boat in a bottle haiku

I jumped off the boat
When I arrived, paradise.
Come and visit me.

that deep summer vibe.

Im allllll alone in here...(most of the time.)  Its September.  That means when you walk in on an ultra mellow thunderstorm saturated september monday, my kids are elsewhere, my wife is runnin the promos from home,  my kiln is blazin and my music is WAAAAAAYYY TOO LOUD.......   Way turned up.  (funky little lovers rock reggae for you)



hahaha...ya.  I'll be dancin all around and singin like its some type of late night concert.

Youll probably scare me to death when ya stop by... so go easy with the laughin', see me?  I didnt real-eyes it wasnt just me....

Drinkin my coconut water from right out the husk, shirtless, all clay up in my dreadlocks.... lol.  Its september!  About 30 hundred degrees and thunderstormin like a son'ova ...with lightning shootin around all over outside. THeres barely anyone one on  the island in september.  But by all means, if you are actually in key west right now...come into my shop, lets hang out.  We are chillin out on a real good vibe.  Gettin prepared for season in a big way.  Its going to be an epic year.


There will be time to impress you later, if thats what your into.  Come by in November..I'l be wearing a shirt with a collar and we can talk politely about pottery in the context of world events.... but if you want the real artist in his hour of genius...now is the time.



Yes.  Summer's last hoorah... a whole month of studio intensive.  Spinnin pots like a hurricane.

 

We are nailing it though, on that 'life is good' type of wavelength.  The pots have a heavy love vibration imbued in them from the over abundant vitamin d absorbed from the sun.  Right now we are so full of island life perspective and have kiln after kiln after kiln of new pots all crystallized with this energy. Collectors be warned, save some room in your car for this trip ;) You are going to LOVE it, when you stop through this year.

We just picked up a new extruder and slab roller from a friend on the next island over (Thanks Kris) and that greatly expanded the variety of work we can achieve.  Guest artists for this coming season will be pleased to find the LARGEST studio on the island of Key West equipped with all the good toys for your art making pleasure.  Call in advance  if you want to schedule your artistic hiatus and elope into the heavens of sculptural bliss under swaying palm trees at christmas time.     But, If you come this month, itll be extra cool...because Im allll alone in here.

Few more orders of business.  Big Up to one of my favorite magazines Ceramics Monthly, for running the cute picture of my wife in this months issue.  You all have a great publication and we always are wanting you to remember that the Florida Keys and Key West have about 3 million potters who live hear making an expression in this medium, thanks for recognizing us bit by bit... 

I still have a FEW spots left in my afterschool program starting on the 21st of this month.  Get a hold of me local families if you want your kiddos included this round!

\

Also, Kelly and I have greatly expanded our "Paint Your Own" selection and are quickly seeing how popular this genre of ceramic art is.  If your interested in painting your own pottery come on in at anytime. THe flyer below says Saturdays, but becuase it is so popular and since our studio is so big now -- we'd love to have you anytime!  I'll even turn the music down to a comfortable level when you get here.  

  miss ya.  Love You..

All~Ways

A

The BIG Post.

  Its been too long since we shared thoughts from the southernmost studio and a lot has happened.  I did it, I caught the lazy blogger syndrome....sorry for the hold up.  Its not because Ive had lazy potter syndrome though.  Plenty to tell you about!

                                        
We've been on the move though (lots of bridges).  A ton of new work, partnerships, and expansive vision been happening amongst the color intensity of the summertime.  Oddly, what has traditionally been a social season for me (as a midwestern kid), has turned into a whole new thing.  Summer on the Island is crucially saturated; with sun, heat, water, and time.  Incredibly beautiful and lush with loooong days of quiet work making in the studio.  I totally love it.

Been sinking some more intentional narrative into a few pieces as well as new glaze chemistry painting and new shapes too.  Studio Magic.  Its been sooo long since my last post (sorry)  that I have a quadrillion new pots to post, some of which have already traveled off to their new homes... I'll keep it flowin with some pictures for a while.

                                      

Works...

Summer Pottery Summer Camps were a hit! Our students were not afraid to get messy while exploring their creativity. We were pleased to have met a whole gang of young potters over the past few months.  These camps make me realize that the true meaning of the studio is in the hands of the curious minds of the island.  We are in the process of making art normal again....showing everyone that art doesnt have to be so fancy that it loses its effect on your everyday life.  Art can flow out of your mind like the song you whistle when your in a good mood.  Pottery camp has been a blast.

So continuing with our summer update....

  

We were privileged to have a trip to the gulf coast of Florida for a little R&R (visiting the grandparents!),  Mixed with business of course.  We have had the pleasure of making some new friends and partners.  We are newly represented on Sanibel Island by the Watson McRae Gallery, 

 Here is a snapshot of Kelly with Maureen Watson who stopped by for a studio visit at our home turf in Key West.  We are extremely excited to be working with Maureen and her gallery,  this beautiful space on Sanibel is well furnished with astounding artworks, all of which have been expertly curated to add to the contemporary and sophisticated vibe of that lush island.  Their roster of artists is impressive and we feel quite honored to be among the rank.    Make sure to check them out when your exploring Sanibel Island.

Another Island Gallery that we have entered into a partnership with is Island Visions Gallery in the ultra cute/quaint/whimsical little blip of an island called Matlacha (Matt-la-shay), near Pine Island on the west coast of the state.  This is the classic salon style gallery that you can dig through and admire for hours at a time.  Matlacha is a hypercolor former fishing village turned artists colony....go there.  It is seriously cool.

 OUR BIGGEST NEWS OF THE SUMMER.....




We have built a new gallery onto our studio as well!  After a summer of planning big ideas we were met with an auspicious sunset on the night we started our implementation.  Classic omen style.

.....love that.

We have busted some serious..ahhem...tail.... to get this project done.  Amongst work making, camp teaching, traveling and summer vibzin in general, we were blessed to have an opportunity to DOUBLE the size of our studio while adding a new kiln room, Paint Your Own Pottery station, and gallery to the location.

Here are some flics..... a thousand words. 

Heres a few process shots!  Big thanks to all our helpers!!!!!!!!  It takes an army of people to make big things happen.  We feel so thankful to everyone who has helped us Real-Eyes this fabulous place to the extent that we have been able to thus far.   We are still building and there is more to come, trust me. 

My oldest boy the painter, he loves this role...complete with hat.

Kaya!  Thank You.

1....2....3..... BOOM!

Summertime.  What a bless thing you know? All type of changes precipitating from the great unknown.  To some changes we squeal with joy inside and respectfully state our welcome, to other things we are challenged to stoically say farewell.  To those within the range of this sound, thank you.  For those who have left the radius, we love you still and faithfully acknowledge the universe's ability to magically provide for you exactly what you need.  you know how that is.

Our baby turned one, hes on his feet.  My oldest boy and I are building an outdoor pottery shop at his school,  our new gallery is buzzing with activity all amongst the triple digit heat of the salt breeze.  The lightning strike and its thunderous voice is the order of the day on a tropical island in August.  Give thanks for that.

Whhhhhhheeewwww .... what a grind!   hehe..

Dont get me wrong though,  Plenty of this kinda stuff still happenin in the epic of the southernmost potters....

 

aaaahhhhhhhhhhh yes.

All~Ways

A

ps- summer soundtrack 1.0