Mud Whimsy

Since opening my studio in November I've been working at trying to get my ceramic business going. Things are certainly underway now! I decided to call it Mud Whimsy. I've always liked the word 'whimsy'. The definition according to Dictionary.com is:

whim·sy Noun /ˈ(h)wimzē/

• Playfully quaint or fanciful behavior or humor
  • the film is an awkward blend of whimsy and moralizing
• A whim
• A thing that is fanciful or odd
  • the stone carvings and whimsies
    
    

I felt like it summed up what I wanted to create with clay.... Unique, playful pieces. I didn't want to be constrained in a certain niche. I wanted a name that could allow me to create anything I want! Right now I have only functional pieces in the shop, but I'm really excited and inspired to make all sorts of clay creations!

You can find my shop on Etsy HERE.

And you can find my Mud Whimsy blog HERE.

P.S. While looking up the definition, there was a fabulous quote by environmentalist and writer Bill McKibben using the word 'whimsy':

"The point is not to stop giving; the point is to give things that matter. Give things that are rare - time, attention, memory, whimsy. "

Bringing back the love (ahem, ReLove)

I know I've checked out around here lately. I went through a little phase when I wondered if my time was worth it, if anyone even ever looked at this blog, if selling my work online would ever be profitable... The conclusion I came up with was maybe not. At first that stung. I feel like I've been working at this for such a long time and somehow I just am not where I thought I'd be. After more reflection I realized that the whole reason why I started selling my work online to begin with was simply because I loved making stuff. It wasn't to build a business, it was just to create things and put them out in the world. I think I lost a little bit of that love when I was trying to keep up on the business end. So now I'm back with a new perspective. I'm going to continue doing what I love and if I make a little extra money on the side, great! Hopefully that love will show through in everything I do. As a result of my new devotion to ReLove Projects I've posted some of my favorite cards in my Etsy shop!

Does anybody else ever feel this way about their craft business? What do you do to get past it?

I want an Earthship for Christmas next year

This year I pretty much checked out for Christmas. Last year got WAY too hectic and I just couldn't take another year of it! So I called up my friend in Taos... Unfortunately she rented her house out over Christmas, but we were able to stay there until December 23. I figured getting away for any amount of time over the holidays was what I needed! My mom and my daughter joined me.

One of my favorite things that we did on this trip was visit the Earthship Headquarters. It was amazing. We didn't want to leave!

It was so lush and alive inside. I felt healthier just being in there! And the plants were thriving. They had all sorts of foods growing- tomato, eggplant, lettuce, strawberries. It is one of the few structures that are truly off the grid. Everything is used and reused. I can't put into words how impressed I was!

Once again, Taos was a magical and wonderful place. I can imagine myself living there someday. Here are a few more photos from the trip:

(I think this photo is hilarious. It's my daughter posing as an emo!)

Catching up

Wow, I can't believe so much time has passed since my last post! This is just a placeholder to check in, let you know I'm still here, and I will be returning to this ole' blog soon.
(the photo is me in New Mexico, December 2010)

My day off

I had an unexpected day off last week and made a teepee! (of course, what else is there to do with a day off?). I used PVC pipes that I had left over from another project and recycled sheets. I still have to make a doorway, so perhaps the next day off I have I'll devote it to that!

Golden Friday

There is a cute town called Golden about 30 minutes away from me. Even though it is nearby I've only driven through and haven't spent any time there. Last time while passing through my squeeze and I decided we'd come back. Yesterday we both had the day off and seized the opportunity to visit Golden! This is what we did:

Photographed the Justice Center.

(I think he was just testing his camera settings, but I figured I'd throw this one in! We were in a big field by the Justice Center and the wild winds were blowing, whipping my hair around)

Visited downtown Golden... Something that thrills me to no end is posing with statues. While my antics have embarassed some, the guy I'm with now actually helped me up on to the buffalo and then took about a million photos.

This was a rusty old bike chained up downtown. I just thought it looked neat!

We ate at Ali Baba Grill, Lebanese and Persian cuisine. If you live anywhere near Golden I highly recommend you try Ali Baba's. I'd go to Golden just to eat there, it's really THAT good!

We visited the Foothills Arts Center. (String photo was part of a display. It was made to look like a tree- very cool!)

Even though we were gone for just a few hours and about 30 miles away from my house, I felt like we'd gone on a vacation. I came home inspired and refreshed!

A Fave

I'm beginning to notice a few things about my favorite songs- many have whistling, trumpets, male and female vocalists, and are happy tunes. This is a great one by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros called 'Home'. Enjoy!