The distinction between a dynamic life and one of pure chaos is a fine line, indeed! Much has happened since I dusted the cobwebs off this art blog.
In December, 2022 (shortly after my last blog post here), I moved into Studio G at the brand new Art on Main in East Dallas. My upgraded space allowed me to begin teaching private lessons, expand my art obsessions to include more watercolors, mixed media and printmaking, and work in a much larger format. I have enjoyed collaborating with my studio-mates, participating in quarterly open studios, and developing my style in this beautiful space. From the windows near by space, I can enjoy lovely views of storms rolling in or of the sun setting over downtown Dallas.
Studio G at Art on Main
Working on a 48 x 60 inch panel inspired by the Chihuahuan Desert in Big Bend National Park. I started this one at my first studio, off of Shoreview Lane. I finished it in May, 2023 and shipped it to its forever home in Florida shortly thereafter.
In 2024, I left my position at East Dallas’s Woodrow Wilson High School for an amazing opportunity at Rockwall High School. I took the position partly to teach Ceramics 2 and develop new skills in sculpture (in the most chaotic way possible: by diving straight in!). This past January, I found myself preparing to teach 50 high school students how to throw on the wheel- a skill that I had about two weeks to develop before demo-ing in the classroom. Ain’t no motivation better than having to teach a group of teenagers a new skill, live and in person! Happily, we all survived, and over the course of the spring I fell head-over-heels in love with ceramics.
So… when summer rolled around, I enrolled in a class at the Creative Art Center; and when I had the opportunity to pick up a free kiln in need of refurbishment, I went for it! Somehow, the stars aligned, and with the support of Art on Main fearless building and studio owners, I moved to a larger studio and began the process of fixing the electrics and fire-bricks on the kiln. If all goes according to plan, I’ll be ready for electrical upgrades and installation by September, at which point I will be Art on Main’s Kiln Tech, making ceramics work available for our wonderful East Dallas community. Come see me in Studio C!
Part of my motivation in putting in a kiln and moving to a larger studio is the opportunity to share my love of ceramics with my neighbors and artist friends. My new space is large enough to accomodate a few wheels alongside my painting space. Once I’m settled, I will be able to offer workshops and mud-slinging evenings in my studio. Art has always been a place of joy for me, a refuge when I’ve needed one, and a beautiful intersecting point where I’ve met so many other souls who speak this language. I’m thrilled to have another avenue to make these connections.
Please follow along as I haul the kilns up to my new studio (yes, that is kilns plural) and work out the electrics, ventilation, and hardware. “Frankenkiln” and “Bride of Frankenkiln” will eventually be one, big, beautiful clay oven. I’m taking suggestions for a new name, once she’s got a working controller, and is hardwired, ready to rock and roll.
To help with project expenses, I’ve started a Go Fund Me! Donations will go toward: an exhaust fan and vent system, the cost of running a dedicated line to our studio’s electrical box and putting in a panel and kill switch, and kiln furniture (right now, I just have two kilns!). Any extra money will go toward pottery wheels and equipment that will enable me to offer lessons, workshops and community pottery firing at Art on Main. I would absolutely love for you to take this journey with me: whether you’re donating, sharing, or simply following along. Thank you, from the bottom of my muddy, paint-smeared artist’s heart!
