She's a guide for deciding which way to go forward

Hecate, the goddess of the crossroads from ancient times of Greek mythology...see this link for more information about her.

"Hecate, Greek goddess of the three paths, guardian of the household, protector of everything newly born, and the goddess of witchcraft -- once a widely revered and influential goddess,  the reputation of Hecate has been tarnished over the centuries. In current times, she is usually depicted as a "hag" or old witch stirring the cauldron.
"But nothing could be further from the image of Hecate's original glory.
"A beautiful and powerful goddess in her own right, the Greek goddess Hecate was the only one of the ancient Titans who Zeus allowed to retain their authority once the Olympians seized control. Zeus shared with Hecate, and only her, the awesome power of giving humanity anything she wished (or withholding it if she pleased).
"In other legends she is invisible, perhaps only glimpsed as a light, a "will-o-the-wisp".  Perhaps it was this luminous quality that marked Hecate as a "moon goddess", for she seemed quite at home on the earth. 

The wingless one

So I forgot to put wings on this dragon.
Let's reframe this...

My first dragon without wings.
And I've learned something.
I've learned Chinese dragons don't have wings.

So this is my first Chinese Dragon.  Number one (may it be a series? who knows?)

OK, it's just a lizard with a silly look on its face.  I like to always give a dragon a bit of a whimsical attitude.

Did you notice he's also a unicorn? That was on purpose, when I started making him.  But I'll have to work a bit harder to make a realistic (if there is such a thing) unicorn.

Sometime today I'll stop by the studio, to see if the ugly baby bird and Hecate are out of the kiln yet.  It (kiln) was too hot yesterday during my volunteer time at the Open Studio. Black Mountain Center for the Arts community Clay Studio...great place for working in clay!

I've been waiting, waiting

Waiting so long...

I have a tune to those words, now need to look them  up and find out who we're waiting for...

For today, I'm waiting for Hecate to be fired.  A kiln was loaded and fired, but she didn't fit.  So another load must be ready of other students' works (usually takes a few days) before she can get in to finish the production. Thus it goes, working in a community studio. (I'm not complaining!)

Incidentally, baby bird (his wings and topknot in foreground) is also waiting.

And a big whahoo to me, the plate in the header, the poppy platter, sold.  So I'd better put something else on there soon!

And next time I go into the studio (depending on road conditions tonight is first chance) I'll pick up wingless dragon.

Only a mother bird would respond...

to this poor hungry little one.  Or a father bird who shares in feeding.

But then ugly is also in the eye of the beholder.

In the open studio Thursday

Got to stain my sculptural pieces last Thursday.
Now will wait till another glaze kiln can be loaded to see what happens to them.

Hecate at the crossroads (before the stain). Yes she's a crone, which is a wise elder woman.  Crone has a historic use that's derogatory. We wise elder women are reclaiming the term and using it proudly.  Please teach everyone you know that this is what we prefer.  It may take several generations...sort of like other derogatory terms.

There's also a wingless dragon (guess that makes her a lizard). And a funny looking baby bird.

Wait and see!

Happy Valentine's Day

I'll continue sharing my tea drinking pleasures for today. I started with Monk's Blend Here.

The Holiday Spice blend, is a Black Tea with natural flavor, as it says.  It's not a leafy tea, but those spices are finely ground, so it's hard to strain them out.  I do a bit, then just swallow what is in the tea...except the very bottom gulp.  Nah, too spicy for me.

As you may notice, I'm also using one of my O'Keefe style poppy mugs.  I decided that they were worth enough of my effort that I shouldn't sell or give away all of them.

The death of google+ has been concerning me lately.  My blog seems to be on regular google blogger.  But my profile looks like it says google +.  I've asked for help changing back to regular google, but nobody has given me any information on that.  We shall see what happens in March.  I do hope I don't lose my blogs...there are 4 of them dividing my attention these days.

And incidentally, I have over a thousand hints to drag through over on Ancestry!  Gadzooks.  That's what I get for having over a thousand ancestors.  It's like everyone is probably my cousin.

Back to the teas...the company that my son, Russ ordered from is ETS...English Tea Store.
I need to check some of these teas to see how long they are supposed to steep.  I dare say I'll not give them the full length required because I like less-robust teas.  OK, I'm not really a English Tea drinker...whatever that person really is called. But I keep trying!  And Russ wanted me to have tea parties...but I tend to still have friends over to drink coffee...most of the time anyway.

I hope you have a wonderful celebration of all the different kinds of love there are...not just the romantic or erotic kinds...don't forget those others that glue our relationships together!

Treasures of the Earth

What a great title for a pottery show.  And Feb-March is such a good time for an indoor smallish show.  I was delighted to drive a bit over an hour down to Shelby to put up my pottery for hopefully someone in a different area to take something home.  My friend Cathy also went and is showing some of her work. It is great to have someone to drive with.

Violet, my cousin (? we're not, maybe because of some shifts in my ancestry) was there as Arts Council staff.  It is such a welcoming community.

 A partial look at the venue from atop my display.

 My display, thanks to my son's addition of the shelving unit.  I put it together mostly by myself this time!

 Looking a bit closer...

Ron Philbeck has been doing very well this year with his poured multiple glaze colors.  He's been invited to some juried shows I know, but too far away for me to visit.  I think the mug on the far right second shelf will come home with me at the end of the show.

I get a kick out of Brian Dukes' work, full of fantasy and fun.  (He's Violet's husband.) These are all painted with acrylics, and yet they don't look that painterly! He's got a good touch with a brush as his first medium was painting.

I enjoyed Pam Bailey's carved fish designs, which are almost invisible until you look closely.

The way this show works, people pay for an item they want to buy, then leave it there with a "sold" sticker on it until the end of the exhibit in March.  I love that everyone who visits can see everything, rather than some half empty shelves during the whole exhibit period.  So Cathy and I will drive back down to Shelby in March and pack up everything (hopefully not much) that we didn't sell.

This is the main room, with all 4 walls covered with 6 foot displays by different potters, and refreshments will be on the center tables by 5:30 when the reception begins.  I love how this former post office building has been renovated for an art center.

This alcove doesn't have many potter displays, which is ok with me, since the beer and wine table is here.  I don't mind being in that corner next to the stairs and the restroom.  I figure a lot of folks might need to pass by my display whether they plan to or not.

There are the front doors and the entry area with a few benches which were very welcome about halfway into the evening.

I enjoyed this evening, but I was one very tired cookie by the time I put my feet between the sheets.  I had to turn the air conditioner on because the sun had been warming my bedroom all day (it was in the 70s, no fooling!) Today the temperature has dropped since I woke, from maybe 52 down to

41 now at 4 pm.

Wishing everyone a happy weekend. I'll be back bogging again on Monday!

Packing those pots

Yep, pricing, inventory listing, and wrapping in bubble wrap in tupperware tubs.  That's the name of my activities for the next 24 hours or so.

I have completed one tub, with 14 pots of various types in it...and they are on the inventory sheet as well.  So I'm taking a break.  (I may not be taking ALL these pots, but this is my first choice batch.

My goal is to have just 3 tubs.  I have to fit them in the car, either the back seat or the trunk.  And I have to GET them to the car.  It's not impossible. Just means carrying them out the door, carrying them down 4 steps, and loading them onto the cart (a little wonderful plastic thing which saves my back with all kinds of carrying help.) Then of course lifting them out of the cart.  I believe I'll try to pack some into the car tonight, then can work on the shelving unit tomorrow!

This wonderful shelving unit comes apart, and I'll reassemble it on top of the table that is provided by the Cleveland County Arts Council in Shelby.

And I have a bowl to donate to the Empty Bowls project there.

It's so wonderful to be included in this show. I'm really looking forward to setting up Thursday and going to the reception. Hope to see some familiar faces!

Cat and Dog figures

 A little dog angel.

 A little cat that's not an angel.

- definitely one with whiskers!