In the Zone

I'm taking another ceramics class with my daughter at the local junior college this semester. She really wanted me to join her and I couldn't resist. I love spending the time with her. And, I'm having even more fun than I did when we took the class last spring.

Throwing on the wheel is going so much better this time. It's like I'm getting a feel for how to do it. I'm finding it to be somewhat relaxing and almost "zen" like. So far, I've thrown more successful things than collapsed failures. That's pretty exciting!

Then, there was last night! I had thrown a cup on Monday that I decided to turn into something special for my hubby. So, I sculpted a lizard on the side. I learned so much and had so much fun. It's kind of like the wheel...I was getting a feel for it. A feel for where the curves and shaping needed to be and how to manipulate the clay to do what I wanted. The three and a half hours flew by and felt more like 30 minutes. I guess that means I was in "the zone". I'm thrilled with the results! Here are some pictures I snapped with my cell phone...


I printed out some lizard pictures to take with me to class to use as a reference. In the pictures I had, they looked like they had five toes on the front feet and four on the back. However, when I came home and looked at more lizard pictures, I'm not sure if that was right. Some look like they have five on their front and back. Some look like they have three. Hmmmm? Oh well...it may be a little off...but I'm so happy with it that I don't care.






I took a pictures with my hand to show the scale. It's small but hubby is planning to use this as a water cup. It should work out just fine.


Now, I just have to get in "the zone" when it comes time to choosing glaze colors.

Can't wait for next week to play with more clay. This is fun!

Creativity vs. Distraction

I love being creative. I always have. It's something I want spend more of my time doing. I even created a beautiful space to create in. And, I have time. But...I keep getting distracted. There's always laundry, groceries, cooking, errands, people to help, and places to go. I keep thinking that I could treat it like a job and go into my studio every morning at 10. I know that once I get started on something, I'll be in there for a while and it'll be fun and rewarding. But, I keep getting distracted.

I spent time in there a couple mornings last week. I wasn't completely sure what I was going to work on. The list of things I want to do is so long that it's hard to decide where to start. I pulled out some paper, watercolors, brushes and pens, and played around. I ended up spending a couple of hours doodling on these...


I was inspired by a tutorial on the "Peony and Parakeet" Blog. It would have been nice to add some white paint and some metallic highlights but I was using what I had. They're not really what I was aiming for. But, I feel good that I actually sat down to be creative.


I played around with some acrylic paints and brushes another day. This is all I did though. I felt stuck! Ugh!


I love fiber arts and I want to spend much more time on that. But, I really want to work with some other materials for a change...like I used to years ago.

I would love to know how really creative people do it. How to create and create without letting distractions of everyday life get in the way. Any tips, advice or encouragement would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! :-)