The week leading up to my birthday, I rearranged, organized, purged, and cleaned out this space. Now let the fun begin! π
I just stocked the shelves with new bowls and cups. πππΈ
An assortment of the pieces unloaded today. πΈπΈπΈ I was trying out various techniques and these vessels all went through three firings as different glazes fire to different temperatures. I had fun with these!
I unloaded a glaze kiln yesterday. It feels great to be making progress on all the various projects happening in my studio these days. Our shop is open 11-5 Monday-Saturday and 2-5 on Sunday. π
Iβm so excited about my new spice bowl designs and the decorated cups/vases that are waiting for the next firing. π
The joy of summer flowers!! β€οΈ
Decorating pots todayβ¦ blissful π
One of my finished masks and a work in progress. π
I am thrilled and honored to be included with my husband @madpottermv and our sculpture trail @islandfolkpottery in this beautiful compilation showcasing various creative folk on Marthaβs Vineyard. Thank you @twislandgirl @amandabenchley @elizabeth.cecil The book is breathtaking #vineyardfolk
Spring in my neighborhood. π
Spring window. This is a photo but doesnβt it look painterly? Chilmark, MA
We said goodbye to Frankie today. π I wrote this poem about him several weeks ago.
The Old Dog
by Heather Goff
03/01/23
The old dog trusts blindly
bumping into walls
stuck in corners
until I gently set him right.
18 months gone
his family moving overseas
he joined us
the forgotten puzzle piece
shaped by years to fill their needs
dropped off at a strange house
now the odd one out
welcomed with my sigh of resignation.
Fed and walked with my dogs
he felt for a fit
sunning on the summer deck
by the winter wood stove,
out of the way at first
then gradually underfoot
tripped over more often than not.
The months ground his age up a year
and again
clouding his eyes dark
distilling him to knobby bone
bowed like the uncomfortable arch of the grave,
his gait marionette stiff.
His dependency looped strings to me
tugging my attention:
first the steps to outside,
then the cycle of diapers washed and dried,
stretching soft fleece over his cold frame,
each new task another hook in my chest.
Now the dark hour before dawn,
I lift him cradled to my breast
safe from the resentful nips
of the sleeping host.
And carry him outside
standing vigil
as he presses his back legs down
a stream of liquid staining the ground
then curls further to eliminate
before wide turning
a boat adrift from its mooring
to face the steps.
Entering the house
I gather him close
whispering in his deafness
that I recognize his goodness
and refastening his diaper
I take a moment to rub spine and ears
Then turn to climb back to my slumber
as he circles once and collapses onto his bed.
For how can I not love
the one who needs so much
yet asks for nothing.
I donβt know if any of you are like me but when I am confronted with a blank store-bought pad of expensive paper, I freeze up and thatβs why Iβve always been so much more comfortable experimenting and working on craft paper or cut-up paper bags even because it just allows me to release.
I revisited a daily practice over a month ago of drawing and experimenting everyday in a journal and I made myself a junk Journal out of cardboard and craft paper, just to give myself freedom to do whatever I want and not worry about wasting expensive precious supplies.
Itβs been so fantastic and liberating, Iβm really grateful and Iβm hoping to continue every day just doing something in the journal because I think itβs helping massage those creative muscles and helping me improve my drawing as well. Iβm amazed how often I need reminding about the importance of a daily practice.
February and March on the island are very introspective times. Donald Nitche runs a bimonthly poetry drop-in via zoom in the winter with the help of a grant from the Marthaβs Vineyard Cultural Council and our local libraries and I had the good fortune to join the mid February session. It opened a flood gate of poems in me, and here is one of them.
THE REAR VIEW MIRRORβ¨
I look up from the roadβs curve,
rimmed with stone walls, leaning trees,
and history
Β
to see your bumper in my rear-view mirror,
muscled as a bully,
the proud logo centered.
Β
And I wish you wouldnβt.
crowd and push me faster
with your impatience.
Β
Donβt you realize how hard Iβve worked at slowing down? on these country lanes in this small community,
Β
the struggle to unclench lists of expectations propelling me always past the now,
to fight free of the hurry-up current
and find the quiet, unique, drift
of a hometown,
Β
to look up, allowing my gaze to be an invitation,
and listen for the layered notes of the story outside my head -
a shared harmony.
Β
to notice that connection is as necessary and profound as breath.
Β
I am opening a space inside myself, expansive enough to hold us all,
with room for conversation and kindness,
for messiness and reverence,
a cathedral of stillness and wonder.
Β
Please do not hurry me.
I am going the speed limit.
Β
Heather Goff
Yesterday, I did a quick watercolor study of what I saw when this young girl held her kitten - today, I attempted to draw what I felt when I saw her holding her kitten.
A quick watercolor and ink sketch of Bill and the dogs. My pack. ππ
I set up one of our outdoor folding tables next to the wood stove and when I sit at it, I feel like Iβm sitting in a cafe somewhere. Itβs been a great spot to write and sketch. π
My eldest granddaughter stayed with us for her school break and her sisters and mom joined her for the weekend. I had a lovely week of baking, UNO, and sketching young models.
Bill and Ossian - inspired by a lovely walk we had with the dogs this afternoon. π
Linoleum cut. My Covid/winter hair style.
Some incredibly talented customers of mine built a cocktail table and inset some of my painterly tile series in it!! π
Little dog - Big dog
I am honored to have some if my tapestry tile designs installed as accents in this kitchen!!
One thing I love about cold, raw, wet days is the excuse to light a fire in the morning. It makes the house so cozy! The dogs love it too. ππ
A fireplace surround created using my painterly tiles for accents. I am honored to be featured in this familyβs home.
Our shop is open until 4pm today and our sculpture trail is magical in the snow. Our road, however, is not plowed so please visit only if you have 4 wheel drive or if you are walking from a landbank trail parking.
This yearβs (first batch of) gingerbread cookies are inspired by the Solstice and our Sculpture Trail. Castles, dragons, suns, moonsβ¦
Work in progress: painting with amaco underglazes on earthenware. The colors will change significantly once fired.
What a wonderful six days I had traveling from Portland Maine to Brooklyn New York to visit my children. I am replete with experiences from the quintessential Maine salvage warehouse to contemporary art shows in Manhattan - all with the joy of connecting with my kids. πππ
We have sold all of the eyes in the shop! It is past time to start a new batch. I poured a plaster mold of the original carvings that I did so that I can make multiples. I press clay into the mold, stamp them, and inset the high fire wire in the back at this stage so that a hanging wire can be strung after they are fired. After they are pried out of the mold, I trim them and clean them up and sometimes add to them.
Our shop is open today, October 10th from 11-5. ππ
New 4x4 dragon tiles going in the shop tomorrow. 16 Marionβs Way Chilmark MA
My husband and his dog.
Mugshot Monday - our various mugs at lunch - one for water, one for tea or coffee. Most of these are older mugs of mine. The octopus is one of Billβs.
Still dreaming, sketching and transposing onto the rounded surface of mugs. ππ the song is one of mine recorded with magically talented friends in the early 90s.
Just realized the mugs that Iβm illustrating with underglazes tell a story when seen together.