Custom Made

I know I've been pretty quiet on the bowl front these days....that is because I haven't so much been *doing* the work lately, as I have been *thinking* about it...and I do think about it. A lot. Patterns and colors and ideas and text all stream through my head as I sit and stare out the window (that I can just barely see through my boss's office) at the Day Job. *sigh* But if I'm not MAKING the work, how am I ever going to get myself out of the Day Job and into my own studio space (with more windows than I can count)?

The last big project I worked on was a large bowl I did before the Holidays (see above). This is probably one of my favorite pieces now. It was a special custom order for friends of our family -- very dear friends -- who were celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary. The bowl was composed of photographs and printed memorabilia of all things/places significant to them, including shots of the church where they were married (in their hometown of Staten Island), their college campus and even a copy of their wedding announcement. I wasn't sure how it would turn out, but it ended up coming together quite well. That is what I love about this process! I never really know where I will be led or how we'll end up, and then -- like magic...it just comes together -- like pieces of a puzzle. Even if the images and materials are not necessarily significant or familiar to me initially, the 'whole' that is then created, the finished product, feels like this extension of myself....this special and significant part of me. I actually became quite attached to this bowl after so many late, glue-filled nights. But it felt good and so satisfying to hand over this 'part of me' to these dear friends, where I know it will be well-loved and admired for many years to come.