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Tuesday, March 4, 2014

These are some of my tiles...

Each tile is 1"x1 1/4"
In relief
Terracotta clay with terrasig. Fired in primitive fire after extensive burnishing by hand. 
Each one is handmade. 

I loved designing tiles.
I realized in that time it was what I most liked to do in clay, above sculpture.
That if conceptualizing and inventing were prohibited, I'd like to have commissions to put these on walls of  museums and  places where they could be enjoyed. Even made by others so they could be part of the process of creation.  They're quite labor intensive.
Therefore expensive.

Then life did it's famous turn around and it was reality therapy time.

I couldn't make art again.
It drifted into years. And maybe someday there will be a comeback.

But you can't always go back to the art you created before.
My designs were stolen from a storage unit, along with family photos etc

No rhyme or reason. Just that what is, is.

But I'm happy to post these terracotta tiles here. Apparently made for a brief showing.
The ones made on porcelain at least made their way into an important collection.

That's nice. And I prefer those over these.

Nothing lasts, is the lesson.

This year there will be no mums cultivated, unless Paul Allen reads my plea to assist Kings Mums in Oregon. It's the only grower in the US.
And I've grown these 4 years only.
Now I don't know. Theirs died due to a new pesticide.
These Kiku, works of art won't grow in my pots this year :-(
Unless Paul Allen or someone else sees the value in helping out.

That's how life is.
Fleeting.
Just like this.
And no one escapes this fact.

The very best anyone can do is trust the heart and be kind.
Having empathy is the greatest gift.
Staying soft.
And not lying to oneself.
Becoming crazed from that.

Grace doesn't encourage thievery.
There are ways love is not loving.
Much has been taken away here.
But much has been given.

What any of us are, is not what we think. Some limited
Thing that needs to grasp and steal and project.
What we are has value intrinsic to itself.

Be Mindful, think before speaking, before acting, before rationalizing, or reacting..

We will wait and see.
What will rise from the ashes of this Phoenix?

These tiles were aptly named.
Burnt Offerings.