have the luxury of time in the making of them.

I have some exciting new years news, But I think I'll leave it till then. Merry New Year everyone!

Back from the Dead! well sort of...

Hello again old friend, I think I really owe you an apology. It has been a long time since I have been here. In the seven months since my last post I have moved to the beautiful Annapolis valley, mended a crushed soul, and realized that some promises are better broken .

I am currently drawing and painting fairly consistantly, still aching for a ceramic studio... but everything in time.
I have also finally made the leap into Etsy, and am working on a business plan for a studio of my own.

Things are rolling again, and I promise to do my best to keep them that way from now on.

Dont tempt me Etsy.

Are you familiar with Etsy? If not please go check it out here
They run a regular feature on their blog entitled Quit your Day Job. Every time I read one of these articles I am liking the idea more and more.
I've spent all morning designing a theoretical studio space and I have shelves full of ceramic work that I would love to sell, with more being produced every week. I dream of ceramics all day while I am at work, and my day job is looking pracariously close to the edge of no longer exhisting.

So what is stopping me from setting up shop? I've had a website "in development" for months now, and I've got hundreds of pages of notes and lists, books, advice etc.

I am afraid of failing to make money, or making enough money, and it hurts to admit that this is what is holding me back from being truely happy. Slow little steps that I am taking today will get me to running my own business someday, I just wish I had the guts to make the leap, instead of climbing all the way there petrified.

Spring ahead

I'm still procrastinating on putting up my website, I'm still fussing around with the forms of my cup line, and I'm still looking for another day job. But you know what? Spring is so close I can taste it.

The birds are back and singing in the mornings, the sun has woken from its hibernation and a deluge of ideas, excitement and energy is upon me. I'm making lists of little things that I can do to move things forward, small manageable steps towards a focused business plan in the creative and the logical/finacial sense.
This lovely vase is from Jasna Sokolovic
who has a great illustration / ceramic surface thing happening.

Have a lovely day!

Spring pots

This has been an exciting and productive couple of weeks. I've decided on a few forms and started producing cups. I still have to pin down loads of details, but cups are great for that, quick, small three dimensional and functional. They will point out any faults in the clay, glaze or firing process without eating up huge amounts of time.

I am also working out a series of visuals that will appear on this functional series, I find the most difficult part is to decide on what I want and then to produce it in a consistant way. That is my goal for the next two months. I will try and reign in the creative outburst of spring to get me closer to my goals.

I'll leave you with a photo from Bibbi Forsman's blog that has been tempting me from my pots towards mosaic work. Lovely lovely

Where did February go?

I cannot believe that this month is almost over, February always seems so short, though really it is only a few days under a "real" month. My tendency to hibernate in the winter does not help matters I am sure.

There has been some slow progress in the studio, I am hopeful that this next kiln load will have some real winners that I am proud to start selling. I've got my eyes on a few "bricks and mortar" shops as well as some online venues. I am still honing my skill at repeating the same form and having consistent wall thickness etc. and would like to have that as well as glaze fit fully under control before I let these little cups out into the world. I am getting close, but I won't quit my day job just yet.

Until next time blogland!