Amber Dusick

What I'm up to lately...

Going on this week...

Mornings.  Cute muffin cups, no?  I love these.

They match my mugs.  Blueberry was the latest muffin batch.  

Early afternoons.  Laughing at our "Super Kitty" who is doing much better with the insulin.  Another check on Friday with the vet but things may be looking up for him.  He certainly is more playful.   

Late afternoons.  Gardening in proper gardening attire.  I'm so tempted to find a tiny, tiny pair of gardening shoes for the wee one but I must hold back, knowing that A - he can't walk and B - he'll outgrow them in minutes.

Evenings.  Grilling and eating outside with our favorite wines.  This wine producer, Martilde is a husband and wife team and I may have a crush on them.  Or, at least the idea of their lifestyle.  She paints all the beautiful labels, which mainly feature all the animals they live with on their vineyard.  

The little one draws with leftover charcoal while the grill is going and we watch him and sip wine.  Art is everywhere.   

Waiting!  Three racks of clay drying.  Mostly will be glaze test tiles.  Can't wait to play with glazes!  Electrician hasn't called back so not sure when the kiln will be hooked up.  Kiln is still unnamed  but I do have one in mind that I can't get out of my head.  I want to get to know her before making it official.  Gotta make sure this is the right name. THANKS for all your awesome and funny ideas!

So that is us right now.  A little of this, a little of that.  Just the way I like it. 

Feeling tiny.

  

This was what I saw the other night in my backyard when I looked up from snapping garden photos.  A hummingbird, a dove and a plane.  Just a split second later and the hummingbird whizzed away and the plane passed.  The dove remained.  

Do you ever look up at the sky and suddenly feel the hugeness of the universe and the smallness of yourself all in one beautiful moment?

 

    

Announcing the Arrival of (ceramics kiln) AKA - She Still Needs a Name!

What arrives on a wooden pallet, is fragile, is reflective like a mirror and comes in a large box perfect for my son to make a house out of?  The Kiln!  The.  Kiln.

Breathe. 

Okay, now I'm better.  Seriously, this is years and years and years of anticipation of this someday happening.  And it is happening!       

This bright orange, happy truck appeared outside of my kitchen window at around noon.  The driver was helpful and said he'd help push all 400 lbs of it up the driveway and into the garage.  This was a huge relief since I only paid for lift gate service, which means he technically could have dropped off the kiln at the bottom of our driveway and said "later alligator" but he didn't.  My husband was also home (yay!) to help with the pushing and with the pallet driver it wasn't very hard to get it up our steep driveway. 

Once inside, the unpacking began.  I intended to have my husband snap a photo as I lifted off the box but the box weighed like 100 lbs.  I couldn't get it off myself so this photo is totally silly.  He had to set the camera down and come and help.  

Here she is, all swaddled up and cozy.  Like a newborn.  Love at first sight. 

         

Gotta make sure she has all her fingers and toes.  She does! 

Such a wee thing, isn't she cute?  Plenty big enough to require an electrician who is coming next week to get the garage wiring all spiffy and get her going.  Until then I'll just pat her and read the manual, which is so large it came in a box all its own.  Pretty intimidating.  While I've fired kilns before they were never my own and never in my own house! 

A kiln to a ceramic artist is a huge deal.  It is like this magical cauldron that transforms stuff and turns mud into art.  Many of the artists I admire name their kilns and I while I'm not usually one to get creative with this (my first scroll saw was simply "Saw" and my second one was "Hegner" after the brand name) I'm thinking this time I'll put some thought into it.  So she still needs a name suitable for something magical, that nurtures transformations and uses heat.  Any name ideas?

I'm SO excited! 

      

Random Stuff Going On

I don't really know what to post about.  I'll just go ahead and admit this rather than try to come up with something and have it sound contrived.  So maybe I'll just share a whole smattering of things that aren't big enough to be posts on their own.  Here goes...

We found out yesterday that my cat has diabetes.  We have to give him shots twice a day and it is expensive.  Maybe this is why I'm feeling blah today?

Lots of playing in clay happening lately.  I'm even doing things smart and have been busy making glaze test tiles.  It is new for me to test and plan, I usually create blindly and keep my fingers crossed. 

Something BIG is arriving soon.  BIG as in I'm super excited about how this will change things and also it is a very large special something.  I still don't believe it is happening so I can't reveal it just yet.    

Maybe my yellow Jolly's gardening shoes will help my funky mood?  I do always feel like a happy little elf when I wear them outside.  I sort of wish we wore shoes indoors so I could have them on all day.  How can you be grumpy with bright yellow elf shoes on?  Impossible! 

      

Making a Deal

He'll happily be my art store shopping companion if he gets to pick something out for his very own?

Deal. 

Now Smelling (and buzzzzzz, welcome bees!)

Non-fragrant flowers are like shallow people.  They may be beautiful, but have no substance, no personality. 

The smelling ones are my loves.  I don't even care what they look like, and you'll see from this photo, they aren't flashy or spectacular.  But they are my absolute favorite.   

When I walk out the front door I can immediately smell the sweet orange and lemon trees which are covered in blossoms and bees.  I can hear the BUZZZZZZZ of thousands of bees from several paces away.  I have to be careful when I want to smell up close to not disturb them.  I sat on a bee in the grass this summer and wow, that hurt.  Yes, a bee sting on my ass.  Classy.  Hey, I was hugely pregnant and couldn't even see my own two feet.  Sorry bee.  

The lavender and jasmine are also covered in bees and it has taken quite a bit of careful training to teach my son to check for bees before picking, smelling or otherwise diving into the plants since these are at his level.  I say "careful" because I don't want him to be terrified of bees, I just want him to be aware of them and stay out of their way.  I've seen too many kids (and adults!) unable to enjoy the outdoors just because there are bees in the flowers.  They run, screaming when a bee buzzes by.  I hate this.  It makes them more likely to freak the bee out and get stung.  Bees aren't out to get anyone.  Well, except for those people who slather themselves in smelly products.  Then it's their own fault for tricking the world into thinking that they are a flower.

Maybe this is a city mouse/country mouse thing.  It never occured to me to be afraid of them as a child, they were just part of the farm and they were everywhere.  I love bees!  We gotta take care of them and a lot of folks are concerned about them.  Even my own parents in rural Minnesota bought gear to set up their own colony.  Someday I'd like to try my hand at beekeeping.  My own source of beeswax and honey?  That would be a dream.  For now, I welcome them to our yard, knowing that the work they do now ensures yummy stuff later.  So important. 

Anyone have any bee stories?  Have you ever tasted honeycomb right from the hive?  Were you a bee for Halloween as a child?  (It is okay to just admit it if you are a runner/screamer, I'll still like you, I promise)     

Taking Care (of ourselves)

We're all starting to feel better, huge relief.  A whole lot babywearing, soothing and zombie-ing over the last few days.  I'll drop everything else to care for them.  Unfortunately, this means I neglect to take care of myself and then I often wind up sick too.  Which leads me to something I've been wanting to post about: taking care of ourselves.   

I'm striving to be great at it.  I've always eaten well for example, but now I'm forcing myself to do the things that aren't as easy as eating organic spinach.  You know, like going to the dentist for a cleaning.  It is no wonder moms have trouble taking care of themselves in the early years of parenting.  Arrange childcare so I can go to the dentist?  Not very appealing.    

I even went to the dermotologist.  I have a bandaid and two stitches to prove it.  I've always thought that going to a dermotologist is something only fancy people do.  Rich girls with flawless skin who suddenly get a zit and "Oh my gawd, I have to see my dermotologist!"  Or maybe that was just high school.  Or maybe I'm fancy now. 

Anyway, a tiny bump appeared where there was no bump before on my arm while pregnant.   A very common thing (all those grow, grow, grow pregnant hormones in your body makes other non-savory shit grow too) but a bump is a bump is a bump (!) and I wanted it checked out.  Actually, I wanted it gone.  A bump!  Take it off!  Especially since my grandfather has skin cancer.  Those damn fair skinned Dutch genes.  It was benign (ie - not cancerous) so that was a relief.  Even though I expected it to be okay those scary thoughts still crept in. 

So my point?  I thought I had one.  It must be here somewhere.  Oh yes, taking care of yourself.  Do it.  Even if you have little ones.  It feels good.     

  

 

 

 

Intentions...and then real life

I had every intention of posting about our lovely weekend hike and how the hills are in bloom and I was going to say clever things about how I feel like I'm in bloom too.  You know, tie it all together with my creative stuff I've got going on. 

But in all honesty, I don't have the energy for that sort of thing.  The little ones are sick so they are all I can focus on.   

 

Be back soon when we are on the mend and I get more sleep. 

Off to make more honey lemon tea...

(And thanks SO MUCH for all your nice and encouraging comments about my ceramics announcement on my last post - it means the world to me.)

Woodmouse does ceramics?

(door to my secret studio)

I tend to be one of those people who secretly works on something only to launch it to the world, completely unannounced and out of left field.  And totally completed.  I see a friend I haven't talked to in a while and the conversation goes something like this...

Them: Hey, what is new?

Me: Oh, not much.  Except I finished training as a helicopter pilot. 

Them:  What?  When were you doing that?  Why didn't you say anything about it?

Me:  Um...  

I know this about me and I know it comes from not wanting others to see me stumble.  It is hard for me to share the learning process.  I like to endure growing pains alone and if something cool comes out of it then I share it.  This also keeps the mystique going that I do these things effortlessly.  Which I don't.

(studio goodies)

So since I'm being all honest and stuff, I'm doing ceramics.  Sort of like "woodmouse" but in clay.  This is my big secret.  I'm playing with some of my old designs (new ones too) but in clay.  I wrote often about moving away from making toys and towards making art and this is how it has evolved...with a medium switcharoo thrown in to keep it interesting.

(some classic woodmouse designs drying)  

This ceramics thing has been something of a dream for a long, long time and I've even hinted at it on various posts.  I feel so fortunate that I am finally able to make this happen.  I've been playing, experimenting and generally having a blast getting to know clay again.  When I get my hands in clay the time disappears. 

But I'm still figuring this out.  And for the first time, I'm wanting to share the journey.  Stumbles and all.       

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Have a wonderful weekend!  We've got hikes, grilling and gardening planned.  (and I'll likely sneak in some clay time too) 

    

Creative Porridge (or, nourishing my inner artist)

Nourish your inner self.  Do you do this enough?  I certainly don't, especially after becoming a mother, but I was never particularly good at it anyway.  It is so easy to forget to take care of yourself when you are so busy taking care of others. 

I've been granting myself what I'm calling "Creative Porridge*" to fill up again, to nourish my inner artist who I've been starving this past year.  I plan to continue doing this and have a current recipe running at all times.  Sometimes it might just involve drinking tea every day.  Or watching a stupid comedy.  But "Creative Porridge" will be a part of my life from now on.  Things that are for me. 

My current "Creative Porridge" recipe:

ONE PART VISIONARY MOM  - Creative Mama e-coaching with Lisa.  I've never, ever done any sort of "coaching" before but I was compelled to sign up for a four week coaching session and I'm so glad I did.  Sure, I could have cleaned out my garage (and all the other stuff she forced me to do like icky collages - no, just teasing, Lisa) on my own, but I don't think I would have done it as fast nor with as much clarity.

ONE PART FISH BOWL - I  also signed up for In The Fish Bowl:: Life as an Artist e-course with Marisa of Creative Thursday.  Why am I paying to hang out with Marisa online when I can see her live and in person for free?  (my husband asks) Well, first, because she has a lot of great stuff to say and I don't want to miss out on anything.  Second, it is totally worth it!  Making connections with new people.  A dedicated space and time to focus on this sort of stuff.  Marisa as our school of fish leader with her positive, calm and encouraging ways.  I need this.  I'm looking forward to seeing how the next five weeks unfold - both for me and also hearing about the others in our group.    

ONE PART STUFF - And I've been buying stuff.  Art stuff.  Art supplies!  It has been a long time since I treated myself to those types of creative treats and holy crap, I had forgotten how tasty they are.  The arrival of a new glaze paintbrush or a blank sketchbook makes me all giddy.

So that is the current blend.  Simple, but I like my recipes like that.

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Care to share your current recipe?  Are you nourishing or starving your inner self? 

*I adore that Wikipedia says porridge is "used traditionally in many cultures as a food to nurse the sick back to health" which is so incredibly appropriate for what I'm trying to do.  Plus, we've actually been eating a whole lot of the real stuff on rainy mornings - like the photo above of my son's bowl.