Watch out, Utah, I’m Back!

1379759_10202254115182459_1509882199_n

So, yes, I am back. In Utah. Back to my home sweet home, back to my studio and grolleg porcelain, back to my family, back to my car, and my boring routine šŸ™‚ It feels kinda nice. I like having the freedom of having a car and knowing the town streets really well. I like the feeling of using my own old pots and pans, and I like having a cupboard full of pots made by all of my friends. But I am starting to miss the friends I got to know in Australia.

I wrote a new song yesterday, about people I got to know this year. I wrote about people I met last fall, and about people in Australia. That’s one thing that’s becoming more and more obvious– I didn’t learn what I was expecting to learn while I was in Australia. I learned so many life lessons. I learned about people, I learned that I have it so good here in the USU studio, I learned to always have a social backup plan, and most of all, I learned a lot more about music. I have to thank one person for that. Without the use of a guitar, I wouldn’t have made as much musical progress as I did. Also, I have to thank my very dear friend Ami for teaching me so much about people and music and how to live life in a better way šŸ™‚ She really opened my eyes to a newer, brighter, somewhat less self-conscious way of living.

The song I wrote is just a story about 3 different people who have affected my life this year. It’s not meant to be negative. It’s a folk/indie song. When I sing nowadays, I’ve developed a silly happy stage voice that I kinda like šŸ™‚ when I played the last song I wrote for my little sister, she asked if it was an Ingrid Michaelson song šŸ˜› anyway, here’s the song. It’s called “I Had This Friend”

https://soundcloud.com/kiraclapton/i-had-this-friend

Posted in Creative Writing, Daydreaming, Deep Thought, Folk Music, Music, Poetry, Relationships, Romance, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

It’s a Waiting Game

992201_10201893874136658_186393240_n

 

 

Happy as I seem,

I’m living in my dreams,

I’ve got a million things

on my mind.

It’s just another line,

I’m waiting all the time,

‘Cus time seems to go

so slow.

 

Stop before you go,

So I can tell ya so ya know

It’s alright.

 

It’s a waiting game, I know.

A waiting game, so slow.

And the hands on the clock,

They seem rather locked to me.

 

 

I just signed up for SoundCloud to share this cute little song I came up with. It’s the first complete song with lyrics that I’ve written in a while šŸ™‚ It’s a folk-style song, just vocals and rhythmic acoustic guitar. Have a listen if you’re keen šŸ™‚

The song is about how life seems to be a waiting game, all too often. Even in good circumstances, I always find myself waiting for the next thing, Guess it’s just the rhythm of life. I am currently waiting for Friday, when I take my flight to Perth! I am so excited to spend a few days there with good friends and helping out with a kids pottery workshop šŸ™‚

But also, as guilty as I feel about wishing my time away here, I really can’t wait to get back home to the people I love…. and good dark roast coffee šŸ˜› It’s a waiting game, indeed.

Posted in Creative Writing, Daydreaming, Deep Thought, Music, Nature, Philosophy, Photography, Poetry, Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

From the Beginning to The End.

drawings and experiment 019

 

 

When the world turns its back on your peace of mind

And your best friend is half the world away

And hugs cost millions per microsecond

The sun laughs at your dizziness,

And no one else can see that your head is imploding.

When you feel that person in the room

That you can’t stand to think about

For reasons everyone knows,

Your whole body recoils and sits still.

Resounding, reverberating, hammer to the head

Drums and the thunder of being alone.

I sit alone.

In a crowd, no one notices—except the strangers sitting two chairs away.

Ghosts for neighbors.

I sit alone.

Anger fills me to saturate my bones—

Anger for reasons I don’t even know.

Anger for feeling when I shouldn’t care

Anger for knowing he’s still there.

The sun is still laughing. It sears my eyes.

I hear friends laughing—but they don’t talk to me.

I am invisible to them, but why should they care?

Seven days here, seven more and I’m gone for good.

I won’t miss them.

I dreamt my eyes were streaming,

I don’t remember why.

I never sleep, I’m always dreaming.

I woke twice in my sleep, falling off the edge.

I fell and jolted, and awoke in a strange place.

I see sunshine and strange trees and unfamiliar faces.

I can’t understand a goddam’ thing they say,

A different dialect of a familiar language.

ā€œI’ll wait for you!ā€ they unreliably said.

ā€œI’ll miss you too,ā€ I say with sad eyes—

But inside I just miss home.

Dreaming again, I think to myself.

Strange birds with funny heads,

Squawking all the day.

Myrtle trees whose leaves smell of lemon oil,

Rustling in the heatwave breeze.

People wearing funny clothes, layers upon layers,

Despite the blinding heat.

ā€œWhere’s your jumper?ā€ they ask and laugh.

ā€œIt’s nice out,ā€ is always my reply.

Nice weather, nice trees, but I’m unsettled.

Tears of awakening, streaming.

Jose Gonzalez sings the theme song to my soul—

Crosses.

Crossing the ocean, crossing my heart,

Crosses of my own dismantling.

I do myself in with every attachment

To people with cruel intentions.

Lied to, ignored, hidden from,

I can’t keep up with the hurt in my heart.

Expression comes freely—my heart is an open book

For the world to read and cast aside.

 

 

I feel as though my last few posts have been missing something. They have been happy, yes, but only touching the surface of my experience here in Australia. It’s not all koalas and Vegemite. I’ve struggled a bit, too. I feel like I need to express my frustration from today to detox my soul. I’ve been feeling some angst, pent up frustration with people situations. There are good people, there are bad people, there are good but unreliable people, there are bad people that put on an act of innocence. For me, I can’t always see through acts, and I believe in personal responsibility, so I guess I assume that other people believe the same– but it hasn’t held true here. There are cultural differences here that I cannot get used to. I love the few good friends that I’ve made here, but I really miss the people who I know I can rely on– my family and my best friend at home. I have had good experiences here in Australia, but I am ready to go home.

Posted in Creative Writing, Daydreaming, Deep Thought, Philosophy, Photography, Poetry, Relationships, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

15 Days Left in Lismore– I might be getting attached

999473_10201886449791054_449124320_n

 

 

Ok, so it has been a long time in the making, but I think I finally almost feel comfortable here. Yes, a car and a job and maybe an off-college living situation would make me even more comfortable, but I am finally developing a circle of friends who I will miss, and I am enjoying the sunny days by the lake. Also, I am feeling more comfortable around the printing studio– with the ferric chloride, turning on/off the right switches and releasing the pressure on the presses when I’m the last one to leave– and I have been starting to explore different printing ideas besides lino block. I do love my lino block prints, but the copper is much more enticing for me. I’ve been printing leaves as well, and I feel really excited about them šŸ™‚ I didn’t take any photos of the leaves yet, but I plan to try a few more new things tomorrow.

A new friend here took to get my nose pierced downtown yesterday. I’ve been thinking about doing it since before I came to Australia. It will just be that much cooler to say that I had it done in Australia šŸ™‚ another thing I can take back with me that won’t weigh down my suitcase. I have to decide on which pots I like enough to take back with me, and I have to figure out how to pack them so that they won’t get broken on the flight. I am going to try and fit all of the pots I can into my carry-on… I’ve seen how the big luggage gets thrown around. It makes me nervous as to how I will transport my bigger mushroom prints. They have to fit somewhere… I was thinking about the bottom of my suitcase underneath the support bars for my clothes in some sort of protective case. I know that I will be taking this teapot back with me:

1057458_10201449567749276_1311096708_n

 

Posted in Art, Ceramics, Daydreaming, Drawing, Nature, Painting, Photography, Print Making, Science, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Grevillea Flowers and Cheeky Dragons

1082314_10201834869581581_1241421231_n

I am going to miss print making. I don’t know if I will be able to do it when I get back to the states unless I enroll in the class. This is my Grevillea flower copper plate printed in jade green. I figured out a way to turn the relief ink into etching ink– I mix up the color I want as if I am going to do relief prints, then add two drops of linseed oil and mix it in really well… then, TADA! Etching ink. Anyway, I really love the process of copper etched plates and the wiped away look of the prints. I selectively wiped to make a vignette for the print. The printing tech complimented me on having round corners on this plate… I really was intimidated at first about dunking the plate in the ferric chloride. Once I did it a couple of times, it was no big deal. Definitely not as intense as learning how to use a plasma cutter… šŸ˜› Anyway, I want to figure out how to do print making at home when I get back to the states. Figuring out a decent press will be the trickiest part– but I’m pretty resourceful šŸ™‚

 

Since studio stuff is basically finished up for me here, it means that I have a few days to relax in between critiques and exams. I can’t make anything new in the studio because I loaded my last bisque today and will be loading my last glaze kiln on Friday. I went down to the lake on Sunday to play guitar for a bit. While I was sitting on the park bench, a water dragon came out of the bushes and sat and stared at me from about 15-20 feet away. I think they are funny little lizards (I guess they aren’t little– this one was about 28″ from head to toe). Anyway, I was strumming a chord pattern in the key of E and he just kept getting closer and closer. He would scurry a few feet, then stop for a couple of minutes. He kept doing that until he was about 12 inches away from my foot! I was a little bit nervous, but I wasn’t too scared because I knew he didn’t have any teeth to bite me with. He came right up to my left big toe, maybe an inch away… then… he tried to nibble my big toe! I just laughed and said “what do you think you’re doing? You cheeky little bastard!” and kept playing guitar while he sat there. He tried nibbling my toe two more times, then got bored and scampered away. It was really funny how he was just curious enough to come up and taste my toe. I can honestly say that I’ve never had a wild animal do that to me before. But these things are probably pretty tame… they run around campus all the time. Just another thing that I can say could happen “only in Australia” šŸ˜›

 

 

lizard

 

 

Posted in Art, Daydreaming, Drawing, Nature, Painting, Photography, Print Making, Science, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

33 days left in Oz

1004704_10201828084451957_1617430650_n

 

My stay here in Lismore is coming to an end. But– the end is the beginning of my ten day vacation to Perth after uni stuff finishes šŸ™‚ I will be sad to leave my friends here, but I think I am getting a bit homesick these days. It is my first time overseas, and so far I think I’ve handled it well and enjoyed it. I am only just barely starting to truly enjoy my time here, now that I live in a nice clean place with friendly roommates and neighbors. By the time the day comes for me to leave here, I won’t want to. I know I won’t. But there are people and things I am missing back home… I think this is the longest time I’ve spent not seeing my family. I’ve made good friends here and it almost feels like a family of sorts, but at the same time, I miss the people who put up with me for the last 22 years of my life šŸ™‚

For the remaining time here in Oz, I plan to pack it as full of adventure and good times as I can. Celebrating a friend’s birthday tentatively tomorrow– if not that, I will go out with my new friends to a club or something. I want to go to a few more waterfalls… and then my best friend here is hosting an end of school party at her place a week before I leave. Those are just the things already on the calendar… random fun times seem to happen a lot, too šŸ™‚

 

As far as studio stuff goes, it’s kind of finished for the time being. I can’t make anything new because everything needs to be fired in time for critique– so I am in the process of bisquing and glazing things. Then the trick will be figuring out how to sell all of the work I can’t take with me. Anyway, here is a pair of female figure sake cups that I made intentionally for the wood firing (which didn’t happen). Instead, I will put a clear glaze on them and fire them in oxidation.

1097587_10201703587419609_1515512562_n

Posted in Art, Ceramics, Daydreaming, Drawing, Nature, Photography, Sculpture, Uncategorized | Tagged | Leave a comment

Making the most of being in Australia

waterfall with ami 004

 

I have been incredibly lucky to be able to come to Australia and meet so many new great people. Life is treating me good this week. I feel happy, content, and I have new friends to pass my time outside of the studio with. The photo is of a waterfall that my my new closest friend drove me to a few days ago. It was one of the most beautiful places, hidden from the road and only marked by a broken piece of concrete. A truly secret local spot. I am having the awesome kind of experiences that I came here to have. My camera ran out of battery after taking a few pictures of this waterfall, or I would have taken pictures of the awesome lily pond about 20 meters above the waterfall. The whole surface of the water was coated with lily pads, and there were a few in bloom– they were the beautiful dainty kind with lavender-colored flowers. The frogs were really loud up there, too. That was a good adventure day. We went shopping and had coffee with a group of friends in the afternoon, and on the walk home, we brainstormed how to go to a waterfall– we had to borrow a car to get there, but all worked out well.

I’m just so glad I moved to a new place. It has made all of the difference. I feel better, it’s quieter, I am surrounded by more friendly people, it’s clean, and I get a much better vibe being here than at my last place. I feel like I am just barely starting to enjoy Australia. Before, I was just in the party scene, which I could join back home if I was interested. I had to break away from the party group to find what I was looking for. Plus, I get to walk past a beautiful lake every single day– whether I’m walking to class or a friend’s house, I pass a lake with ducks and frogs and the koala hospital reservation. I’ve seen two koalas already since moving. They are pretty cool to see up close and not in a cage. I didn’t get a really good photo because the first time I just had my iPod touch and the second time all I had was my crappy $30 phone šŸ˜› but here is the photo I took with my iPod camera:

koala by the lake

Posted in Daydreaming, Nature, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Tuning out to Tune in

grevillea bowl close

 

 

Photo: greenware work in progress, a big serving bowl with an Australian Grevillea flower inlaid in red underglaze.

 

Sometimes, the world is too noisy of a place for focus. Too much going on, too many people who don’t understand– it’s all noise. Mind games, heart break, exclusion, and social drama are a few noisy things that I would like to eliminate from my life for a little while. The second two are easy fixes to tune out. As for the first two… I can at least temporarily make them go away.

My solution to eliminating some of the noise is to move to a less hostile environment– which will hopefully have happier lighting as well. I am moving from one on campus housing unit to another one is search of a better vibe. I haven’t been myself for the last couple of months, and I realized just how far out of tune I was last week after a big party, a bad hangover, and a shocking revelation. Those two days were enough to make me reflect on how I have been acting and why my work in the studio has been half-assed. If I was slacking like this at my home university, my professors would probably be disappointed in me. I haven’t been feeling great about my studio ethic this semester, but I am working on changing it this week. I am getting back to the me I used to know, and how I would like to see myself as a person. I stayed home from the club on Saturday because I didn’t feel like drinking at all. I decided to read a book and enjoy the quiet while everyone was gone. And for the first time since I got here, I didn’t feel guilty for staying in and I didn’t feel left out because I honestly didn’t want to go. Plus, I had already been enough times to know what I was missing– which isn’t anything great. I would rather wait to go to the club with my real friends.

Anyway, I am trying to be more resolute in my personal choices. I am an easygoing person, but when I don’t like something, I will let people know. I guess for the last two months I was in social survival mode– which is good for no artist. It literally means sticking with the crowd, going along with what they do because you need the connections. I feel like I am past the social survival mode and I would rather be comfortable being me. I braided my hair a couple of days ago because I have had a vision of myself with long dark braids for a long time. So I wanted to try it. I think I might make a habit of it šŸ™‚

The craziest most humbling thing was when I finished packing up my room tonight, and everything fit in this tiny pile in the corner:

escaping orion

 

All of my material possessions fit in this pile. The only things missing are my laptop computer, my iPod, and my sheet set. The dunie cover here isn’t even my own– it was given to me along with a pillow when I got here. I guess I have some food and wine that’s not pictured, but that’s a different category. It would all fit in two or three plastic grocery bags as well. I guess moving out tomorrow will be really easy.

Posted in Art, Ceramics, Daydreaming, Deep Thought, Drawing, Nature, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

When Life gives you Lemons…

lemons

 

 

You know what’s funny about the lemon saying? It makes it sound as if lemons are a bad thing, when really, they are amazing! I was given a box of lemons this week and I have been using them like crazy, lemon iced tea (sipping some right now), lemon ginger chicken, and infused vodka, which are all possible because of the beautiful homegrown lemons that a friend gave to me. Ā I still use the time old saying like everyone else does, though. It seems like I’ve been given a few sour lemons lately… one in particular. But I’ve weeded it out of my life and now I feel like I can make my way back to a positive way of being. I often let other people affect me way more than I should. It’s difficult to take your emotions away from a situation to see it objectively, but I am on my way to healing. I just let people get too close too easily, and sometimes it means that I get hurt. I like to believe the best in people, but some people don’t have the best intentions.

Now that I’m not attached to that sour lemon anymore, I feel like it is easier to focus on the things that really matter, like getting studio work done and taking care of my well being. I have started doing my daily Pilates routine again, eating more balanced meals, and I bought a bunch of fruits and veggies today. I also have a new friend to help me heal. It feels good to mesh with a kindred spirit– yes, I know that sounds very hippie/cheesy, but I feel like I am reaching a better state of mind, and I don’t know if I could have done it alone. My new friend is a sweet bush lemon šŸ™‚

Posted in Deep Thought, Girl talk, Philosophy, Relationships, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Sharpening my colored pencil drawing skills– Orchid Study

1082730_10201661101437486_383038755_n

 

Ahh, the perfect photo subject reference– an orange Phalaenopsis orchid. Until this, I have not drawn an orchid using a photo reference in detail on paper. This is my first real paper study of a phalaenopsis orchid. I did draw a really detailed one when I arrived at the airport, but I didn’t actually use a photo reference. I was just going from memory, and the vein pattern is much different. When I was drawing this in acute detail, I realized something. Not just because I was drawing red lines, but because I was thinking about trees and life force– but the veins in the orchid look like blood vessels. When I color with colored pencils, I think in layers– not solid blocks of orange. I didn’t use a single orange colored pencil for this drawing, but the end result appears to be an orange orchid when you step back. That’s what I love about colored pencils– the transparency allows for possibilities. A few simple basic colors can construct any color you are looking for– if you know how to blend them and which color to put down on paper first. The vessels become the coloring light force– drawing the foundation of the vessel network as the underlying structure to make the orchid appear orange– that’s the trick. I just used red, pink, scarlet, golden yellow, and a hint of green for shadows. Oh, and a blue feathered edge. But colored pencils are amazing tools– it has been way too long since I’ve used mine.

 

 

1080647_10201661098277407_2060722544_n

Posted in Art, Drawing, Nature, Science, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment