Reflections

This past year was a blur all the way around; job changes, impossible deadlines for contracted work, medium changes, busy family of five, family relocation which also meant a business move as well.  We knew it was gonna be a crazy one. Most of it we planned well in advance.  While the latter half of the year we spent getting acquainted with our new surroundings and settling into a new routine with busy daughters and their activities.  There was not as much time for creating within my new studio as I had hoped but I did find areas to share my abilities in new communities I found around me.  The end of the year was met with a big sigh and a sense of accomplishment.  We Made It!
The first of this year I had the opportunity to spend with my Mom in her home in Florida with some quiet.  Time to think of things I still needed to finish from the past year and focus on ideas and lists of goals I want to put before me for the new year.  It looks as though it is going to be yet another busy year.  I don't know that I would know how to deal with things any other way, really.  I have my goals and wish lists and I fully support my girls and husband in their wishes and activities as well which only makes for a very full calender.
I project it is going to be a different kind of year though.  I am going to do more writing I think, more pondering upon the pages.  I am going to write notes and create as I go, but I don't intend to be "open for business" for much of this year.  Maybe the entire year.  For those of you who are always interested in my work and where it is available I will have to be contacted directly.  But not with commissions and requests please.  I really want to spend this year diving into my own... Sculptures that I have only been dreaming of, pottery designs that express something just a bit different, fabric and fiber arts that are started from scratch with blank slates that are hand dyed and painted before they are turned into something else entirely.  I want to spend this year in full experiment with my work and with myself and see just what flows forth.
Stay tuned for posted tidbits to let you know of the fun, the not so fun and any progresses.  Happy New Year! -Regi

Dream Safe

  I was always safe, dreaming about the artistic future I wanted to have.  A little studio and shoppe of my own. Space in which I could devote to all my creative ventures.  A sewing room where I could surround myself with lush fabrics and bright colors in which to build bags and quilts.  A mud room for clay work including a wheel and slab table,  kilns for all the finishing and of course time. Time to work, play, create and build a place people want to visit. A place people come to seek unique gifts for family and friends.  A haven for some who want to create along side me.  A place to play into the person I want to be.  The dream is grand to say the least.
  I stand looking at packing boxes.  Packing up all the notes I have made over all the years of what type of kilns, the sewing machine I'd love to own, and even the types of dessert I would serve up during our late evenings.  The details of the dreams can be overwhelming.  Now, I am here on the threshold, packing up to move that much closer to this dream.  I have chosen the spot in the mountains where I would like nothing more than to build this dream and put it out in reality and we are headed directly there.  A new town, a different home, the girls growing into their own.  In a matter of a few short months I will have to face me. Even my youngest will be headed off to school this year ready to take the world by storm.  My time to build and work on such dreams I have noted for all these years will be free to formulate from the pages of the notebooks into the present.  I will have run out and exhausted all excuses to hold back and put it off just one more year and stay safe within the dream of it all.
 I move each day closer, and I note, it does not feel as safe anymore; outside the dream.   -Regi

Looking Forward

We knew when we came back to this area that this would be a temporary transition.  We made that clear from the start.  We had some family to catch up with and some things to finish before we moved again but we knew that we would not be planting ourselves here for any great length of time.   One of the reasons that we have not ventured into a shop or store front while being here.  We were in wait, but now that time has come.  Long hard hours of thought and prayer have gone into finding our newest adventure setting.  With all things considered, Johnson City, Tn is our choice in what we will call home next.  This move will bring a whole new opening to our timeline.  Hoping to settle for some time, build new business, and get the kids through school nestled in the mountains of Tn.  We project our move to be in June and then the rooting will begin and there will be a whole new life for us and A Peac-A Work.

Trusted Companion

  

  Steady, Constant, Workhorse, Dependable, these are just a few of the words that come to mind when I think of my trusted companion; my SINGER.  I remember finding this machine at a yard sale when I was just seven.  I think we paid fifteen dollars for it, and Mom thought it was a great thing.  Little did we know then it would long outlast her fancy new machine that she wanted to keep me from. 

  I had to take some time today to clean this machine.  It was slowing as the morning drug on clear it was in need of some maintaining attention.  Taking a pause in my current project I carefully swept out the dust and oiled all the right spots to remove the clatter than had crept in over the past month or so.  Checking the belt tension and putting it back upright I was flooded with memories I have made with this machine.  Doll Clothes, Favorite Shirts and Skirts, My Prom Dress, A Wedding Dress along with Brides maid’s dresses all made with this machine.  Then the baby clothes and baby quilts for each one that came along. Party dresses, Easter and Christmas dresses; I think I may remember each and every one coming full circle with teaching my daughters how to make doll clothes of their own.  Thirty –six years I have worked with this trusted machine by my side always knowing it would get me through yet another project; another masterful memory.

All in the Mark

I was standing just a minute and waiting with my daughter to get an autograph after seeing Broadway's Jekyll and Hyde, when it hit me just how much there is in "The Signature".  More than identity, who we call ourselves, it is our mark.  The imprint we leave most on this world.  Usually the first thing we learn to write as youngsters it is ours to share for a lifetime.  I know my mark has undergone many transformations.  Born a Regina, I was quickly given the nickname Reggie.  I grew up knowing that was who I was.  In and around my high school years I wanted to make it more my own and I dropped the final e.  Proudly signing all my art projects as Reggi.  When again in college as I continued to study art and work within my own creativity it changed again.  I began signing as Regina but usually you could only make out the  first four letters as the remainder faded out, which is now my signature; Regi.  As a potter, your mark is everywhere.  I have been asked over the years numerous times about my signature or mark.  Some pieces have slipped through without my mark but from hours of thought (probably too much) and lots of practice I have worked hard on the signature as well as trying to figure out where to leave it.  Painters usually sign their work in the bottom corner or underneath depending on the type of framing that will be happening.  Ceramists (Clay People) have a number of ways to mark their work.  Their name on the bottom of the work, lower side of the work,  some incorporate it and make it part of the work.  Some don't use a name at all but a "Mark"  be it a stamp, or set of symbols that are used to identify the work to it's individual.  I have tried most of these options over the years. Depending on the mood at completion of the project or simply experimenting in different looks.  Not to long ago I was prompted again to "sign your work and be proud of it" when a friend was looking at a piece where my signature had been covered by the glazing process.  At that time I did not think to much of the reminder, but when I was standing in that moment waiting with my daughter.  waiting just for someone's signature.  It dawned on me that it really might be something I should make more of a priority.  Not that my signature will ever create lines of waiting fans, but it will mean something to someone who has a piece of my work. And it certainly should mean something to me.  signed proudly - Regi

Housekeeping

Sometimes all I want to do is play in the studio.  Forget everything but me and the mud!  Lately there has not been time for any creating in the clay corner.  It is all still in the middle of transition and just not quite ready for major production.  But there is always plenty to do.  The whole picture has a "to do" list a mile long. One such item on the list has been the website.  The program I use to keep up our website has undergone some upgrades and changes.  All for the better, and I am excited about some of the new offerings, however it means that I have been needing to spend some real time in getting all our things re-listed within the new format. That is time I have been avoiding.  To give myself that kind of time in front of the computer just does not seem reasonable sometimes. I really need to change my thinking around this type of work.  I do know it is necessary housekeeping for the business end of things, And so it begins; housekeeping on the website. In a couple of days I hope to unveil the new and improved.  It will feature an updated look, new shop, cart and the ability to narrow your viewing by categories.  Hopefully - if I get it all right!  Just in time for the upcoming holiday season.  Wish me luck!   -Regi

Mishaps!

Studio work can be tricky sometimes.  Like moving bone dry work from one area to another OR kiln loading can occasionally end with in mishap.  Knowing this is precisely why my husband is ban from my clay studio space.  He has a fantastic way of putting his finger through something that has just come off the wheel or apply to much pressure when picking up the fragile bone dry work that is awaiting the kiln loading and having it crumble right in his hands.   Knowing full well he, (or any other culprit), does not mean to damage the work in hand, but wishing all the while they would just leave things alone.  It is hard enough not to make my own blunders altering a piece of work right into recycle bin.  Too often curiosity just wins over. My latest casualty  at the hands of another culprit is my porcelain carved plate a work I will definitely have to replicate.  Honestly I do need the practice on plates and there is no better time than now.  -Regi

Push has come to SHOVE!

Back off, slow down, don't wanna have too much to move. That is what my logical mind told me.  NO, No, no: WRONG is what a trusted adviser told me!  "You need to arrive LOADED with fun, imaginative and new work for the ready".  Once it was put out there it did make so much more sense to me.  Although now I feel like I am way behind on the jump.  So with push come to shove: I am changing mode again now resorting to make room for the wheel and making my wish list for the supply run next week, all the while I am going over and over the sketches I have been diligently making not to loose these thoughts along the way of a year packing clearing out the closets.  I cannot wait!!!!  It has been weeks.  I miss the smell of the clay! I am so excited and I am gonna get started with the 100 mug challenge!  While I make some needed new clay tools for impressions and patterns! A perfect way to resume work I think!  -Regi

Push

Some times in life we get comfortable.  We go to the closest grocery not because it is the one we like to shop in but it is close and we are saving in gas, right?  Or we get into a routine in our work that just follows a pattern of doing , or worse yet shadowing someone else's  doing and not really taking on our own.  This can be playing it safe in so many ways, especially in art and creativity. Some times we need that push.  That nudge to get things moving in ones own direction.  It is not always an easy thing to take though.  It can come as a shock, or a jolt.  However it has showed up for me over the years it never stops me from taking a look at where I am at present and making changes where needed.  In my creative life there have been several changes over this past year.  Some changes were of my own doing, some as a need to get out routine that suddenly showed up as a rut.  And although change can be hard and transitions are not always quick, I am sitting  mid-swing of some of the bigger changes and it feels like I am heading in a good direction.  Slowing down in some production was a very hard choice to make for right now but I think this time next year I will appreciate the choice and be ready to relocate and set up a new and make some new things happen.  Thanks for the push and here is to the future! -Regi

Generations

I am sitting in my sewing room today and while I am working on a wall hanging that will be quilted.  I stop to look at the fabrics, notice the colors, feel the fibers and it strikes me that some might think this an odd twist in things to put together, I see generations.  There are two, definitely, maybe even three generations of creativity before me in my family.  My Mother; who sewed and introduced me to thinking outside the lines when I was making things on my own, was alive in music.  Singing was her passion, dentistry was her profession.  She now uses her attention to detail to create wonderful silver wearable art work still sews with me as we share ideas for quilts.  My Grandmother, who also helped teach me to sew as a young girl, created her own world of vibrant life through color in paintings that adorn homes around the world today.  While her work was on canvas, she loved the work of the potter.  I remember from my earliest days that she had a pottery collection that fascinated me.  When I visit her home there is always an abundance of colors and textures, on the walls in her paintings, in the dishes and pottery pieces that were around and her choice of fabrics on the furniture all the way down to  the carpets on the floor;  a feast for my senses.  I know that my Great Grandmother had a creative vibe in her life as well.  I see so many of these influences in this one piece.  I definitely see how these generations of creative women have shaped my own directions of creativity.  I would not have it any other way.

 -Regi

Unexpected

With limited time each week that I can devote to being in the studio, I often go into the studio on Thursday mornings with a plan of what it is I want to do for the day.  Some mornings it is as simple as knowing if I am going to throw on the wheel or spend some time hand building.  Other days I go in with a specific goal or creation in mind. This particular morning I had a very specific idea of what it was I wanted to accomplish.  I had some remnants of clay bags that I wanted to clean out and use up before I purchased  any new materials.  I also knew I wanted to do some hand building with a  two textured vase  in mind.  All began well as I rolled out my slabs found my texture and  began to  assemble my pieces  on the base I had ready.  Then oops! I stood it up  and as I was sealing my seams, it slumped to one side.I scrambled to straighten it  then walked away from it to look for something that would help me support it on the inside while I  worked on the outside.  It slumped again. Sometimes that is all it takes.  Walking away from a piece  and looking at it from a different angle to see what it really needs.  Or in this case see what  it is calling to be.  As I returned from across the room I knew instantly what I was going to do with that slump and bulge that was emerging from my form.  If I had been stuck in my thinking that day I would have completely missed this.  I gave it another bulge and a belly full of life.  She quickly came to life. It felt like she emerged  almost on her own.   I love this piece for so many reasons one of them being a huge reminder that sometimes I need to put my own agenda aside and listen; letting  my work speak to me.    

Welcome to the Blog

A Peac-a Work was developed from a need to create:

  

I have been building and designing things from my earliest memories.  I remember things like building cars and buses from boxes.  My friends and I "drove" up and down the driveway for hours a day until there was nothing left of them.  I remember designing new clothes for my dolls.  Then there was my Girl Scout Troop, I was eight and the couple who were our troop leaders were working artists during their day jobs.  I thought that was the coolest thing ever.  Paris was their last name and I remember he was a graphic artist, who loved drawing detailed cartoons (at that time as a hobby), and she was a textile designer.  I remember her sharing with me one of her fabric painting techniques.  I loved it ALL instantly.  It was like finding a new connection to myself.  At summer camp that year I had the experience of making several coil pots and firing them in a pit we dug in the ground.  Although I no longer have those little treasures, I remember them well.  I loved the feel of the clay in my hands, the smell, and how cool it was when it was still damp.  I remember the smoke spots that appeared to dance on the surface of the clay once it was fired.  It was like speaking a whole new language for me; a whole new way of expression.

As time moved on; I studied art whenever I had the chance.  I studied ceramics and design in college (my first time around) but as life sometimes has it, other things took over and I moved onto another path.  Over the years I always went back to being creative when I had the chance.  I was learning to do more with sewing, taking classes in basket weaving, and returning to pottery when I was able - knowing clearly that clay was always my first love.

Today I still love learning new things that help me grow more as a person.  As I continue to do that, I have discovered I am creating more peace within my life by becoming more closely acquainted with my creative nature.  A Peac-A Work was born of this thought.  I wanted an outlet for all of my works to be shared with family and friends as well as others that enjoy the craftsmanship of handmade arts.  A Peac-A Work features the work of several artists that would like to share their creations with the world.  My hope is that you will get to know these artists and enjoy a piece of their work.  –Regi