rain, rain, rain

RAIN AND GARDEN 

It's raining, it pouring & it's sticking around. I feel like i'm getting a glimpse into what it would be like to live in Seattle. I love the rain, but i don't like it when the weather keeps me cooped up inside all the time, and my outside day job selling plants becomes so slow it makes you wonder how the business is doing. I don't like it that everyone around me is complaining about the rain. I love the rain and have no control over it and I'm good with that. For the most part my garden loves it with the exception of a few things that are struggling, my avocado tree, olive tree and penstemon, but everything else has grown more this year than any other here. The ants and mosquitos could leave town, I have noticed a little bit of a difference in the mosquito population lately because of all of the spiders/webs in the garden. Chloe has gotten so big that the last time she hung out outside on her pear tree, she walked too far out on the branch and it broke. I was a bit bummed because it was one of the only branches that had a baby pear on it, poo. But i'm glad the branch didn't break and fall, it held on as i rushed over to save her. 

SUPPORT AND EXCHANGES 

I've felt pretty supported in my ceramics this year which is nice. I get compliments whenever i wear my necklaces, which is like everyday now. I guess i've always worn necklaces, it's just lately they are ceramic and make me jingle and in the past they've been more fiber based like knitted or sewn. I'm excited to be working on my first artist trade with someone I don't know in person. I'd really like to do more of these moving forward. Exchange stuff we're both currently working on in a package of goodies like the ones you got at camp or from pen pals or a grandmother. I was going to include a ceramic necklace, ceramic chillum, tie dyed bag, a drawing/screen print/painting, maybe a macrame keychain. I was planning on heading up to The Mud Hut later and painted my stuff that came out of the kiln yesterday or at least starting to paint it. Painting always takes longer than I think with the 3 coat rule. 

STYLE 

It's raining cats and dogs outside, that is such a weird saying. But hey it's raining. It's so dark in here, it looks like 6am. I've been playing around with necklace cord ideas. Paracord, tie dyed paracord, knitted cord, lanyard braided plastic cord, leather cord is what i've tried so far. Tried some hollow circle shapes lately. I have my first 2 fired and ready to paint and a third I still need to finish, Like hollow donuts. I like them, they remind me of artifacts from an ancient civilization or hieroglyphs made into form or those Pokemon hieroglyphs, the unknowns. I've also really been liking happy faces, my usual squiggles and shapes, dome lump shapes, pizza, bananas and palm trees. It's funny, I have two very distinctive styles right now in my ceramics, one is natural colors browns, indigo deep blue, leather, artifact shapes and the other is bright neon green and pink, shiny reflective material, plastic and paracord, 90's/70's icon shapes, tropical, karaoke, unnaturally colored hair like pink, purple, green, blue, 80's and 90's fabric and patterns.

Optimistic

Feeling really positive and excited about my ceramics lately. My husband has been keeping us diligently creative even when I get home from my plants day job. Like last night he had the little drawstring bags I got the other day all laid out with the tide dye and rubber bands ready to go. We got them all tied up and dyed up. I'll be using them as part of my packaging moving forward for my necklaces. I need to find or make some larger bags for multi bead necklaces. I love how much my husband has really taken to fabric dying. 

I got some paracord to start using and some to tie dye. I need to get some more colors and play around with macrame knotting with my beads. 

I'm In love with dan deacons song "when I was done dying". It's made me think of lyrics and stories and the nobrow art books. 

It's weird wet north west weather in east Texas this spring, Making work kind of slow. the weather can get to me at times but my garden is for the most part loving the weather which I'm happy for. 

I'd really love to work with some other artist. Like both create something based on the same idea or theme and exchange some stuff. Interested email me eveneve@rocketmail.com 

Spring

Spring is in full swing here in east texas. A lot of rain this year. For the most part my garden is loving it, my avocado tree not so much. Had a nice day off yesterday. Sold and shipped my first bead to Florida. Felt laid back and not stressed which is nice and not normal for me. Been really encouraged in my different artistic outlets via the people in my life and Instagram. I started a bigcartel to put some of my beads out there. I made 2 cactus beads on my new outside studio table we found at a local thrift store we had never been to before and had the chance to start a watercolor.

 I've been spending as much time as possible in my garden. We arranged everything around the camp fire this year, most of my plants I keep in containers. My favorites this year have been the bleeding heart, drift roses, coral salvia, oak leaf hydrangea, hummingbird mint, peach and pear trees which are bearing fruit this year, lavender, bluebonnets, pine one cactus, and my new olive trees I picked up in Austin last month. We made a rule to try and not watch tv before 8pm and try to spend time outside and being creative. 

Jamin and I occasionally play around musically together. Songwriting and music are one of his main creative pursuits. He's always been into music that could be described as weird or experimental, electronic stuff. So we're putting more time into it lately. He recently ordered me a korg midi keyboard to use with my Animoog app. It's fun and interesting to hear what we come up with with me not having much of a music background or understanding. Our band is called Mermaid Hair, hopefully it's not already taken, I did some research and didn't find anything. 

This year has had its hard bits but they feel like they are smoothing out.  It's been a really rewarding and actively creative year including screen printing, music, ceramics, watercolor, fabric tie dying, drawing, tattoos, sewing, knitting, spinning yarn. Looking forward to continuing creating, and becoming more motivated in getting out there with my art. 

December is here

Hi, hello out there. It had warmed up into the 70's since our first freezing temperatures and cooled back down in a matter of hours this morning. I'm hanging out in an old house from the 1940's with a room full of poinsettias, Ready to welcome December here.

I cooked for the first time for thanksgiving this year, a corn casserole and green bean casserole that I took to thanksgiving with my coworkers. The hit dish of the evening was german style red cabbage, sweet and tangy with cloves and other spices that make it smell like this time of year, warm and good. 

I've been knitting more this year since my friend Julie started a weekly knitting group. I'm working in my fifth pair of adult socks, a finished a pair of mittens yesterday and got inspired to make baby socks like the ones I saw on the Wiksten blog. Something about cold weather makes me eager to knit, I guess because it's the time when you can use what you make, it being cold and all.

 Last month I took a ceramics class, I'm in love with clay. Still a bit of a novice at glazing but I made a bunch of beads, a few spoons & a small planter intended for a succulent or cactus. I was so happy to hear about the class. I'd looked into finding a ceramics class within an hour if where I live to no avail. Then this summer we starting going to the gathering and one of the ladies who was there that night owns one of those pottery painting places and was offering a free ceramics class at the Methodist church downtown. Thanks God! I can't wait to start going by her place and making more stuff since she charges by the item to fire stuff, I don't need to wait till I own a kiln.