Garden & Art Tour

I had a very hot weekend. The weather never let up. It fluctuated between a steamy 92 degrees with 85% humidity during the day to severe thunderstorms with pouring rain at night. Oh, the joy and excitement of outdoor activities in Wisconsin and Minnesota!

But also hot because I met all kinds of interesting and fun people. The customers were all gardeners with a mutual love of flowers. We oohed and aahed together over the dwarf hollyhocks, the papaya coneflowers, and the swirling colors of the lily buds. The extent of amazing flowers at Humble Acres is hugely impressive, and it soothed my spirit as I wandered through the many greenhouses there.

It was the company and talent of the other art vendors there, though, that made the weekend most special. Some original and colorful lawn art and metal work was displayed, awesome henna tattoos, oil paintings of beautiful gardens, well-designed recycled-cloth bags, and even piles of freshly-expelled worm castings for sale. What more could I ask for? I made some great trades, new friends, and came home with a deeper appreciation of henna (and a flower on my foot), wooden boxes, a metal bird, and some finely sewn, gorgeous bags.

This is what summer is all about.

Get Your Hands on It.

I have been trying to come up with a way to describe what I do in one catchy line. I need to make a sign to use at festivals. The next one is in two days. I'm wrestling with such slogans as "Hand-Thrown & Wheel-Kicked" and "Traditional, Functional, Tactile." I want to relay two important messages. One, that my pots are an attempt toward both fine craftsmanship and fine art. Secondly, that they are meant to be enjoyed by using them, by feeling them in your grip.

Great craftsmen of any medium have gifts and skills to seriously envy. It takes a steady hand and a strong mind to build and create. It takes patience, time and love to become adept. Art is the creative energy that drives the craft. It is when you make the craft your own; add ideas from the inside and work outside of what confines you. Great artists have creativity and vision. It takes courage to put yourself in your work. The best pots have incorporated both craft and art. Pottery, like any other art form, can be a vision without sufficient skill or a well-crafted work without exploration. My ambition is to pay respects to each.

The other message I want to convey is how important the tactile nature is of pottery. Many art forms' focus is on the visual. Touching it can even damage the piece. Clay works have evolved right alongside humans' development. Playing with clay alongside the river is as timeless as we are. There is a sense of being at home when hand-thrown pottery is in your hands.

I will think more about how to say all of this in one short sentence. I have been invited to be part of the Happy Gardener's Tour in the St. Croix River Valley this Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I will be set up at Humble Acres Perennials and Grasses in Hudson, Wisconsin. I hope to be there with a bright, new banner flying and expressive words that will successfully "Get Your Hands on It."