The Art of the Small Pitcher

Here is a fun little pitcher from my latest firing.My hand shows the relative size. 
As I went to the icebox this morning to add milk to my tea, and I had to lift up the whole carton, I thought " a pitcher would be a handy thing about now". But not this pitcher, this one goes up to the gallery.
All around the base are the hand carvings of the red rocks of Sedona, AZ, that I see outside my studio. I have also incorporated this design into my mugs , with the turquoise glaze, and the oxide to color it.This is high fired porcelain clay so it can go into the stove of microwave.I used a clear glaze inside so the  contents are visible . It is actually the clay itself with a clear glaze over.
Of course it is totally food safe. Standards are very high in our country for glaze materials. Who knows what you get in a store or which  country they are made in and what are their rules? 
Since this is our Veterans' Day holiday, I would say "Support 
our service people... and your local artists! "

The International Art of Tango

Tango. Argentine tango is one of the most international dances around right now. What was once a forbidden dance in its own country has becomes a world wide art form that is enjoyed in many places world wide.

Here I am practicing in a class at the Tucson Tango Festival, from which I just returned. There were teachers from countries  such as  Russia, Colombia, Argentina, and the United States. People came from many states to this festival. I  had  fun dancing with a Russian who now lives in Las Vegas.Only in America! 

Dances are divided into blocks of three or four tunes, called a tanda. You dance with one partner for these songs. Then comes a break and it is off to a new partner. Proper etiquette requires the gentleman to ask the lady to dance. It is a dance that is Latin based, so that is their culture.Is that difficult?  It  can feel so if you aren't dancing.  Regardless, it truly looks and feels like art when it is well done. That is a feeling shared by those  of us who dance, no matter where we come from, or where are feet are moving!  

A-mer-i-ka

This is a ceramic wall piece that I have currently hanging  in a show  at the Sedona Arts Center. The show theme is "Freedom", and my abstract rendering of the red, white and blue,  interpretation seemed to fit that theme nicely. 

 It is a large platter,@ 14" across, hand built rather than wheel thrown.While it hangs nicely on the wall, it has a foot, so it could sit on a surface as well. I like creating  those options.  When it gets that big across, there can be a possibility of cracking, so it is a victory not only in style, but survival.The freedom to push the clay to its outer limits and see how far I can take it. 

We just finished celebrating the 4th of July.I watched great fireworks! I thought of the  immigrants coming into the United States. In all those accents , arriving at Ellis Island,a new life in a new land of freedom, which they might call "A-mer-i-ka."

 I travel a lot. I like to see first hand what I read or hear  or have a fantasy about.What is that place is really like, compared to where I live?  Reality turns out to  be more interesting to me than all  my speculations. I am grateful that I can do this. I know there are countries where woman cannot. I have visited there.