Life and Pottery

Thought I'd do a little photo round up of how life has been lately. I feel as though I've hit a creative hurricane and I'm furiously pouring myself into clay and making pots. Which feels refreshing and familiar. Part of my fervor is due to a count down to baby number 2's arrival.
Baby #2! Another baby boy coming at the end of January. We are in a state of transition.

Feels pretty surreal. But honestly I think this time around I'm truly savoring the waiting time knowing that all to soon it'll change into something a bit less familiar. I'm tapping into a creative fuel which helps me push past the exhausted times of chasing a toddler and being 24 weeks pregnant and still making things that give me peace and rest. Here lately, it's been nothing but clay. Throwing bowls and mugs (and whatever else comes up), feeling happy knowing how they will be used in an everyday capacity. Even the trial and error of glazing and firing again isn't as frustrating because I like to be learning.

My current workspace is tiny. Literally an old kitchen that needs to be torn out. But give me space, no matter how small, and I'll make it work. We artists are resourceful people.  

Making bowls at 12 weeks

       

 All about the process. 

I'll have another new batch out sometime this week! More of these glazes as well as some new ones too.

A Little Piece of Mississippi

Last year my mom encouraged me to participate in The Sketchbook Project. While I had heard of it in the past, I had never considered submitting a sketchbook (if you've never heard of it check it out here). Basically you buy a small sketchbook through them, do whatever you want to it, then mail it back and it becomes part of the permanent collection of the Brooklyn Art Library. Anyone can come in and check out your book (and if you get it digitized people can even view it all online). So I thought it would be cool that New York would get a little piece of Mississippi.  And me.

It turned out to be more of a reflection on myself than I planned. There's paintings and drawings of myself and of every member of my little family (yes even our dog Moxie got a page). There's poems I've written, places where I live that I sketched, things that represent my past but a lot of things that show the direction of my art in the future. Its interesting to me that so much of myself fell out onto these pages. I think I was happy to share it so it made parting with the sketchbook a lot easier.

Front cover

A little about me.

There you have it! If you are ever in New York I hope you check it out. And I'd say maybe even attempt your own sketch book for next year. You may surprise yourself.

2016 Goals!

So if you're anything like me, a new year feels like a fresh start. A fresh start usually begins with resolutions. I have made plenty in the past (although I do refrain from setting fitness resolutions lol) but this year I'd like to think about it in terms of GOALS. Goals seem a bit more attainable to me. Especially realistic ones. I've gotten better about knowing how to set goals that I can actually reach instead of highly unlikely ones that make me feel defeated.
ANYWAY.....
Here are some of my goals for the new year (as an artist, mom and wife):


1. Work on my time management

 I know this one doesn't sound too fun but I definitely need it! I want to be able to maximize my time to balance all the things I love, being a mom, spending time with Justin and painting/being creative. While I've gotten better over the years (having a toddler will help!), I'd really like to get better at planning out things for Jude, juggling commissions, finishing things on time, and all around scheduling my days/weeks so I can be more productive and less frazzled. Pro-active instead of reactionary!

2. Make more pottery!

I've been missing clay like crazy and now that I have everything all set up and the kiln has it's new parts, it's time to get back into it. Although that might be kinda tricky with a toddler, it's definitely a goal to strive for.

3. Have my first solo show

While I've been involved with tons of art shows and collaborated with a lot of talented artists over the years, I've never had a show of just my own work. I'd love to challenge myself and rise to the task of putting it all together.

4. Plan more adventures.

This doesn't necessarily mean a huge trip, or flying any where (although sign me up!) but I'd like to explore more of the area around me and beyond. I'd love to go camping and use our kayaks more. Try new things and constantly learn, while also overcoming the things I'm afraid to do or try.

5. A few random things...
This year I want to be more consistent in my art work and practice daily, finish each piece before moving on to the next and to stop comparing my work to others. I want to push the limits of my ability, which could result with making bad art. Something that I need to be ok with. Because learning = sucking. Not every piece will be successful and that is totally ok.

Well there you have it! I'm sure I'll add more to the list as I think about it, but these were the most important to me. Feel free to chime in with your own. I like hearing what people think when they look out over the new year into the future. I'm excited to see what this year brings.

Catie

White Walls

So I've decided to give my home studio a make over. It's been a long time coming. Now that I'm back working in the upstairs spare bedroom, it's time to make it feel less like a beige box and more like the inspiring creative space that I need it to be.

I'm starting primarily with the walls.
White, blank walls.
Seems weird that this is the first time in my life that I've ever painted an entire room completely white (or even just a wall for that matter). My room in high school was four different shades of blue!
But I really want the contents of the room, that is, my work, to really shine. And for that I need a blank background. The color will come from my paintings as I fill the space and I can't have any reflected color from the walls interfering with my painting/mixing.

Even though it is a lot of work, I'm starting to get excited about revitalizing this place I'm in now. Something about being intentional with the room, carving out a new place for my work and really allowing myself to be surrounded with only things that will enhance creativity. Instead of it being a catch-all for the random stuff we don't know what to do with. I have a feeling I'll be doing some de-cluttering in the process. The prospect of making this room fit MY purpose feels really good. It's crazy that it's taken me over 10 months for this to occur to me. I can't wait to finish painting and work on rearranging everything to make it all more functional (and possibly adding some shelves??). It doesn't have to be a huge space I've just gotta make it work.

I have a lot of goals this year and it's time to get things rolling in the right direction.

If anyone has any small space saving tips I'm all ears!

What's New

Well hello blogsphere! It's been awhile since I've posted but I'm making it a goal to be better about regularly blogging and keeping up with everything that's been going on. And there's been A LOT going on.
Let's see, here's the quick run down of where I've been in life since that very last blog post (which now looking back it was definitely a turning point for me!).


-Got back in touch with an old friend (via our artist shenanigans with the newly formed A.C.C.E. group, Art Can Change Everything)

-More shenanigans, including a crazy awesome art installation in a pop-up gallery, (think large bird's nest)

-Decided to open a studio (!!!) with that friend, Carmen Lugo

-Strange Bird Studio was born!

-Hustled like crazy to make that dream a reality! Painted my fingers off, sold art, taught classes

-Enjoyed an amazing time connecting with people and other artists within ACCE

-More shenanigans, called a Surrealist Spectacle (where I dress up like a dark bird and live painted to some amazing music)

-Found out I was pregnant!! :-O

-Had to make some tough decisions regarding the studio

-Ultimately husband and I decided I needed to take a break from the studio to take care of our son (one of the hardest decisions I've ever made!)

-Jude William Daniel was born!

-Fell in love like I never thought possible

-Currently a stay at home mom, who is freelance with all her art endeavors. (And now I drag my little Jude to all my art shenanigans, including a street long outdoor art gallery called Re:Vieux when he was 3 months old)


There you have it! If you made it this far, thanks for sticking it out (believe me it was crazy times)
A lot of life change and experiences, but you know, I wouldn't change a thing about it. Now I'm acclimating to life with an 8 month old who gets into everything, while still continuing to pursue an art career. Here is where you can expect me to try to stay true to my painting, to learn and grow as a parent (and artist!), and to find my voice and speak about all of those things and more.
So stick around, it could get pretty interesting up in here. ;-)


Catie

(p.s. I leave you with a shameless picture of just how cute my son is)