A Quiet Day

I was minion-less today, so I head out to The Cottage. It was a quiet day. Just me and Tallulah. But for all that, it was full.

I started another clock. I have a better idea how to make the back, so I'm experimenting with that. I played with more textures and made more gnomes, some ornaments and another bear. I'll confess, I will never be a production potter. I really enjoy working on different things.

I worked in the quiet of the studio and thought a lot about John Lewis's passing. He was a great man who stood for what was right. Losing him diminishes the country.  He said, "We must continue to go forward as one people, as brothers and sisters."  That is my hope. That we put away the divisions and remember the things that bind us as a people.  I talk about the fact that we're all more alike than different in so many of my books. I hope we all find a way to remember that.

Tallulah the Coon Hound

I walked up to the cottage for lunch and brought a plastic container back down to the studio. Uh, Tallulah stole it. I remained stern, but on the inside I was laughing. She was so pleased with her prize. LOL I wasn't laughing later, when we were sitting on the studio's back porch and she spotted a mama raccoon with three babies. She was off like a shot and treed the entire family. Yes, my sheepdog things she's a coonhound. On a happy note, it took a few very stern, "Come," and "Leave Off," but she finally did both and we went to back to work.

I'm still working on tiles. All the experiments are going to become the backsplash in my studio. So today I picked some Queen Anne's Lace and other roadside wildflowers and tried them out as tiles. I feel like I'm getting better at transferring and carving them, but I'm still working out how to glaze them. I want enough color to show off the flowers and leaves, but not too much. LOL

Finally, I brought a few more pictures out to the studio and hung them. Someday in the not so distant future, there won't be much wall-space left. LOL One is by PA artist Jonas Bradford...I love it. I'm still watching for a Clementine Hunter. It'll be a print...I can't afford an original. LOL

My views in the studio and outside the studio are lovely and so inspiring!

I beat Himself home. It's so nice that The Cottage is just a bit more than a half hour from home. The drive gives me a bit of time to listen to a podcast. Today I was listening to Chuck Rosenberg's The Oath. He was interviewing Fiona Hill. She's led such an interesting life.

That's my day! Creative, inspiring, funny and quiet.

If you missed my latest Studio Tour, I'm reposting it here! And if you've missed any of my Hometown Hearts books, I hope you'll check them out!  ~Holly

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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PREORDER  Suddenly a Father: Hometown Hearts #4

Available in September

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On failure—My Novel Freshman Experience.

It's few weeks before school officially starts and you'll probably be seeing more of My Novel Freshman Experience posts then.  Yes, I'm still a freshman.  There's a good chance I won't be an official sophomore until next year.  Hey, I'm in no hurry. LOL

I've had some studio space this summer and I've still been arting.  I've been trying to throw on the wheel.  I am not great at it.  I am better than when I started.  I can consistently throw a 5 inch piece.  A few times I've hit 6 inches.  They're looking better.  But I still fizzle out.  The piece in the video started out as a cylinder...then it went south and became a bowl. Then I tore the edge...  SIGH.

Now, you'd think, that was an utter failure.

And it was.

But I thought the torn edge looked cool.  So I cut the rest of it, folded some back and turned it into a flower.  I've made a number of sunflowers this year, both painting and in bowls.  This one is different.  I used an underglaze.  We'll see how it looked. But even if it explodes, it was a fun piece to work on.  I tried some new techniques.  I broke one petal, then tried to repair it.  I learned from it.

That's what I wanted to say about failure, sometimes you learn more from a failure than a success.  Sometimes you don't.  But I try not to let the fear of failure keep me from trying something.  And when something fails, I like to look at it and see if there's something to be made from it or learned from it.

I'm so looking forward to getting back to official ceramics classes.  And I'm thinking about maybe taking two classes in the spring term.  Ceramics (I'm taking those until they kick me out) and an actual class.  Like with books. And reports.  And presentations.  After I got all giddy over doing the ceramics presentation, I suspect I'll enjoy the challenge.

So buckle up buttercup...we're heading back to school!!

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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