We need beauty, but we also need to eat.
We need to eat, and we also need beauty.

In a nutshell (or, more pointedly, in my nutshell) this is spiritual practice melded with art and creativity; sustaining daily needs of community with the ingenuity of growth and change. How we balance growth in alignment with the elements and in active relationship with others allows us to dig into our best selves rather than sacrifice beauty to the wonts of materialism.

Setting intention to live in right relation, to ground oneself in the holy exchange of gifting and receiving, we move forward at a different pace than before.

I come back time and again to the name Carrot Flower Creative to find sustenance in the words.  The words are fuel; an alchemy of food and beauty. A flowery collection of bursting elements. Earth. Fire. Water. Sun. Wind.

Last Saturday I had the best time visiting with people at the Yacolt Art Fair east of Vancouver. Tucked into the forest of the Cascade foothills, I enjoyed a rare chance to bask in a summer day while meeting new people and selling work. It's their first year doing the fair, but from the positive response I would not be surprised if they make it an annual affair. In September, Carrot Flower Creative will be at the Belmont Street Fair and at Affordable Art For Everyone.

Meteor Craft Operative was born late last year when five of us realized that we want more opportunities to seek out community and support while building our individual craft businesses.

We envision workshops, community craft nights, parties, and holiday shows. Additionally, we are a new group and every time we meet new ideas form. Who knows what new opportunities await?

Launching our window gallery on June 2 as a part of the Operative was an extra special bonus; truly icing on the cake. This week we'll be making an improvisational installation in the window gallery; a chance to let loose creatively without pressure to mold the work to fit with our handmade products.

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Our house is full of engaging projects right now. Music, films, artwork...everything has a voice and everything wants to be heard around here. My son is preparing to graduate from high school while filming his final project for video class and my husband is readying to record another album.

And Carrot Flower Creative?

I'm steeped in studio life creating work for the Oregon Potter's Association Ceramics Showcase happening next week from April 21-23. CFC will participate this first year in the group booth while I observe how this showcase functions. The showcase also runs in conjunction with the Gathering of the Guilds. I'm excited!

Additionally, I'm working on a body of paintings for exhibition starting in June in the Providence Portland Community Gallery. I'm using the opportunity to make twelve paintings based loosely on the changing seasons; however my intention with the work is to allow a free form sort of channeled consciousness as I apply paint in unplanned patterns and shapes. I don't know yet how they'll turn out...which is just how I intend them to go.

Our house is the home-base for a monthly women's new moon group. Last night we sat around a pile of magazines, gluesticks and scissors and created our individual vision boards for the coming year. Mine included eyes, light, rainbows, play, an owl, waves, and quiet time for a cup of coffee. 

In the coming year, I'd like to transition Carrot Flower Creative more fully towards offering objects of veneration; however that may unfold. I love making functional ware, however my attention is consistently drawn towards the internal spiritual lives we create for ourselves. The magnetic pull is strong.

I aim to make work that supports the efforts of others as they grow in their spiritual lives. I'm drawn towards awe, wonder and curiosity; and am interested to find how I can embed these sentiments into the work regardless of its practical function.

Nice work to do on rainy days involves sewing up the greeting cards while readying the hanging pots.

I'm having a great time in the studio making slab built containers, vases and tableware. These pieces are made by finding textures such as doilies, lace and crochet samples to roll into the wet surface. I don't have a slab roller (yet) but find my thrift store rolling pin works great! After a bisque fire the surface is rubbed with oxide stains before getting a covercoat of clear glaze. Here are some examples before they get their final glaze firing.

I have been working on these sketches for awhile. This one is for the Aurora Series, a group of paintings based on the archetypal images of the Sacred Feminine found in Grimm's and other common fairy tales. This image is from Sleeping Beauty, and envisions Night (Maleficent the Witch) as the Unseen Mother of the Dawn (the Aurora of Sleeping Beauty).