tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66578546894102372462024-03-05T07:02:35.672-08:00Cynthia CusickI'm a potter and artist from the NYC area living in rural Eastern Kentucky. I swear a lot.Cynthia Cusickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11276231927797895412noreply@blogger.comBlogger221125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6657854689410237246.post-47815089262537912912017-09-06T18:25:00.003-07:002017-09-06T18:26:08.225-07:00Tea Horse Studio 2017 recap<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Or</span></i></span></h4>
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<b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">What The Hell Happened To Cindi? Did She Disappear?</span></b></h3>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Save The Date!!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">I'm baaaaack...</span></div>
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I looked at some logins the other day across a few social media platforms I belong to and on one of them I noticed I hadn't updated since 2016. At first I figured that was a typo but considering the events of the end of last year and the binging of this year, I realized, nope, that's accurate.<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span></div>
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Let's catch up, shall we?<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span></div>
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I'm still making pottery and have even managed to get some art pieces done. In fact, making all this work is a big part of the reason why I've been so lax in my online social media presence. Pots have been thrown, bisqued and even glaze-fired. Right now there's a back up in the studio because I'm waiting on some wood-firing schedules with the fine folks at <a href="http://bobtownarts.org/" target="_blank">Bobtown Arts</a> in Berea so I can get some new wood-fired pieces finished. Additionally, I've been trying to keep the local galleries supplied as best as possible. Currently, I have a whole bunch of glazed ware ready for firing but I still need to push some greenware first to fill a bisque load in the kiln to complete the glaze load! Workable studio space is small so I don't have much room for inventory to sit and hang out. When I run out of space while things are in process, I have to get creative while I work, whole lotta shuffling of... stuff. That tends to stress me out. Anyway, you ask, how did I end up in a cycle where I'm a bit congested and behind the loop?</div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6;">The Mother Part</span></h3>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"> Well, Mother had some heart surgery. Now that Mother is living in a nice cabin on the property directly behind my studio (with a lovely view of the farm scenery, I might add), I split my time working and checking up on her. Last year the extent of her health issues were critical and had to be addressed ASAP. In late January, she went in for what's referred to as a TAVR procedure to replace her aortic valve for severe aortic stenosis. It </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">happens under general anesthesia via an incision in your femoral artery. The valve worked beautifully. However,</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> she had some bleeding, not major but enough that she spent about a week in ICU then onto Telemetry for another few weeks then a couple of weeks in the local nursing home rehab. </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">The whole episode until I started to get into a routine with her care and my work has lasted until about May-June. She's doing great. We can't thank the surgeons, cardiologists and whole medical team enough.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6;">The Me Part</span></h3>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The sun will come out...</td></tr>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"> Of course, me being me, beyond trying to keep my pottery and business moving forward, (even if it's only inches at a time), my brain gets sapped dealing with multiple crises at once. In case you haven't discovered this yourself, multi-tasking is bullshit. A sapped brain coupled with the current existential political reality in the USA exacerbated the usual seasonal depression in the winter months that I encounter so recovering out of that has taken its toll, sending me into a sticky depressive state for longer than I'm used to. I'm not a pill person when dealing with my depressive moments. I prefer a diet/therapy/exercise/meditative approach. It's much slower to come out of but it works for me. So I'm slowly getting things back on track. YAY FOR ME!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6;">Tea Horse Studio Specific News</span></h3>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="color: #e06666;">Item #1</span></span></h4>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"> I still have work stocked at the Berea Arts Council in Berea, KY, DamselFly Gallery in Midway, KY and Silo Mill Gift Shop in Irvine, KY. If you're in the area, go see those peeps!</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="color: #e06666;">Item #2</span></span></h4>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"> Starting at the beginning of this year, I was lucky to get some clay samples from my local supplier, Kentucky Mudworks. They've expanded to a location in Louisville and there they have embarked on producing their own line of moist clays, right now, mid-range and high fire clays. I've messed around with the mid-range clays with test tiles, thrown and hand-built items, carved, slips, underglazes, various glaze combinations. Some of the results are promising and I'll be putting up a write-up of my results shortly. The high fire tests will be fired off-site at Bobtown Arts and perhaps another soda kiln in Lawrenceburg, KY. One day, (maybe next year?) I'll get my own wood-fired soda kiln built on-site but until then, I'm limited to the mid-range electric fired clays.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Now listed at <a href="http://teahorsetudio.etsy.com/" target="_blank">on my Etsy site!</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="color: #e06666;">Item #3</span></span></h4>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"> ETSY!! Guess who has new listings? Yup and some of them are even the new clays! Peruse the page and pick yer faves. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="color: #e06666;">Item #4</span></span></h4>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"> Believe it or not, I had Open Studio hours this summer but as I have done ZERO publicizing, the studio was rather subdued. Open visits are back for the month of September, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 10-4pm. Hopefully, I'll adjust the FB page notice accordingly. Due to all the Mother-related activities, I have missed my goals to apply to some outdoor shows so if you want to see me, come out in September or...</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">FALL STUDIO SALE!!</span></span></h3>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">Yup. <span style="color: red;">One day ONLY.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Saturday, October 28 from 9-5 pm</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">10% off all items, some selected items up to 30% off.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Get the jump on Christmas, help me reduce my local inventory.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Mark those calendars.</span><br />
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Until next time...</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">So that's the gist of it. </span></div>
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Cynthia Cusickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11276231927797895412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6657854689410237246.post-86028604462088437512016-12-15T11:26:00.000-08:002016-12-15T11:26:55.390-08:00Bobtown Arts Wood Firing Dec. 2016<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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So we did this on the weekend of December 9-10 and let me tell you it was COLD. I have yet to organize these on Etsy but if you're signed up for my newsletter (link on the sidebar) you can get all the info if you're looking to purchase. A plethora of photos to follow...</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some odd pitchers. For reference, they should comfortably hold about a quart to half gallon of milk.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They're thrown and assembled from two parts. $90 each.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ2TgF454MZLg9YuJyk-bmFLdV93RD-0UVZwYiSWllUoxdyH-h-KKzZwnrtONqg-nKm5kG0l_Sg8YU2zgQE7KC65aOdEWkfFEZMbRGYZVB50nG9ABleAiqDtgONN7Ts-MrIqS9TsGBIVla/s1600/-sunmugs2lt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ2TgF454MZLg9YuJyk-bmFLdV93RD-0UVZwYiSWllUoxdyH-h-KKzZwnrtONqg-nKm5kG0l_Sg8YU2zgQE7KC65aOdEWkfFEZMbRGYZVB50nG9ABleAiqDtgONN7Ts-MrIqS9TsGBIVla/s400/-sunmugs2lt.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sun mugs! Yay!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL-p0YmDN267Z6IiVXS46zm8bUeYWex8gMnfdsfPkQb-fHxSQJhosKU9GtnV0EpfEpBzjErsgvRm8xvOsaOLUM6ADR-brVgOzdjHE_tNHyR3TOo0B87T2B1wu-6k7h6Eik63UgrV54efnT/s1600/-sunmugs1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL-p0YmDN267Z6IiVXS46zm8bUeYWex8gMnfdsfPkQb-fHxSQJhosKU9GtnV0EpfEpBzjErsgvRm8xvOsaOLUM6ADR-brVgOzdjHE_tNHyR3TOo0B87T2B1wu-6k7h6Eik63UgrV54efnT/s400/-sunmugs1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These run $36</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7cvV0-EvKTbbjrySz85SdmTtHSgAt-BEE_1yX_6NP24fJ3A6D-JhrSciy3J4AZ3aY_0SeNCioZ0cbqXCJoJJX1BZUqZ9G7Gz0o_PoDU0fatZe5KmOSnk6wftlKtDxU2WTqDIPFDBQa1rs/s1600/-stripitchdetail1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7cvV0-EvKTbbjrySz85SdmTtHSgAt-BEE_1yX_6NP24fJ3A6D-JhrSciy3J4AZ3aY_0SeNCioZ0cbqXCJoJJX1BZUqZ9G7Gz0o_PoDU0fatZe5KmOSnk6wftlKtDxU2WTqDIPFDBQa1rs/s320/-stripitchdetail1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQNynX24Pee7FrUqc3rW9o2ap9Vaecep_CiF0ndU5TgpZaAPXHe-bOomeBurhuQOaO4RFvQXThnJ_XQiNxFOfThASbqtr_VaCEgcweXIg3aTjSvTfQzmwm8751RKOzVqpgvsQ1_minLc8s/s1600/-isomugscups.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQNynX24Pee7FrUqc3rW9o2ap9Vaecep_CiF0ndU5TgpZaAPXHe-bOomeBurhuQOaO4RFvQXThnJ_XQiNxFOfThASbqtr_VaCEgcweXIg3aTjSvTfQzmwm8751RKOzVqpgvsQ1_minLc8s/s400/-isomugscups.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">A lovely arrangement... </span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiis_vssOSqqhZ7k8d_x9vCOTwtfH9pc3_GtEOwIVA-RkTsC_SBQIXoubfcK_wNTyMGnPhZH3T0KEQsvBn4C9hOIvZQijCc3-xCjBV7J3Je8S8Cjafjlu1n5myc4yOTreB0rhB2EzcfamMQ/s1600/-insidemugs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiis_vssOSqqhZ7k8d_x9vCOTwtfH9pc3_GtEOwIVA-RkTsC_SBQIXoubfcK_wNTyMGnPhZH3T0KEQsvBn4C9hOIvZQijCc3-xCjBV7J3Je8S8Cjafjlu1n5myc4yOTreB0rhB2EzcfamMQ/s400/-insidemugs.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside mugs and coffee cups. The glaze is a chun rimmed with a darker blue.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihiLHUjaZVO1x0I5niRIFELokHOk03WEJIbq7FKLOfKbN9lUZWxmABpCVW4hNecV0dhqjyPlm_hWDTDT0UktRvh7CU10sA3VC3Th355L_pYwBiin4Tjquzn2Yk0WErrNztLobNHDfAQQAH/s1600/-insidecupdetail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihiLHUjaZVO1x0I5niRIFELokHOk03WEJIbq7FKLOfKbN9lUZWxmABpCVW4hNecV0dhqjyPlm_hWDTDT0UktRvh7CU10sA3VC3Th355L_pYwBiin4Tjquzn2Yk0WErrNztLobNHDfAQQAH/s400/-insidecupdetail.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chuns can run from an ivory or white to a pale blue depending on the firing. Most of the insides of my mugs and cups become a speckled light blue</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihrU7FtpFSeL1u6f3BiX1z16qDFcujJ-k_lj4QubSMDi7vNui-nfX0nS0UTq-TGlFrMVc5CRnarN67o6r5eAq50TzG5U3MwGbVeJLwUocCBisjRjk1m7FA1ExEyA9jGAAlZQnBwAttSNmw/s1600/-horsex2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihrU7FtpFSeL1u6f3BiX1z16qDFcujJ-k_lj4QubSMDi7vNui-nfX0nS0UTq-TGlFrMVc5CRnarN67o6r5eAq50TzG5U3MwGbVeJLwUocCBisjRjk1m7FA1ExEyA9jGAAlZQnBwAttSNmw/s400/-horsex2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two smaller coffee cups with horse motif. $26 each. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiouTWc5WB-4MTNLRcX42ZZZTRHuw0FRa4q5hcoHfzXiOPG7h3cU-OQLcpVQsuRw4poBxmI_MIPwp0LmYs4M_McDjpNJ_d2wvMB92FxxFstiJIef4U3Je4pcz-b-d-uYRgVY76S7oonJSCl/s1600/-group2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiouTWc5WB-4MTNLRcX42ZZZTRHuw0FRa4q5hcoHfzXiOPG7h3cU-OQLcpVQsuRw4poBxmI_MIPwp0LmYs4M_McDjpNJ_d2wvMB92FxxFstiJIef4U3Je4pcz-b-d-uYRgVY76S7oonJSCl/s400/-group2.jpg" width="355" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wheee!</td></tr>
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Cynthia Cusickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11276231927797895412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6657854689410237246.post-79706662717351500912016-11-26T14:50:00.001-08:002016-11-26T14:50:47.419-08:00Holiday season<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Okie doke. I've finally managed to put aside a few pots from my firings to list on <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/teahorsestudio" target="_blank">Etsy</a>. Most of them are soap dishes under $20. Most of the time I make pots as fast as I can and they end up getting dispersed to local galleries. By the time I finish making deliveries, I have little to list on Etsy. Particularly horse pottery. This time I managed to put a few pieces aside of the latest batch of farm animals themed pieces including goats, cats, dogs, pigs and roosters and chickens.<br />
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If you <a href="http://eepurl.com/KHZ3L" target="_blank">sign up for my newsletter</a> – and I highly suggest you do – you get a promo code for check out that knocks a few pennies off the price for the holiday season.<br />
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I'm shipping Priority Mail until December 12, after which I won't feel comfortable that the pots will arrive before Dec. 25th.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYke19K9btFEg3s-iwZ-j7RgwRd20gfFByqW2dEWoAz0LjbKecpaEWiuiJmFfSCp8wQr1-ukLy-F4VOW2bPOMRBNS0OIsxzHejnsqtPmG9k64ti0mDu741ELUq4AvetzX1WaEcMfBZTVKu/s1600/IMG_2146.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYke19K9btFEg3s-iwZ-j7RgwRd20gfFByqW2dEWoAz0LjbKecpaEWiuiJmFfSCp8wQr1-ukLy-F4VOW2bPOMRBNS0OIsxzHejnsqtPmG9k64ti0mDu741ELUq4AvetzX1WaEcMfBZTVKu/s400/IMG_2146.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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So enjoy, enjoy. Hope your holiday season gets off to a great start!</div>
Cynthia Cusickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11276231927797895412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6657854689410237246.post-69992980717075838932016-10-28T15:59:00.002-07:002016-10-28T15:59:49.037-07:00Studio Sale Autumn 2016<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9F1J6Rxm5QvG6sCKtCOviTXMZqGFm-zC3f-VOyyZ-NhUTr4qZkb-PvnYjm11CmvpcrtEfhyBiAYX86pkr23cSrPSHgMX3FFJffmT0VxpxsylP3TFXA6IY-jJwpncmq4r9dH-0co06mmJS/s1600/IMG_3874.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9F1J6Rxm5QvG6sCKtCOviTXMZqGFm-zC3f-VOyyZ-NhUTr4qZkb-PvnYjm11CmvpcrtEfhyBiAYX86pkr23cSrPSHgMX3FFJffmT0VxpxsylP3TFXA6IY-jJwpncmq4r9dH-0co06mmJS/s320/IMG_3874.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Okie dokie. I've been making and bisque-firing and under glazing like a madwoman. Things are finally starting to come out of the kiln. This Saturday I will be having a studio sale from 10-5pm at the farm in Irvine. All pots will be 15% off the marked price. Anything not sold after Saturday will be dispersed to local galleries and listed on the Etsy site. If you sign up for my newsletter, you can get the coupon code for additional savings on all my Etsy listings up until December 12. I'll be selling and shipping Christmas pots off the Etsy site until then. Afterwards I just don't feel comfortable that Christmas shipments will get out in time.<br />
One other thing, I have a bumpy, rutted gravel driveway so drive slowly if you're coming out. Look for the yellow balloons on the mailbox!<br />
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Cynthia Cusickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11276231927797895412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6657854689410237246.post-59224496864908510002016-09-10T10:11:00.001-07:002016-12-15T17:25:24.959-08:00The Undead Father<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Funny story.<br />
<br />
So Dad passed away in early 2015. He was 90. He was in a nursing home for the last year-and-a-half of his life which wasn't the way I would have liked to see things go but he had a bit of dementia and had many issues physically which made it impossible for my 87-year-old mother to care for him. Additionally, all of us kids were either dead or too far away to assist. He needed care before we could make other arrangements after he fell and broke his hip and voila, once you're in the system, there's no coming out until you're dead, practically speaking in our situation.<br />
<br />
And he was buried. My older sister, older brother, and I missed the funeral because the three of us live over 500 miles from New York. At the time of dad's death, it was February, my brother was in Seattle and it had snowed over 18" here in Kentucky. The three of us opted to trek back the following month to get together at the apartment that my mother was living in and drop by the cemetery to visit the gravesite with mom. It was cold, cold, cold when we went a month after dad's death, the mound of dirt still sitting by the graveside that had been dug only weeks before.<br />
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We led mom over the spongy grass to Dad's grave. There were patches of snow on the ground but for the most part, things were winter-bare and brown. I think it was my brother or sister who walked mom over to the headstone. I started to walk ahead of them because immediately upon getting out of the car and facing the site, I noticed something on the ground just past the mound of dirt past the headstone. Something that I couldn't recognize. And yet... yet... instinctively, I knew exactly what it was except... my conscious, present, self didn't want to make the connection. It was a rather large, off-white, almost grey rock sitting on the grass at the bottom of the dirt pile next to the sunken ground where dad's casket had been covered. Alarm bells were quietly ringing in my head, unconsciously pulling me toward investigating this smooth, not-quite-spherical stone before my mother arrived at the gravesite. As we got in front of the headstone and the sunken rectangle of dirt, I sidled over to the rock and tried to lean over without bringing any attention to myself just in case this was, well, no rock. I didn't want to announce what I was doing so as not to make a scene. Just in case there was no reason for a scene.<br />
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You know when you have that moment of recognition, that instantaneous flooding of information when it all clicks into place and your brain not only names what it's seeing but suddenly, you're also overwhelmed with all the ramifications and consequences that come with being fully aware? Like enlightenment? But more... macabre?<br />
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I bent down to glance at the rock just to the left of my ankles and saw them, the squiggly lines, the seams, three fine, black threads like meadering lazy rivers, tiny grooves that met in the middle. There's a name for them. Cranial sutures. Yes, it was a skull. A human skull. On the ground. Next to the fresh mound of dirt that had been excavated for my father's remains weeks earlier. That meant, in all likelihood, it was... one of my relatives. Just the head. Just the bony, top half of the skull. No jaw. No hair. No flesh. Just bone. Just sitting there. On the ground. As my mother and brother and sister stood paying their respects to my father's recently interred remains.<br />
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Oh, it's amazing how many simultaneous thoughts you can actually have running through your head at one time when things come together.<br />
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<i>Holy shit, that's a skull. Holy shit, that's the skull of one of my father's side of the family. Holy shit, no one else has seen this. Holy shit, I literally <b>just</b> got here and haven't even begun to feel for the significance of the moment. Holy shit <b>–block everyone's view–</b> can they see? </i><br />
<br />
<b>WE MUST GET MOM OUT OF HERE. NOW.</b><br />
<br />
said the loud voice in my head above all the other chaotic thoughts.<br />
<br />
I stared across the group of us, trying to strategically place my body in mom's line of vision should she look towards me and away from where dad had been recently buried. At the same time, I stared hard and beamed the concern of emergency to my brother, silently, and I hoped, discreetly. You know the look, the widening eyes, pursed lips and small jerky head movements that should have clearly communicated, "<i>Don't look now but Grandma's head is at 11 o'clock!</i>" My brother, sensing I was acting a bit odd, leaned over to me and mouthed, "What?" without making a sound.<br />
<br />
"Don't make it obvious," I said, low under my breath, "but go over to that "rock" and and just see if you see what I see."<br />
<br />
He slowly switched places with me as I stepped closer to mom. My sister could tell some kind of conspiratorial conversation was happening and slid over to follow my brother, me taking her place at mom's side between us and Poor Yorick. I hooked my arm through my mother's and we silently stood looking at dad's gravesite, contemplating dad's end of life...<br />
<br />
Well, not really. Look, realistically, mom may have been assessing all the details of the past few weeks, months, the last year-and-a-half, her lifetime with my dad and marriage of sixty-five years. I, on the other hand, was rolling over obsessive thoughts in my head like an automatic rifle.<br />
<br />
<i>"Are you kidding me? The second we get here? I cannot believe this is happening. Wait, yes. Yes, I can! Of course. Of course this is happening. Why not? Why should I be able to grieve like a normal person? This is just par for the course for this weird family. Why wouldn't there be a human skull on the ground? Who is filming this? Someone must be filming this. <b>We have to go now!</b>"</i><br />
<br />
"So," I turned to mom, "you want to head to the Piper's Kilt for lunch?"<br />
<br />
"Yeah," she said, "Let's go."<br />
<br />
And with that I turned her away from the spectacle at the edge of the gravesite and walked her back to the car. Behind me as I looked over my shoulder, I could see the shock and surprise in the faces of my siblings as my brother took photos of, presumably, one of the Cusicks. They arrived back at the car as mom was getting in. We all settled in the car seats, adjusted our seat belts and conducted ourselves as if nothing had happened. Because of course we did. For mom's benefit. I was driving. As we started to pull away and my sister was conversing with mom, keeping her distracted, I turned to my brother and exclaimed under my breath words to the effect of <i><b>"You have got to be kidding me."</b></i><br />
<br />
<b>ACT NATURAL.</b><br />
<br />
We went to lunch and had to endure another hour of sad, reflective Dad memories, comforting mom while shooting looks of "<i>What the fuck?!</i>"over her head to each other when she wasn't aware. For an hour. I don't remember eating.<br />
<br />
Now, let me point out that although some might find this experience unnerving, unsettling, shocking, traumatic, worthy of drama and freaking out, crying, lamenting or what have you, I come from an odd family of second generation immigrants, an Irish, German and Lithuanian mix, lower middle class to middle class upbringing, depression-era sensibilities passed down from my folks and their extended families, lots of drinking with all the co-dependency and dysfunction-ality that comes with it. We descend from people who have gone through struggle and hard times but use humor, dark humor, to get through all the shit. So the moment I knew what I was looking at (and I want to say it was when I leaned over in my discreet yoga-stretch lean for my close inspection but looking back, there was a part of me that knew the instant I stepped out of the car), that moment, although some might have been traumatized, I was struck with shocked amusement and had to work hard not to burst out laughing. Could this be a more bizarre, absurd episode? I could hear the snorting laugh of my late brother in my head if he could have been there. I couldn't stop wishing if only, <i>if only</i> my younger brother had been here, too. What a moment! <i>What a defining Cusick moment!</i> It was absolutely perfect. You cannot make this shit up! While others can wax poetic about losing a loved father, sympathy and grief and tears, I'm franticly trying to usher my mother away from human remains. My god, that meant it would have been there when the funeral at the graveside happened! How did no one see? How did it get above ground? Then I remembered the patches of melted snow. Chances are it was all covered in snow weeks earlier and had only been exposed over the course of the later weeks. Didn't the gravediggers notice it rolling across the ground? Did they lose sight of it in the snow?<br />
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We finally got back to the apartment after lunch and the three of us furiously speculated how it all happened and <i>just which relative was that? </i>We surmised because it was a bleached skull, it would have had to have been remains that were in the ground a long time and in a decomposable casket that could have been disturbed by a backhoe as opposed to a metal casket. Based the marked dates on the headstone, that meant Grandma or dad's sister were the likeliest candidates, but dad's sister died in infancy and this was a full grown skull. Grandma, it is!<br />
<br />
Leaving mom to nap in the apartment and walking down the street a bit later, still discussing this, we fell silent. Finally, one of us said, "Well, who can we call? We can't just leave it there!" Visions of strangers showing up at the cemetery and absconding with a skull passed through my thoughts. Teens playing football with it. That kind of thing. Why? Well, to be frank, when I bent over to look at it, had my siblings not been there, had mom not been there, you're god-damned right I would have picked it up. Hell, I might have even taken it home. After all, it was one of us! (One of us, one of us) The urge was strong to touch it when I saw it. I mean, how often does one get the opportunity?<br />
<br />
Back at the apartment, my sister found out who managed the cemetery. My brother was elected to call the parish although he insisted on making the call not in our presence so as not to listen to our wisecracks in the background. The conversation on his end sounded like this:<br />
<br />
<i>"Yes, my family and I were just at the gravesite of my recently passed father, and there seems to be a skull on the ground that was disinterred and is just sitting next to the headstone... A skull... Yes, a skull... Yes, I know... Yes, next to the headstone... Well, we were just worried that someone else might come by and see it...Yes, of course, thank you." </i><br />
<br />
They immediately dispatched Fr. So-and-so to reinter the remains. My brother had to call back and ask that they not call the home phone number if they had questions, ya know, in case mom picked up the phone and found out what we'd been trying to keep from her.<br />
<br />
She still doesn't know what happened. I suppose we could tell her now that she's settled in her cabin and she's acclimated to dad being gone. One day. And we'll show her the pictures. After a few beers, though.<br />
<br />
Thinking about it, it's fitting that this happened. For me, the journey of my parents getting older and dying has routinely drifted into territory of the odd, bizarre, frustrating, and absurd. It's not over, either. Not only because mom's still alive and kicking, spending her days on her Kentucky porch, enjoying her puzzles and beer, but also because the DMV in New York keeps sending letters to my father warning him of his car registration suspension even though the car was re-registered to mom almost two years ago. Even though the car was then sold and re-registered in Kentucky about six months ago. Even though the man is dead. And just the other day we received a call inquiring about the apartment that mom vacated back in Scarsdale. <i>Did we know that someone was still paying the rent on it?</i> I'm sorry, say again? Is this a joke? Nope, rental company says someone in the family is still paying rent on the apartment.<br />
<br />
Dad... is that you????<br />
<br />
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Cynthia Cusickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11276231927797895412noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6657854689410237246.post-29913181221240953742016-09-08T10:36:00.000-07:002016-12-15T17:23:58.108-08:00Tea Horse Studio Newsletter Sign-up<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Cynthia Cusickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11276231927797895412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6657854689410237246.post-64036415889110899862016-09-08T10:25:00.000-07:002016-09-08T13:25:50.595-07:00Wot up<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I require large blocks of uninterrupted time. I've learned this over and over agin. I forget it. Then I learn it again. It's a fact of my persona, my psyche, internalize it, dear darling. </div>
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Things need to shift. </div>
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I was taking my mother out on some errands today in town. She was reflecting about her early childhood, more specifically, that lately she was remembering earlier and earlier memories. She mentioned that she felt that she grew up in the best era, being born in the mid-twenties, growing up with the advent of the car, the telephone, refrigeration, all kinds of life changing inventions and so on. It was "the best time to live" according to her. Because that's mom and she sees the world from her perspective only. Anyway, she asked if I wondered and imagined what kinds of sea changes would I be seeing in my lifetime? Now putting aside the fact that I'm in my mid-fifties and I've already "grown up" and am kinda coasting on the downhill side (bless her heart, she's utterly clueless about me sometimes), I did mention the internet and wireless communications. What would that mean, she wondered, what that would mean for humanity? I said that I felt that basic human behavior is pretty constant and in my opinion, any one invention has a period of time that follows where people adjust to the new technology until they get back into their basic rhythm. People want to imagine that things change to be either all apocalyptic or all utopian and neither is true as far as I'm concerned.</div>
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It got me to thinking about my adjustment to the phenom of "social media." BACK IN THE DAY, when the internet was wee and I was communicating via bulletin boards and text only, I was still in the throes of what I call "long thought," the ability to think through an idea, let it gestate, not hurried, evolve, sit, come back to it a few days later, explore, and so on. But now, there's been a rush since then, a social media explosion, that I feel we're still in the beginnings of, that's akin to a rapid infection, or a flush of growth, a spreading of spores, etc. So "long thought" has taken a back seat to "short thought", the Twitter/Facebook post effect. People's lives, people's daily communication, has been cut into short bursts, short meaningless bursts, barroom one-liners. Facebook has become the Keurig cup of human thought, short, empty, disposable commentary that has a shelf-life of however long it takes you to scroll past it, filling up the landfill of daily human experience with meaningless, plastic trash. I can read and read and click and click and there's always another link, another thread, another photo, where I can "go deeper" into the story, idea, phenomena but... not really. These days it seems the links loop back on themselves or back to the same five sources, the same six conspiracy sites, the same circular logic, and you learn nothing. And days later, weeks later, the cycle repeats. All hail the algorithm, the magical math that stunts organic growth. Entropy, entropy, oxygen starved entropy. No surprises, just a tightening spiral.</div>
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Ok, so obviously that's my take on it and just my opinion. I shouldn't even need to state that but it seems necessary. Having said that, the Keurig cup-ization of my thoughts and work and writing and public discourse or interaction with people increasingly has made me uncomfortable. I'm interrupted regularly with flashes, tenuous neuron-firings of time perception changes. Short thought has begotten perception of time passing much more quickly than it really is. I think. Subsequently, I've begun to measure my "success," productivity, satisfaction with daily living, based on how many different things have I crammed into one day. Why? Why when I distinctly recall pleasurable moments and activities related to long thought? You know, things like getting lost in one's work, a day long hike, reading a good book, a paper book, full concerts, movies, sunsets, blocks of time without the anxiety that I've wasted it. With the advent of short thought social media, taking time to do long thought things comes with feelings that time is being wasted. At least for me.</div>
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Time for things to shift. For me. If banging your head on the wall hurts, stop doing it. Facebook has become a tightening spiral. I ignore this blog to do what? Waste time hitting the "Like" button? The Tea Horse Studio page is now a method for Facebook to extract money out of me and force people to look at "sponsored" posts of my work. Flooding the social media waves with posting after posting is nonsense to me so I'm embarking on more direct, less amphetamine-like communication. I've decided to slowly build a mailing list for the studio (<a href="http://eepurl.com/KHZ3L" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;"> http://eepurl.com/KHZ3L</a>) and publish a newsletter for Tea Horse Studio and Pottery to announce kiln openings, local sales and galleries, discounts and so on, to revisit long thought via this blog, to post images via Instagram(@teahorsestudioky), to get rid of the Twitter account, and just fucking relax a little.</div>
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Oh my god the eye twitch just fucking stop already.</div>
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Here are some of my latest pots to be distributed locally in the Irvine/Lexington, Ky area first and then onto Etsy.</div>
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Cynthia Cusickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11276231927797895412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6657854689410237246.post-52759051755869925402016-06-29T08:58:00.003-07:002016-06-29T08:58:45.739-07:00YAY<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Nice, nice, baby.</div>
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Time to RTFM.<br />
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Cynthia Cusickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11276231927797895412noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6657854689410237246.post-49147831566425611462016-06-28T07:24:00.000-07:002016-06-28T07:24:00.204-07:00New kiln arrives...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Well, Hot Damn. It's finally arriving today. A new L&L e23T electric kiln. Since 2009 I've managed to make work with a 17" Cress manual hobby kiln. Fine kiln but it has it's limitations with capacity and control over firing conditions. I replaced the elements because my firings were taking longer and becoming inconsistent. Naturally, immediately following, I had issues with the manual controller and flywheel not regulating the temperature rise and eventually tripping the breakers before the kiln reached temperature. There comes a point when the universe helps point you towards your next stage of development, when it says, "Enough with amateur hour," and I guess that was my moment with the kiln. It had served me for 6 years but was I really going to keep putting money into an outdated, inefficient, capricious kiln forever? So, financially, I made the choice to procure some funds and purchase a new electric kiln with a larger capacity and much more control over firings, including heat rising, soaking and cooling schedules which should hopefully result in some progress in my glaze exploration. In addition, since I was dropping a bit of cash, I opted to get a small test kiln at the same time to really expand my options for making work, testing surfaces and glazes, and assist in producing beads and other small pieces, when needed.<br />
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So... moving forward... Next project will be the wood kiln because I have got to do something with all this brick on my lawn.</div>
Cynthia Cusickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11276231927797895412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6657854689410237246.post-62519078704672185942016-06-20T06:59:00.000-07:002016-06-20T06:59:26.870-07:00Quest for balance<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It's been several weeks now and I'm still trying to find a balance between studio and farm, home and work, self-care and other-care, clay and metal. (Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale). When I can't be as productive as I'd like to be in terms of "pieces out the door," I try to work on the things that help later on. I'm getting a new, larger kiln and a test kiln in a few days. In order to make room for them, I had to reorganize the studio space and that meant lots of days where half the studio was outside on tables while I moved, swept, cleaned, screwed in new shelves, re-boxed, labeled, tossed in the garbage and then put everything back. Something about reorganizing and cleaning that sets my restart button.<br />
Also, using the right tools helps things move along much faster. Concrete = Hammer Drill. Yay.<br />
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Cynthia Cusickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11276231927797895412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6657854689410237246.post-60964292669406922512016-04-27T04:09:00.003-07:002016-04-27T04:09:52.977-07:00Studio Days<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Sometimes when I am asked trivial things like, "What do you want for your birthday?" or "What do you want for Christmas?" the thing that comes to mind most often cannot be bought. What I want is large blocks of uninterrupted time.<br />
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Today is Wednesday, an open studio day at the farm. Here's to sitting with work and zoning out!</div>
Cynthia Cusickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11276231927797895412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6657854689410237246.post-88279012940316538532016-04-07T11:51:00.000-07:002016-04-07T11:51:49.469-07:00Revised Schedule<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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After some consideration about my studio schedule over the last two years, I'm revising my studio visiting hours to reduce the amount of time I have to make announcements. It makes no sense to try to stay available as a rule on weekend days when all too often I'm running off for firings, shows, and other events, not to mention the personal time I need to help my elderly mother now that she's living with me on the farm. From this point forward, my visiting hours will be 10 am to 3pm on Tuesdays and Wednesdays during the months of April, May, June, and September. If I run into any conflicts during those times, I'll obviously make an announcement but if trends continue, that shouldn't be necessary. All other times <i>by appointment only</i>. If you're visiting the area and want to stop by the studio, email me to coordinate a time.</div>
Cynthia Cusickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11276231927797895412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6657854689410237246.post-90078952454430166532016-03-24T13:54:00.001-07:002016-03-24T13:54:48.367-07:00See the Art, Meet the Artisan<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This Saturday, March 26 at 2:00 pm, I will be giving a talk and doing a little demo at the Madison County Library, Berea Branch, 319 Chestnut Street, Berea, KY.<br />
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Sponsored by the Berea Arts Council, I'll show some of the work I've done over the years, give a little insight into what inspires me and do a little carving, under glazing and Mishima demonstration. Come on out and say hello!<br />
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Cynthia Cusickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11276231927797895412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6657854689410237246.post-60386288939450201552016-01-01T08:13:00.001-08:002016-01-01T08:24:14.751-08:00Year Interrupted (2015)No pictures this posting. <div><br></div><div> It's the numerical new year today. For years now I've become more and more detached from New Year's Eve/New Year's Day, the attention paid to it, the celebrations, the ritual. For me, it feels more and more arbitrary. I find myself bobbing along to the seasonal changes more than the numerical changes. Not that I don't appreciate the efficiency of calendars, dates, and so on, just that regardless of what the calendar says, my time clock is definitely working on a completely different schedule. Because of that, resolutions, plans, parties etc., seem arbitrary and silly to me. Nevertheless, numerical New Year's Eve/Day is a time marker and time to look back and forward at the same time.<div><br></div><div> I should say that last year was a shit-storm for me, which it was, but as trying as things were, I muddled through and things happened. It began with below freezing and occasionally below zero weather that froze and burst our old pipes under the house in January. My husband and I washed ourselves in water carted into the house from the spigot outside, heated on the stove and poured into a five-gallon bucket where we cleaned with soap, a washcloth, and a cup to rinse off. Because of the ultra-cold temperatures in KY, and because we were one of hundreds in the local area with burst pipes, and because our pipe situation couldn't be properly dealt with until the weather got warmer, the snow melted, and the ground unfroze, we existed like this until early March. Lesson: if you have functioning indoor plumbing, you're already living in luxury END OF STORY. Seriously, quit whining about anything.</div><div><br></div><div> My dad, who was 90, was becoming more ill. He <span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">had fallen one too many times back in his New York apartment in late 2013. His physical injuries, the fact that he couldn't walk, and his ever spiraling dementia meant my mother (now 87) couldn't properly care for him. That meant he spent his last year and a half in a nursing home about five minutes away from my mom's apartment.</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"> In late February, </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Mom called my sister and I when it became evident he was in his last moments. It snowed 8" that day on top of the 10" already on the frozen ground.</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"> Around that same evening, the temperature plunged to -24°F. My father passed away. He was 90. We missed his funeral. </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Not really a big deal for me as I had made my peace with Dad's passing some time earlier but the timing couldn't have been worse. When you love someone with dementia, you kind of say good-bye a little bit at a time. Fortunately, my younger brother and some of the grandkids were able to make it to the funeral.</span></div><div><br></div><div> In early March before we actually got the pipes fixed, my sister and I travelled back to New York and met up with my older brother who flew in from the West Coast for a memorial get-together of sorts. When we were all gathered with Mom, we went over to the cemetery where Dad's remains were interred. I hoped to have one final moment of solemn good-bye. Instead, I ended up having one of the most bizarre experiences of my life to date, right there at the freshly dug and buried gravesite of my late father. Not a psychic thing, no "ghostly" thing, just utterly bizarre. The kind of bizarre where you look around in your mind if not in real time and wonder, "Is someone filming this? Is this a set-up?" At a later date, I hope to write it all down –with pictures– but seeing as I haven't even told my widowed mother about this incident, it'll have to wait.</div><div><br></div><div> In the midst of all of this snow and cold and dying and traveling, I continued to make pots but the artwork dropped off as I tried to crank out pots for sale in adverse conditions. I did mange to participate in the local Red Lick Artisans Tour which was good. On the down side, though, due to the logistics of coordinating the participants, I'm not sure this tour will continue as no one is able to devote time to organizing the tour. I'm not a resident of the Red Lick Area so I have to rely on others to be a guest artist. The flip side of that is that I have managed to pick up some more local places that want to sell my work. My sales on Etsy have also more than doubled for the year so YAY. </div><div><br></div><div> But what really interrupted my flow of work last year only began after Dad died. The reality for my mother who was trying to survive on her own at 87 in a suburban apartment in NY without a driver's license and having to rely on the kindness of friends and family nearby was about to change. She was becoming frailer and needed help herself. All of her kids were scattered across the USA with our own homes and families. As I said to her, "I'll take care of you, but you gotta move to KY." So with the little money that she gathered from insurance from her sibling's deaths in the previous six years plus Dad's death, she provided the financing and we agreed to build her a small cabin on our property (which will become a studio addition later on) so that she can live out the rest of her life near (some) of her kids but still maintain some sense of independence. She still gets around but it's limited and she needs assistance. The cabin sits right behind my present studio so when I'm working, I'll be available to her.</div><div><br></div><div> That being said, constructing a cabin, no mater how small, is time-consuming. Initially, the people I tried to contact for excavation, foundation and building work all flamed out on me with no-shows, no replies on estimates or ridiculous estimates that simply indicated that they didn't want to do the work. The delays pushed me back further and further in the year until I finally found a builder who was willing to do the limited work I needed and let me handle the coordination of the electric, plumbing, and drywall. So here's a shout out to Estes Construction and Excavation, Lisle Electric, Dunaway Excavation, Kirby Plumbing, Hardy Gas and Earl Hunt Drywall for helping us get Edna's Hacienda and Smokehouse up and running. (In the midst of all of the sub-contractors doing their work, I managed to keep my business going. Yay for me, too!) My husband and I handled the insulation and are handling all the finish work, trim, flooring, painting now that all the contractors are done. This has meant (for me, at least), my pottery business has gone into hiatus since mid-November when I went to pick up Mom and cart her back to KY. She's not living in the cabin yet as our finish work is taking much more time than the previous building work. Until I can get her moved out to the cabin, my business (and life) is grinding like a stuck fault line. She smokes and it's stinking up the house, not to mention it's triggered my asthma. I love her but I can't ask her to quit smoking at 87. Instead I'm using it as motivation to work faster!</div><div><br></div><div> Beyond the mother situation and cabin work interrupting my work, I also have some kiln issues that have put a kink in my plans. I hope to get them sorted out in the next two weeks. In any case, all of this has diverted energy and organization, firing schedules, blog writing, shop listing, strategic planning, shows and so on. Time has flown by and nothing has gone as I had imagined it and yet, things still happened. I guess that's why I'm skeptical of resolutions and future plans for a whole year of time. Sure, I'd like to plan all sorts of things for Tea Horse Studio for 2016 and make lots of interesting art close to my heart and exhibit work but as much as I have ideas for a new kiln or two, expanding my current studio, expanding my clay lines, my galleries, attending outdoor shows in my new tent, introducing metal work back into my mix, experimenting with mixed materials in my artwork, getting back into some painting, all of it, the reality is it might not happen. <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">One of the basic tenets of Buddhist philosophy that resonates with me is not becoming attached to things, ideas, expectations because when we become attached too dearly, we set ourselves up for suffering if things break or degrade (which is entirely possible/probable eventually) if things don't work out (which they might not), if things change (which they surely will). Instead of plans, I'll set intentions and after that, well, we'll see what happens. Right now, I'm going to enjoy this moment. </span></div><div><br></div><div><br></div></div>Cynthia Cusickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11276231927797895412noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6657854689410237246.post-7523514375650740292015-04-20T07:59:00.001-07:002015-04-20T07:59:22.759-07:00Some new listings on Etsy...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Here are a couple of new listings I put up on Etsy. All these items will also be available at the Red Lick Artisan Tour coming up on Mother's Day Weekend, May 9 & 10 unless they sell beforehand.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/230563555/small-handled-cracker-basket-with-green" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7k5xhpCQy1mmMBPfmhiu54eISe_9Xj8srN00UpKgKAIK-fNE5D0pjuRPs-F0Zku8ikz1AEbPTxFbGOu53KWsebPycrH3V-ncBy88e23RMRqKCLIX9NxC4MzFSFuG5FqO8Yh93yNFWvXiT/s1600/cracktr6.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/230563555/small-handled-cracker-basket-with-green" target="_blank">Cracker basket and cookie tray! </a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/230571150/small-ceramic-cracker-tray-with-handle" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgViLwwTRgTfmD9-w2-TDlDq3_W-hXJhTRUADmZ0y9KhuQwn4CAsrXHGFDD_5RN0axI7OZ60SDI2eaplHYzRw-K3RUwKuH600-DetzE5vIv_ecLTTKoDEAo3uYH4aS3DxH8fUdI-vFbLg1G/s1600/cracktr-a.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/230571150/small-ceramic-cracker-tray-with-handle" target="_blank">Also good for dips and salsa.</a></td></tr>
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Map for the Red Lick Artisans Tour...<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAx33tG5j4Rnqzb1rLgNmzQom9BC_NO_0pGBj8OcnlkK46gyMSTXdclx9heTdhPUdCIhAzpsZcd9ltwwP9_KFF1qveU-mUnjf6wpHEixDNORPkTqoV9Jnzwv65Hf4Bs2kxQ7Um9LpUf2AE/s1600/RLAMap2015.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAx33tG5j4Rnqzb1rLgNmzQom9BC_NO_0pGBj8OcnlkK46gyMSTXdclx9heTdhPUdCIhAzpsZcd9ltwwP9_KFF1qveU-mUnjf6wpHEixDNORPkTqoV9Jnzwv65Hf4Bs2kxQ7Um9LpUf2AE/s1600/RLAMap2015.png" height="242" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Click for larger map.</td></tr>
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Cynthia Cusickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11276231927797895412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6657854689410237246.post-16809928820553527722015-04-16T07:41:00.000-07:002015-04-16T07:41:18.480-07:00Wood-firing with Justin Lambert<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGFmsCCDcJm7-48QzYdQrqLApUjxyp13XpxHy2eGSocHLv7czQb7gKe44KHkKgVtlnPDsxUaj6iDLTtxMFP9bUBOKgrR4saHquKezrDo8fFRGthAwhNYXDFYaWoXp7h7VdyBo_7MIc5v6J/s1600/11165230_893756220688962_6289226883602959413_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGFmsCCDcJm7-48QzYdQrqLApUjxyp13XpxHy2eGSocHLv7czQb7gKe44KHkKgVtlnPDsxUaj6iDLTtxMFP9bUBOKgrR4saHquKezrDo8fFRGthAwhNYXDFYaWoXp7h7VdyBo_7MIc5v6J/s1600/11165230_893756220688962_6289226883602959413_n.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yummy.</td></tr>
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I recently attended a wood-firing headed by <a href="http://www.jlpottery.com/" target="_blank">Justin Lambert</a> who was up in Lexington, giving a workshop in the finer points of wood-firing at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/UKCeramics" target="_blank">University of Kentucky. Hunter Stamps</a>, professor in the Ceramics department at UK, invited me and fellow potter, <a href="http://redlickartisans.blogspot.com/2015/04/bill-lennox-pottery-stop-2.html" target="_blank">Bill Lennox (incidentally also on the Red Lick Artisans Spring Studio Tour for 2015, Stop #2!)</a> to share some space with the students. Bill's pots were scattered through the kiln getting some heavy ash and flashing effects.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYi2fYCLG6z9cvh2ZBhT01kxW1WPiacYdkQQV4oaIXAI9qbqcdTLdri8IQ68iaW_IVyifvBvbpVE0Jf36ML7RvwftvJH-THFPqPcdhbYxF3v30orXtQ8pCrwn4bfRi2Zpuq20VtaPk5XmB/s1600/IMG_2768.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYi2fYCLG6z9cvh2ZBhT01kxW1WPiacYdkQQV4oaIXAI9qbqcdTLdri8IQ68iaW_IVyifvBvbpVE0Jf36ML7RvwftvJH-THFPqPcdhbYxF3v30orXtQ8pCrwn4bfRi2Zpuq20VtaPk5XmB/s1600/IMG_2768.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bill Lennox Pottery<br /><div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">photo: C.Cusick</span></div>
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My mugs, since they're carved with a definitive design, we're placed in the back, away from the heavier deposits of ash. The kiln was cooled in a reduction atmosphere. It reacted beautifully with my body slips (colored with oxides and not flashing slips) and shino glaze on the rim and inside of the mugs. Still, I got quite a bit of ash as we reached cone 8-9 early on and the temps were maintained for several days. To that end, the designs were somewhat obliterated and produced some dramatic effects with the drawings. I love them! I'll be putting some up for sale on <a href="http://teahorsestudio.etsy.com/" target="_blank">Etsy</a>, in Midway. Ky. at <a href="http://www.damselflygallery.com/" target="_blank">Damselfly Gallery</a> and during the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/RedLickArtisans" target="_blank">RLA Tour May 9 & 10.</a>Cynthia Cusickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11276231927797895412noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6657854689410237246.post-3376413305909556502015-04-15T10:59:00.001-07:002015-04-15T10:59:49.746-07:00Mint Juleps<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://teahorsestudio.etsy.com/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt=" Four new tumblers on Etsy" border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh32bJztDm0L5uIdPPKEKu-RHB3UmwMZtsQTtZQ8h_uFORS14Ox7rVfLd4hV86BW5NzD1lzIcCrI3m-wgg71KpB2XAlwbZWxES7IMfQxLOl1Rv7XUNKqLEY4V3EEf2nyKtVqdrQwS_wFmiX/s1600/IMG_1637.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Four new Tumblers on Etsy.</td></tr>
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It's been a while since I've written anything. Much has been going on and it's been a hard winter here on the farm. Suffice to say, I hope to touch on the goings on here over the winter but for now, it's finally Spring! So let's get to the goings on...<br />
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<a href="http://redlickartisans.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4QEc1CioH2uf-4VTfeaYE9MMHmJXLjCoXCpXaVCm0Jo2U8e0pnwkbVy1V7C9SlBt3UvwYh6es8dOORXsDwLHloXFBzmp5-b7Y9VQ5VtJAxR20H9MLN5Fw0gYLlj-87VTBmhNpPiRDTTcn/s1600/FB2015cover-4.png" height="145" width="400" /></a></div>
First of all, I'll be a guest artist again this year for the <a href="http://redlickartisans.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Red Lick Artisans Spring Studio Tour</a> so there's that. Here's a map and a listing of the participants and stops this year.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://redlickartisans.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ7uYOQ8PGz1FhUTIz2AwzNGsmeKrU05JL6QjOaFkul277h4hZXOJ8kA5fo-n9nk82pvBMp-vXqNg8EAShWCV-dkg7fYA19L6sqn0kcsCREMV64YAf4I273DcF33aqimSIbJjiGqSqD4eq/s1600/RLAMap2015.png" height="302" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://redlickartisans.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">click for larger map</a></td></tr>
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<a href="http://redlickartisans.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-DzNlgyiUGk7mvwLIwLmXhfPXOWc3BGhx4pccqnKtfjTFaMEobqjWt9nr_JQ1md6PUh-GYqftLKAm3bVDFktrXEfQzYdMBC8Mv5AQd2-NP_nJPcl2fb8ndWNeeK8XQG5iIA576U5Z-CME/s1600/RLAlocations.png" height="400" title="Red Lick Artisans Spring Studio Tour 2015" width="277" /></a></div>
Secondly, I'm making pots for the occasion and for the <a href="http://teahorsestudio.etsy.com/" target="_blank">Esty shop.</a> I've been listing them recently, starting with a bunch of mint julep type cups, both mid-range electric fired and high-fired in salt and soda. Since the Derby is coming up the first weekend in May, I started with these, so peruse and enjoy! Everything links to <a href="http://teahorsestudio.etsy.com/" target="_blank">the Etsy shop.</a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/230002069/ceramic-tumbler-with-zig-zag-design-wood" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBhAhYogT0hqa5Hxmxl6xCoLBpvyxJ5cTi1yiOI9UyIFn0axri_VmbmISz1_81tm8i6DbG6WBqHZCNosFAYFtXzrfoJ1XdV27IWOHkaAVqI9-XB253tAayyEwiaUOHaPnXZFvfVnIHXN7l/s1600/julep4a.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/230002069/ceramic-tumbler-with-zig-zag-design-wood" target="_blank">Mint Julep Cup with Zig Zag design on Etsy.</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/230008934/ceramic-tumbler-with-arrow-stripes-wood" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0z4Th4F59QzWyflod-0yCwu9aLb5tOLp36L4y0uJYWs06QOlcnsjuv88nWPjRLMDuz2kEd24aOFnRu8rP2U2kUcKM9EzSDcxDv-2vpWXFwSxDjFU2zttWLOj1tr0CUzQbivSrmRDtQ3jb/s1600/julep5c.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/230008934/ceramic-tumbler-with-arrow-stripes-wood" target="_blank">Mint Julep Cup, wood/soda fired with Arrow ended stripes on Etsy.</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/230004361/set-of-three-ceramic-tumblers-salt-fired" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk4G7mE0TyfQZcIm2ELv_o5ncCVZ2u707VzfjWoiC4tSMbtKzs9z7sKSA-HtiPLPw3bcqUfko4zbo6uDN6CiOM0uMmgChqED7pIpWLeFO7l4rO8_AVtloigFqqqF19CH_ijTRJDSsKipKP/s1600/julepset1.JPG" height="257" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/230004361/set-of-three-ceramic-tumblers-salt-fired" target="_blank">Set of three Salt-fired tumblers with Spiral Sun Designs on Etsy.</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/229898115/ceramic-tumbler-with-spiral-shell-design" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJPbNu0iPPJWopVSvfkDTz-OT7DOp5GgKmtK42Nx5CpOh3JkFlUL59V4iHQFuz8Ok1EimYcOuqZP-0AYqeVOCkaX3M_yemHHtI8StEnP5UPQ5f7UnSeD9XIWXjj1QmuMqOQHdLgTtE-qi7/s1600/Julep1.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/229898115/ceramic-tumbler-with-spiral-shell-design" target="_blank">Fibonacci inspired mint julep cup on Etsy</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/229906584/ceramic-tumbler-with-circles-of-pink" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzBQBpm_qHpk73uWdP_mJEQANvXAtwOLYjGuqLCXMfDy3gzCGszCDj-VAG_6ooI29jAZtefk3ghi9ALhvQ8973rQwk_IgnAx_cat8ZIRE2GeZUQfxLEfDIPHJUIs-azD_Rzbb_HSUGAES0/s1600/newcup.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/229906584/ceramic-tumbler-with-circles-of-pink" target="_blank">Julep cup with intersecting circles on Etsy.</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/229906584/ceramic-tumbler-with-circles-of-pink" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit7lbFRQ-Cq9tWbvYoMZyAkqx0bIMoKPQ_mt7weXsSfXM7mr4yR8y0GkVAAGKd-B-ZxveIgCff_1VcARNdVJUolQK1B15gMx_PS6i0p9ZYkBSQ8JeUWRkXUnrCDe05q2rPX6sZYv_1kSOf/s1600/julep3.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/229901838/ceramic-tumbler-with-blue-and-purple" target="_blank">Ceramic drinking cup with target on Etsy</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0SK3_wxEaR51DeItGIkZtm6fxvOgy2lt4hQZDx0Td8zq85dONEk-JgxFueyc4ahyh16TVGFh3xVuaZnHsajP1YhUvXKsA0bZzRpk3XiAP065fif2uKderrVddb0SceCaWxAfOPKlBm9K0/s1600/IMG_2518.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0SK3_wxEaR51DeItGIkZtm6fxvOgy2lt4hQZDx0Td8zq85dONEk-JgxFueyc4ahyh16TVGFh3xVuaZnHsajP1YhUvXKsA0bZzRpk3XiAP065fif2uKderrVddb0SceCaWxAfOPKlBm9K0/s1600/IMG_2518.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>view, </i>2015</td></tr>
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January is now cold. One thing I've learned since moving to Kentucky is that real winter doesn't arrive until January so even if November and December seem to fluctuate between warm or cold, the real season comes about after Christmas and sticks around for about three months. It would be nice if it could be short and done with by the end of February but it always seems to linger well into March and April. And by "real season" I mean the consistently cold, gray and dreary Winter with a capital 'W'. Maybe it isn't the SooperWinters of the New England and Canadian varieties but it's what we have to work with here in Central and Eastern Kentucky. We had more snow last year which made things look somewhat festive and pretty but this year, it seems, we're back to gray, gray, gray. Even grey, grey, grey. And little, spitting, frozen drizzle from time to time, no snow of any worth but when major precipitation does come, it inevitably warms up just over the freezing mark to be torrential rain. Cold, miserable, rain and 33-40°F. Or a skiff of slick ice or freezing fog that just makes it treacherous enough to prohibit driving. It's... so inspiring.<br />
The cold makes the studio difficult to heat in the mornings so I tend not to throw that much since the water and clay are both quite cold. Not only is that not conducive to putting your hands in clay all day to throw but the temperature also hinders the clay's desire to join properly when hand-building. Instead I shift my time priorities to sketching and planning for the coming year. I use the term "planning" loosely since my life changes trajectory from time to time but at least I set out some basic goals. I did manage to take images of two new sculptures but two sculptures were all I could handle in 27°F weather. My mind is still on menopause and the transition from mid-life fertility to un-fertility, the emotion surrounding it and so on. It also draws on our basic biological connection to evolved forms now and in the past. Plus they're kinda naughty.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKvTcqRLCPC2cpD4h8-vDR6qyugSUV3KXU0_yhNMNa4GBQCWIrtudjkt3Cz2Os_2R-skQxaW1EFNkUb29ofZBjmUBQnjyTS_hS0XRrap1Lt1r8WAuNE5rDSR59XHmU9XZo2_3j1fZy61OK/s1600/innerreptile-fb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKvTcqRLCPC2cpD4h8-vDR6qyugSUV3KXU0_yhNMNa4GBQCWIrtudjkt3Cz2Os_2R-skQxaW1EFNkUb29ofZBjmUBQnjyTS_hS0XRrap1Lt1r8WAuNE5rDSR59XHmU9XZo2_3j1fZy61OK/s1600/innerreptile-fb.jpg" height="325" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Inner Reptile,</i> <br />2015, <br />Stoneware, underglaze, acrylic, raw wool</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUvPoXhu_oinaY55qFV58z9xJgoPDglPhFCG_RrwXPDXFxLVmBspC-Cd3rV4XEUf-chfeze8ydcPkLDIo74K3xrOfOtF0W4R-xMVgLnj8Jrigf8v1VhPorOFePXt8kWajbaPk8cFL3YU8S/s1600/innerreptile_det1-fb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUvPoXhu_oinaY55qFV58z9xJgoPDglPhFCG_RrwXPDXFxLVmBspC-Cd3rV4XEUf-chfeze8ydcPkLDIo74K3xrOfOtF0W4R-xMVgLnj8Jrigf8v1VhPorOFePXt8kWajbaPk8cFL3YU8S/s1600/innerreptile_det1-fb.jpg" height="302" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Inner Reptile,</i> (detail)<br />2015,<br />Stoneware, underglaze, acrylic, raw wool</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh54NcvA4-xzJrF2xDhlHZbSt4_vbooYASbMx-lxF3bU78r8-LIu4PW4C0GDVVqi0okdWoGHIG4sUzwhG2TtWmd21neoVdGyAcRZ7lgcmxwNWmH227bYWS64WfVm5TYuwMpVcA-bBVidb_b/s1600/oldeye1-fb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh54NcvA4-xzJrF2xDhlHZbSt4_vbooYASbMx-lxF3bU78r8-LIu4PW4C0GDVVqi0okdWoGHIG4sUzwhG2TtWmd21neoVdGyAcRZ7lgcmxwNWmH227bYWS64WfVm5TYuwMpVcA-bBVidb_b/s1600/oldeye1-fb.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Atrophy,</i><br />2015,<br />Stoneware, underglaze, acrylic<span style="text-align: left;"> </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm7V_R6oDqGKnef9C7sCmE-wwiZzt7ECwzhmeEb_mgh1N-_-ICivRHxj3F3W4JR4-SjZMuuvtbeL5Eqkt4iLTAtI_skYhY2Vc4ltqbWzJr1tdhrq_wGlYjdjgha6jREKHJg0bKID2ZufHY/s1600/oldeye_det1-fb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm7V_R6oDqGKnef9C7sCmE-wwiZzt7ECwzhmeEb_mgh1N-_-ICivRHxj3F3W4JR4-SjZMuuvtbeL5Eqkt4iLTAtI_skYhY2Vc4ltqbWzJr1tdhrq_wGlYjdjgha6jREKHJg0bKID2ZufHY/s1600/oldeye_det1-fb.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Atrophy,</i><br />2015,<br />Stoneware, underglaze, acrylic</td></tr>
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Last year at this time the hot water pipes under the house had frozen and burst due to the age of our plumbing and the Polar Vortex™. We only had cold water running and were reduced to washing ourselves with a washcloth from a 5-gallon bucket filled with water heated on the stove. That went on for a month until the frigid temps abated and we could coerce someone to help fix the plumbing. At least that nightmare is over. This January the pipes froze again but only for 2 hours one day and since it's all new PEX piping, no breakage! Yay! I did manage to come down with a horrible flu on that same morning that lasted a few days until the weekend when the truck blew up. It's awaiting repair. But all in all, the water is running. Don't underestimate the luxury of indoor plumbing. We have no idea how good we have it when we turn on our taps and potable water comes out. </div>
Cynthia Cusickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11276231927797895412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6657854689410237246.post-11730962772262768892015-01-07T10:54:00.000-08:002015-01-07T10:54:12.064-08:00Expression interrupting obsessive thought<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWaBnDRzJaH0gBhGNw9z9yMWDUR7JZPc5u21A83runUvq-yGeoisYaIJR3fVPfm0rIhIpC5lh7MNUdslITwid_BY6KgHrgVd1FUpCwWzy-RYO-4Ffm2djLfXqd3MGc_KuSwUKJV78YSuDJ/s1600/ill_s_b_butterfly.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWaBnDRzJaH0gBhGNw9z9yMWDUR7JZPc5u21A83runUvq-yGeoisYaIJR3fVPfm0rIhIpC5lh7MNUdslITwid_BY6KgHrgVd1FUpCwWzy-RYO-4Ffm2djLfXqd3MGc_KuSwUKJV78YSuDJ/s1600/ill_s_b_butterfly.png" height="400" width="372" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Ernst Haeckel illustration</i></td></tr>
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Artistically, I swing like a pendulum when I express myself between the visual and the written. Others do so through acting, dance, music, poetry, prose and so on. I think about the relationship between what goes on inside your head and what transpires, not so much on the paper, canvas or stage but in the process of the expression.<br />
<div>
I think each one of us as a function of being a human being contains the capacity for varying degrees of insular, circular, obsessive thinking. Our private thoughts, our private world where our fears, insecurities, dreams, fetishes and desires are located. For some, it's not a consideration at all or so minimal as to be unremarkable. For others, this obsessive, repetitive thinking becomes so heavy a burden that it can overtake and interfere with a balanced identity and healthy functioning [one example being <a href="https://www.blogger.com/%3Chttp://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/obsessive-compulsive-disorder-ocd/index.shtml%3E" target="_blank">obsessive-compulsive disorder</a>] which can cause tremendous anxiety and stress and lead to depression and additional unwanted behaviors in an attempt to gain some relief.<br />
<a href="https://theamericanscholar.org/the-art-of-obsession/#.VKRFEGTF8z4" target="_blank"><i>The American Scholar</i>, "The Art of Obsession" by Paula Marantz Cohen</a><br />
<a href="http://blogs.psychcentral.com/creative-mind/2010/07/creative-obsession/" target="_blank"><i>Psych Central</i>, "Creative Obsession" by Douglas Eby</a></div>
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I have contemplated the role artistic expression plays in the human condition and experience. Why do human beings feel compelled to express abstract thought, even if it is simply an attempt to recreate the reality in front of them? So I've thought quite a bit about not just the art that I create but the process and my mind's activity as I create it. What is happening there? I'm wondering if the very act of expressing one's self can sometimes be a gateway to breaking that pattern of obsessive thought. I've heard it explained that part of the reason psychotherapy can be beneficial and sought after is because talking about a problem or issue is one of the best ways to alleviate stress. If not a therapist, we seek out friends, a bar, a stranger, and for some of us, the studio. We need to unload the pattern of neuron firing in our brain about the things that occupy our innermost selves. I feel when we interrupt that thinking pattern in our brains with the neuron-firing needed to translate that into action via writing, fine art, performance, what have you, we may temporarily break that proverbial chain and for a moment, can experience some relief. [or not, depending on the intensity of the obsessive thinking.]</div>
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I like to think of it as akin to <a href="https://www.blogger.com/%3Chttp://fractalfoundation.org/resources/what-is-chaos-theory/%3E" target="_blank">chaos theory's butterfly effect</a>. The idea that the act of creating, trying to translate and express inner thoughts, is a way of causing a change in your brain. By doing that, you increase the likelihood that you are no longer stuck in a pattern because you have set out on a new path of thinking and insight that has altered your perception. Sometimes it makes a difference right away, sometimes you need a whole lifetime's accumulation of tiny changes to make that difference. Like the effort, time and space needed to turn a battleship. Or a comet. And sometimes, you run out of time spent living on this planet to realize that difference. </div>
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Regardless of the impact and how long it takes to materialize, I think it speaks to just how important artistic expression is in whatever way it manifests itself in an individual's life and why we cannot and should not abandon it or teaching it or even teaching the value of it to people of all ages. There is a priority shift within the last few decades to spend money in education on science, technology, engineering and math [STEM] at the expense of artistic endeavors, visual, dance, music and so on but I think that's a mistake. You hobble the ability of insight in the STEM fields when you weaken human's ability to think artistically. One compliments the other, it doesn't replace it.<br />
<a href="http://www.scilogs.com/from_the_lab_bench/what-artists-and-scientists-have-in-common/" target="_blank"><i>SciLogs</i>, "What artists and scientists have in common" by Paige Brown Jarreau</a><br />
<a href="http://blogs.plos.org/attheinterface/2012/11/22/why-scientists-should-care-about-art/" target="_blank"><i>PLOS Blogs</i>, "Why scientists should care about art" by Johanna Kieniewicz</a><br />
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Cynthia Cusickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11276231927797895412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6657854689410237246.post-90252861142657822072014-11-29T15:11:00.000-08:002014-11-29T15:11:10.166-08:00Tea Horse Studio - New! Electric-fired listings on Etsy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Part 2 of the new items listed on my Etsy shop. These are fresh out of my electric kiln. Click on the image and it will take you directly to that listing or feel free to browse at teahorsestudio.etsy.com.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/213051065/decorative-stoneware-mug-with-carved" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXGdFQDsdyvaQVDIBK4gT5IAe8J6iTt3i_TsColQSOBCvFKYRlOgjB0doyditNAiNx__8GcIxScq5RRuIUnYsAktDg3EQrlPpkFWi0g1D8I0nSiZ9-L_Gu5ADWt8d9e-7dnELCG20jF5Ia/s1600/mugdiatom1_1.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/213051065/decorative-stoneware-mug-with-carved" target="_blank">Mug, Carved oblong shield shapes, $30</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/213045290/ceramic-stoneware-horse-mug-with" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd3ejjEg9iBDEvxOiLt_9l18qOEweJX6LpqxlU25OCkzo3MOamepQXhrmbDbhLvYlPASTl7O4VHwk4hlx3wbDG1VWBMpm8tnqKS5FT4nrfki4kNsiemjt-4ou9XBPEJGKo9-dJuLaf6GiX/s1600/mug-eq1_1.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/213045290/ceramic-stoneware-horse-mug-with" target="_blank">Mug, Layered slips, Standing Horse, $30</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/213053895/small-ceramic-stoneware-stick-incense" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizvSEg6R2A9DJn3iudjvzAmkAWh06oSNJuBiwsGgSKiDjgAtr6LbGbcfofEZZKg_Nh8h-g3Hx0EIXa0WgxQhhwE0BIFDWwOTz2kB5f0ouBfwXdUVlW2_CxVhh3k01ctVWOjMj0xuy6Mqdw/s1600/IHdotbar_1.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/213053895/small-ceramic-stoneware-stick-incense" target="_blank">Small incense holder, Lines and dots, $14</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/211570534/stoneware-hand-thrown-buddha-bowl-with" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhguektIkqzEVi34dOxWNQcdL4NIJW43X9saXQynMQtQn6sia8gk4WfI3uY6Rx9d1R8tG6YoQCjvtUICcyfYDd24DIINWlZOL44DjN7CuJOFMflvN2FY_Ix0QcwM7W-XztpTHeEuddv4hYY/s1600/bw_budd2_2.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/211570534/stoneware-hand-thrown-buddha-bowl-with" target="_blank">Buddha cereal bowl, $30<span style="text-align: left;"> </span></a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/211580449/stoneware-hand-thrown-buddha-coffee-mug" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxrHJLcghE0ki0DBIYdn1pYPf3vJ_BJ4H3hyP4aDYsNxNHwXBSc9sW4NpZn7e_vBJc2HRV7DL9nfJi_AaIUUVVyLS65moo2S80AAH27xr6rF18MtBaeb68lBff4PuKSF2ZBN195eDmv_UB/s1600/mug_budd1_1.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/211580449/stoneware-hand-thrown-buddha-coffee-mug" target="_blank">Buddha Mug, $30</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/213050333/small-ceramic-stoneware-mug-with-blue" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1MEZkj_s6pgJTOijfln-aR-dIegsYrdzNisugoaWEKKE9U0JJdU_liUuWb80RdBmxuNITWaMEatFJRuNqGkBvJy2nv2pDqPrqqgVyUj9dEuomVz04I7ChKvF3kMSXjltG74NWnofkn3LM/s1600/smmug-eq1_1.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/213050333/small-ceramic-stoneware-mug-with-blue" target="_blank">Small mug, Layered slips with standing horse, $26</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/211581367/ceramic-cracker-basket-with-handle-in" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSJhx6ki1RiSDZUKd5aMJW169FjQyG1-Y0Z-y3pHpZidLEizeU56m84Fr86JIQDYZjiKz_wIR4G2gL6soXw9JOIIH1lwKnSFGW0tWQz4JVtEbwLB-ouFvhJkw3PwYbRwt_69G8YMx7daax/s1600/cb1_1.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/211581367/ceramic-cracker-basket-with-handle-in" target="_blank">Cracker Basket in pink and green, $42</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUsDPsxRuzQnnMCw6DiDa0kCMYG2k7aR1zIBf7QfFgDIaTolkwy4cazEzJ5OHHBRU5JZ7B_H4tHJbL0X5LJGR3om9lv6T0ASjAEfIs4qgRPJWIJGjq4bAxN181a1IKZQj5d3c_eR6uuAOJ/s1600/2smnrEqIn1_1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUsDPsxRuzQnnMCw6DiDa0kCMYG2k7aR1zIBf7QfFgDIaTolkwy4cazEzJ5OHHBRU5JZ7B_H4tHJbL0X5LJGR3om9lv6T0ASjAEfIs4qgRPJWIJGjq4bAxN181a1IKZQj5d3c_eR6uuAOJ/s1600/2smnrEqIn1_1.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Set of 2 horse napkin rings, $10</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/213053279/set-of-four-placemat-or-lg-napkin-rings" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirVc1VQZJqEhoB355mwdgnPrngk1tSXhmZL0yHZO4pOjD_e2AgCDkFooyZMdJRX4fpflFdM5tztv5Xy1vR770XkPMiTlji3z9AC2RrxKpx7wQ0NeFWYude_3_Jro1pByjHfwUtgp_GOuCn/s1600/4LGprEqIn1_1.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/213053279/set-of-four-placemat-or-lg-napkin-rings" target="_blank">Set of 4 horse napkin/placemat rings, $24</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/213053587/set-of-four-placemat-or-lg-napkin-rings" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1YzyKN0oGbv1e0mJfqoNq1StN7tXP1Yx998mMwSpoOwpwVf1TiNFr8eKPL96K_IPPaXd9_QdlCekFX4DDVzNCBEKQOMqkX73mHloHV5yKewDxZew14f6aYgnODPb9jjXomFTJU-IsnVtI/s1600/4LGprFISH_1.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/213053587/set-of-four-placemat-or-lg-napkin-rings" target="_blank">Set of 4 walking Darwin fish napkin/placemat rings, $24</a></td></tr>
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Cynthia Cusickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11276231927797895412noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6657854689410237246.post-42402943306803706302014-11-29T15:00:00.001-08:002014-11-29T15:00:15.404-08:00Tea Horse Studio - New wood-fired listings on Etsy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Tis the season! These are the latest wood/soda fired items up for sale on my Etsy site. Click on the image and it will take you right to that Etsy page. I have other items up there as well so feel free to browse.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/211574532/ceramic-stoneware-wood-fired-bowl-with" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5V7O6_bWlRusdA0P3oDOMHjxH03gCp0bJJyCCFgr8Vh7JQlq4kjYTCLgLSYDVcAerJ6yXlOIfRYoXsZOkbvifHe_3U4t7dQLfPn8RXsqwEpVGFJGXB6IqKm1gy7dp62HBgLUAXBNMbdJk/s1600/bwredline_1.jpg" height="276" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/211574532/ceramic-stoneware-wood-fired-bowl-with" target="_blank">Bowl with Red Lines, $65</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/211582125/footed-stoneware-covered-vessel-unsigned" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj89fxlTe0ltlUTXQwYiSXj4q3QeAG5nAZ6_IpGzZik5ynu0-16tl7u7ig44oY6wNC6MvGxQm6ZBA3lA193FRO1nY-FRl4MM5XD8PUVpUiDZxOb0t2TxDLSomcfjp-91pRxf9Q6oci5N4n9/s1600/cjar3red_1.JPG" height="272" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/211582125/footed-stoneware-covered-vessel-unsigned" target="_blank">Footed Covered Jar - Unsigned, $50</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/213049983/wood-fired-soda-mug-with-leaping-horse" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxSt75qGG6jnrqkijaU93hyphenhyphene0JL2bhF-fZ-V73R42UwjTi6ubi8bAkReGJgmEBRGjPAB8EVjCeTonN4m7iHFuieXg_tJsyidNl-7Drlco3bz2eaFSpU_BGNlCs-p5KUQ53to2kfJfhYh6I/s1600/mug_eqsoda1_1.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/213049983/wood-fired-soda-mug-with-leaping-horse" target="_blank">Leaping Horse, Soda Fired Mug, $36</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/213050083/wood-fired-soda-stoneware-mug-with" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXkkTzj976lGwEjYlNIkbQjOps44Uidrp_vRGDNg0uciDxZVlnJgxpmyGIkSf7581PkrzQNvTTZUS2Hi-070QVcnFh5wEWOxUM9_NSwd7tTCKdUsUfmmUBlWWiQV7S7zyH13Ps9nFNiVXx/s1600/mug_eqsoda2_1.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/213050083/wood-fired-soda-stoneware-mug-with" target="_blank">Standing Horse, Soda fired mug, $36</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/211582513/ceramic-stoneware-wood-fired-soda-tea" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8FCAivrpPLwOH2ON1u3GwlQM-7pjb-3SRIZd06EXpjkEqnfHZlIpqBcJuqUxVYx6Zxr7-BBQGyFmdacvEp18BllVPC_D5K9BopoQFxrZxewmboraC-5iZlhRg89XaRbd3QBzmqHEpoD7P/s1600/tbcirc_1.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/211582513/ceramic-stoneware-wood-fired-soda-tea" target="_blank">Tea bowl with abstract circle design, $50</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/211573880/ceramic-stoneware-wood-soda-fired-tea" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzY5lxZLVppHgsgUo1Bw7N_BJLALjteNBr__yK_NNWYwzKarmpQ7EXjcuJWOD21Jw8bd8SujPNKBkpt37lV6O6akZy5QTCUjc4Z8LCzn_tcMIg4js4Rn70YmDetTq0edZV5NJ-tXyHjWi0/s1600/tbgoat_1.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/211573880/ceramic-stoneware-wood-soda-fired-tea" target="_blank">Red Goat, Tea bowl, Soda fired $50</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/211573606/ceramic-stoneware-wood-fired-soda-tea" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-p3U4gALrrcq_fLRnJ9u0f86GEcdmA61nPXSTJmxTu2tDkdsmplmTU73ndx5xx781DB_acYoRTLOKIKWlH5BO6k-1VVGth3BsfIP5WqeML06yh2lvC3kjPgSdSJGPn2AIkr1lUMG2eRXM/s1600/tbhors_1.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/211573606/ceramic-stoneware-wood-fired-soda-tea" target="_blank">Standing Horse, Tea Bowl, Soda fired, $50</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/211583309/ceramic-wood-fired-soda-candy-bowl-with" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRmZnLUpqXV3MphwIfZVOJ1j9anUhwjP2L8iZodCaC1nXJx7mJUeDFy6o7n3fMmKfLuzQeGvyz8ZhoRk7NozFgWd17gAyR2ePdZKxTKi9HpZZBAVVOkcV6AQJY9vJkw5KzpLeY7takdcZr/s1600/bwlstar_1.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/211583309/ceramic-wood-fired-soda-candy-bowl-with" target="_blank">Shallow bowl, Starburst pattern, Soda/wood fired, $65</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/213045084/wood-fired-soda-stoneware-mug-horse-with" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrPkgiE7Z6hYgkQeNOyYu77fJ1CzBzKd1It0l7ck0LtnLyntl2JAgMSv5TeYPLdrikPjwoUu3T2BQNDU4KNVpbMIeK1F8CRZ89aC9OeND9tEd1iCY5l4GmaO9MfGIVoWO4kAYW-T2G9pvz/s1600/mug_eqsoda3_1.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/213045084/wood-fired-soda-stoneware-mug-horse-with" target="_blank">Horse with curved neck, Soda/wood fired mug, $36</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/213293644/ceramic-bowl-wood-soda-fired-with" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr2OR3CtTV6vnPlurFTzEHGuZ-fzUCA8-0j59XvFoJOXAsXvzXW6GWGnSoUIZuFuKBaYy0rmdz1cYjs_t0OSwk0U9T0cl_xwy27t45S7h5lNq7q7mA1js7hyphenhyphentsf_uIMK2KSV5YGvTqAJ-Q/s1600/bwl_diam1.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/213293644/ceramic-bowl-wood-soda-fired-with" target="_blank">Wood/Soda fired bowl with diamond pattern, $135</a></td></tr>
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Cynthia Cusickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11276231927797895412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6657854689410237246.post-64786736533417371472014-11-17T10:07:00.001-08:002014-11-17T10:08:16.005-08:00The act of not thinking<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Autumn, Estill County, Kentucky</td></tr>
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In the evenings, after dinner is made and eaten and I'm winding down from the buzz and activity of the afternoon, I get to thinking about people and what makes them tick. I think the pondering is provoked in large part by scrolling through my Facebook feed. My feed is a mix of people I know very well and people I don't know well at all plus people, mostly artists, that I follow just to keep up with their work. Sometimes, some aspects of human behavior stick out for me. Apart from the truly maniacally, self-absorbed narcissist, I imagine most people think of their lives as average or "normal," whatever constitutes normal. When we persist in comparing our lives to others, however, the differences, minor and major, jostle our self-perception and can prompt the question, "Am I normal?" accompanied with feelings of insecurity and smallness, or conversely, "I'm normal but they (person or group being compared) are not." The rationalization often used to comfort yourself being that whatever the idiosyncrasies of life, yours are "OK" but others are not. The reality I see when I step back is that this is simply an illusion we create to keep ourselves safe and secure in our ignorance about our inner nature, the inner nature that resides in every one of us, the capacity for loving-kindness.<br />
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Unfortunately, the yin-yang nature of things is that we also contain the capacity to do horrible things. This is where cultivating empathy is crucial, in my mind. Occasionally I've run into the phrase "I could never _______" as if any certain act or acts is impossible in the lifetime of any one individual. But I think the truth is that given the right set of circumstances, any one of us can achieve great accomplishments or submit to terrible failings. In other words, "There before the grace of God go I." Which simply underscores for me the need for compassion for other living beings, particularly at others who lash out in anger. Often I've found that when someone lashes out at another person in anger, they are drawing on old, inner pain not related to the immediate situation. I know when I become angry disproportionate to whatever has triggered it or obsessively angry, I dig within to figure out, "What am I trying to resolve in the present that which injured me in the past?" Repetition of behavior, words, phrases, odd choices of words and context are clues for me to get to know myself and get closer to my true nature. Those same things encountered in other people give me insight and a heads-up about what's really motivating them. What's considered normal these days, culturally, is that it is perfectly okay to judge and ridicule others in comparison to your own life if only to comfort yourself that "Phew! at least I'm not like THAT!" Particularly online in social media forums, free rein is given to lambast, ridicule and tear apart total strangers. The vitriol, to me, however, will always say more about the commenter than the subject.<br />
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There was recently a post on my FB feed about <a href="http://time.com/3273740/taylor-swift-instagram-comments-bullied-fan/" target="_blank">Taylor Swift, singer/celebrity </a>, responding to a fan about mean, nasty people. The statement she made to the fan that resonated with me is the observation that people who spend their time doing this do it for reasons of jealousy and envy and because <i>they have nothing else to do with their lives</i>. They abhor a person just being themselves and instead of working on being their own selves, they spend needless energy being, well, an asshole to others. This post popped up about the same time as another Facebook artist friend speaking about difficulties exposing vulnerabilities in acting when she doesn't allow herself to be vulnerable in real life. Since one of art's main facets, in my opinion, is fearlessly exposing vulnerabilities, can you ever truly immerse yourself in your art if you insist on building a walled-in room for yourself all the time?<br />
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Anytime I create something, be it sculpture, pottery, drawing, I try not to interfere with the act of making. Often in my life I have heard the comment, "You think too much," from many, many people. As if I can control it. My brain does what it does, it thinks, analyzes, mulls over, makes connections and analogies, critiques, concludes, deduces then destroys and starts over again. Aside from sleep or my daily meditation, be it forty minutes or five, the only time I don't think for extended periods of time is when I am in the studio working. I used to be deluded into believing that artists had to have a preconceived reason for every millimeter of mark they put on paper or carved into form before they translated thought into action. And then later in life, very late, probably out of sheer defeat and exhaustion that it wasn't and would never work for me, I quit doing that. I quit thinking and I simply did. I touched, carved, painted, drew. In fact to this day, when I think before I make a mark, drawing or carving, it paralyzes me and I can't draw anything or put a dent in a sculpture. Making art allows me<i> not</i> to think. The art simply captures the unspoken within me. It's as if it becomes a way for me to speak to myself by making, then sitting back and analyzing what it is I just created. Somewhere in that creation are my vulnerabilities creeping out. And while not everyone gets where I'm coming from, I have many more people who do, who connect with the lines and forms I create, either because they directly resonate with my experience (as in "Hey! Me, too!") or because it triggers a familiarity and emotion that unlocks a deeper memory or a deeper unresolved issue that my work just happened to stumble upon. Serendipitous! The thoughtful comments are appreciated. The vitriol and remarks of being offended I simply put down to the viewer's own unresolved issues they desperately want to ignore, the unpleasant baggage that bumps behind them.<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> I read <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/science/brain-flapping/2014/sep/12/comment-sections-toxic-moderation" target="_blank">an article the other day about comment sections online</a> and how they devolve into vitriolic rants. The author called for more moderation. Back in the old days of newspapers, letters to the editor were heavily moderated, chosen and then viciously edited. The same can be done online, he postulated. While it is possible for humans to create cesspools of thought on the internet, it doesn't mean it's a good or socially acceptable thing. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">There are enough hate-filled, petty, nasty people out there as it is. We have acceptable rules of conduct in society when we walk real streets, we should strive to do the same on the "streets" of the internet. Are there shitty people in this world? In my view, as inherent beings, no, there are no inherently shitty beings. But as inherent beings people can certainly express shitty behavior in minor and major ways, intermittently or obsessively. To them I can only imagine that some kind of primal pain visited them in their childhood, issues that they cannot begin to identify or find the courage to resolve. Sadly, until they uncover what those issues are from within, they will continue to lash out blindly, venting their rage at themselves onto others. In response, we can create acceptable boundaries of behavior in our own lives so we can find the safe spaces for our true nature. And we can strive not to perpetuate the circle of hate but break the chain and replace it with kindness of heart. And as artists, we should continue to examine and reveal our vulnerabilities, if only to give others a bridge to their own inner struggles so that they, too, can break their chains.</span></span></div>
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Cynthia Cusickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11276231927797895412noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6657854689410237246.post-12107369028635987982014-11-17T09:23:00.000-08:002014-11-17T09:23:08.698-08:00Forest stewardship and chipotle peppers<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> I feel somewhat absent, digitally. Work in the studio has been interrupted, well, what's a nicer word? "enhanced" by the end of the gardening season. Time not spent in clay has been spent in the dirt in the raised bed garden and that, plus work on a small structure for my elderly mother, keeping up with Medicaid guidelines, discussions with lawyers about all sorts of issues including internet-related activities (state vs. federal statutes), personal bookkeeping, broken water lines that needed to be repaired – twice– and all the fun that goes with destructive dogs has kept me from updating blogs, Twitter accounts, Facebook pages, Etsy listings and the like. In the garden, we ended up with a boatload of peppers – jalapeño, basilla and cayenne, from plants grown from seeds that I swore were never going to produce much earlier in the year since they didn't even flower until mid-summer despite the fact that they were the first plants in the ground last Spring. Eventually they did flower and <i>wham</i>! Peppers everywhere. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> And then... the tomatillos took over. They are magical plants. They grow like weeds. The fruits seem to get large and ripen when you're not looking. Quite a number of them fall off the plant on the ground and you'd swear you're about to pick up a rotted one but instead, you've found the juiciest, largest fruit. Much salsa was made. I tried tomatillo salsa with and without cooking the tomatillos. The major difference is in the moisture content and more subtle flavor of the cooked tomatillo salsa. I think I prefer the fresh salsa. After harvesting the peppers and tomatillos, we prepared the beds, added more compost and planted some kale, spinach, shallots and garlic. We're curious to see how well the shallots do. We're considering some alternative produce and value-added products in the future such as shallots, asparagus and tomatillos plus pickled beets, dilly beans and chipotle peppers. (Just say yes to pickled beets! Oh my god, I made the most awesome batch with my herbs.) And we finally fixed the deer fencing around the perimeter of the garden. I will say having a tractor makes some tasks easier although this year's gardening has been limited to the raised beds. Next year, we may scout out locations on the farm to plant in larger quantities in the future. </span><br />
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We are embarking on a new plan of action on the farm. We recently contacted the state forestry service to draw up a plan to manage our property that makes the most of the mix of the pastures and the forested areas. In addition to micro-farming some alternative crops like shallots, asparagus, beets and peppers for smoking, we're also looking to manage this property as a natural sanctuary that maintains a balance of healthy forest and efficient pastures. We want to encourage growth of good woods like walnut, oak, maples, ash and as it turns out, persimmon, along with native understory trees like flowering dogwoods, for aesthetic value and for the benefit of wildlife. With that, we will be culling trees that are actually prohibiting healthy forest growth by crowding other trees light and or promoting rot at their base. By cutting trees that have base rot from earlier broken growth called "rain catchers" we can get some benefits out them: some can become firewood for us (or we can sell it), some oak logs can become useful for growing and harvesting mushrooms and some trees can be purposely killed without taking them down so as they die, the bark separates from the heartwood and allows other animals to use the dying tree as habitat.<br />
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The pastures will be slowly reclaimed after being neglected for so long. We'll be re-fencing several areas and re-partitioning sections for more efficient rotation of grazing. We'll be trimming back the edges of each pasture over time. This is where the tractor will be utilized and appreciated the most. At some point, I'd like to reintroduce the milkweed that has gone missing since farmers around here have gone herbicide happy. Maybe we can make this little spot an oasis for bees and butterflies again.</div>
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Suffice to say, all the pasture, wood and garden work adds to the work I do in the studio and cuts into my digital time. Sometimes I worry that I'm not making enough noise on the internet but not really. Life is so much more than what transpires on a glowing screen.</div>
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Cynthia Cusickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11276231927797895412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6657854689410237246.post-32887331479572306822014-10-10T09:45:00.000-07:002014-10-10T09:45:24.061-07:00Bobtown Art October Wood/Soda firing<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Another gathering at the soda kiln for the Bobtown Arts wood firing last weekend. Beautiful fall weather if a bit cold and blustery on the day of loading. Color is just starting to turn everything in the hills near Berea, KY. The firing went well, flattened cone 10 up top and bent it on the bottom. We added 5.5# of soda at about 2100°F and then soaked it for some time with wood and an oil drip. Some great results firing with Clarence Hayes, Bruce and Kelley Hoefer or Turning Wheel Pottery and Philip Wiggs. Looking forward to another firing. I've also been busy making work for local sales in galleries in Midway and Berea, plus it looks like I'll be doing a demonstration at the Kentucky Artisan Center in December. Busy, busy busy.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peeking in.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Open door.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Top toasty shelf with Phillip Wiggs coffee pots.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leaning tower of bagwall...</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All gone!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Creep crawly slips and shinos...</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Love the colors on the sugar maples!</td></tr>
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Cynthia Cusickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11276231927797895412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6657854689410237246.post-65926886766290881172014-09-11T09:34:00.003-07:002014-09-11T09:34:38.673-07:00Mindfulness and Making Work with Your Hands<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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From the blog, On Being</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.onbeing.org/blog/world-through-hands/3931"></a><a href="http://www.onbeing.org/blog/world-through-hands/3931">http://www.onbeing.org/blog/world-through-hands/3931</a></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/bfoByYLSBY8?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: 'Chronicle Text', Georgia, serif; line-height: 23.0400009155273px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"Our destiny is written in the hand."</em><span style="line-height: 23.0400009155273px;">—</span><strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 23.0400009155273px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Renate Hiller</strong><span style="line-height: 23.0400009155273px;">, <br />co-director of the Fiber Craft Studio at the Threefold Educational Center in Chestnut Ridge, New York</span></div>
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Cynthia Cusickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11276231927797895412noreply@blogger.com0