I recently received an unexpected package in the mail.   Enclosed was a really nice note and a few cards with this image:

It was 3 years ago, just about this time of year, that Kat Moser made this beautiful image of hair and shadows on my back.  

She wrote to let me know of all of the acclaim the photograph has been receiving.  Recognition by Anne Lyden (from The Getty Museum) in the 2011 Art of Photography Show, pending publication in The Sun Magazine, and more.  Those are no small feats.

Congratulations Kat.  Thanks for sharing the way you see the world.

And thanks for providing me with a really good way to briefly write about how even when it seems like nothing may be happening, things are often occurring behind the scenes.  

In February and March, I spent more time away than at home.

First here:

Dehradun, India  

Then here:

Steamboat Springs, CO  

And finally here:

A pitstop in Tombstone between our stays in Bisbee and Phoenix

It took much more time than I anticipated to settle back into a routine, and really feel myself truly “home” again.  Especially in the studio.  Getting back to work after extended time away is always a bit tricky.  But having the deadline of an upcoming exhibition (more on that to come) helped to keep me going back into the studio day after day, even in those times when the clay and I did not seem to be in sync. 

It just took a little bit of time for all of that work that went on behind the scenes of my consciousness to fully settle in.  All those sights and sounds and spaces from around the world have now settled in, and as my time to create new work for the show at Groveland Gallery is running short, I have more ideas than I will be able to get out.  Quite possibly, I have more ideas than I will be able to get out before years end.

Will someone please remind me to read this post the next time I feel like nothing is happening!

“Capco” 2009

Thanks to the generous support of the McKnight Foundation, amongst other things, Northern Clay Center hosts visiting artists who come and work in a nice and sunny (but chilly) studio and mix up the surroundings.  David Allyn is here in Minneapolis, in residence at NCC for 3 months and it seems like he is starting to get into his groove.

He gave a slide lecture the other night that was fun and interesting.  Best of all, his richly layered work and his ease in speaking about and explaining his processes, has inspired me to experiment with decals.  I’ve thought about it a few times in the past, but have yet to follow through.

Since I’m off to India tomorrow, my pots will have to wait a little bit longer for their new kind of decorations.  With all of the richness of travel, if there is any room left in my brain, decal use can simmer away while I’m soaking up Himalayan, Moghul and Rhajasthani goodness.

I won’t be posting while I’m away, but there are sure to be some good images here upon my return.  Until then, maybe a few Tweets (you can find me @yocyn) or Facebook updates.

Last week Eve Arnold died.  When I heard the news, and learned that she made it well into her 99th year of life, there was indeed some sadness at her passing.  But there was much more appreciation and admiration for her work, and her life, and her life’s work.  In an interview with the BBC years ago, she shared that, “If you are careful with people, they will offer you part of themselves.  That is the big secret.”

These images inspire me to be more careful with people.

For the first post of 2012, I share a quote from Irish play write George Bernard Shaw 

THE TRUE JOY IN LIFE

“This is the true joy in life, being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one. Being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as I live it is my privilege - my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I love. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no brief candle to me; it is a sort of splendid torch which I’ve got a hold of for the moment and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.”

 -George Bernard Shaw

Uplifting isn’t it!?  I especially love the part about life not being a candle, but a splendid torch.  Yes, I love that.  And I think that that might be one of my mantras for the year ahead.  Along with Clare’s Amour, Bonheur, Chance (Love, Happiness, Luck), and our toasts to a Simple (thanks JZ), Ease and Grace filled year as we lifted the glasses of bubbly to ring in 2012, I just might be set!  

Shaw’s inspiring quote comes from the preface of “Man and Superman” which is now on my reading list for 2012.  At the very top of that list (it should arrive any moment at my doorstep!) is Amitov Ghosh’s “Sea of Poppies“.  I’m quite sure that Fodor’s or The Lonely Planet might offer more practical ways to prepare for my travels to India later this month, but when I heard about Ghosh’s trilogy a few weeks ago on The World, I was intrigued.

Tell me what’s on your reading list for 2012.  Especially if it has anything to do with India.  I’d also enjoy hearing any good mantra’s you might have for this year ahead which surely will be a wonderful one!

Thank goodness Jen took pictures, because as usual, I was running a bit behind schedule.  This is me still setting up as our first patrons began to arrive.

Since Jen said it all so well in this post, I’m simply going to send you her way.  I’m feeling full of gratitude for the help from friends both old and new.  And I’m in love with this peridot neckpiece that I acquired through a trade with Betty!

Wishing you all good times and good cheer with the ones you love all around you this holiday weekend.

It was only one short month ago that the seed was planted for this pop-up shop, and it has been great to collaborate and pull this all together!  Martha, Eireann, Jen, Julia myself all have different strengths to bring to the table, and what at first seemed to be possibly kind of crazy, has actually been coming together with a surprising amount of ease.  We invited some other great makers, and once again, I am finding myself surrounded in good company, by very talented people

If all of that is not enough to entice you to come on over to Modern Times Cafe on Monday night, here is a small sneak peak of my latest venture….clay necklaces.

Despite the fact that when I showed my beloved the first necklace his reply was, “Sweetie, you aren’t a jewelry maker,” I went ahead and made another (the blue one, which is, I believe, much better, but really, what does a man know about ceramic accessories?).  And I will make a few more this weekend.  It makes me happy to sit with the bowls of beads around me, quietly arranging and making something pretty. 

If you are in town, come see my necklaces and all of the other wonderful things at our Last Minute Handmade Gift Market.  If you aren’t, tell people who are.  It might make you happy. 

Snowy Road Burnett Co

If the images he captures on film are not enough to get you over to his really sweet little spot in St.Paul, the fellowship ought to be.  I’ve posted about Doug before, and clearly, I’m a bit biased.  I am excited to see his new book, Earth Meets Spirit, that has just arrived, hot off the presses, from Milan.  

I am going to try and make it over there on Sunday, and possibly acquire something for “our” birthday.  Mine is on the 10th, and my sweetheart’s on the 11th, so in our home, we get to enjoy a lengthy collective birthday.  The weekend will start out with dinner tonight at Meritage.  Then on to a party at the St.Paul Hotel where sparkles and shimmer will be everywhere.  Saturday, one of my besties will take me out to a special undisclosed location where I will treat myself (thanks Mom!) to a pair of shearling lined clogs something like these.  We will be cozy at home with some friends on Saturday night.  Sunday will be easy and a bit more quiet, ending with a great dinner at a yet undecided place.  If you have any suggestions, please leave a comment here.

To get back on track, here is a moment that Doug captured of me in the Badlands of South Dakota 11 or 12 (could it be 13?!) years ago.

Take in some goodness this weekend.  And go see Doug!

So it was a real treat to see this beauty made by Kay Sekimachi on this inspirational, and possibly my new favorite, blog.  Last year, American Craft did a really nice piece on K.S.  Even if you don’t read it here, go for a quick look at the images.

This video, “On Handwork”, also comes from the new favorite blog.  

In it, Renata Hiller talks about handwork.  She states that the destiny of humans is in our hands.  And clearly reminds that the work we make with our hands is what connects us to other humans.  I like that reminder.  As I prepare for a last minute holiday sale (with some other fantastic makers, and the reason why I am thinking about necklaces) with my head down in the studio, it is really easy to get caught up in the making.  That selfish side of creating is important since it is from where the work is born.  But I am grateful for the words in the video that remind me that my work becomes so much more relevant, useful, enjoyable, when that which I have touched moves into someone else’s hand.    

While I won’t be in the studio this weekend, I will do some other type of handwork from a comfy couch somewhere.  As I knit or string beads, I will keep in mind (and in hand) another one of R.H.’s notions….that as we work and learn a material, we develop empathy with that material.  Practicing empathy with the material also allows us to practice empathy in general, which then turns making, into an act of healing the world.

Get extra cozy this weekend knowing that when you chop your own veggies or replace that button or knit a new pair of mittens, that you are in some small and wonderful way, possibly making our world a little bit more whole.  

And please save the evening of December 19th for some last minute holiday pop-up shop shopping.  I’ll post more information for you soon.  Along with (hopefully!) some images of a necklace or 3 out of beads I made years ago.

This tiny slice of sunlight lighting up my apples made me happy this morning for even the simplest of bounties in my life.

May your day be filled with gratitude that lingers and spreads.  

Happy Thanksgiving!

Falcon Enamelware

I love the bright and shiny nostalgia of the simple forms.

I find the tumblers to be particularly charming.

Now for the question….Are you sticking to tradition for the big meal of gratitude or are you trying something new?  If it’s something new, do you do a practice run, or do you confidently and courageously forge ahead trusting your menu source, your cooking chops and your instincts to make a glorious-enough-for-a-feast type of dish?  Feel free to share any great (innovative or not) ideas you have with me here.

Happy Weekend everyone!