Retired.... sort of
Artists never retire, they just redefine how and when they work.
Being a retired artist doesn't mean I've stopped producing, it means I am redefining my personal expectations of what and when I create, as well as where and when I sell. Settling on the shores of Whidbey Island, my childhood playground, I'm learning from my fully-retired husband, my never-employed dog, and the daily tides to slow down and relax. My pace is slower, my projects fewer and I am choosing to only take on orders, clients and shows that inspire me as well as fit a more relaxed lifestyle. Learning to say, "No thank you, that doesn't work for me." is a foreign, but empowering sentence. It will allow me time to explore clay in new ways. I can’t wait to see where this new philosophy takes my art. Stay tuned!
Most studio time is spent at the potter's wheel creating functional high-fire stoneware pieces. "Working art" serving pieces are most intriguing. Slab-built and altered forms complement wheel-formed work. Hand-made stamps enhance glaze colors as they break and pool in the surface textures. Layering glazes create abstract pictures of water, trees, hills and skylines. All decorations somehow reflect my love of the Pacific Northwest.
Sometimes I breaks away from functional pieces to experiment with low-fire decorative work. This includes sculptural pressed castings of native sea life, raku fired with copper glazes. Vases are either raku or saggar fired. Again, decorations are inspired by local nature - salt-soaked ferns, leaves, hay, copper wire, feathers, horsehair, shells and other chemical colorants and combustibles are combined to create unique works.
