I am happy! What else is there to say? I am surrounded by a wonderful supportive group of family and friends. The time I spent at the storytelling festival was great. I really enjoyed the interaction I had with other local ceramic artists and all of the attendees of the festival.
Things are moving forward. I recently received notification from Lark Books that the submission I made to them a year ago has been accepted for inclusion to their upcoming publication “500 Raku” this next Spring 2011. I am searching out and preparing work for submission to different shows and exhibitions around the country. I hope to get some broader exposure to the work I am doing.
I now have a space at B.Y.U. to work on my projects. I am happy to be working up there and expanding my abilities. I have been awed by the other students work and am really excited to learn from them and Von Allen. Von has me looking up a list of other artists to gain more insight and perspective on my own processes. One of these artists Lisa Clague gave a great quote from another artist William Daley when she was interviewed for Ceramics Monthly; it reads,
Being an artist is finding out who you are and why you’re special and then learning how to really use your imagination or vision, how to give it some kind of form. You develop a visual language that’s personal. You learn to make materials behave in ways that communicate your spirit and you learn to solve problems and take chances. You have to learn how to present things with clarity and passion and verve and you must do these things all at once. That is the confounding part.
I am still learning to speak my own language and developing my vocabulary. It is exciting to be going through this process and to be able to share it with you all.
Thursday night I will be a participating ceramic artist at BYU’s “Wide-Open Spaces” Exhibit Opening Fiesta. This will run from 6 -9 PM inside the MOA and on the patio between the museum and the HFAC. I hope to see you there!