Fall Into Place

The transition from summer to fall officially began this past weekend and the cool rainy weather in our ‘neck of the woods’ underscored that changeover. Pumpkin-inspired everything has been evident everywhere in the build-up to the season, so it’s not a surprise that fall is actually here; I welcome the change of seasons, but also mourn the loss of the preceding time of year. 

Pottery is a messy business every step of the way!

My studio has been in fall and winter preparation for weeks. I have self-imposed deadlines to create the pieces I plan to make and sell for the upcoming holiday season. Part of this busy pressure is an attempt to space out the timing of clay production so it doesn’t all crunch together the week before a scheduled show or target date. I am ahead of schedule, but for some reason I’m still experiencing the pressure. 

Exploring new shapes always helps balance the repetition of making familiar shapes. Im testing out these new vase forms in the studio.

I think stress is built into the nature of creating pottery. It is an art form requiring attention throughout a long making process. Each step has it’s own pitfalls. Experience helps me avoid these common clay hazards, but from start to finish (at least a two week process), there are many stages where things can go wrong. That contributes to the pressure build-up in making art out of clay. 

Luckily, my years of clay-making have also taught me in the end that everything tends to fall into place. Planning ahead, sticking to a routine, brushing off the failures, and embracing the process all help me achieve my goals. Then it’s on to the next one!

Making Dates With Deadlines

This past week was all about deadlines. For months leading up to the first full week of May, many supplemental goals needed to be set and accomplished. And since I have a tendency to revert to Monkey Mind (see past blog post!), this concept is not always natural to me. I think many people who think in creative ways struggle with deadlines, so I’m not alone!

Early in the week I delivered and set up a series of outdoor flowers to fill the pots underneath this pool-side table. 

I’ve learned that setting an end date is powerful and beneficial. I think it actually makes me more creative and enables me to accomplish much, much more. I’ve mentioned before I like to break tasks into small, manageable bites. All of these lead up to an overall end target. It works for me. 

The garden bell class was filled to capacity resulting in 12 happy crafters going home with their beautifully decorated and assembled garden art. Throughout the workshop, I set completion goals for the students so everyone knew what had to be completed so we could move on to the next creative task. It worked well. I'm already planning a wrap bracelet-making class for June. Stay tuned!

Over the weekend, I split my time between two wonderful local shows. I had prepped the featured clay pieces for the personality of each venue, visualized and practiced the set up for the display and demo, made a list, packed, delivered and set up. 

This annual fiber spectacular at The Knot House (held the same weekend as the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival) features Indie Yarn Dyers from far and wide.  People line up to get in and grab first dibs on limited inventory colorways of incredible wool. As a knitter, it's paradise. As a potter, it's an opportunity to share my knitting-related clay pieces with this creative crowd. I spent Friday and Sunday at The Knot House and spoke to numerous attendees as they stood in line to pay for their stash. I learned here too. Some of these creative stitchers set goals and have a plan for their projects and many others just wing it!

Saturday was an all-day/night affair at my favorite Frederick shop -- The Muse. The town hosts monthly First Saturday events. The Mayfest theme this month invited visitors to collect flowers at participating shops to build a bouquet as they meander. 'Blobs' (named because of their oval shape and ability to morph into several uses) were the featured clay item for the event! I demonstrated how these are made and had fun talking with a steady stream of customers. 

Deadlines are necessary for me to complete one idea and be able to move on to the next. As a knitter, I'm one of those people who likes to work on one pattern at a time until it's finished. I don't like to buy yarn without a plan of what I'm going to make. It's too stressful for me and I think it actually slows me down. It's the same when I create with clay. Goals, deadlines, to-do lists and a plan all make me more creative and lead me to finish what I start. 

Full Time Part Time

I used to believe multi-tasking was a good thing. Being able to take care of two jobs at once was a bonus. Now I’m not so sure. Maybe it’s because I’m getting older and my overall ability to focus is waning so doing two things at once means neither gets done very well. But I also think in our busy world, it’s kind of a necessary evil. 

We all face some of these choices in our daily lives. Work requires full time attention. Home demands constant input. Family is another time-worthy investment. And within each of these important categories there are ongoing responsibilities that require attention. How can we do it all and do it well? I don’t necessarily have an answer.

I love getting feedback from my customers. Pat sent me this picture of a bird feeder she recently purchased and told me, "One morning I looked out and saw two goldfinches perched on the bar on either side of the feeder going round and round as the wind spinned it and feeding away! It was so much fun to watch." This made my day!!!

I’ve been thinking about this as I continue to develop the business side of my clay art. Making pottery is the fun and easy part. Photographing, posting on-line, marketing and selling are all crucial elements of the business side of this endeavor. Each could be a full time job. So how do I succeed with a part time effort in each of these areas? 

I participated in a weekend-long indie yarn pop-up shop celebrating the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival at The Knot House this past weekend. I met some incredible fiber artists who create their own colorful lines of yarn for knitting enthusiasts like me. Based on our conversations, I realize they face similar time-consuming choices in making and marketing their creative businesses. Finding a balance and focusing on the most important tasks is the trick. 

Education, organization and compartmentalization have been the key for me to tackle each full time endeavor.  I talk to other artists and creative people I know to share ideas on methods they use. I’ve taken some professional workshops to gain insight on improving my skills in unfamiliar territory. I’m working on streamlining a system to achieve the necessary steps for marketing my creations and carving out specific time to undertake these tasks. And finally, I’m conjuring all my yoga-inspired focus to stay in the moment and be present in the activity I’m working on and letting go of the distractions that so often lure me away from my goal. 

Mother's Day gives me an extra chance to reflect on my Mom. Even though it's grainy -- I love this picture of us. She was my original role model for balancing all the full time jobs of life -- job, family and home. As a single mother, she made it all work to the best of her ability. It wasn't always perfect -- but I realize even more now since her death -- the journey toward managing all these full time pursuits is choosing the most important tasks and learning to say no to the distractions.