The Makings of an Artist

We're having quite the busy week here on the LAC home front, so please forgive our brief absence.  My cousin moved into town with her 2 young girls close in age to ours and we've been enjoying the play dates and dinners and trying to help them get moved in as easily as possible. 

 St. Charles Boremeo by Gwyneth Holsten was commissioned by us for our daughter Charlotte

We also got to have dinner with our wonderful friend, Gwyneth, to talk about art and Christmas presents!  Gwyneth Holsten is probably the most talented person I know, and she's made art for both our family and our friend's for quite awhile. We're hoping to start a local artist's cooperative with both her and Mark Thomason, another family friend/artist, and maybe a few others.

St Joan- Painting on Canvas by Mark Thomason

But, just so you don't think we've abandoned ship....

We spent money.

Wait, what?  What did I just say?  We broke a rule!  Yep, we did.  Well, actually, we didn't exactly.  An unwritten rule that Joey and I agreed on at the beginning of the month was that if we found something that we've been looking for at an unbelievably low price, that it would be stupid and prideful to pass up that opportunity just for the sake of the "experiment".  Specifically, we've been looking for a new wheel for Joey's studio because his has been unbalanced since we bought it 2 years ago, and we don't have the equipment or the mechanical aptitude to fix it ourselves- which leaves us only the option to get it professionally centered, and we haven't found anybody in the area willing or able to do that for us without great effort or expense.  So we decided to look for a totally mechanical wheel (instead of the kick wheel that he currently has).  With a centered wheel, Joey should be able to throw several pieces a day, which should amount to money in our pockets by the end of the month if we plan things right. 

Apothecary Jars by Joey

But really, since it was a business expense, does that really count?  :)

So hopefully in the next few weeks, Joey's Etsy store will stop making that annoying cricket chirping sound and get filled with beautiful mugs and bowls and the like in order to help us on our journey towards true sustainability.