Intent

Each year I put about 75% of my focus into one area of my business I want to grow. That's not to say I ignore the other 25%. Instead I decide to set goals that will help me grow the business slowly. This helps solidify each part of the business, keep me sane and also teaches me where to focus next. 

This year I decided to focus on a more academic path. It has led me to speaking engagements and panel talks at SPACES Gallery and Cowan Pottery. The art community in Cleveland is small but mighty. Learning from each other and bouncing ideas back and forth is an invaluable resource. 

Photo Credit: April Bleakney

With this goal in mind I created my first installation in my artistic career. If you would like an insider secret about how my brain works its that half the time I just go for it with no real clue of what I'm doing. Rooms to Let seemed like the perfect diving board to try something new while surrounded by a community of artists. Most of the things I do are community driven so it was a perfect fit. 

I was interviewed a few months ago and I explained that most of the time I do not make work with the intent to sell. Pottery sells. It is the byproduct of the craft. I did just that. I created a sanctuary space with a floor mosaic surrounded by chimes. There is so much noise and chatter in the world and I wanted to create an all inclusive space for a momentary pause. The piece was very well received and I innocently put out on Facebook that I was going to sell the chimes on the cheap in anyone was interested. Ceramics is a bitch to store. I needed room in my studio and I would rather have them out there in the world making noise that in a box collecting dust. In about half an hour I had thirty inquiries. They sold out in three days. 

They have been quite fun to make. Even the process is meditative. I've spent the past few days pinching out new ones in different clays. I'm even bringing a few new ones to Taste of Lakewood this Sunday. They will look different than the Rooms to Let chimes. I'm starting to make less work and try all kinds of different things. My series has no current vision. I'm going where it takes me. I promise to post photos and document the journey.