The project revealed

Hey guys, remember when I talked about this project? Well, here's the big reveal--I made some mugs for the brewery! Wanderlust Brewery, to be exact. I'm so psyched to be collabing with my friend Nate Friedman to make this happen.

 

This puppy goes up for adoption tomorrow. Get to the brewery early if you want one, cause there aren't many to go around. 

Love,

Nicole

DRAT

A new goal

When I reach goals, I have this pesky tendency to deflate. There's always the short burst of smiles and hugs, the receipt of really thoughtful cards and gifts, the happy phone calls, the celebratory dinners...but then...it's over. Then, suddenly, I get comfortable. And being comfortable is about the last place I want to be (that, typed from the most comfortable chair in the house with a baby alpaca wool blanket hand crocheted by my mom wrapped around me).

When I graduated from PA school and came home to my very loving and very happy home, I had a lot of trouble adjusting to it. I had a job at a clinic down the street and I'd be able to settle into 'real life' in no time. Only, I totally couldn't. My whole life, I've told myself that I don't do well with change. The real problem, though, is that I don't do well when there's no hope of change for the future.

And don't get me wrong, that whole 'living in the moment,' 'being grateful for what you have' business is valid. But I think we humans are a little more complex than that. If you're grateful for what you have, if you want nothing else out of this life, what the heck is the point of going on? And that's how I feel after accomplishing every goal--I wonder what's left? What am I going to strive for now? And right after finishing a big thing, that's a hard question to answer because you haven't formulated your next big thing yet. And that's why that lull time, that time of 'change,' is so hard for me.

So, that's where I am now. I've got some ideas about my next step, but first I gotta get out of this little valley (or off this mountaintop?). The view is good from here, but I'm about ready to start toward that very green meadow, there in the distance. 

Pottery Superlatives, round two

Here we go for the second round of pottery superlatives! This batch was full of surprises, since I used at least five new glazes and had no idea how they'd turn out. Probably my favorite new glaze is this blue one that I've already shown you:

And I'm happy to report that they made it all the way to Carina, safe and sound. I hope she's eating won ton soup out of them as we speak.

Next up, "most unexpectedly in-line with my expectations":

These beer mugs turned out to be almost exactly 16 ounces! I cannot take credit for being a genius at calculating shrinkage rates. I did do some calculations, but the perfect size was a result of blind faith more than anything else.

"Most successful experiment." I bought some cookie cutters impulsively at a kitchen store and what a good $2 investment! Here's the dinosaur: 

I will probably be selling this one eventually. And I'm also probably going to make pig mugs for all of my friends because friends don't let friends not drink coffee out of a pig mug every morning.

This one gets "most alright." There's gotta be one in every batch, and this is the uncontested winner of that prize. The glaze is nothing to get excited about and the bottom cracked a little. It's a dog bowl, so the crack isn't such a big deal, but it's still almost overwhelmingly tempting to throw it on a hard surface and watch it break into a thousand pieces so I don't have to stare my disappointment in the face any longer (good thing I'm giving it away and relieving the temptation).

This one wins the prize for "Mos elegant." The 't' is left out intentionally because the lyrics on it are from a Mos Def song (GET IT). This one went straight to my friend Kelsey because sugar and spice is the only thing she's made of.

And a bonus--here's what the bottoms look like. Pretty psyched about it.

Love,

Nicole

PS I'm going to be opening an Etsy shop in the not-so-distant future. If you have a special mug or bowl request, leave it in the comments below and I will try to make it happen. <3

Another batch

Last night when I was firing the kiln, I heard a thump! crash! and then Doc started barking. I knew a shelf had given out or a piece had exploded. I had about twelve hours to obsess and worry about the possible dire outcomes and that was really good for my health. This morning, I went to the garage to pull out these fragile little hot potatoes and THEY WERE FINE. What a wonderful discovery (but what was the thump crash? Guess I better start developing home alone style defense plans in case there's some guy living in our garage and knocking stuff around).

 Anyway, the stuff came out great! Some of it is weird, which is par for the course. Don't worry, I'll be doing pottery superlatives soon. I had to get these pictures together today, though, because these little soup vessels are headed off to Dillon, Colorado where my bff since 1st grade (1st grade!) will be receiving them. I hope she likes em!

The blue glaze is from my mother-in-law, which she gave me as a Christmas gift. I really, really like it, especially the way it looks splattered on the inside.

Please excuse me while I squeeze and kiss each of them and swaddle them in bubble wrap before saying goodbye. Carina, check your mail (in like five days)!

Love,
Nicole

"My little beast, my eyes, my favorite stolen egg. Listen. To live is to be marked. To live is to change, to acquire the words of a story, and that is the only celebration we mortals really know."--The Poisenwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

As I engage my turn signal and drift into the left lane, preparing to speed past 2014 and watch as it fades from my rear view, I'd like to pause for a quick reflection of what this year has meant to me...

Earlier this year, I got pulled over by a cop on my way home to Flagstaff for the weekend. I had just gotten back to Arizona from living in Hawaii and I was staying in Phoenix for three months before moving to a Navajo reservation. I had a basket of laundry in the passenger seat and empty mugs and mason jars and plastic cups with the stale precipitant of dried coffee dregs laying anywhere I tossed them before exiting my car to work a long day at any given clinic.

-Do you know why I pulled you over?
-I was speeding?
-Well, yes. But you have a headlight out.
-Oh thank you for telling me. I didn't know (I knew).
-What's the laundry basket for? Where you headed?
-Home to see my husband for the weekend.
-Oh? You live apart?
-Yeah.
-That must be hard.
-It is.

I couldn't find my license, my insurance card was expired (though my insurance wasn't--I just couldn't prove that), I had a headlight out and I was speeding. The cop used my school ID to look me up (which had my maiden name on it still), and he somehow trusted me that my insurance was up to date. He made me promise that I wouldn't speed anymore ("You get terrible gas mileage anyway if you speed--remember that"), and he let me go. I'm 90% sure that he was gentle with me because of that lonely laundry basket in my front seat and all those coffee mugs on the floor*.

That laundry basket defines 2014 for me. I moved five times and had at least twelve roommates. I did laundry in countless washers, countless dryers. Though it was melancholy at times, it was also full of growth and fun. Because I traveled around so much and met so many interesting people, I came upon opportunities I probably wouldn't have otherwise had and I'm pleased with what I experienced and accomplished this year. I jumped in waterfalls, sailed with dolphins, swam in two different oceans, practiced a lot of pottery, graduated from PA school, and got my dream job.

My biggest accomplishment of 2014, though, was paring down the keys on my key ring to only one--the one that opens the door to my home home, the place where the love of my life lives. I have lived and been marked, and I'm so grateful for the words that the experience has added to my story. But nothing compares to ditching the laundry basket, to going to bed next to the one you love and waking up the same way. Sorry to break it to you, Barbara, but I think that's the only celebration we mortals really know.

*And 10% sure he was easy on me because I'm white.

Mos Def pottery line

Is sugar and spice the only thing that you're made of

Once I start drinking coffee out of this mug, life will be complete and I will never get this song out of my head. If it cracks I WILL have a heart attack.