things about me, pictures...and some other stuff

well, my goal was to post again within a week, and it looks like i will just make it. i've been thinking about the second half of the things about me post, but i'll get to that in a minute. the big news is....i got my business license, and i will be open officially as of friday night! hillsborough has last friday art walks, and i've signed up--the first one is tomorrow night, so if you're in the area stop by...6-9pm at 220 south churton street.

i finished up my tilemaking class at pullen arts center this week--what a fantastic group of students!! we had a blast, and i think they all enjoyed themselves...

here's a shot of the new studio...it's going to be such a nice space to work in, filled with beautiful light.



okay, here's goes: the other 3 things about me that you may or may not know:

5: i am extremely claustraphobic...i can't stand to be in a room with no windows, in a restaurant i like to sit by a window, and don't even get me started on elevators! i love to be outside, in wide open spaces, or in a room with lots of windows and no doors...strange, i know...

6: in a former life, i was production manager/graphic designer for the triangle business journal in raleigh. it was a million years ago, back when we actually printed ads out, and pasted them up onto a master copy for the printer, then drove the originals over to be printed! i think the graphics background is what ultimately led me to tiles--there's definitely a graphic element to tilemaking, but i love the tactile quality sooo much more than staring at a computer screen all day!

7: my absolute favorite thing to do with my little one is to cook--he gets so serious about it, and the more complicated the recipe, the better! we've made cakes, cookies, hummus, and lots more, but his favorite by far is homemade bread. i don't know if it's because he loves the bread, or just loves being able to get out the kitchen aid! it's really fun to cook with him, and i love it--i loved cooking with my mom when i was a kid, and i know he'll have good memories of it... here's a pic of him hard at work...he said that the headband is so he'll look like a chef! (yes, that's a jen mecca bowl!! :)




okay, now the last part of the stylish blogger, to nominate other sites. this one is tough because so many of the sites i love have already been nominated. so instead of risking re-awarding someone, i'm going to give the award to a couple of my favorite tile artist blogs:




http://linda-ellett.blogspot.com
if you haven't seen any of linda's work, you will absolutely be blown away--i wish i could crawl into her head and spend a few days there soaking up what she knows about tilemaking and glazing.

http://elukkapaja.blogspot.com
i stumbled across this blog while browsing around etsy, and i just love her work. she's from finland, and makes these wonderfully tiny houses, doggies, and "my land" tiny little patchwork tiles. great stuff!

http://www.heatherknightceramics.com
i picked heather knight, who's in asheville, because her tiles (and all of her work) are stunning. she had a great blog until someone hacked into it and messed it all up. i hope she'll start another one soon...great work!

so...those are my picks for blogs you should check out...there's so much great work out there, it always amazes me that we all start with the same material, and end up with such incredibly diverse pieces.

hope to see you at the new shop sometime soon!