Re-plenish

1 a: to fill with persons or animals :  barchaic : to supply fully : c: to fill with inspiration or power : nourish2 a: to fill or build up again  b: to make good

"to fill with inspiration or power"

That’s what the renovations have done for my studio. A new space, the way I want it, plenty of work surfaces, inspiration on walls and shelves everywhere I look. I hope to be so powerful and inspired. January was all holiday hangover, and deconstruction (of the room). February was teaching, and more teaching – some good fun, some an energy drain! So March – although half gone as I write this – is ushering in a new period of excitement in my work, I feel back on track…

A glimpse into where I am half the time… ( when not in the ceramics studio…) This is the main table.

The second table – journaling, sketchbooks, watercolors… And the old battered, well-loved jewelry and metals table. Off to the right, I even have my bench pin from my college jewelry studio…How sweet it is!

Oh – and my constant companion…

Re-juvenate

1 a: to make young or youthful again : give new vigor to b: to restore to an original or new state

In January that’s what I did, I completely rejuvenated my studio. I re-worked it, re-arranged it, renovated it. New furniture, new floor plan, new floor – as I removed the carpet. I owe much of the transformation to IKEA, which gave me so much for my money, and some of it is actual wood!

Here it is – three hours of labor, 2 people, but the joy of organizing and displaying in all those nooks – priceless… I should say – put together on the floor it took up every spare inch of floor space. It is massive.

 And a few details… elements of earth and air…

elements of water, and a little fire…

Next: the work tables. The more the merrier I will be…

Re-new1: to make like new : restore to freshness, vigor, or perfection 2: to make new spiritually : regenerate3 a: to restore to existence : revive b: to make extensive changes in : rebuild4: to do again : repeat

5: to begin again : resume

I said in an earlier post that I wanted to detail the adventures of my last 2 months when I did not post at all. So this ‘word-of-the-day" harkens back to my state of mind as the new year began. Of course – who doesnt feel the cyclical desire to start fresh? Clean slate.

I took it literally. After 5 years (?) in our current house – my ‘clean studio needed an overhaul This is my collage,mixed media, jewelry studio. (As opposed to the ‘dirty’ clay studio in the basement…) And if I was moving furniture, lets tear up the ugly, and by now dirty, carpet!

Here are a few progress pictures from early January. No, I didnt take good before pictures. I was too eager to do the demo…

That round table, buried under piles was one of my only 2 surfaces to work on. The far wall of shelves never lived there. Everything was shifted to tear out carpet. And the floor looks good – from a distance!

Yes – those are LARGE white paint splatters on the hard wood. What were they thinking!?

Re-veal

1 : to make known through divine inspiration 2 : to make (something secret or hidden) publicly or generally known  3 : to open up to view

I sincerely wanted one ‘good’ snow. A snowfall where schools are closed – because I am still thrilled by that even though I am no longer teaching in the traditional school system… A fluffy, light snow that glitters like diamonds. A snow where dogs bound around the back yard kicking up their heels.

I did not expect to get the snow I imagined on March 2.

So I picked this "word of the day" since the snow revealed new views of familiar objects…

Mad as a March hare?

My dryad sculpture – she is up to her waist…and she is at least 18" tall.

And just three days ago I noticed shoots of flowers – crocus, I think, coming up inches from her… I hope the thraw reveals them to me once again.

PLEIDIOL WYF I’M GWLAD ("True am I to my country" – from the chorus of the Welsh National Anthem).

Happy St. David’s Day! ( oops. It was March 1st…)

For centuries the first of March has been a national festival. St David was recognised as a national patron saint at the height of Welsh resistance to the Normans.

To celebrate this day, people wear a symbol of either a leek, spring onion or daffodil. The leek is patriotic, arising from an occasion when a troop of Welsh were able to distinguish each other from a troop of English enemy dressed in similar fashion by wearing leeks. An alternative emblem developed in recent years is the daffodil, used and preferred over the leek by the British Government as it lacks the overtones of patriotic defiance associated with the leek  (Thank you Wikipedia.)

Re-vive1 : to restore to consciousness or life 2 : to restore from a depressed, inactive, or unused state : bring back 3 : to renew in the mind or memory

In some ways I have been hibernating. No blog posts appearing here since before the onslaught of the holidays. And while I often thought of posting, took photos with the best of intentions… here I am on the first of MARCH!

So the next eight posts, in timely fashion – are dedicated to the eight weeks that have flown by since the new year. I will re-collect my thoughts and revive my blog. It has been a busy 2 months, and I have a few things to share with you. Stay tuned.

Demeter is the Greek goddess of the earth, of grain and fertility.  Her daughter, Persephone is the Maiden of spring, yet also the Queen of the Underworld. Persephone spends half the year in the Underworld, as Demeter’s grief for her absent daughter plunges the Earth into barrenness – thus creating the cycle of the seasons. Growth returns when the Spring Maiden emerges from below.

Ariadne – inspired by the Minoan snake goddess, she is the mistress of the labyrinth. Inside the niche is a labrys, or double axe representing power and transformation. The bull image, hidden in the labyrinth, references the masculine and the Minotaur. Enter the labyrinth – the journey is one of discovery, to the center, your center; you emerge transformed.  

Last Friday night was the opening reception for the Imago Dea exhibit. It was a smashing success, one I owe largely to Betsy Molina Mortenson – my artist partner in the show. Couldnt have done it without her! We are a good team. And I love her work, very different from my own, yet conceptually related…

Here is the first of my Goddess collages, I will be posting here in their entirety. These pieces are all 16 x 20" on a stretched canvas. Materials vary: paper, canvas, watercolor, colored pencil, image transfers…

I welcome your thoughts and ideas!

Brigid Ancient Celtic goddess turned saint; fire, creativity, and healing are her realms. She will spark the fire of inspiration in the bard, and she fuels the fire of the smith at his forge. Her sacred springs abound with offerings, tied to tree branches, as people seek her healing. ( This piece is sold.)

Hello everyone!

It’s a rainy Saturday, probably my last weekend to plant bulbs…and I saw Holiday decorations up already. Wow! Where has the fall gone?

I am in the process of gearing up for three very different exhibits/venues this season. And what a mad rush!

The first is the Arden Holiday shop, an annual favorite in the Gild Hall in Arden DE. It’s very festive, and marks the beginning of the holidays for me – although it is after Thanksgiving. The info: Sunday November 30^th, from 11 – 4

 pm.  You can find details and directions here: http://www.ardenclub.com/annualEvents.htm.

The second is my first home show… at a friend’s house. I am in an artist’s marketing group, and this is our first event as a group. It should be a lovely affair, hosted by Paula and Norman Bell. (Friday Dec. 5^th – 5:30 – 8. Sat. Dec

 6^th – 10 – 4pm. 509 Rothbury Rd. See my last blog post for the details…

The biggest event: I am showing a completely new, and I think exciting, group of mixed media collages. My friend Betsy Mortenson and I are having our show: Imago Dea – envisioning the feminie divine at Gallery 919 Market in WIlmington! The reception is Friday 12/5 from 4:30 – 8:30pm. Stay tuned for more info here, and pictures too I think…