Happy Creativity

I have been working in the studio a lot lately, creating leaves and leaf bowls as fast as I can. When the creative juice is flowing I have to take advantage!

I love leaves!

Here is one of my newest creations. I have always loved leaves of every kind - their colors, textures and shapes have always fascinated me. They are one of nature's most gorgeous inventions! I have begun to capture the beauty of some of them in my work. The bowl was an experiment that worked out pretty well, I think. I will be making more like this!

Bloom where you are planted (just stay in the pot)

We spent a wonderful week at the 24th annual Native Plant Conference at Western Carolina University. After days spent with 329 other souls who love native plants, in a beautiful place with cool, green mountains all around, I came home to my 'portable garden' in pots and longed for a wild space. Renting a home limits what one can do with the landscape and suburban living makes the view out the windows less than inspiring. I want a mountain, a little stream and some wildflowers. Ah well, bloom where you are planted, so they say. But for now, my roots are not in the ground, they are in a pot. Someday, when we find just the right spot, I will take myself out of my container and put my roots in the lovely soil of HOME. Until then, I will bloom where I am potted - and repotted and repotted.....

Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden

Daniel Stowe is a beautiful garden in Belmont, North Carolina. In spite of the heat it is lush and green and teeming with birds and butterflies. There is always something in bloom, making a weekly visit a must in order to keep up with all the great plants in the garden. The garden is coping with the heat better than the humans are!

Hypertufa Containers

These beautiful containers are in the garden at UNC Charlotte.

Happy Morning

I just finished a class for a wonderful group of ladies. The creative energy in the air from this group was incredible! We all had so much fun, and I always get new ideas and fresh enthusiasm for this art form (hypertufa) after I have taught others how to do it. I am ready now to spend the afternoon in my workshop creating some new projects and finsihing some stalled ones. I wish I had photos of this group, but the camera was in Hank's truck. Oh, well. Hopefully they will send me some pictures of their finished pots.

Happy Hypertufering!!

Too Hot!

The heat wave is preventing me from being very productive with my hypertufa right now. However, I have a new batch of pots cured and ready to take to the market tomorrow. The weekend forecast is for showers and we should be cooler. My students will appreciate that, I am sure!