Keeping B.O. at Bay

Thinking ahead of the garden art that I need to make for the upcoming Spenard Farmers Market and the Alaska Botanical Garden’s Garden Shop caused me to have a bit of production panic today. Production panic happens when I worry too much about the art yet to be made. When I force myself to stay in the moment of creating and push negative

"what-if” thoughts from my head, I have much more productive and satisfying days. Lately my worries include; the rising cost of materials versus retail price thresholds, changing customer buying trends that are a constant moving target, hoping my new designs will be creative or new enough, having enough inventory to sell or for some reason not being physically able to make enough inventory due to the flu or a cold or just worrying that I don’t have a pulse on what my customers will want to buy. The other worry I’ve been fighting is how to keep B.O. at bay - the dreaded burn out. Mixing up

my mediums has helped in the past but it seems like the more art I want to make and the more worrying I do about the art unmade, the closer I feel the possibility of burnout… I love what I do and have been really good about balancing family and work so I’m going to blame all this silly worrying on the IRS because it is that time of year and even after all we PAID, I OWE MORE! arrrrggh.

With snow still on the ground and now being under a winter storm advisory for tonight, Mother Nature hasn’t quite inspired me to be thinking garden art. I did make some cool garden grids from concrete mesh that I’ve been wanting to make since I made some for my friend Jana. They are weathering in the snow covered garden with the soil still so frozen I couldn’t stick them in the ground so they’re resting against other weathering sculptures. The Gallery has been needing new wall sculptures, especially bright painted seascapes. Customers have really liked the colorful pieces at Katie’s Gallery –maybe they’re acting as our artificial sunshine?!

After putting the new garden grids to weather in the garden look who visited us eating the last of the cabbage stumps and willow shoots.

Commissions & Coffee

The majority of my fingers are wrapped in bandages, evidence of a very productive metals week! I need to toughen up my fingers and hands from too many weeks of working in soft fiber! The project that gave me the most cuts on my fingers was the branch project for a private residence. A lot of the welded embellishments on each branch produced sharp welded straggler wires that I needed to take the power steel wire brush to. The clients have a lovely home with a large great room wall that had beautiful glass platters displayed but wanted a sculpture that would pull it all together. To the left (not pictured) is also a large horizontal wall above their dining room that I designed and welded a 6’ arching group of branches that gently moved

away from the vertical piece but tied the room together visually. I also welded 3 smaller sets of branches that I’m letting the client place throughout their space if needed. They are able to take a week to see which pieces they like and which pieces they will keep. Any unwanted branch sculptures will be taken to the Gallery for sale. I usually will make a couple of extra pieces or will even create two works and let a customer choose. This takes the pressure off of me, the client and enables me to have additional inventory at the Gallery. When I’m asked to create a special commission I make an appointment with the client and show up freshly showered (not in my dirty welding gear) on time and ready to talk business. Cell phone turned off, little black book in hand along with my digital camera and tape measure I ask a lot of questions with usually the first question is what type of budget were they considering. After both of us are in agreement and I feel I have a clear understanding of what the goal of the project is, I give them a definite timeline of when they can either expect digital images of the work in progress or when I can deliver the

completed work. I rarely perform an actual installation due to liability reasons and I explain this in my first meeting. I prefer to let the customer hang and install their own sculptures as they see fit. Though I do advise and stress the importance of securely hanging and properly wiring all sculptures due to earthquake issues.

The best way to end a week of hard work is breakfast and friendship with our informal Art Coffee Group. Friday a few of us met at Middle Way Café (Fridays special is my favorite MEXICAN BENEDICT!) to say farewell

to Mary Hertert who is moving to Grand Junction, Colorado. Mary and I started Art Coffee several years ago as a way to get independent artists out of our studios to share, inspire and meet other like-minded creative types. We also share information on studio spaces needed or available and upcoming shows. Going clockwise, starting at the lower left wearing glasses, is Laura Mendola –hot glass, Tami Phelps –hand colored photography, Mary Hertert –Color Creek fiber Art, Me –metals/fiber, Wendy Gingell –ceramics, Amanda Brannon -author & illustrator, Duke Russell –musician and painter, (hard to see) Marieke Heatwole –metals, (hard to see) Amanda Thompson –painter, Elise Strauss –lampwork beads, Sheary Suiter –encaustics, Natalie Chomyk-Daniels –mixed media. Check out some of the artist links -what a diverse and talented group of people and the Mexican Benedict with spicy chorizo, avo's and fresh SALSA was divine.

Restless Ravens

Much like the Ravens this time of year, I’m restless. It’s the transitioning of the season’s when the Ravens are on their way out of town and the Seagulls move in. When we spot the first Seagull of the year our family says it’s Daddy-O’s favorite day of the year! No Seagulls yet but the Ravens are full of pluck.

Seeing a few Ravens at the store parking lot bravely hopping from one scrap to another inspired me to make some new sculptures for Katie’s Gallery. One huge Raven as large as a Goose, landed atop of the cart return right next to my truck and stared down and darted his head at me back and forth as if to say "go on, get to work!" A set of “Wind Ravens” a circular wall sculpture that I like to make, sold a couple weeks ago and 3 different people have come into Katie’s Gallery wanting it since. It’s been displayed for weeks and then when it sells I could have sold three more just like it! Oh well, I delivered a new one yesterday along with some “plucky” horizontal Raven sculptures that are about 36" to 43" wide. I tried to capture the gesturing the Ravens have been performing lately. One regular local Raven sits on the lamp post across the street from our house and when I open the garage door to work and he calls out to me! Maybe he thinks I have

a pocket full of french fries, or he KNOWS that my pockets are always full of dog treats though I have never fed the Ravens. I’m sad when the Ravens leave town for the summer but happy for the season's new warmth.

Gearing up for all this new work has had me revisiting the dreaded subject of pricing. I try to keep my pricess in line with sculptures of similar size and also consistent from one season

to the next. Pricing is my least favorite thing to do –next to cleaning the house… BUT, I came across this great link from Vicki who came across it directly from the author –Brandi Hussey of Dallas. “An Artist’s Guide to Pricing” is a FREE download (at the moment) “guide to tips on approaching, understanding, and calculating prices for artist who sell.” What a deal huh? Brandi asks is that if you like it, tell other people about it, blog about it and help get the message out. Hope you find it as interesting as I did –artists can use all the help we can get!

Reverse Thrust

Metal mania this week turned into Mega Mama detail. Our poor Gus-Gus got the flu and needed lots of TLC and a round-the-clock Mommy. Full-on flu has gripped our youngest and all things nasty that come with it, all in two hour increments… Daddy-O would have gladly stepped in to switch out bedding, make 7-Up & chicken soup runs and rinse the cool forehead washcloths, but since I work at home it made much more sense for me to go for the last few nights without sleep. While it did throw a monkey wrench into my all-day weld-a-thons, I was able to get all of my hand work, beading and tagging done for the Raven ornaments while keeping a vigil over the offspring. While Gus napped I was even able to

wear my Spenard Farmers Market volunteer Vendor Chair hat and follow up with farmers and artisans, update the website and answer e-mails from interested new vendors. Working on Market stuff makes me actually think we will eventually have a summer –though I had my doubts as 5” of new snow fell yesterday during a routine spring storm. I’m ready to be out in the shop again only if my headache and body aches are not the beginning of Gus’ virus…aaaack.

Check out the cool poster Kate P. designed for our FUNdraiser for the Spenard Farmers Market! If you're in town, mark your calendars because the concert is sure to be a hot ticket!

Tool Time

When the alarm went off this morning, I felt a bit like Cindy-rella. Our Spring Break is over and the alarm clock signaled the start of the busiest time of year for me. It was time to put the easy, soft & cushy, warm felting projects aside and put on the Carhartt’s, long-johns, wool socks and heavy-duty welding gloves. There are several metal orders I need to get out this week and then production kicks into high gear for the Spenard Farmers Market and Katie's Gallery. Fireweed Gallery wants a couple of seascape wall sculptures, The Quilted Raven is in need of more Garden Ravens and Raven Ornaments

(the interior photo shows some of my Raven’s that I’m making more of) and I have a special commission I need to work on for Leslye and her husband’s new home.

Before I can have a few days of solid metal work production I needed to re-stock my steel and round-stock inventory. Getting to go to Steel Fab, Alaska Steel and Air Liquide for me, is like some women getting to go to the Nordstrom Half Yearly Sale!

I love going to the steel yard –almost as much as purchasing new tools. The next two days will be “cut days” where I’ll draw out what needs to be plasma cut on large, 4 x 8 sheets of 22 gauge steel (a lighter weight steel, what these jobs are calling for) then I’ll hand cut all of the misc. components that will get welded up towards the end of the week.

I cut so long today I have strap marks across my cheeks from wearing my respirator!

Parting “Shot” The people below are at the Alyeska Stizmark Bar getting ready to have a “Shot-Ski.” Shot glasses are filled with your favorite beverage and mounted on a ski –ONE, TWO, THREE, SKIIIII!

Sending Prayers to Japan

Waves of tsunami hit residences after a powerful earthquake in Natori, Miyagi prefecture (state), Japan, Friday, March 11, 2011. The largest earthquake in Japan's recorded history slammed the eastern coast Friday. Kyodo News

Alaska is no stranger to earthquakes but the massive earthquake that struck Japan late Thursday triggered a tsunami which swept along the Alaska coastline from the Aleutian chain to Southeast Alaska Friday morning, causing no reports of damage but fear and concern among many people. Tokyo bound flights were diverted to Anchorage International Airport as Japan continues to assess the devastation from the 8.9 quake. Our thoughts and prayers are with all of the Japanese people, especially Anchorage's sister city of Chitose, Japan.

Euan Craig is a potter living north of Tokyo in a small, rural community of Mashiko, Tochigi. With aftershocks occurring as he writes this post, he is thankful he and his family are safe but many are not…

Here is his post in part. “…ran the seven hundred yards to the primary school, the children were already in the middle of the...the house shakes again as I write...play ground, the teachers herding them to safety. The children are crying and... my god that is another earthquake...it's OK, we thought we might need to get the kids out of their beds...that wasn't an after shock, that was another earthquake...the teachers were trying to contact people on their mobiles but there was no service. I can see Canaan and Rohan, they are safe. The ground is still moving like a raft, the teachers tell me parts of the ceiling have fallen in the school but the children and staff are all evacuated accounted for and safe. Rohan's teacher has a son at the pre school with Sean, I tell her I am going there and tell the boys to stay with their teachers. I run.”

Special thanks to Hollis Engly for Euan’s link.

One Ringy-Dingy...

Heads and tails. Above, Tauzer's beard was frosty from our morning walkies. Below, Nimbus is all butt snorkeling for shrews and voles under the snow! They are booth avoiding me, they saw me get the grooming supplies out...

I got an unexpected call this week from a potter who is new in town. She wants to buy my kilns and kiln controller. I had my equipment for sale a short time on Cr@igs list last fall but everyone either just wanted the controller by itself, or wanted me to magically make the kilns come with studio space and use only 110 power, so I just covered everything up and waited for a better time to part with them. I would rather just have donated the kilns should someone have had the proper electrical power and space. Truthfully, I hadn’t been thinking about the kilns until the phone call. It was fun to meet with the new potter and show her what I had to offer, all for a screamin’ deal. She’s anxious to start making pottery again as all of her supplies and equipment are in storage in Washington. Due to the weight, she said it would have been too expensive to ship to Alaska. Uncovering the sheet-draped kilns, opening the boxes of stilts, shelves, files of manuals and firing schedules made me want to change my mind about selling everything. I do miss working in clay but I don’t miss the disappointments… The majority of our conversation

was really about how does an artist new in town meet other like-minded artists? Good question. I told her I’d put together a list of other local potters I know (those that wouldn’t mind meting someone new), share a list of blogs & web sites, give her a local resource list and invite her to our Art Coffee group. We do have a potter’s guild here, but I was never able to get any information from them and the university can be closed off for non-traditional students. The local “Anchorage Clay Arts Guild” doesn’t even have a web presence, and a couple of years ago when I tried to contact a member I never even got a phone call back.

Working alone in your studio can be very isolating let alone being new in town. I think that’s why I sought out other art blogs, especially clay bloggers. I learned so much on-line through other potter’s blogs and appreciated the sharing and exchanging of ideas, clay, glaze and firing recipes. Most of all I appreciated knowing that even the rock stars of clay had the occasional failures and disappointments.

Another unexpected phone call was Wednesday/Thursday night at 3:36 am when my cell phone rang here at the cabin. Any call after midnight cannot be good. My stomach tightened as I searched for the phone in the dark. I was relieved when the missed call indicated it wasn’t one of the kids or family members, but it was our friend and downstairs renter. Whew, I thought, she was probably accidentally dialing me from the resort bar. Then my cell phone chimed that I had a voice mail… “So, so sorry to wake you guys but do you think you come downstairs right away, there’s water shooting out of the hot water heater and it’s going EVERYWHERE!” Derek heard the voice mail and flew out of bed, racing down the icy stairs to the disaster below. Three good things happened; First, all of us were home when the rental water heater blew, normally the girls are on some back-country ski adventure or at work and we’re 45 miles away, in Anchorage. Second, Daddy-O is the handiest guy I know and with a trip to town for supplies, plumbing tools and our wet/dry vac all was repaired. Third, Derek was actually CLOTHED when he went flying out of bed and down the stairs wearing his flannel pants and a t-shirt. Though when his warm rubber Croc’s did hit the icy steps his feet went out from under him, but he quick-gripped the railing averting a second crisis –of the medical kind!

The photos above are of some new felted wool pins I've been making this week. The ice carving photos below were sent from Kristen in Fairbanks at the 2011 World Ice Art Championships. Kristen wished she could have better shown the scale of the carvings as the bird cage, entered in the multi-block competition was over 30 feet tall! The bottom photo is actually a giant ice slide, you can see two people in the upper right.

Our Equivalent of a Sunday Drive

Gus and I convinced Daddy-O to be a flatlander today as we cross-country skied (Derek normally only skis vertically...) through Moose Meadow, Fitz’s Meadow (appropriate from Thursday night!), Conway Meadow and back through Lost Meadow, all under glorious blue skies. The trails were wonderful thanks to the newly formed Girdwood Nordic Ski Club. THANKS GNSC!

Moose Meadows, Girdwood, Alaska