Athena, hand and slab built ceramic wall sculpture, 24" tall, by Tammy Vitale

I know you can’t tell right off, but that’s a piece of wonderful rock from Asheville on Athena‘s chest.  I think a piece of it may be obsidian but I didn’t write down what it is even thought I got several of them – they are all long like this one. Wonderfully organic.  And there are some sparkles scattered on her left shoulder.  Celestial hunter that she is.

Several new torsos moving into the kiln today.  Finishing them up.  At least one, Black Widow, has already named herself.  One, named Earth, Air, Fire, Water has symbols for the elements down the front of her, so that wasn’t hard.  Hope to get into the studio since my lunch meeting canceled and make some Ugly Fish and  Wylde Women since I am out of both and the shop I dropped off at yesterday wants Ugly Fish (I did have 3 Wylde Women to leave). I’m even short on word tiles so I need a day of steady work to catch up on everything.

Husband drove me up to Havre de Grace as part of my birthday gift.  Lovely drive  – had the sun roof open.  Had to go up 95 through Baltimore but we really didn’t hit too much traffic either way.  Havre de Grace is this quaint old town that has a walkable Main Street area and is on the water (Photos follow).  We took work to River View Gallery on Washington Street (there on the right) which is a lovely little gallery with beautiful work.  I am so pleased to be represented by them!  They are next door to another very nice, large and expensive gallery, (RoCa, I think).  The synergy apparently works well together.  Havre de Grace has little art spaces and frame shops and antique stores and malls; you can tell it is thriving.  More like Black Mountain than Asheville for those of you who know that area.

After walking around Havre de Grace and taking pictures and stopping in a local restaurant which has tables finished by local artists and wall murals by the same, we drove to Annapolis (Maryland’s state capital for those of you who weren’t good in Geography – do they even still teach geography?  Was one of my worst subjects!)  for dinner on the waterfront there.  It was a gorgeous day!

Here are photos of Havre de Grace and then Annapolis (the ones taken through the window). 

thought for the day:  The actual arrival at a goal always creates a turmoil unconnected to any previous imaginings.  Once we cross the frontier from desire to actual fulfillment, we find that in order to inhabit the new world we have to slough off the identity that was so necessary to us as a seeker…In seems to be the nature of any new territory that we arrive on its borders flat broke…to claim our happiness in life is one of the most difficult things a human being can do.  "Why" I asked.  "Because," she replied, "the moment we claim the happiness to which we have long aspired, large parts of us are immediately out of a job.  All the parts of you that believed it wasn’t possible are about to be let go…If you do not recognize this simplified essence, you feel like a stranger to yourself."… [so, spending] a few moments a day practicing the art of happiness, of gratefulness, of celebration and arrival, of victory in tiny but important things would go a long way toward preparing us for those grander, more lifelong goals for which we are often unprepared. David Whyte, Crossing the Unknown Sea:  Work as a Pilgrimage of Identity.