Myclayexpressions's Blog

A new season brings change.

myclayexpressions — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 05:08:32 +0000

Tonight I had the pleasure of mowing a dear friend’s lawn once again. He had open heart surgery and is still recovering. Tomorrow he under goes a treatment none of hope to ever endure. You’ve probably all have seen the ‘hospital type’ shows on the television, with the patient stretched out on a table and the heart just not beating and the handsome Doctor grabs the electrical paddles and yells at everyone, ‘clear‘! The patient is shocked into life as his body flops on the table from the enormous shock treatment it receives. My friend is getting such treatment to regulate his heartbeat. OUCH! He seems ok with it but I would be a nervous wreak! I guess he will be feeling much better afterwards; but I cannot for the life of me see how the body would not be SO SORE afterwards from the muscles contracting with such force. I sat with my other dear friend, his wife, tonight after the mowing had been completed. We killed a bottle of wine together and a half gallon of chocolate mudslide icecream. That was our dinner. We talked a lot together as she needed to talk. I think she is so worried. I would be too if I were in her shoes. We discussed the deepest depths of topics and the lightest. We laughed and comforted one another. I hope her head doesn’t hurt too much tomorrow, but she should sleep well. I will be called as soon as the procedure is done. I hope and pray all goes well. They are my dearest friends. They are my faux family, as I do not have any family close by.

Filed under: Uncategorized

Quiet River

myclayexpressions — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 04:35:38 +0000

Filed under: Uncategorized

myclayexpressions — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 04:31:01 +0000

A small grop of sheep

Filed under: Uncategorized

Amish Carriage

myclayexpressions — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 04:29:27 +0000

Filed under: Uncategorized

Adding new paintings

myclayexpressions — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 04:22:29 +0000

Here Are some new paintings that most of you haven’t seen. Enjoy and I hope you like them

Filed under: Uncategorized

It has been awhile, hasn’t it.

myclayexpressions — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 04:41:23 +0000

I have been extremely busy with life in general. Let’s see if I can bring you up to date in a nutshell. Hmmmm….where to start. Well I haven’t had my fingers in the ‘mud’ for some time now. I have been taking acrylic painting class from Diana Shyne, (whom is just the best!) for the last year or so. I know that I posted a few paintings to the blog, but I have more to show you when I can get them posted. I will try to get that done soon. I will be getting back to the ‘mud’ sometime soon, but for now my days are pretty full.

My husband retired last November and life has had it’s adjustments. It is so nice having him home full time now to help with the place.

My doggies are all fine and are devoted companions and Bella has proved herself more than once that she will be able to take on Brandy’s job as the next service dog for me; (when Brandy hits retirement). It does however look like Bella will need a hip replacement in the future. Hopefully only on one side, as the surgery for hips runs around $7K per side. I have no where near that kind of monies, so I need to start saving up. Hopefully she won’t need an operation any time too soon.

I only have my one kitty left, Soleil. Avion is in kitty heaven and probably sitting in my mothers lap as they wait for us all. I miss them both with all of my heart. That empty space in your heart never refills and the ache continues on.

My yard is growing so fast it needs mowing every other day. I am so thankful my Father-in-law gave me a riding lawnmower right after we bought the house. That mower is the saving grace around here. The lawn is so big, not one to mow with a push mower and MS.

The weather is beautiful this time of year. The Puget Sound is gorgeous and the crab is out of this world. I am so lucky to be living on this little slice of heaven of an island.

I found out just recently that I have thyroid cancer. Real bummer I know but, they are going to operate soon. I find out this coming Wednesday when the surgery is. I am hoping they do the new procedure of going through the arm pit. It is very interesting to the fact that they have a better visual by doing the surgery that way. You can do a search and find videos of the procedure. I am not really concerned about a scar on the neck but if they can see the nerves, veins and arteries better, I am all for it!
I am nervous about the whole situation since it has been bothering me for a couple of years. I kept persisting they keep looking for what was bothering me in my throat and they found the cancer by accident. At least they found it and I wasn’t crazy! Wish me luck with the surgery and hopefully it doesn’t keep me down very long. I have too many things to do, places to go, things and people to see.

The bedroom carpet and the two Berners got shampoo’d yesterday. They all smell so nice and fresh. I am trying to get some stuff done prior to surgery. I will be doing the stairs and the hallway carpet upstairs tomorrow. Whew, it’s supposed to be nice and warm tomorrow too! Lots of sun tea will have to be on hand tomorrow! I have some area rugs that I want to get shampoo’d soon too. They are rolled up and waiting.

I picked some Star Gazer lilies from the garden today and have a very large vase of them inside the house. Oh my gosh, they smell so good! I love it when they are blooming. They smell up the whole patio!

I will close for now and hope I haven’t bent your ear too much. I will get those new photos posted soon.

Filed under: Uncategorized

Back again!

myclayexpressions — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 19:41:25 +0000

About time I got back to my blog. So many things have happened since the last entry. Hmmm…when was that? A year or so ago? Now not only will I be posting my clay attemps but also my ongoing interest in acrylic painting. I have been taking painting classes since last year and taking time off during the summer months. Our instructor has many shows and plein aire painting seminars during those warm months. I have found acrylic painting to be so much fun and I am very excited about it! Classes are being held at ‘Gallery by the Bay’ in Stanwood, Washington. Our class size is small and we all get valuable one on one instruction. The class always starts out with a lecture and examples of what is being taught. Then later after the lecture, all of the students get to paint. We all work on varied projects which suit our fancy and ability. Dianna is such a great teacher and has the patience of of a saint. Please check back as I will be posting my paintings as I finish them. Rich has finally retired and is home from Alaska for good. I am so very happy to have him here full time!

Filed under: Acrylic Painting, Art, Sculpture

Things are better now.

myclayexpressions — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 21:38:21 +0000

Lately I have been away due to MS, and preparing for my husbands R&R. It is nice to have some help around the home and to share time with my sweetheart of a husband. I am now back and ready to do some more clay work. The day is beautiful and we have blue skies from horizon to horizon. You just cannot ask for better weather. Happiness is to have nice weather besides rain and gray skies. During my away time I got a dust collector installed into a new cabinet. This will enable me to work with the greenware items and not spread the clay dust all over the place. It is amazing just how far this fine dust can travel. It can cover everything before you know it. Also there is a plus factor, I will not be breathing it into my lungs either. I am anxious to get some new projects started and the past projects finished. Please check back and hopefully there will be new items to show you. Until then have a great day with this wonderful weather!

Filed under: Uncategorized

African Lady

myclayexpressions — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 00:07:14 +0000

Sorry for the delayed posts as my MS has been a real bear this last week. I have a real hard time coping with it as I have my five charges (2 kitties and 3 dogs) to take care of, even when I feel so bad. Then there’s the ongoing upkeep of the household and right now I have to neglect the yard and gardens. This week I am unable to do it all and it shows. (At least in my eyes.) I am unable to work in the clay due to eye tremors. These drive you nuts. So please be patient. I will get going on the art as soon as possible.
The African woman I am working on is finally ready for finishing. I will be staining her, as opposed to glazing. I want a rich soft finish for her skin and I think staining is the answer. I am excited to get working on this because she will also have neck rings, arm rings and earrings. All of these will be in a nice brown finish, but shiny . This allows the ‘jewelry’ she will wearing will contrast nicely with her soft skin finish. I shopped last week for a needed stand for her, as she is balancing on her toes. I love the human form and have much to learn in creating it in a clay medium. This one was fun and I am looking forward in starting the next one. Enjoy the pictures and I will be back soon.

Filed under: Uncategorized

Rainy Tuesday

myclayexpressions — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 02:52:22 +0000

Good Grief! I am so ready for the nice weather to get here. As I mentioned on my ‘About’ page, here it is mostly wet and it has not dissuaded my opinion the least bit. I have gardens to clean and grass to mow and the wetness is slowing my production in those departments. Actually there is no production in the yard or garden clean-up. I do have to be thankful that is rain and not some major amount of snow like the East Coast has been experiencing. I can’t forget my blessings!
I had a great time with Vicky on our trip to Seattle together. I got the needed supplies for my clay work and I went to Cool Pooch Ceramics today to work on some ‘wings’, that I wanted to get started on for a new project. I was carpet cleaning at my home and intended to stay home today and get the carpet finished. I bagged that idea in short order and decided it would be good to get out for some socializing with a couple of friends at ‘Cool Pooch Ceramics’. The class was small today and I see there is room for some new students. ‘Cool Pooch Ceramics’ is in the local Island directory and easy to find for those who are interested.
Posting today is the Octopus in the bisque stage. I think that he (or she) will be fun to add the finish to. this character is hosting a few ‘ride alongs’ from its community. Starfish can move pretty fast when they are hitchhiking. I like to keep some whimsy in all of my creations unless they are totally serious. Who knows, they could do this in real life. Who are we to say it doesn’t happen in real life if we haven’t seen it? It’s all a matter of being in the right place a the right time. So far, I take it, no one has been in the right spot at the right time to witness this in action. I keep my tongue in my cheek and smile. More tomorrow.

Filed under: Art, Sculpture, Uncategorized