Art Night at the Cottages

Matt's studio is in a gorgeous park; his is one of six artist cottages set up along the river, but they're not close to the road and don't get lots of foot traffic. During Art Fest, we constantly hear, "I've lived here for decades and had no idea these existed!" It doesn't help that most of the cottages had been empty for quite awhile before Matt moved in and started Upriver Ceramics.

So, in an attempt to get the word out, Matt and his fellow artists have started a monthly Art Night where the cottages will stay open late. They invite guest artists to come set up as well. This Tuesday was their first "event." We weren't expecting a huge turnout because this was a new endeavor, but we were happily surprised!

People came in waves throughout the evening to check out the various artists.

Some of the crowd outside Matt's studio.

Steve had a presentation going with some of his bigger pieces; I LOVE the lamps made of pieces of real mangrove roots.

John worked on a painting in full view of our guests.

Around 7:30 I walked over the bridge to pick up tacos for everyone - there's an authentic Mexican restaurant that sells $1 street tacos on Tuesdays, so it's pretty perfect that Art Night is going to be on a Tuesday each month.

Quick side story: When I got to the front of the line to order, the young man did a little double take and then broke out into a huge grin. "I think you were my teacher!" I immediately recognized him - he was my student 7 or 8 years ago, in my first or second year teaching! He gave me a big hug and pointed out his mom, who was working on filling orders. It turns out his family owns the restaurant!

Mm, nothing tastes better than food grilled outside!

Anyway, by the time I got back around 8:30 (taco night was slammed!) the artists were cleaning up. We ate our tacos and then called it a night. I don't usually stay out so late on work nights, but it was worth it.

I'm so excited that this first night was a success! Matt sold a couple pieces, including my favorite, "Forbidden Fruit."

Remember this piece? Well, it went to a good home.

I think this will be a great tradition the artists are starting, and I hope it only continues to grow.

ABK

Art Festival Weekends

Our city (and the neighboring cities) have art festivals a few times a year. They're really fun and draw huge crowds. Artists travel from all over the world to put up tents for the weekend and sell their art. Matt has volunteered with the judges of these events for a few years now, but this is the first year he's shown his work like this.

As a permanent artist at this particular Art Festival location, he has the benefit of opening his studio and selling his work without having to travel.

Matt on the first day of the January Art Festival! This was before we figured out how many pieces to display outside.

There are three art weekends throughout season (in January, February, and March). January's was quite the experience; it was fun to show off Matt's work and sell some pieces. We learned about setting up to draw in customers, selling and wrapping up pieces, appropriate pricing, etc.

We soon learned that displaying 80% of his work outside and having him work on the wheel the entire time is the best way to draw crowds.

February's Art Festival was even better because we had a lot of family come in! My parents drove down and attended with my aunt and uncle, and my sister drove up to stay with us Friday and spent all day Saturday with us. Matt's mom drove down with a friend, too, so we had lots of good support.

The fam!

He's actually a really good teacher and Steph has some natural talent - her bowl turned out nicely!

My birthday is today, so mom and dad brought my gift when they came on Saturday. How pretty is this necklace?!

I took the photos and created the collage in the background; I was surprised by how many people really took the time to look at it and learn about the process of trimming this particular type of bowl.

Another perk of being a permanent artist on location is that Matt can continue to work while the studio is open. This means I do a lot of the talking/selling while he works, but when he works on the wheel he certainly draws crowds, and there's the added benefit that he's not losing any working time while the show is going on.

Matt is barely visible through these little crowds of interested spectators.

I'm looking forward to March's festival. Although it makes the weekend long and a bit exhausting - and the week leading up to it is hectic because Matt is always trying to get one last batch of work done in the kiln - these shows are a fantastic way to get exposure and see all his hard work pay off. I get a little thrill every time someone wants to buy something.

Matt literally pulled two all-nighters the week leading up to the festival just to finish, fire, glaze, and fire again one final batch of work.

It might sound weird, but I really enjoy carefully wrapping up the piece, putting it in a bag, and dropping a business card in. It's like we're running a little boutique; each piece we sell is completely unique and 100% handmade. I just love seeing people appreciate the talent and work that goes into it.

Right now, Matt's working on updating his Etsy shop to show all his new pieces, including some unique necklace pendants I tried on throughout the weekend.

One thing I've learned is not to be personally affronted when someone doesn't like Matt's work. I know that everyone has different tastes and sometimes certain styles just don't speak to you! I've heard people compare his work to Alice in Wonderland and Dr. Seuss, which is definitely accurate for some pieces. If that's not the look they're going for, they won't buy anything, but that doesn't mean they don't appreciate the skill involved, so I've learned to be okay with it!

Actually, that's helped me feel a little more confident in my writing; I've always been nervous to share with people, but now I realize that tastes differ and you can't force someone to like something that's just not them.

Does your city support the arts?
Do you like to collect any kind of art?
PS: It's my birthday today! I have no idea how I'm celebrating haha! But, it's also my mom's birthday, so feel free to wish her a happy birthday in the comments!

ABK

Weekly Workouts: 1/9-1/16

This week's recap includes two Mondays; we didn't have work today and pushed our long run back from Sunday because I was working at Matt's studio all weekend during the art festival! I'll post about that later probably. For now, here's this week:

Monday: It's been awhile, but I made Elizabeth promise to hold me accountable for cross training at school. We did two rounds of the core workout below and then I spent a few hours building our kitchen island.

// CORE FINISHERS ✖SIX PLANK VARIATIONS ⚡⚡// Aim for 3 sets and 20 seconds of these six exercises for a core burn. 💥 #fitfam #plank #core #fitgirlvideos #bodyweighttraining #bodyshopstrong

A video posted by Elise Young (@elisesbodyshop) on Jan 3, 2017 at 9:38am PST

Tuesday: My thighs were feeling Monday's workout! Tuesday's run felt fantastic; it was the first time we kept a really speedy pace since my calf issues. So liberating!

Wednesday: Rest day. I was in Sarasota all day for work; when I got back I went straight to an art showcase Matt was participating in. It was so fun to be his lovely assistant while he worked on the wheel.

Thursday: Another flat four miles. My legs are starting to feel what being back in training means, but in a good way. Lots of good, non-injured, happily-used muscle soreness going on.

Friday: Rest...Our friend Oden was in town and we went out to dinner. I began to notice some tightness in my lungs and wondered if there were some fires nearby, so I didn't mind the rest day.

Saturday: I got up and ran 4 miles alone before heading to Upriver Ceramics for a full day of schmoozing and selling art! My lungs weren't great and I started prednisone doses that afternoon. We met Oden and Todd afterward for dinner, drinks, and mini golf.

I stayed VERY hydrated on Saturday night...hence our long run moving to Monday! I also got two holes-in-one!

Sunday: Another long day (10-5) on my feet at the studio. My feet and legs were tired!

Monday: Elizabeth and I ran a nice 9.4 miles in the morning. We got to start a little late (8am) because it was "cool" and overcast. My lungs weren't great but they were better controlled than Saturday. I ran with my inhaler but didn't need it. My legs are still feeling strong and happy!

We look a mess.

Total miles: 21

Over all this was a great week! I'm so glad we got a real long run in because we have just about four weeks to race day, so it's crunch time! Our training was pretty derailed over winter break and we've had to make some major adjustments, but I still think our goal is within reach.

ABK

Upriver Ceramics is Up and Running!

This past week I didn't work out at all because I was sick, so I can't really write any kind of weekly review post. Instead, here's an amazing update on Matt's ceramics studio!

Last time I posted about Upriver Ceramics, Matt had gotten his new equipment and was making pieces. He hadn't fired anything yet. I think he was nervous about the kiln. Would it work? Would it destroy the cottage? Would it destroy the pieces? Would it leak poisoned gas and kill everyone who came near it? (These are all very real possibilities, by the way.)

Over the last few weeks, he's been testing that out. First he did two test-firings, which means he heated the empty kiln up to about 1700 degrees F and then let it cool down. The cottage got up to 100 degrees even with the AC set at 75, but otherwise nothing went wrong.

Then, he put the pieces in. Time to fire them. Obviously we were nervous, but everything turned out beautifully!

I made that ugly cup! See my initials?! Go me! I'm so talented.

The next nerve-wracking test was glazing. The glazes Matt bought are new to him, and it's been a long time since he's glazed anything. He had to put on the right number of coats and make sure the glaze didn't run (thereby making the pieces stick to the kiln shelves). Then, he had to fire them, which meant heating the kiln up to 2000 degrees!

Yesterday we went in to see how it all came out:

^

He put all the sea horse mugs on the top row but he did make other designs, too!

I am so freaking proud of him. This is the first time Matt has fired a kiln himself and been fully in charge of the entire creation process from start to finish. (His ceramics master used to fire everything for him.) It's a huge deal that everything turned out perfectly the first time around! Soon, his Kickstarter pieces will be done and he'll be able to work on his bigger projects and take custom orders!

I picked out the dark blue and red glazes. Clearly I have an eye for this sort of thing.

Side note: Most of these pieces have a "Florida" theme (sea life/water) but usually Matt's designs are very abstract. I think he wanted something that would appeal to tourists and would be cute and fun for his Kickstarter backers!

While the kiln runs, Matt stays in the cottage, so he's been leaving the house at 6am to start everything early. It takes well over 12 hours. I'm hopeful that now that we know everything is safe and in working order, he won't feel the need to be there the entire time.

As if that's not exciting enough, Matt had another big success this week!

Matt and his pieces!

He entered three pieces in a local gallery and one of them won first place! (The curator admonished me for taking pictures in the gallery but that's not stopping me from publishing them here! I'm a rebel and too proud to care!)

Do you prefer functional or abstract art?
Fun fact: many people don't pronounce the "n" in "kiln"! Pronouncing it either way - "kill" or "kiln" - is considered correct.

ABK

4th of July & Upriver Ceramics

This year's 4th of July celebration was extra special because it marked the official opening of Upriver Ceramics to the public! I've been calling it the "grand opening" but Matt thinks this was more of a "soft opening." Either way, we were there, we had visitors, we made contacts...it was a good day!

 The city where Matt's studio is located hosts a festival for the Fourth every year; the renters at the cottages are expected to be at all city-hosted events, so this was the first time Matt would be opening his doors to the public. Knowing this, he's been spending a ton of time getting the studio ready.

We spent the morning putting up cards with the pieces' names and prices; we rearranged some of his work to make the space more conducive to visitors. Then, we brought his throwing wheel out under his awning and enjoyed the day.

The festivities (food trucks, ice cream, music, and games) began around 4pm. There was lightning in the area and things kept getting closed down until the "all clear" was given, which was great for us because people wandered our way while they waited for danger to pass.

Quite a few people sat down to watch Matt work on the wheel. (Little kids were especially interested and I gave a few guided tours of the studio and answered all kinds of questions the way only teachers can.)

He had a lot of interest in the mugs he's been working on for his Kickstarter backers.

Our friends Justin and Jessica hung out for most of the day (James and Rhonda also stopped by earlier). All told, Matt was there from 8:30 until 10, and I was there from 11:30 onward, so it was a long but gratifying day.

Matt let Justin try out the wheel and it was pretty hilarious.

Although Matt didn't sell any pieces, there were a good number of people interested in commissioning pieces, and everyone took a business card. It was so gratifying to hear them as they entered the studio; everyone was surprised and impressed with the detail and obvious skill evident in Matt's work.

The space looks very official now that all the pieces have their titles and prices listed.

He's still working primarily on Kickstarter awards, but I know he's really anxious to get to work on larger projects.

If you want to follow along as Matt continues to make progress, here are his Instagram, website, and Facebook accounts.

What is your favorite kind of art?
What did you do for July 4th?

ABK

Musings

This week has been one of those. There's nothing necessarily bad going on, but for some reason I'm super stressed and can't seem to get my feet under me. It seemed like a good week to just kind of...brain dump.

It's probably because this time of year is ridiculously busy; I haven't even seen my homeroom/first block of students all week because they've been taking their algebra EOC, so I feel even more swamped and anxious to finish everything before the school year ends.

And honestly, this isn't even half of it.

To start in with good news, Matt's Kickstarter was successful! He reached his goal of $6500 and will begin buying his equipment and making pieces in a couple weeks. I'm so thrilled!

Matt in his studio!

I was really moved because quite a few donations came in from runners I only know virtually (or have only met a couple times) through the Sub-30 Club. Runners are the best.

I've been on a major salad kick lately. Maybe it's the hotter weather or something. Salads can be really boring, so I'm playing around with making mine as flavorful and nutritious as possible.

I'm living for Bolthouse's Cilantro Avocado dressing and tomatoes right now.

I was going through old photos and cards the other day and found the birthday and Valentine's Day cards Matt wrote me the year I began running. In my memoir I talk about how he really helped me stick to running when I was new at it. Seeing those old cards was a great reminder of what a supportive partner he's always been.

Matt bought me my first iPod with a Nike+ adapter and my first pair of dedicated running shoes.

I was pretty bummed Monday because I ate pizza and chips for dinner, and I've been really good about eating healthy. It wasn't the pizza that bummed me out - it was why I ate it. I was in a piss-poor mood and wanted comfort food. I'm trying to break the habit of comfort eating; realistically I know that one day of junk isn't going to derail my progress, and once I ate it the craving for junk went away, but I wasn't happy that I gave in to my stress that way.

Finally, I went to a Derby party on Saturday. I've never been before and I was so tickled by my giant hat that I had to take a mirror selfie, which I never do. Matt and I tried to get a selfie and I was dying - my hat kept getting in his way! It was a fun excuse to get dressed up, even if my horse lost.

Shameless selfie-ing

 This post was brought to you by my random thoughts and Amanda's Thinking Out Loud linkup!

Have you ever been to a Derby party?
Do you wish hats would come back in style? YES!
What's your favorite salad topping or dressing?

ABK