Blue is my heart , today

Today I am the color blue . Everything I have glazed or painted to be fired in the kiln later on this evening is blue. Blue was Tony's favorite color most of all. He would like everything I glazed today. Even my kitties and my dogs will be glazed blue. ........ The picture you see above is of the Christmas lima's I planted back in early spring over the arbor. The lima's are our favorites and they are excellent runners so I thought how cool to plant our favorite beans on the deck over the little arbor. It is amazing how much they have grown in just a few weeks. They have little baby lima beans already. Tony would have loved it...... The tile you see in the back ground I made for the artist co-op days of Your Arts Desire. Great group of artist that group . Oh yeah !!!

Meow

My unfinished birdbath . It still needs to be fired and glazed.

Wildflowers

Today Lily and I went to Latimer Boat dock . What a beautiful afternoon it was. We saw an Eagle and lots of wildflowers . Tony and I used to go wildflower picking together. We would stop along side of the roads or woods or wherever we saw wildflowers growing and pick bouquets and bring them home and put them in vases to brighten up the house. Sometimes he would come home with a little bouquet of wildflowers for me. Always when we went camping together he would bring me back little bouquets from his hikes .Lily and me went for a very long walk along the lake shore. There were lots of folks out still having a great time together in their boats. Taking an advantage of the last afternoon's light . It is hard to believe that 5 weeks ago when Tony and I went there together it would be our last time there together. I can not believe it has been 5 weeks. How ones life can change so quickly is dumbfounding. On the way home Lily and I stopped down the road and picked tiny little blueberries. It was another of Tony;s favorite things to do. If he was here we would have those fresh wild blueberries in pancakes for breakfast tomorrow morning. Wild blueberry pancakes won't be the same without Tony eagerly awaiting them for breakfast with his coffee. I am glad I knew and loved Tony Seagroves in my life. He was a man worth knowing and loving. I was so lucky. I am glad I knew that while he was still here for me to tell him how lucky I was. Always make sure you take the time to tell the one you hold so dearly how much they mean to you. You never know when they will be gone.

The Beauty of the Weed

After spending the last 20 Memorial Day Weekends with Tony Seagroves I was at such a loss to find my self spending number 21 alone. Tony and I hadn't even made our this years Memorial Day plans . It was a nice cool drizzly day Saturday so Lily and I loaded up and went in search of a secluded lake spot where we could stroll along the lake and think of Tony. Everywhere we went the lake docks and parks were full . So we ended up just riding the back country roads that wind along the South Carolina side of the lake and then over into Hartwell Georgia and south along the lake there until we crossed back over the lake and came out in Iva SC . We drove to all the cool places Tony and me always drove to on the weekends......... I stopped and took this picture above of a Thistle . What a beautiful flower and plant and yet we are taght it is a weed and unwanted in our yards. I love the thisltles . Whether it is the beautiful purple or the small yellow ones. .....Today which is Monday Memorial Day Lily and I went to the lake at Latimer where we last went with Tony . Where I had taken the canoe picture 3 weesks earlier. Lily and I walked along the lakeshore. I could picture Tony paddling across the cove and smiling. I could feel his Spitit , his happiness and his connection to the lake there today. Tony was such a nature boy...... I miss him so much. ....... I would like to Thank all the Veterans and Soldiers who have unselfishly served their country above and beyond the call of duty. Happy Memorial Day

The Saddest News Ever

My extremely loving and supportive husband passed away from this world on May 6th . We have been together since February 6th 1988. Our 19 th Anniversary will be June 1st. I loved him so much and life is going to be forever changed. Tony was the most kindest gentlest and loving soul that I have ever known. The world has truly lost one of their best . He was loved by so many . A Celebration Of Life will held for him on May 17th at 2pm at Jetton Park in Charlotte at the Waterfront Hall at Lake Norman. The picture above was taken just 5 days earlier. Him and I and Lily went to the Lattimer PArk in Calhoun Falls and he fished and Lily and I walked along the shore of the lake . He told me he had a very enjoyable day . After all he was doing what he loved to do best. Fish and canoe. He alway said" There are No Bad Days Fishing"I will forever remember this day and the big smile that was on his face as he paddled around the dead trees fishing and canoeing righ up to the Osprey nest you see in the back ground. Tony enjoyed nature and animals and the woods and the lake. Tony was Love himself.

The Augusta Trading Street Company Art Show

I am going to be a part of The Augusta Street Trading Company Art Show May 8th,9th and 10th at The Augusta Street Trading Company located at 109 Augusta St. West End Greenville S.C. It is an Art Show made up of local artist. Friday night will be "Meet The Artist" night from 7pm until 9pm . The reception will be Sunday from 3pm to 6pm with live music. I will be there Friday night and Sunday evening so come out and hang out with me and enjoy some great art and meet the other artists in the show. I look forward to seeing you Friday and Sunday ....
The picture above is my painting of Luna . One night I had insomnia and I was very restless. I couldn't sleep so I got up. When I came downstairs I found the most beautiful Luna Moth resting on the inside of my window. I got out my paints and painted all night. You find the most unusually beautiful things in the middle of the night when you live out in the woods. You also hear the nightbirds sing all night. Mysterious and beautiful songs.

Saturday Afternoon on Trinity Street

Today i am going to be sitting Trinity Street Market and Gallery on Trinity Street in Abbeville from 1;30pm until 5pm. So that means I will be out front on the sidewalk doing demonstrations and constructing projects. Last week I made a birdhouse . (I fired it too fast yesterday It went KABOOM in the kiln.what a mess) This week maybe some garden chickens . If You come by and say you read this here on my blogger i will give you a piece of clay and let you make your own garden chicken .I will fire it and you can glaze it in the color of your choice. You never know; it could be your new best hobby !!! Shown above is Yellow Cat Toad House . Another fun project. I am planning on doing a 1 day workshop on May 23rd . Constructing Your own Toad House. If you are interested stop in and see me at the Trinity Street Market and Gallery or contact me here. While you are in town check out the other galleries. There are several. Sit down on the front porch of the Ice Cream Parlor there on Trinity Street and enjoy a cold treat on a hot day. I will be sitting right across the street working on chickens ............

Bonnie and Pooh

This is my latest sculpture . It was a gift to my very dear friend Bonnie Bardos who is also an artist. (You can visit her blogspot by clicking onto her bohemian artist blogshot to the right of my page) In her arms is her sweet and wonderful Pooh .
Yesterday I met my friends Sherry Dinkins and Pat Hildebran in Saluda NC . It is a beautiful little monutain town just off I-26. We had lunch at the Purple Onion which is always , to me the greatest place up there to eat whether it is lunch or dinner it is hard to beat the Purple Onion. They have desserts that are just too hard to resist. I suggest one of their wondeful salads with the roasted freerange chicken added. Then you dont feel so guilty for having one of their dessert creations. YUM ! I always choose there flourless chocolate decadence (might be spelled wrong) with raspberry sauce. The atmosphere is always great . On the walls you will find local artists work hanging that are available for purchase. See if you can spot a pieece or two by artist Bonnie Bardos. I bet you can!
After we ate we visited The Brass Latch and The Garden Cottage down by the bakery in Nostalgia Courtyard. I love that place too. It has a beautiful little courtyard full of garden accessories and beautiful pots of flowers and the shops are brimming over with special little "gotta have's" everywhere.
After shopping the shops and splurging on ourselves we went and visited with Bonnie and Pooh at their beautiful studio house. Visiting Bonnie's place is always a special treat. Art in every room. Our friend Linda Kay dropped in while we were there and so the 5 of us beautiful Diva's sat out on Bonnie's garden deck and had a wonderful visit. I LOVE my FRIENDS !
My friend Sherry gave me a $50 gift certificate for High Water Clays in Asheville so real soon I will be going on an Asheville trip. I can buy about 150 pounds of clay for $50! Just in time to begin my work for my upcoming August Show.
Life Is Good ! .............. For more photos of our day in Saluda and the "Bonnie and Pooh" picture go to The world of Pity Pat blogspot to the right.

Upcoming Show for The Loon

I am so excited ! In August I will be showing my work at The Tryon Fine Arts Center In Tryon N.C. in "Gallery Too" . I do not have the date of the show yet and when I do I will post it. And as I get closer to the date I will write a little more about it. For now it means lots of hard work and brainstorming. I have so many ideas . I will have to think of a name for my show also. Oh how exciting !
I am going to dig me a pit and fire a few pieces of my things in the pit. For those not familar with this technique it is quite fun except of course for the digging of the pit. I will dig me a pit 5x5x2 . Since my ground is nothing but red clay this should yeild some very interesting pieces I am hoping. After I dig the pit I will take a few pieces I have made especially for the pit and burnish them with smooth stones I picked up from behind the Hartwell Dam until the pieces have a smooth and shiny surface to it. I prefer to use Lyman Red lowfire clay and white raku clay. Then I will bisq fire the pieces in my kiln but not too hot because I do not want to burn the shiny suface off. Then I will add different oxides to the pieces . Also believe it or not plant foods and cheap dog foods ( I dont feed my dog these cheap dog foods by the way) can be added all around the pieces in the pit and because they are full of copper and other metals and chemicals they can sometime produce some pretty interesting colors to the pitfired pieces. My favorite method is to take copper scrubbers you buy in the grocery store( I hate to scrub with them as I hate housework. domesticated I am not) ) I unfold them . This gives me a long sleeve of copper mesh which can be stretched around the burnished bisqued piece of clay . Also thin copper wires can be wrapped around the piece. Then I add saw dust to my pit and put my pieces all around in the saw dust and heap lots and lots of dry wood on top of my pieces and start the fire. And if I manage to get my fire hot enough it burns the copper right off of the piece leaving some very pretty colors of red and orange and black with different patterns. I may go to one of the local farms around and see if i can get some cow pies (manure) . Cow pies make a very beautiful shiny black finish . Maybe I could do some cow sculptures and color them with cow pies. How cool would that be??
I think I will start digging my pit today since it rained all night the ground should be soft and easy to dig . I have all kinds cured wood lying all around my woods where trees have fallen . I can accomplish 2 tasks with this pit I am going to dig (3 if you count the exercise it takes to dig it) I will get great surface and finish designs and I will get my woods around the house cleaned up. I will take pictures and write more about this later.
Looks like I am going to be a very busy girl . I better get started.......

The Lake Loon Studio

The doors are always open and you are always invited to come in to The Lake Loon Studio and sit a spell . Come watch as I create my new works or grab a chunk of clay yourself and see what comes out of it. I bet you will be surprised.
It is a great day today to work out in the studio and work in the yard a little. I have done both today. Skipping all housework. After being stuck in the house for days while it has rained it was great to get out and enjoy the outdoors today. I walked around the studio and the yard and inspected all the new seedlings and bulbs that have emerged . Now the sun will warm up the ground and soon I will have flowers and vines and veggies growing all over the place . I can't wait.
I have a kiln full of fired pieces cooling and later today I will be able to take them out and inspect them. I love the opening of the kiln. It is like Christmas every time I open it and look inside. You never know what you will get. And even if I do know I still can't wait! I will glaze tonight with red and fire another kiln full of reds tomorrow.
Last night as I worked late into the night (actually into the morning) I was visited by 3 beautiful Luna Moths. You have to stay up late to see these beauties. And of course I am always up late. I had 2 in the studio with me and one in the kiln building. There were no signs of them this morning. Maybe they will visit me again tonight as I glaze. I hope so !

Happy Easter

What a beautiful Easter day. The temperature is perfect today . Not to hot and not to cold. A great day to be thankful for our many blessings for sure. I have truly been blessed with a great husband , 2 great kids , the cutest little grandson anyone could ever hope for , so many wonderful friends , Lily and my cats and the Freedom to get up everyday and do what ever I wish to do for the day which is almost always work on my art.
It has been a great day for playing around in my studio. I have been doing a little painting today on the sculpture I am working on for a friends birthday coming up. My plans are to go out and bisq fire it in just a little while. I will need to shape me a little Kiln Goddess to sit on top of my kiln while it fires to watch over it. I have a nice little collection of Kiln Goddess from previous firings. I will take pictures of all of them one day and post them . I will post a picture of my latest kiln firing later this week when I open up my kiln.
My husband and me took Lily down to the one of the local lake parks for a little walk earlier today. We have many parks located on the lake on both the SC side and the Georgia side. We try to visit a different one every weekend. Yesterday we took Lily down to the Hartwell dam to play. She loves for me to take treats for her to bury. She has treats buried all over the banks of Lake Russell . She is the funniest dog I have ever had.
Happy Easter to everyone all over the world . May we all one day enjoy Peace On Earth !

Hanging out on Trinity Street

Today I am going into town and get out of these woods for a little while. I am going to sit Trinity Street Market and Gallery on Trinity Street located in downtown historic Abbeville SC . You will find the gallery right up from Trinity Church in town. You can't miss the beautiful old church. The town is quite lovely this time of year. I think I will take a little clay and sit out in front of the gallery and work. Beautiful Spring days like this I love to work outside and this will give me a chance to socialize with the folks out strolling the town. I have a new idea for garden markers and a couple of plans for birdhouses. Maybe I will make another momma kitty with babies since i sold my gray and white one. So many ideas. If you find yourself in Abbeville today stop in and see me and I will give you a small piece of clay to work and create for yourself. I will be looking for you......

Moma Cat and Kittens

I love making these moma kitties and their babies. They are so cute and everyone loves them. This particular piece is a commissioned piece . I hope they like it !

Under My Umbrella

This a tile picture or mural . It is done in shades of black and white with one red item in each tile. It is 3-d . You are not able to see from the picture but the umbrellas and cats and kite and birds stand out away from the tiles and the people are built up giving the whole picture a 3_d effect. It Each tile picture will be attached to a 13x14 inch black board making the whole picture aprox. 26x28 inches. If I am a lucky girl I will make it up out of these woods and into civialtion this weekend and buy me a sheet of plywood to mount them.

A Kiln Full of Red ... The end results

Friday the 13th has yeilded some mighty fine reds from my yesterday's firing. I have two different red glazes on my pieces . Bessie Mae the black singer is done in my no fail red. And as you can see she is perfectly red. The other pieces are a different story. It has variations of red to brownish red to brown. It is a finicky glaze but a beautiful glaze. I will be prepared the next time I use it and careful not to let the pieces get close to the elements. I get brown instead of red. And I can see if it is too close and too hot it will turn white and burn all the red out. The next Kiln of Reds I will fire only the fickle red glaze and fire it at a ^o7 and everything goes in the middle.

A Kiln Full of Red

Today is a very nice cool and breezy day. I enjoy days like this best of all !

Today i am going to fire my kiln full of red bisqware. This is what it looks before the glaze firing. By tomorrow morning it will cool enough to open and see what treasures the kiln beholds. I have 2 types of red glazed items in the kiln today. I will see which red I like the best or if i like them equally . I am firing at ^o6 on a fast firing with the peep holes open . It should take around 5 hours for it to reach temperature. I will not open the kiln again until tomorrow after it has cooled down enough to handle the pieces by hand. I will post a picture of the results here tomorrow.

Beautiful day to clay

Nothing like these nice warm pre-spring days to make me want to get out and play in clay.
I have my kiln loaded and full. Ready to fire some greenware so now my studio has empty shelves ready to be filled again with new creations.
What shall I make today ? Sometimes I never know what it will be until I roll out the clay and it tells me what it will be. I have a few ideas for today. Maybe a toad house or a birdhouse or a birdfeeder. I am thinking something for my fine feathered friends and for the garden since spring is just around the corner. And perhaps something yellow. or red. I just bought a very nice red glaze. : )

Imaginary Lovers

Like the song says (Atlanta Rythym Section)

" Imaginary lovers never let you down.

When all the others turn you away ;

They're still around .

Imaginations are real ! "

This pretty little Mermaid "Atlantis" is handsculpted from porcelain . She is 10 x 14 in.

I had her at a festival and the reactions were down right funny.

One guy liked her so much I thought he was going to make love to her right on the sidewalk. One person said it was the ugliest thing they had ever seen. And a little girl walking by asked her mother why the Mermaid had no clothes on. Mom's reply : "Well Honey she lives under the sea and there arent any Walmart's under the sea." haha pricelass

Kitty Birdhouse

This is one of my kitty birdhouses. I love making these guys. They are fun and people love them. Plus they make great homes for our little feathered friends . The tail loops over top so they can hang in your favorite tree.

Blue Mountain Platter

Sweet Seduction

This is the artwork I did for Erotic Signature. I have entered it in their "World's Greatest Erotic Art Book" competition. It is white porcelain with a clear glaze. As you can see Mermaid is quite taken with Snakeman and all his "Maleness" hmmm .

She of an Open Mind

She of an Open Mind is about 14 inches tall. Her head is hollow and open in the back thus an open mind. I guess she is sort of an abstract piece. at least my version of abstract. I really enjoyed making her. She is slabbuilt. And glazed in an untraditional way. I used raku glaze and wiped it off and then fired her in a electric kiln at a lower temperature. I love to experiment and try new things in my clay ventures.

A Trio Of Monks

The Monks were designed as creamation urns or vessels. Their heads are held on by recycled corks and are designed to come off to either store or to be used to pour . They are designed so that the back of their robes are like a pitcher and their hands,bird and book are the front handles to hold while pouring. They are currently unglazed inside and out except for their robes and the book and the bird. This is the first of my cremation vessels. I am working on more. Any ideas are welcomed.

The Prayer Vessel

The Prayer Vessel has been handsculpted . The red clay body has been left unglazed to give it a natural skin look. Only her hair and necklace have been glazed. Her head is the opening and has a recycled wine cork to hold it in place. She was designed for holding any of your dreams or prayers or stash. She is one of my favorites. She started as a pinch pot but transformed into a vessel .