The Pursuit of Happiness, lol

VooDoo Diva sitting on the shelf at Brookside pottery, always smiling and waiting for a home.

Today a friend posted a quote about happiness on facebook and I cannot get it out of mind without writing about it. I tried to boost myself out the door and "get on with the day" but instead headed for my claw footed bathtub for a soak. It is a great place to think. I wanted to think about happiness which gets a little tricky.

The quote that started this is:

"Taisen Deshimaru, a Japanese Soto Zen Buddhist teacher writes: If you are not happy here and now, you never will be."

If you want to be a happy person that puts a lot of pressure on you. I get a little self doubt if I start questioning it. Would a "happy" person think like that? Wouldn't a truly happy person just say "Oh yes, and push like, lol comment on facebook, the over the fence communication system of our day?

I generally feel happy, am told I am a "happy" person and try to surround myself with happy people. Blag. The thought of that makes me unhappy. Sounds like everyone is either smoking pot, on anti-depressants, overly religious or just plain dumb. Oops, how could a happy person say such a thing? I don't want to be a PollyAnna but I do like the braids.

A friend recently gave me a treat of Richard Sadaris ticket to hear him read. I was happy. We sat on the back row, giving me a feeling of freedom and superiority being a bit claustrophobic. And I laughed harder than I have in ages. lol.lol. I laughed until my throat hurt. I left happy and feeling like someone had hit me laughingly in the chest. Is that happy? Or is that just laughing, some kind of evolved instinct?

Having goals makes me happy. In the early years of my marriage I confess, my husband and I were getting a bit bored with each other. Goals. I knew we needed a mutual goal. We are both a bit type A, asking a lot out of life, and we needed to head in the same direction. Can you be type A non hyper active? That's me for all my friends that are reading this saying "Well maybe John is type a but not Linda."
So I thought about it and we decided we would hike across Tennessee and John would write about it and I would photograph it. That made us both happy. One step at a time, it slowed life down and helped us get down to the basics. 567 miles in 62 days of happiness. Sometimes sleeping on the ground, spread eagle and holding on tight while the earth is spinning is great.

I read in a book about the Hopi Indian tribe that never has a Hopi said, "Stop the world. I want to get off." And then the book elaborated about the Hopi sense of time and the calmness of the culture. That sounds happy to me but that was over 25 years ago. Is it still true? Was it ever really true?

Recently, given the opportunity, I would have gladly hopped out of this mind and body to give myself a break. Stop the world. I don't want to get off. I just need a break. This goal thing is getting out of hand. I don't do illegal drugs but I did drink a cup of real Kava the other night to try and "turn off." It tastes like drinking dirt and it only helped me go to sleep. By morning I was ready to hit the road again. It is too easy for me to forget to take time for myself and relax.

"Slow down, you move to fast. You gotta make the morning last. It's...." Forgot the rest of the song. Hope that was not the important part.

I watched a group of friends recently pursue their happiness. It seemed to be that none of them would be happy until they each found a husband, a rich husband. It was quite a scramble. They all buffed their bodies and "smiled" at rich men a lot. My concern was if they would be able to find love if they could not give love a little more. Was love really even involved? They all did it. I hope they are happy and have found love. If they stay married and keep smiling I guess the answer is yes. They are happy. I often wish I could be that self centered and get the body back in shape and spend some cash.

Spending cash does not always work either. Before my first child was born I had a miscarriage. Just when I thought OK, we are really having a baby and that will be fun. Boom. In my mind I could intellectually accept it. The baby probably would have had problems of some sort. I can try again etc. So, I decided I would take the deposit, all $500 I had given the Doctor's office for the baby having experience, and go shopping to make up the difference. I left every store I visited all day empty handed. Cash, as long as I have enough for basic needs, does not do it for me

Sometimes I wonder if crazy people are really just happy people to the extreme. Then I hear the other side, the scared and angry stories about truly diagnosed crazy people

I am happy when I cook. I am happy when I am making art alone. I am happy when my kids and husband are happy. I am happy when I am exploring, traveling and learning. I am happy when I surround myself with intelligent and interesting people.
I am not happy when I get on the scales after I cook. I am not happy when I can't think straight because people won't leave me alone so I can make art. I am not happy when I worry about family and friends. I am not happy when I think I am not happy.

How much is happiness related to gender? My husband and I were talking about this the other night. Is it more difficult to be happy if you are female? I am not sure. But, thinking about why so many women are not happy is a worthy thought. I am sad when I see a woman's happiness come only through her husband. That is not to be confused with appreciating, supporting and loving your husband. But in fact, many woman's careers which can bring happiness are greatly altered by the husbands job and motherhood. You have to be able to pull off what you want in any location and in stolen moments. And, I think it is mostly OK.

Yes, I am happy most of the time. It helps to be a basic optimist by nature. A friend told me you can change your habits but not your basic personality. It makes me wonder if we can control our happiness. I think the answer is not black and white but how about "sort of."

So Mr ever so smart Zen Buddist teacher. Yes I am happy now and will probably always be. Right after I take a nap.

What's Happening in Class at Brookside Pottery Tulsa?

Shy student hides behind her freshly glazed pot ready to be fired.

There is the lovely shy student, Angelina.

Bird by bird, not quite finished!

We have a lot of fun in pottery class and here is what the "Bird Women" and pinch potters did this week. Variety is the spice of life!

Succulent planters for Blue Moon Bakery

A fun combination of earthy and bright. Aloe plants will look great in this combination.

The special order asked for variety. So, we have similar shapes and very different color combinations.

Up close.

Glazed and ready to be fired.

Freshly thrown ware made on the potters wheel, waiting to be trimmed.

Kim Nelson stopped by the other day and asked if I would make new succulent planters for the middle of their tables in their new location for Blue Moon Bakery. I was delighted and here is the process.

Garden Deva Show Invitaion to all Art Lovers! Please come!

Here it is the best art show in Tulsa! Spread the word and come! No entry fee! Great art, music and refreshments. Support your local artists! I'll take pictures tomorrow and try to interview a few artists as well. See you there! I have a booth too!

Friday, November 6th - 11am to 8pm (fire dancers start at 7:30!)

Saturday, November 7th - 10am to 6pm

YRaffles every day!

Free to enter, bring a friend!

OVER 35 ARTISTS: Joe Staskal - ceramics, Angie Bovaird - jewelry, Elaine Emmons - beaded pillows, Maggie Connolly - jewelry, Suzi Swinford - ceramics, Kay Blanchard - painting, 3 Peas in a Pod - soaps& lotions, Zebanda - Indian fiberworks, Twisted Buckle - jeweled buckles, Eric Baker - metal & glass sculptures, Mary Little Lamp - knits, Mel Cornshucker - ceramics, Veronica Perkins - jewelry, Donna Prigmore - jewelry, Terri Higgs - silks, Angela Elliston - painted wood plates, Anna Veronesi - chair massage, Sunita Sitara - tarot & numerology, Jayne Scott - jewelry, Margareta Grill - pewter works, Nancy Parke - knits, Suzanne Anderson - hand sewn jackets, Clear Creek Lavender - soaps & lotions, Linda Coward - ceramics, Terry Fadem - knits, Of Earth - herbal teas & essential oils, Cathryn Thomas - ceramics, Paper Lotus - cards, magnets & tags, Margee Aycock - paintings, Leroy Anderson - jewelry & gourds, Tile Diva - mosaics, 4 Brooks Design - concrete designs, paintings & photography, Archana Gupta - jewelry, Sharyl Landis - beaded paintings, Caryn Cox - mosaic buckles, Kim Whiting - collages, Pam Case - feng shui, Molly Seay - paintings, Traci Cole - funky files, Lori Randell - hand sewn clothes, Urban Gardener (Sat. only) - plants

Musicians to play:

On Friday - Dianna Burrup, Ray Rodgers, Jacob Tovar, Susan Herndon, Jared Tyler, Wheat Penny, drummers with the fire dancers

On Saturday - Monica Taylor, Scott Aycock, Jane Duenner, Steve Lidell, Travis Fite, Loose Bricks, Gogo Plumbay

Garden Deva Sculpture Co. 592-3382

317 S. Trenton Avenue

on Trenton between 3rd and 4th Streets

www.gardendeva.com

"Second verse same as the first."

Angels and big pots wait to be fired and glazed for Christmas. The shelves are loaded.

These are just a few of the colors and glaze surfaces to choose from. I use both commercial glazes and glazes I mix as well. There are lots of color decisions to be made. I help form and listen to trends.

Can't believe I am repeating similar shapes. In grad school I was the least likely out of 12 to do any production pottery. Now I take pride in getting my stuff out there all over the place. It is a survival technique in a tough economy.

Can't make enough Christmas trees fast enough and now my students make them too. Fast and easy way to decorate and each tree is different when finished. These still need to be glazed.

Lucky for me I have an elf named Vira who loves to help me and together we come up with ideas of affordable Christmas ornaments and she helps the shop survive by producing ornaments and playing with glazes and surface design. Thank you Vira!

Ready to be glaze fired pots for a local bakery/cafe opening this Friday. These pots will be delivered in two days and should show great variety in color yet similar in design and shape.

Tables are full of pots to be fired! Don't set anything down. You might not find it again.

Every year around Christmas I follow a pattern. People all say, "Start making your angels in July." Somehow that does not feel right. And then time flies and it is October and November. And, the angels are in the making and not sitting on the shelf for those early Christmas buyers and decorators.
I was teaching a ceramics Sunday School class this week, a little unusual for me to say the least. I said. "We can make some Christmas presents too." Most of the 6th grade eyes lit up and said,"Yes!" But one little girl said "No! It is not even Thanksgiving yet." I know how she feels. I explained to her in pottery terms, time is flying and if we are going to make this years deadlines, we have to make it now and think ahead. But of course, really I agreed with her totally.

Today a friend replied on my blog as I make my way through the hours and hours of hard labor in my shop, working 10-12 hour days and still not getting enough done, "You sound like a broken record." That is not what I really wanted to hear. I was hoping for a little sympathy or moral support. I love my job and feel lucky to get to be a potter/artist getting to do what I want most days. But, every time this year I feel doubt and fear. As an update I would have to say there is no pause button or stop. It is just forward and feels like fast forward.

I don't want to always live in the future thinking "Oh my shop will be clean and perfect tomorrow and all my things I want to make are on the shelf and photographed on line as well."

My shop is a mess. An organized mess, but a mess. I jump over buckets of clay and boxes of stuff and there is never enough extra minute to stop and clean. And bedsides, there is no where to put it. Another friend came in the other day and he said "Linda stop apologizing, this is just you." Other friends salivate as they think about helping me and Lord knows they try.
In fact, I feel like there is so much going on, so many projects being made by me and my students. And there are always others bringing me things to be fired. So the shelves and tables are in constant flux. Put something somewhere and we will have to move it soon anyway.

It is OK. This broken record knows time will pass thank goodness. Whether or not I am ready for the Christmas shows, they will happen and it will be January before I know it. And yes, those insecurities are there, especially now with people having less cash to spend and changing their buying habits. But, I will keep making and hoping I have enough and do not worry too much for what it is all worth. Most of the time, I feel just fine. But every year, this is the push time for potters and people making a living with their arts.

I am grateful and I love that Art gives so much meaning to my life. I found it.

A Sunday Visit and Thoughts about Juggling Your Ambitions

There are always pots waiting to be glazed.

Just a little more decorating to be done and then put them in the kiln.

It was Sunday afternoon and I try not to work on Sundays keeping one day for myself. But there I was again, working. My studio is still a bit crowded and so I decided to move my "open" sign outside wondering if that meant I really was open. "Whatever." I decided. " I am or I am not open. What does it matter? I'm here."
It used to be more significant being open or not. I used to have walk in traffic, lots of people I had never met before. Now, if someone finds me they are usually looking for me.
So I am glazing to some of my favorite music and the little door is open,as opposed to the garage door, and a car parks outside and two ladies get out, one about my age and a younger lady.
They are looking for me so I stopped glazing and talked with them. It turns out the younger lady is 27 and has been making pots for about 7-8 years and found me on the Internet and decided to see if I just happened to be there. Of course, I was.
We did the typical potter chit chat like" What cone do you fire to? How long have you been working? Where does your body hurt? Where did you go to school school?" And we compared the economics of the south east, she is from Radford, VA, close to where I used to live and Tulsa. Sounds like people are buying more there and the festivals are doing better. She was an interesting young woman.

And then we started talking about the "Guilt factor" of being a potter. She suggested this as another chapter of my book. Great idea.

Most people, I think have a sense of their job never being finished. I do believe it is especially true in pottery. Pottery and sculpture is such a labor intensive career that there is always a lot more to do. There are so many stages in the process. Simply waiting for something to dry enough to fire it and cool enough to take it out and glaze it and fire it again can drive a beginner crazy. And it is true as I have said before, when you are in college if you are in an area that requires a lot of reading or writing time, date a ceramics major. They won't have much party time and you can read and write all you want.

But what about the guilt? As a person making a living as a potter/sculptor and being self-employed it is difficult for many of us to give ourselves some time off. We feel guilty if we only work 4 hours in a day sometimes. If we worked for someone else, that would be fine and you would expect that every now and then as a perk. I always feel like when I am working and it is not my normal work hours I am getting ahead and those hours are more special. It is a little game we play with ourselves. It was all I could do to drag myself into work on Sunday because I wanted to stay home and nest in the house and yard. I made myself go work so I would be sure to have my commission finished on time this week. Once I got there I was fine and then was not sure I really wanted to come home.

When I used to have a studio in my garage at home and a big lovely 2 car garage attached to my house, I had to use the the screen door as the "gone to work" message to my brain. Don't step in there and clean the kitchen or poke around. You are at work on this side of the door. By the way, it was heated. I had a washer and dryer in my garage and I undid the dryer vent leading outside, attached a pantyhose filter to the end of the venting and made nice warm moist air in my studio whenever I needed it. Those were the days. Big space and heat!

When I was finishing grad school I was walking with a friend across a farmers field picking up cinnamon patties to fire with, commonly called cow manure. We were talking and I realized I had become a bit boring. I did not want to talk about anything but pottery and do pottery. I still remember the moment and I realized the importance of a balanced life. Don't forget to smell life's roses. It is not all about cow manure.

I will be thinking more about this chapter for my book and I appreciate the idea. How to make potters take a break, accomplish a lot and still have time for life. The words multi- task come into play but so does sanity. Severe multitasking is not the answer either. I think it is about not taking yourself too seriously and still staying motivated and balanced.

Do we work to hard because of a strong work ethic instilled as a child?
Do I work hard because I think I get paid by the hour even though I hardly ever pay myself?
Do I enjoy my work so much I can't stop because I like what I am doing?
Do I think I can get ahead financially if I work harder? That used to work.
Is it all the above?
Am I just avoiding unfinished jobs at home?
Is working too hard just a bad habit?
Is it really wrong to work too hard?

More Wedding Pottery in the Making

It is fun to make the pottery for this wedding and the bride, Monica, has a great idea. The pottery on the tables will be gifts for the wedding party etc. as well. I think she is planning to put dried flower arrangements in these pots. They should add a lovely earthy and very meaningful touch to her wedding. She has ordered 16 small vases and 6 larger ones with a personal message on the bottom and the date. This is going to be a lovely wedding in Austin and I am giving the bride a couple options for her larger vases. Originally we planned to remake the black and white pot in the picture twice this size but glazed like the shiny brown pots on the right. Yes the 23 ounce bottle is in there for a little more size perspective.

After several attempts to remake this pot and the play being very soft plastic, it kept wanting to collapse in the center. So I chose one of my favorite methods of hand building, building with slabs and coils and recreated a similar feel to the smaller thrown pot.

It will shrink about 10-12 percent
.

These pots will be the same lovely shiny brown inside and on the rim and the clay will be a chocolate brown and natural on the belly of the pot. The model pot was 1/2 the size and raku fired and hard to duplicate exactly because of the type of clay.

If the bride prefers I have 6 of these pots made for her which are smaller but closer too the shape.

There are the choices smaller and similar in shape or larger and a little different shape. Not all the pots are fired and glazed.

The bride wants 16 of these and more are firing as I write this blog. I made 19 so she will be able to pick and choose.
She has chosen her clay color and glazes as well. She wants a little variety and an earthy look. She is pleased with the vases and I hope she likes the larger hand built pots as well. We will know soon!