One of the things that I have learned about myself over my 68 years is that I come to a place in my life journey where there is a stop sign in front of me with one or two roads I can follow. Most of my “working” life I had a habit of quitting careers just about every three to four years to the point that it became a joke with my family! Yes, I said “Careers” not just jobs.
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While I never really climbed any ladders of success that way I always came to a point where I felt that I hit my limit in learning and exploring and it was time to move on. I would get bored!
The same thing is true with my creative path as well. I have tried my hand at everything from pine needle weaving to gourd carving. I have knitted, painted, carved, used saws and everything in between trying!
Pottery has been my passion for the last 16 to 17 years. I have loved it and made thousands of pieces, many of which are being enjoyed by people all across the world.
About a year ago I started to get an itch to try something new, so I took a class on Torch-Fire Enameling on copper and was absolutely blown away by the whole process. So, I invested in some tools, and some enamels and some copper and played around with it while I was waiting for my pottery kiln to cool.
I love watching the enamel glass melt under the flame.
As the year progressed, I found myself wanting to learn more about enamel and pottery was beginning to get in my way!! Pottery takes 4 to 6 weeks for a hobby potter like me from the start to the finish and that was a long time to wait to see if anything came out!! There were always surprises in the kiln, good and bad. I wanted something that was a little more instant gratification and enameling gave me that plus I still got to play with colors and fire!!
A lot of my pottery tools and skills carry over to enameling. Here I am using Mason Stains, which I use in my pottery glazes, to make an “ink” for my enameled pieces
A few weeks ago, I sat down at my potter’s wheel and drew a blank. I had no idea what to make. I had dried up completely. Instead of guilt tripping myself and forcing myself to make something I did not want to, I decided it was now time to TAKE A BREAK. I fired my last kiln load at the end of September and cleaned my wheel.
Am I done with Pottery?
No, I don’t think so. I will let this play out and see what transpires. Not only am I playing around with enameling and wire weaving but I am also exploring Abstract Enamel Painting and NeuroArt.
Lines and Circles were what I was experimenting with on this digital piece. I love having the iPad to sketch and doodle
I drew some intentional Lines in Procreate on my iPad and “saw: a flower.
Time will tell where my artistic path will lead. Maybe right back to my potter’s wheel but for right now I am having a ball learning all kinds of new things.
I hope you stick around!!
My name is Dani and I am the potter behind this page! I am retired and having a ball being the artist I always wanted to be. My studio is located in NW Arkansas where I live a quiet life, on a lake with my husband, 3 dogs and two cats.
Have a look around!
Pottery Rasp for cleaning up clay
Phone Arm for Overhead Videos
I bought this so that I could record video while I am making stuff. It works great. The arm attaches to the table with a thumb screw. The part that holds your phone is spring loaded and almost too strong of a spring. I pinch my fingers a lot but I know the phone won't fall out into my clay water!!
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