Ah, January --- I actually look forward to this time. After the hub bub of creating, holiday shows and gatherings --this yearly cold, snow and dark bring to us lucky Northerners a kind of enforced hibernation. It is a slowing down, an invitation to be still, go inward, a chance to reflect. We experience this season in stark reality -- everything around us has either died or gone dormant, frozen, buried under a blanket of snow. Reminding us to -- slow down, be still...

Perhaps because we spend more time indoors now, it seems a good time to attend to immediate surroundings. My ritual this time of year is to deep clean my studio, which tends to be a bit chaotic after the season of making. It has become an essential part of my creative process, a way of remembering the past year, and preparing for the next one. I organize materials and clear out those I no longer use. Sort, consider, let go. I dig out pieces started months or even years earlier and abandoned, to reassess. Some of them just don't work, and are "let go". Others, I can see what finishing they need, or I can just "see" them. This series of pieces shown below are resurrected from two years ago. Made during this January time of beginning again, I was joyfully immersed in the earthy aliveness of clay and inspired to try something different. They are an experiment, both putting the figure in a context, and playing with abstracting the figure. I like them better now, after time. I am intrigued by them and want to keep working with this idea. What do you think?

As always, I appreciate your interest and continued support!
blessings of this unfolding year ----Brenna