The action packed first few weeks of a New Year

 My family and I went to New Orleans for a family vacation Jan 2-9. It was fun. Not a place on my "go back to" list, but a great family adventure which was the whole point.

For my artistic curiosities in New Orleans, I looked up and visited a few pottery joints and the Ogden Museum of Southern Artists and the Scuplture Garden at the New Orleans Museum of Art. I went into quite a few galleries and an artists co-op in the French Quarter and perused a lot of art on the street. I found  a very talented young man and bought a print of his charcoal drawing of a parade on Royal Street.

We walked 30 miles around the city that week so we were pretty tuckered out when we got back to Pa. so we came home, layed on the couch and watched almost every previous episode of Downton Abbey with my daughter each night, drank a lot of wine and lamented that she would be going back to school within days.

My awesome niece Suzi came to visit and she and I and my daughter visited Isaiah's Magic Garden in Philadelphia. (ok, they call it Philadelphia's Magic Garden now because it became a non profit to save it from the bulldozer, but the city didn't build it, Isaiah did, so I'm still going to call it that!)

I bought clay while I was in Philly and a new glaze at The Ceramic Shop that I have never used  called "Magic Glaze" (how fitting) and that allegedly produces different results with almost every firing. Hmmm, can't wait to use it. I bought a gallon. $49 bucks! Hope I like it!

We spent the rest of the weekend binge watching more Downton Abbey with my daughter and niece drinking a lot of wine (did I say that already?) in our pajamas and  only surfaced into the world to take my neice to the movies for her first Dine-in Theatre experience, where we ate food and drank martini's and wine.

You may be wondering, since this is a blog about my artistic life, where does the art part come into this post?  Well, sadly for me, my daughter went back to school, my niece went back home to North Carolina, my husband went back to work after his long vacation and I have been at home again alone just  starting to rekindle the momentum of producing art and letting ya all know what I'm up to through the cyber world.

Now that all is quiet and I have returned into the studio, I have:

 *begun work on a new painting for that show in March which  I mentioned in my previous post.

Cat at Cafe du Monde in progress

 *spent a couple of afternoons making some cute little miniature houses which I intend to add to my wholesale catalog

These are not fired yet. I will post next week with the WIP

*Designed and printed postcards for upcoming March show

*Designed and printed new business cards.

* I've also begun a new relationship with Mala Galleria in Kennett Square where my pottery will be available for sale.

 
We got snowed in for a day during the great northeast Snowmageddon, so I did some baking and cleaning and purging of some closets and rooms.

My studio after round one still looking like springtime

My burnt pumpkin cheesecake. It still tasted good.

So there. See. It was action packed and I did do a lot despite the languishing around in pajamas watching television. (Sometimes a body just has to take time to rejuvenate) !

Today, as I work around the studio on my current painting , I am going to start another one as soon as I figure out what it will be.

Next week, I will post some works in progress in painting or clay or both. Gotta keep it going!

Resolutions and all that jazz

Resolution:

2. the act of resolving or determining upon an action, course of action, method, procedure, etc. 
3. a resolve; a decision or determination: to make a firm resolution to do something. Her resolution to clear her parents' name allowed her no other focus in life.

 I have no New Year's resolutions to announce.. Sorry if that disappoints you. I don't know why people bother, as it seems most often the resolutions to lose weight, travel the world, make $1 million or whatever seem to set us all up for inevitable failure.

I do have Plans and Hopes and Goals for 2016.

 Plans: (and Celebrations!)

1. To spend a weekend in Massachusetts and watch my beautiful daughter graduate from Hampshire College!

2. To go on a major trip with my husband to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary in November. We haven't decided where yet. We're thinking Japan, Thailand, New Zealand, maybe Europe, as I'm not sure my nerves can make the plane trip to the other side of the world.

Goals:

1. A new Millicent and the Faraway Moon Coloring Book that I'm working on right now

2.  A new Millicent book that deals with losing someone to illness

3. To create three or four new paintings for a show that I'm having in March at the Cecil County Arts Council

4. To develop limited edition lines of pottery for wholesale and retail

5. To revamp my website
 

6. To create paintings and launch a show featuring cats in locations which I have visited or want to visit

7. To be nore helpful to others less fortunate than myself

Wow, I am planning to busy and productive! Yay me!

OK,to that end,  I guess maybe I do have one resolution I might like to try on, even though I haven't been very successful with it in the past.

(True Confession : I am extremely consistent at being inconsistent!) 

 I can organize events and other people down to every detail and minutia.  I can and have scheduled large events down to every minor detail, but for myself, organization and sticking to a schedule is the biggest caveat that I struggle with for my home life and my work in the studio.

So, OK!  I'll make a resolution again and we'll see if it sticks.

My resolution will be......(drum roll please)!  To show up to work in my studio from 9 AM to 4 PM Monday through Friday. 

Oh, my gosh I'm laughing as I even dictate that into my phone....

Mostly because the nature of clay is such that you have to give it a lot of love and attention. It doesn't always dry or get to the trim state during the time that you ascribe to it and I have the luxury of not working during the day if the evening happens to suit me or the clay more.  But  I am going to try it  because I am better during the day. And besides, I might want to have a glass of wine or martini at night while I'm working and that just makes me get sleepy and want to go to bed- LOL

So, OK there it is. My resolution: show up for work every day!  There, I succumbed.

Now for the Hope.

1.  To  do a three-week to month-long residency at an art center. (Don't worry after  24 years of marriage my husband's only concern might be who will take care of the cats while I'm gone :0)

2. If  I can't swing the residency, a two week workshop at least.

3. Peace on Earth, Good Will to Men.  Really- I pray for our nation as we go about the business of electing a new President in a few short months and I pray that the world will see an end to the evil growing in it.

 4. I hope and pray for continued good health and prosperity for myself, my family and all of those that  I care about.

Here's to a Happy New Year and I wish many blessings to you and yours in 2016!~