Pushing my Limits...My Novel Freshman Experience, Part 20

   Wow, twenty posts on going back to school.  I'll do one more wrap up blog on it this term.  (I'm taking Ceramics 2 next term, so there will be more!  The Hobbit Hole is still in the kiln so I'll showcase that one on the last post.)             


We're glazing now.  And my pieces are coming out of the kiln. 

I'll confess, it's like Christmas.  I know how I wanted them to look, but I've never done it before so it's a surprise!  The uncertainty of glazing is pushing my comfort zone.  You see, I like to know what's coming up.  I like having a plan.  I can plan all I want with glazing, but it's still a crap shoot.  I can look at chips of how a glaze reacts to our clay body, but there are variables and even experienced potters can be surprised by a glazing result.   

I'm doing my report on Rob Barnard, I've talked about him before.  (You can read the post here.)  His career is built around controlled chaos.  He can plan and bring to a project his years of experience, but things still just happen.   “A key dimension of Barnard's aesthetic has been a tolerance for the slight irregularities and imperfections engendered by the wood-firing, and this new work goes a step further. The shows inclusion of a number of cracked and dented works indicates a Zen-like acceptance of all of nature's workings, not merely those that suit the preset needs of man. The results are highly poetic." (Rob Barnard by Alice Thorson, City Paper, Washington, April 26, 1991)   


So, I glazed my cups trying to be free and not worry.  I experimented.  And even though my Kiln Goddess's arms fell off, I'm confident I can glue them back in place.  And maybe I love her just a little more because she's damaged.   
           

        I tried for a bit more control with my teapot and Hobbit Hole, realizing that glazing effects can surprise even the most experienced potter, like Barnard and Professor H.  I'm hoping for the best. The  professor was very patient answering my repeated questions.    

And my teapot (the quote on the back is from Carry Her Heart...the heroine's garden was the inspiration) I really wanted the matte, rough tree look for the body, but the glossy, color for the flowers, butterfly and leaf on the lid.  I'm so pleased with how it turned out.  


So here's what I'm walking out of class with...a renewed effort to push my own limitations; to push my personal status quo; to experiment.  To find glee in even my failures.  So this class not only gave me an entry into earth art, but it also pushed me to try to relax my expectations.  I wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving! And thanks for being so sweet and following me on this new journey! I'm already so excited about next term!  

Holly   

PS If you missed any of my Novel Freshman Experience posts, here are links:
Part 19, Part 18,  Part 17, Part 16,  Part 15, Part 14, Part 13, Part 12, Part 11, Part 10, Part 9, Part 8, Part 7 Part Six, Part 5, Part 4, Part 3, Part 2, Part 1

My Novel Freshman Experience, Part Eight...Freedom

So it turns out I cared more about grades than I thought.  I got an A on my first test and I will confess, I felt a spurt of glee. So yes, I guess I care.  But I do hope that coming back to grades after a few decades means that while I might enjoy an A, I appreciate even more that I learned a lot.  Some of the clay brands I might need to look up in the future, but I understand the difference between slip, plastic clay, leather hard and bone dry clay.  It's all greenware, but it's very different.  And you know, I do love the idea different but the same.

So we're working on our coil pot.  My idea got approved, though I need to have more emphasis on different shapes, so one of my ovals became a rectangle.  We talked about underglazes and textures.  I already experimented with an acorn texture that gave me glee, and I have an idea for the other half I can't wait to try.

I talked in my last school blog about INTENT when I'm working on a book, or a pot.  Today, as we went through our project ideas in class, I thought about how there was more to writing/pottery than intent.  Both art and books require a sense of IMAGINATION.  And today's sketch was like a synopsis I might send to an editor.  It's the basic idea for what I want to do...the end product of my intent and imagination.  But I know as I begin to work I want the FREEDOM to change direction...to see that something's not working and try another path.  Or to see that something that does work, but is too predictable and change directions...choose the road less traveled.

I love that PH, my instructor, seems to honor that idea of freedom.  As he listened to people's project ideas, he made sure they stayed on point, and gave a ton of helpful suggestions, but also gave everyone a lot of freedom with what they wanted to do.

In both my writing and my pottery (or any of the crafts I pursue) I approach them with the knowledge that once I set it free, what a reader/viewer sees is totally independent of anything I've done.  And while I've just acknowledged that I'm hoping for a good grade, I'll also admit that I know that's not what matters the most.  What matters is following through on my vision.  

I'm a true novice with ceramics—in some ways I feel as if I'm back at the beginning of my writing career.  I know what I want to accomplish, but I may not have the experience and breadth of knowledge to carry it out flawlessly.  That won't stop me from trying.  And I hope that as I grow in the ceramic arts, people will see that growth in a tangible way.  Just as if you pick up one of my early books, like I Waxed My Legs for This? you'll see the humor and my joy at writing, but when you pick up a more recent book like Hold Her Heart, you'll see my skill at execution has grown.  I hope you enjoy both, but if you think my writing has never changed and grown...well, I'd be doing something wrong. LOL

Oh, and if you pick up Just One Thing, I hope you see both my growth as a writer, but also my love of crafts.  I've wanted to learn pottery for a very long time and that longing is very much present in the story (when a reader asked me if I was a potter...I felt so gleeful that I'd done those scenes alright).  That's the thing about writing, it allows me to live out my dreams and hopefully take the reader along for the journey.

Holly

PS.

If you've missed any Novel Experience posts, you can find them here...
Part Seven, Part Six, Part Five, Part Four, Part Three, Part Two, Part One

Happy Valentine's!!

February Release View this email in your browser Today is Shrove Tuesday.  Here in Northwestern PA, we celebrate with Fast Naught Kuchen.  I was up early making ours, then went delivering!  Hope you're doing something fun today! And I hope you have something special and fun planned for Valentine's Day!!  I think we're going to an RV show.  Yeah, I know, you're not surprised that a romance author would do something so over-the-top romantic for the big day!  Speaking of fun:

Just in time for Valentine's!!  I have a new release—an anthology of previously published short stories—and two of my bestselling, award winning books are on sale!   My new release is a collection of my previously published short stories and a novella.  I know everyone's busy and sometimes you don't have time for a full novel.  I'm hoping on a day like that, you'll reach for :  Short Stories for the Overworked and Under-Read.  And on Sale: My Award-Winning book, Carry Her Heart, is on sale for 99¢.  Also on sale...my WLVH Radio series!  These were some of my earliest books.  But they were a good time!  Oh, and a bit of an Easter Egg, the dog in Night Calls was inspired by our Old English Mastiff at the time! Pickup Lines Lovehandles Night Calls Laugh Lines And I didn't forget my friends on the other side of the pond! In the UK NEW RELEASE:  Short Stories for the Overworked and Under-Read  ON SALE:  Just One Thing on sale for 99¢. Wish you all a very Happy Valentine's!  Thank you everyone who's picked up a copy of These Three Words! I've so appreciated all the lovely comments and reviews! And keep and eye out in March, one of my early, classic romances is finally coming out as an eBook! Watch for A Day Late and a Bride Short! (It's available for pre-order now.)  It's a modern day MOC (marriage-of-convenience). Holly

Word of 2015...STRETCH!!

I love New Years!  It's a time to look at who you are and decide who you want to be.  Every year I try to move a little closer to my ideal self.  And rather than New Year's resolutions, I've using a word of the year as a touchstone.  I've been using a word of the year for...well, years now!  It's nice to see that the trend is catching on!  Yep, that's me...a trendsetter!  LOL

I've had words like last years, Step as well as Optimism, Change, Awareness, Moment...

I pick a word, post it prominently on my desk and try to use it as a focus for the year.

I've been mulling 2015's word for a while now and hit upon it last night as I was drifting off to sleep.

Drumroll please.

The word is...STRETCH.  Like last year's Step, the word has both physical and mental applications.

Physically, I'm hoping to try to add a bit of yoga to my daily 10,000 step routine.  I'd like to become more limber and flexible.

I'd like to become more limber and flexible in my inner life as well!  I want to step out of my comfort range and try new things.  I want to expand my way of thinking and try to look at things from a new perspective.

Yes, I like the word Stretch!  It makes a great word to center my year around!

I think I'll need that limberness as I look at my year's schedule!  I've got three releases (Carry Her Heart in April, Her Second Chance Family in August, and The Way We Used to Be in November).  I've started scheduling speaking gigs...there's Ohio and NY so far.  I've got a lot of books to write for 2016.  And I have some family trips planned...a cruise and in the fall, my husband and I are meeting my best friend and her husband in Florida!  Yep, I think that a bit of limberness is in order!

How about you?  Do you have a word of the year??

Holly