HollysWoods Pottery Studio Tour

I can't believe it's been less than a year since I set up my own pottery studio in the woods—appropriately named HollysWoods Studio. Yeah, I know it sounds like I make wooden products, but hey, a lot of my pieces look like wood, so I'm good with it.

I talked today about finding new passions...that sense of discovery and purpose can keep you young. At least, I'm pretty sure it keeps me young. (Young being a relative term. LOL)

Susan and I have touched on the topic in our Trippin' with Holly and Susan videos. You can find them all posted here.

I took this pandemic year off from school but I'm planning to take a few more classes next year. I've exhausted all the ceramics classes, so I'm pondering my next class. That first class, I wondered how the kids would feel about having a fellow student who was of an age (potentially older) than the professor, but they were great. I loved every minute. The idea of trying something else new is so exciting, so I'm anxious to get back to school. Who knows what new passions I'll find. Of course, between family, writing and potting, there aren't many hours left in my day...but I find Time is like a good pair of leggings...it stretches as needed. LOL

Check out the video and tour. Tallulah would not be ignored.  I still have a few things up on Etsy, but to be honest, I think I'm transitioning away from it. I've sold most of my pieces to people one-on-one. I may set up just a page on my website with pieces that are available. I'm going to do more research. 

Holly

 Hometown Hearts:

Crib Notes: Hometown Hearts #1

Kindle, Nook, Kobo, iBook

A Special Kind of Different: Hometown Hearts #2

Kindle, iBook, Kobo, Nook

Homecoming: Hometown Hearts #3

Kindle, Kobo, IBooks, Nook

 

Suddenly a Father: Hometown Hearts #4

Kindle, Kobo, Nook, iBooks

Preorder: Something Borrowed: Hometown Hearts #5

Available 1/5/21

Kindle, Kobo, Nook, iBooks

PREORDER: Something Blue Available 3/21

Kindle, Kobo, Nook, Apple Books

HollysWoodsStudio

Ouroboros...One thing leads to another and then back again.

 This truly fits into My Novel Freshman Experience territory. I worked last night on a few more slates.  They're not quite done, but I'm happy with the start of them. I'm doing a four season series. Summer and Autumn are here...winter and spring to go. 
I started trying my hand at acrylic paints on boxes, then canvas, now some slate.  I started because I wanted to figure out how to underglaze my pottery in a folk arty way.

And now, all that painting has led me back to my pottery.  I've done a few trees on some and now I'm going to do some bowls with flowers.  I'm still working at pulling a six inch wall...I can consistently get five inches.  So close...sigh.  A friend said I was doing good.  Not quite.  But even the pieces I'm making that are less than good are better than when I started. And they're giving me an opportunity to experiment without worrying about messing up a great piece. So I go round and round...literally on the wheel. Trying to get better and figure out new things.


This is how learning goes...at least for me.  I learn one thing, which makes me curious about something else, so I learn something about that and then...I'm like an ouroboros, the snake that at its own tail. My learning and interests go round and round. Eventually I end up back where I started.

That curiosity definitely impacts my writing.  I finished that first book in a new series and I'm starting the second book. (Keep your fingers crossed...I can't wait to tell you more about them!!)  I needed to figure out something new to make the story work and made a few calls and...  I'm sure the new information will lead me down unforeseen avenues, but odds are they'll probably just lead me back to the beginning again.

It's a little more than a month until the new term starts. I'm sure you'll be seeing more Novel Freshman Experience posts then. 

I hope you find something that captivates you as much as all this does for me.

Holly

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PS.

Polished Off

Speaking of going around in circles, Quincy's back and in some ways she's right back where she started.  So don't forget my new release Polished Off: A Maid in LA Mystery is out! Check out Quincy's newest adventure!

And Carry Her Heart is on sale, along with the 2nd book in the series, These Three Words.

As always, you can find my ebooks, paperbacks, hardbacks, audiobooks and available through Kindle Unlimited.  They're also available in a lot of other languages. I hope there's something for all of you!

Find my books at:

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Radish Fiction

iBooks

B&N

Google Play

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BAM

In Erie, you can find my books on the shelf at Werner Books! Stop in, check them out and tell them I said hi!

Finals: My Novel Freshman Experience

And thus it ends.

I'm just back from my "finals" day at school.  We didn't really have a final.  We simply critiqued our favorite pieces.  I took out my face jugs, my best Santas and my two mocha diffusion pieces.  I know most student cheer the last day of school.  I was not cheering.  I had such an amazing time this year.

I'll confess, I wasn't sure how the kids would react to having someone who was old enough to be their mom in class.  They were amazing.  Not only kind and inclusive, but some sought me out and hung with me on purpose.  In the mornings when I walked in, one of the boys teams was generally walking out and someone almost always held a door for me. My husband and I had a group of eight kids he knew from school to our house for dinner this term and that was my same impression—kind, smart and funny.  

But beyond that, the two classes (yes, I've finished half a term! LOL) introduced me to ceramics, which I've discovered is a true love I didn't know I had until September.  As someone who makes her living writing about love, I can recognize the real thing when I see it.  And that love of ceramics has led me to a love of painting.  I've been painting in order to get a feel for how to use underglazes on my ceramics.

And I knew I loved folk art, but all this has led me to wanting to learn more.  As a bookish person, I've course I've already ordered a couple books on folk art.

And...

Okay, that's a lot.  I have a friend on Facebook who refers to me as Renaissance Woman, or RW.  I smiled every time I see her use the term. I like to think that nickname means I like to learn things...and every new thing I learn leads to other new things I want to learn.  From ceramics, to painting, to folk art...  I have no idea where this will all lead, but I'm sure all of this will lead to other new things I want to explore.

Maybe that's the point.  I might have been old enough to be many of the kids' mom, but I like to think they could sense that I hadn't lost my sense of wonder.  I learned a lot about how to make the clay into the vision in my head, but I also learned that glazes have their own mind.  They're like magic.  And the entire process was wonderful!  The entire year was filled with so much gleeful learning on my part.

So, even though I don't have official classes until September, the biggest thing I learned is that learning never stops.  I'll continue learning this summer and take myself into class with wonder and of course a lot of glee this fall!

I'm putting up a bunch of pictures of this year's work...I can't wait to take on next year's projects!

Holly

PS.
Find my books at:

Amazon

Audible

Kobo

iBooks

BAM

Google Play

B&N

And check out your local bookstore...if they don't have them, ask!

In Erie, PA Werner Books is carrying them! Stop in and tell them I said hi!  

Work in Progress: My Novel Freshman Experience

There's a term that writers use...work in progress.  It's the book we're currently writing.  For instance, for all you Maid in LA lovers, I'm working on a second cozy mystery series right now.  That's my WIP.

But I think that WIP really describes all of us.  I think that going back to school this year has really reminded me of that.  I'm still loving ceramics.  But I started to think about decorating and realized I needed to have better painting skills to do realize some of my designs.  So I've been playing with painting.  Since what I do has a very folk art feel, that's what I wanted with my painting.  I started decorating some clementine orange boxes, and today I was working on an actual painting (the pictures at the top of the blog).  It's a (oh you know what I'm going to say) WIP, but I'm heartened by the fact that the elements are at least a bit recognizable.  I'm happy with my trees, which is a big goal, and I'm pretty happy that the quilts look quiltish.  I think it's clear that I have spring on my mind!

And quilts for that matter.  Remember those ceramic tiles I made?  Himself (my husband for those who don't hang out with me a lot) put together the frame for me today.  I hope to get them all mounted this week. 

I like to think that not only are the crafts I enjoy WIP's, but  that I am as well.  Every new craft I learn, every book I write, every book I read, all the people in my life, everything I do reshapes me in some way.  All of them alter my perception—some just a little bit, and some profoundly.  I like the idea that I'm not the same person I was years ago.  Oh, maybe some basics are still there, but I hope that all the years and experiences have added depth and layers.  Yes, I like thinking of myself as WIP.  I hope you do as well!

Holly

PS My love of crafts shows through in books like Christmas in Cupid Falls, A Simple Heart and Just One Thing.  I hope you'll pick them up!

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