ceramic fun!

Just can't stop talking about...ceramics hooray!! I just got to sing it from the mountain tops...or in this case from my wooden desk chair staring out into my yard and deck where all of my pretty flowers are. So I am singing to my flowers I suppose! And they like it. They are growing quite nicely. hee hee! Anyways...ceramic=good time for all! I feel the constant need to thank Mariko for bringing the art of ceramics into my life. Seriously. Monday and Wednesday nights are my favourite! If I can, I head directly to Feedlot Studios, I do not pass GO...I just GO and get my clay on! It's pretty much "Ladies night" with the occasional male drop in to play dans le clay too. I like getting together with the ladies. It's great to have some time set aside where you do get together with a group of friends...some close and some acquaintances...but you are in a creative and friendly and encouraging atmosphere. It is really quite lovely. Who knew ceramics could bring people close! :o) I am thankful for open ceramics night!

Last Sunday was Father's Day. I really never know what to get for my dad. Not like he needs or wants for anything but love from us kids...I just like to send a little something each year. (Last year...I didn't send anything but a card...at least I remembered that!) Generally I will buy him something to do with trains or wolves. ha ha ha ha ha! Yup. The wolf is his favourite animal. He is mesmerized by them. They are a pretty amazing creature...and incredibly beautiful. Their eyes are like soul quenching pools of white/blue Caribbean water...giving you a peaceful warm feeling. (but they'll still bite yer head off if they feel like it!) So, I have bought him things like t-shirts and little vignette knicky knacky wolf things. And trains...well they are an obsession of his since his childhood. He loves trains...like he REALLY LOVES TRAINS! I wish I had a photograph of his office at the Greenhouse. I remember the office being quite roomy...like maybe 11'X11'...and all four walls were covered in framed photographs. His photographs of trains that he chased all over North America. (with the exception of four photographs on the wall behind his desk...for when he turns around his family is in those frames closest to where he spends a lot of time.) Some of these "chases" he would drive on his own to get the best photos he could in the coolest and most magnificent places. And other times he would chase these trains on our family vacations...some times I think the vacations started as an idea in his mind of a location he had been dreaming of for an awesome train shoot.  And that's okay. We would get a theme park or some other kind of fun out of it too. I am pretty sure we have been to every Six Flags of America! I would say 8 times out of ten, we drove to our final destination in order that daddy got his wishes too. I have traveled a ton of the inter-state highways in the U.S...but I have traveled just as many of the side and farm highways too. These are highways that brought us to some gorgeous canyons, with train bridges passing over them...and the engineers on my dad's scanner with their crackling voices calling out co-ordinates into our vehicle would lead our way. As much as we complained and asked "How much longer til we get there dad?!?"...we were pretty happy to have some amazing adventures along the way. I have a million train spotting stories! Thanks dad for the fabulous memories of things I've seen...I will cherish those moments forever. (Love you)

In honour of my dad for Father's Day this year I spent a few open ceramics nights creating the perfect gift...the perfect gift for him. He is going to freakin' love it!

I have combined his love of train and wolf in this piece. :o) Oh how I love to play in da clay!

those are grey wolves...I am not a good drawer! ;op