Rocks in my head

It ain't the first time I've thought I had rocks in my head. The love of being a clay artist. The love of being part of a group that work too hard for very little pay. The love of being different and not being like everybody else. I just spent 4 days paddling on the waters of beauiful Georgian Bay where the rocks really do rock. This is the Canadian Shield with feldspar, mica, quartz and numerous other geological wonders. Some artists are able to go out to nature and replecate her. Well they try but she always wins. Me, I go out and come home with a mind full of thoughts that when I make I work I think hmmmm that looks like a rock shelf. That looks like a big round boulder I saw. What I was thinking today while making some cups was that symetry can go to hell. I have been called an "expressive" person and the work I like to make is clearly "expressive". The cups I have been making are sitting on rock shelves. This Friday I head out to "The Rock" NFLD to teach at the Fogo Island Clay Center. I have never been so excited. This is an island off an island that is becoming an artist's community. This is the kind of energy I have been searching for some time now. Fogo Island is hard to get to, it's climate is hard, it's people are over the top wonderful. What can I say " just like pottery "if it were easy everyone would be doing it!" I'd like to thank Sarah Fulford and
Peggy White for inviting me and throwing open the handmade NFLD quilt. I can't wait to taste chowder, cod, lobster, scallops and salty air.

Comments

Bonnie said…
Please take lots of pics of the island you'll soon be on your way to. Sounds wonderful
Anonymous said…
Is Fogo Island an egalitarian artists' colony or a playground for the rich?
DL said…
Working too hard for too little??? There are many artist making a living out there, perhaps not as much as one might expect, or maybe much more than you think. But you have just shown- you can take time to live life rather than the 60 hour a week grind of corporate life. Many are doing it and doing it well, making a living selling their art. The beauty of it all is that you can do your work and you can enjoy life. When you appreciate all the wonder and chances around you, and realize that life isn’t just a one track mind, things open up. What did you miss out on all those years of self focused clay life? Life and the wonders of what it can bring. And one surely must wonder maybe about what you missed with that narrow focus. Feels good to have woken up, no??
Anonymous said…
Fogo Island, wow!! Will you be teaching artists to expand their skills? It is an artist colony isn’t it? That must be exciting for you and them. What a great opp to work with artists wanting to take it to a new level and get to travel! Lucky everyone!
Anonymous said…
Yes, I've got my vaccine passport ready!
Anonymous said…
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there are travel restrictions in place in Newfoundland and Labrador

https://www.gov.nl.ca/covid-19/travel/travel-restrictions/

Bon voyage!
Anonymous said…
Traveler’s Prayer in a Time of Pandemic

May it be Your will,
Our God,
God of our fathers and mothers,
That we journey in peace
And return in peace,
Safe from the ancient hazards of travel –
Enemies, thieves, ambushes and wild beasts –
And safe from modern perils –
Plane crashes and traffic wrecks,
Scammers and con artists,
Infectious disease and quarantine –
So that our travel serves it highest purpose,
And we reach our destination and return home
In joy, life and health.
Grant us grace in Your eyes
And in the eyes of all whom we meet.
Anonymous said…
Prayer for a New Normal

The World as we knew it is gone, and for what feels like such a long time we have experienced so much hardship during this Pandemic.
As we prepare to walk into the future we pray for the "new normal" to come.
May our hearts be unified in You more than ever.
May the tender moments of seeing someone again in person be all the more rich and treasured. May the reunions, interactions, and moments ahead be held in such intentionality and may we turn to You in sincere gratitude.
Help us to come out of this Pandemic better, not bitter.
Help us to become more considerate of others, more mindful of how we can help one another, and how we can serve You and Your children well.
We thank You that no matter how dark the night may get, there is the hope of the dawn to come.
Anonymous said…
A Prayer to the Potter

Dear Potter,
The lump of clay that I am
Keeps crying for some form
Day by day
I yearn for you to mold me

This is a trust song, Lord
I am in your hands like clay
I am ready to be transformed:

I expect to be molded
I expect to be beautiful
I expect to be loved.
And if by chance
Someone should drop me
As your apprentices sometimes do,
I expect to be hurt.

I’m just trying to say
I have surrendered to your dream for me
I am in your hands like clay.
Anonymous said…
Rocks In My Head
Song by Buck Owens

Oh, I must have had rocks in my head
When I believed anything that you said
Like a puppy, I rolled over and played dead
Oh, I must have had rocks in my head

Many nights, I've waited up 'til 12 o'clock
But that's all over, now my waiting's gonna stop
I get dressed up and I'll go out on the town
While I'll live it up and you can live it down

Oh, I must have had rocks in my head
When I believed anything that you said
Like a puppy, I rolled over and played dead
Oh, I must have had rocks in my head

Well, I'm tired of talkin' to the walls
Tired of waitin' all alone for you to call
So when you see me dancing with a brand-new girl
Then you'll know that I've got a brand-new whirl

Oh, I must have had rocks in my head
When I believed anything that you said
Like a puppy I rolled over and played dead
Oh, I must have had rocks in my head
Yes, I must have had rocks in my head

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