After relocating twice, I have finally returned from wince I came, back home in good old Indiana. I haven't decided if I am happy about being sucked back in to the black hole, but I am content to be near my family and most of my friends.Two of the greatest things in South Bend are my beautiful niece Gabriella Alexis and handsome nephew Collin Patrick, born in July 2011 to my brother and his wife. The last six months has just been awesome, watching them grow and I can't wait to see what kind of people they will become. I am looking forward to teaching them all the things I know about and I can't wait to take them everywhere.
My life here in South Bend is just as busy as ever, between the new job with all the new responsibilities, trying to reconnect with friends and family, making a strong effort to get into shape and playing in with clay, I don't have much time for anything else, but I try to squeeze in more.
Starting January 14th, 2012, I will be teaching an introductory ceramics class at Moon Tree Community Studios on the Ancilla College Campus just west of Plymouth, Indiana. I am very excited that I have an opportunity to start sharing my knowledge with others. I can't wait to share my passion for getting dirty and creating functional and unique art. I am also working on setting up a class for children at Fire Arts Inc in South Bend, Indiana. Hopefully I will have more information about that class soon.
Besides teaching, I am also taking part in classes at Fire Arts Inc. This past fall I had my first introduction into High Fired Stoneware and Raku Firing. I learned a few lessons and hopefully will not make those mistakes again. I truly fell in love with Raku!! I am not one who likes to take time decorating the pottery for a glaze fire, but Raku just solves that problem. I've always loved Raku fired pieces, but now that I've created my own, I just can't wait to do more! Unfortunatly, most of the work I did this fall is not worth sharing, so I don't have any photos of finished pieces. They looked pretty awesome before I glazed them, but we had some problems with the glaze quality (first time I've used custom mixed glazes) and the kiln misfiring. I'm going to try and re-fire several pieces and maybe I'll be able to salvage them, keep your fingers crossed.
I am always full of ideas, I love being inspired to create new ideas and I love Inhabitat, a weblog devoted to the future of design, tracking the innovations in technology, practices and materials that are pushing architecture and home design towards a smarter and more sustainable future.
In the next 51 weeks I have set a few goals for myself:
- Create one craft item a week for a year
- Focus on losing the spare tire around my waist
- Develop my pottery skills
- Create a successful pottery class for kids and adults
- Become more confident in my abilities at work
- Take time to stay organized
- Buy a house and start making my own Home
