Deep Roots

 Working on my family tree has been so enlightening. I found my roots are deep in the Appalachian mountains. Even before I knew it, I had a collection of Foxfire books and loved reading the articles. My collection of Appalachian books has grown since then. But more than that, those roots have impacted my work in the studio. I collected antique pottery long before I threw my first pot. I knew that was the kind of look I wanted with my own work. Old. Folk Art. I did my first report in decades for my ceramics class on Burlon Craig, a Catawba pottery. Oh, how I loved his face jugs. I loved the history of them. Mine don't look anything like his, but he inspired me. And my FIL was a woodcarver...his Santas inspired me as well. I'm sure others will open doors for my work that I haven't even imagined yet. Inspiration is everywhere. 

As I opened a glaze kiln last week, I saw my past in the new pieces. Face jugs, for sure. But a face soup bowl. Face Planters. (I laugh every time I say that.) Even the glaze I use on these is inspired by the old time mountain potters. It's an ash glaze. You can see the runs on their faces. And those ashes? They came from the woodstove at the cottage. 

I wonder if my undiscovered roots inspired my love of Foxfire books? If they spoke to me because some deep DNA tie to those mountains? Maybe my love of kilts is because of my Celtic heritage? Or maybe it's just because men in kilts look good. LOL Either way, my heritage has become a part of what I do in the studio. 

We watched an episode of CB Strike last night. An author character was talking about how all writers put pieces of themselves in their books. I nodded. I do that and I recognize it. Himself and I were talking about it. I said so many of my books deal with family and kids. And my future love of pottery is there in Just One Thing.  My current love of pottery is going to be highlighted in a new series in '22. (Yes, that was a tease!)

Deep Roots.
I am so inspired by this Appalachian family I've never met. I've heard my grandmother's recording...she's singing with siblings and playing the autoharp. It led to more exploration. I bought an awesome CD of Old Time Music, Songs of the Mountain.  I've been playing it in the studio as I build my jugs and think of my grandmother and all the people I've never met.  I read a great piece, Mountain Traditions, which led me to their podcast. That podcast led me back to Old Time Music and pawpaws, which I'm growing at the cottage...anxiously waiting for my first fruit.

One thing leads to another. One discovery leads to the next. Most of them end up in a book or in my studio. All of them just become another layer in me. Like Shrek said, I'm an onion...with lots of layers.

Thanks everyone who's been following my writing, claying and family treeing! I hope you're finding your own layers!

Holly

PS. My Hometown Heart short story, Something Unexpected is out next week! I got my start with shorts and always love going back to the format. This one was inspired by and dedicated to two people who really helped me out!

HollysWoods Studio

Hometown Hearts

Crib Notes: Hometown Hearts #1

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A Special Kind of Different: Hometown Hearts #2

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Homecoming: Hometown Hearts #3

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 Suddenly a Father: Hometown Hearts #4

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Something Borrowed: Hometown Hearts #5

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Something Blue: Hometown Hearts #6 

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Something Perfect: Hometown Hearts #7 available 5/21

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Preorder: Something Unexpected: A Hometown Hearts short story, available 7/21
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Preorder: A Hometown Christmas: Hometown Hearts #8, available 9/21
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Where I'm From...

 I've talked about finding an unexpected branch of my family before. I've got deep Appalachian roots. For this Northern, WPA girl, it was a surprise. But it's led to a bit of a research palooza over the last few years. Not just genealogy. Reading. (I know you're shocked.) One of my first finds was a bit of an intersection between my love of cookbooks and my interest in Appalachia. I picked up Victuals, Ronnie Lundy. I loved reading about the food of the region that was also a bit of a tour. And I felt sort of smug last week when we were watching Clarise and there were strings of beans drying in a house. I said, "Leather Britches." Himself looked at me like I was crazy (that's nothing new LOL)  I'm hoping to try drying my own this year. 

Anyway, I found a blog, Blind Pig and Acorn, that spends a lot of time talking about all manner of Appalachian things. This week, they had a great post about Appalachian books.  I've gone on a bit of a shopping spree since reading it. 

But I think one of the biggest influences this unexpected family history has had on me is my pottery. I did a report in school about Burlon Craig, which led to a read-a-thon about southern pottery, which led to discovering face jugs and their long southern history, which led to...well, a bit of a face jug addiction.

I've played with ash glazes and face jug variations ever since. I love that each one has its own personality. 

One of my complete joys was discovering my family came from near the Catawba Valley, which is the home of a lot of the potters I love.

I'll be spending a lot of time deep diving into my new collection of books about Appalachia. And someday, we're going to do a West Virginia/Virginia trip. I'm planning to visit places my family came from, as well as visit pottery studios in the region. I can't wait!

Family. Learning about where I come from has truly influenced where I am.  It's influenced my writing. It's been a fascinating journey so far and I think there will be a lot of fun twists and turns to come.

I love writing about families as well. My Hometown Hearts series is all about family. Family that's born. Family that's made. Friends who are family. Family that's unexpected. I hope you'll check them out.

Holly

 Hometown Hearts:

Crib Notes: Hometown Hearts #1

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A Special Kind of Different: Hometown Hearts #2

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Homecoming: Hometown Hearts #3

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Suddenly a Father: Hometown Hearts #4

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Something Borrowed: Hometown Hearts #5

Available 1/5/21

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Something Blue: Hometown Hearts #6 

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Preorder: Something Perfect: Hometown Hearts #7 available 5/21

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HollysWoodsStudio

Another Term Winds Down—My Novel Freshman Experience

Burlon Craig Face Jug

I signed up for a spring class last week. Another pottery class. If you're counting...my sixth. It's my third independent study (officially individualized studio) class. I'll confess, the flexibility works well with balancing the minions and the rest of the family. And I like spending a term going in my own direction. Professor H. makes a great advisor. He offers opinions and some direction, but let's me be in the driver's seat. I'm already feeling sad about spring being my last ceramic's class. Of course, by the time the class is over, I should have my own studio up and running! Yep. I've got studio glee!

But here's what being a class of one is missing...reports. Yeah, I know, some people might think that's a plus, but over the out-of-school decades I forgot how much I love doing a deep dive on a topic.  We have to do a report on a ceramic artist in a week. I did a presentation on Rob Bernard my first term. It was supposed to be five to ten minutes, but I had pages and pages of notes. Interesting facts I was sure everyone should know. (My daughter assured me that not only did the kids in class not want to know, but there was a chance my glee over reports annoyed them! If it did, they were kind enough to feign interest. LOL) I did manage to keep it to ten minutes, but would have loved to have gone longer. I left so much unsaid. This time, I'm doing a presentation on Burlon Craig. I'm trying to keep it short...but it's still hard! He's equally interesting and exciting. He is known

Holly Face Jugs

 for his face jugs in the Catawba Valley in NC (my southern roots are firmly planted just north of there).  I bought a great book, The Final Kiln Opening, about his last sale which was so cool. And I bought a book on that folk tradition, based more in Georgia called Brothers in Clay. Equally engrossing reading...alright engrossing in a totally geeky way. LOL I've got pages and pages of notes.

Ten minutes?  I have to fit all this in ten minutes? The trouble is real. LOL

To add to my condensing everything into a less than ten minute presentation, I found YouTube videos from a PBS show called Folkways. They showed Burlon in his studio and firing his kiln. You can find them at Burlon on Folkways. They were fantastic! The second video talked to other local ceramic artists who were related to, or knew, Craig. They watched him work. I wish I'd discovered him sooner and could have visited his studio as well!

I fell in love with face jugs my second term. I wrote a bit about them here.

Holly's Game of Thrones inspired Face Vase

Holly's Jug

 I've done a bunch since then. For me they're a connection to my southern roots and to be honest, I just think they're ugly cute! LOL And art inspires art. School inspires study. I've been trying my hand at some folk art painting and one of my favorites is Burlon's kiln firing. It's obviously rough, but I've done a few versions of it. I love the flames!

Holly's Burlon's kiln painting.

I've been wanting to buy a Burlon Craig face jug but they're a little rich for my blood. But I did find one of his swirl teapots. It should get here soon. I'm soooo excited! I'll post a picture when it arrives.

I don't know what I'm going to take up at school next fall. Maybe some more art classes. I'm working toward a degree...maybe. I plan to just continue taking classes that interest me, and if I get close to a degree, I'll take some of the must-take classes. At this rate, it'll be a decade from now. But hey, for me, it's not really the destination (a degree) that matters. It's the journey. And so far, I've enjoyed every step of My Novel Freshman Experience journey!

Holly

PS Just in time for Thanksgiving, another school story...this one from a PTA mom's point-of-view. Once Upon a Thanksgiving is on sale!

Back to School—My Novel Freshman Experience

School starts for me on the 23rd.  Yep, I'm going back to school!  I'm so excited.  I wanted to finish my summer's work before classes started, and the face jug in the video was my final project.  I know some of you have said they're ugly...and they are.  That's the point really.

Why do I like making something ugly?  Well, I think they're kind ugly-cute.  But more than that, for me their a way to connect to my history.  I've been working on-and-off on a family tree for a few years and I've found I have deep Appalachian roots.  And face jugs, though they've been discovered in Mesopotamia, have deep mountain roots.  I like that connection.  My son asked for one.  I made two, so he'll get his choice.

I am just taking once class again, and yes, it is a Ceramics Class again.  LOL  At this rate, I'll have finished my first freshman term by next summer.

So this might not be the fastest degree in history.  Frankly, I have no clue what degree I ultimately want.  But I'm having fun and that is a big part of why I'm back to school.  And I'm learning so much.  

What did my first term teach me?  I love ceramics as much as I thought I would.  If you've read, Just One Thing, you'll see a bit of my longing for a pottery class.  But more than that, I'm loving the freedom of clay.  I am not an expert, and I don't expect to be.  I'm experimenting.  I'm trying new things.  Those Santas were inspired by my father-in-law.  He carved his in wood.  I tried to replicate some of them.  And then I expanded and made my own.    Those small jugs with the weird mold looking splotches?  Those were an experiment.  I've done a lot of black and I'm trying more colors.


But more than all that, my first year back at school reminded me how much I love learning.  I mean love it.  I don't know a lot about much, but I know a little about a ton of things.  As a writer, that's important.  When I wrote that pottery scene in Just One Thing, I'd never wedged clay.  I researched it and tried to translate it.  Those bits of lots of things work their way into my stories.

So what are my goals this term?  To get better.  I started wheel throwing over the summer.  I am better than when I started, but I'm not good...I want to get better.  And I want to do more carving.  I've discovered I really like that aspect of claying.  I'd like to make at least one container with a lid.  And I really want to play with glazing and underglazing.  I started painting because of the claying.  I want to work more on how to translate one art to the other and back again.  That picture above of a small jug I made trying to replicate the Erie beach scene I'd painted.

Back to school!

I'm so happy!

I plan a lot of claying this fall!

And maybe that's my biggest lesson...the one I want to share with all of you.  I think I've found the true fountain of youth...never stop learning.  Maybe your thing isn't ceramics.  Maybe it's a real class.  Maybe it's painting.  Maybe it knitting.  Maybe it's a lecture on history.  Maybe...

Whatever it is it's individual, but I hope whatever your Maybe is you find it and love learning about it!

So keep an eye out for more of My Novel Freshman Experiences.  Just think, in a couple years, I might be writing about My Novel Sophomore Experience!  LOL

Holly

Polished Off

PS. Don't forget my new release Polished Off: A Maid in LA Mystery is out! Check out Quincy's newest adventure!

And there's a salespalooza this month. Check out:
Just One Thing
Hold Her Heart
Everything But...series

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Life Inspires: My Novel Freshman Experience

When I write, I draw from my life.  If you hang out with me here, or on social media, you might recognize tidbits from my life in my books.  Just One Thing was set primarily on Mondays and most weeks start with me wishing social media friends Monday Glee.  Carry Her Heart's heroine is a writer and a kindergarten story lady...yep, on both counts for me.  One of my early books, Fairly Human, is the last book in a series about a writer's fairy godmother characters coming to life.  If you ever read Heinlein, you might recognize his idea that well-loved characters really exist.  That book that I grew up in inspired my own twist on that theory.

Briar Hill Road was probably the most autobiographical book to date.  Oh, it's fiction, but we lost my mother-in-law to breast cancer, and in so many ways this book was an homage to her as well as me finding my way through that loss.

My life also is inspiring my ceramics class.  My father-in-law carved wooden Santas.  When I started the term, I gave myself the theme, Folk Art. (No, that was required in Ceramics II.  You just had to come up with seven projects.  Go ahead and roll your eyes that I added an element on to the requirement...my kids did. LOL) And of course, his Santas became an inspiration for me.  He was truly an artist...a folk artist. I told myself I could come close.  And the first few I made were directly inspired by what he did.  But now I'm branching out and doing some of my own design (that one in the top picture).  But he inspired them. 

I also made two face jugs.  Someone told me they were ugly, and they are. But that's the point....

"In the early part of the 19th century the form was adopted by white potters. The practice of making face jugs spread thoughout South Carolina and into Georgia, North Carolina and other states...The purpose of the jugs also evolved. The face jug became known as ugly jugs in the 1920's and was often used to store alcohol. The jugs became uglier in an attempt to identify the contents and frighten children." Chattanooga State Education

I've talked about finding out and exploring my Appalachian family history.  I loved doing these jugs...it helped me feel connected to these generations of people I never met. 

My FIL's Santa

I don't think we can disconnect from our life and our past.  It inspires us in so many ways. As I work in the studio, I love taking what my father-in-law did and adapting it to what I'm doing, or exploring family I've never known and learning their past through my pottery. As I write, I love adding small tidbits of my real life in my fiction.  My past inspires my present which leads me to my future...I love that continuity!  And if you've been following my Novel Freshman Experience posts you're going to see a direct inspiration in my new work-in-progress.  Stay tuned.

If you have a moment, I hope you'll check out one of my books.  There are a bunch on sale this month.  And you can see if you can find any of my real-life inspirations in them!

Holly

Another one of my FIL's Santas

Hold Her Heart
Just One Thing
Everything But...series
Fairly Human
Pickup Lines