.Time.Flies.

I moved into my space one year ago. !!!

Time.
Flies.

I have made some amazing connections in the ceramic, creative, and business community in Chicago since I got the keys to my Ravenswood Corridor studio.

A lot has changed too.

I am working with stoneware more then porcelain. Something I did not foresee...but it is more effecient in a space that fluctuates in temperature are much as mine does.
And..most of all..
I AM PREGNANT.
30 weeks.
A lil'lady named Josephine Parker Ames will be born in September. She will be the ninth Josephine in the Smith (Mortimer's mothers maiden name) family tree. She will be known as Parker..which is an Ames' family name (for instance..Mortimer's middle name).

So, along with finalizing my ceramic line and getting ready to ship out my "look-books"...
I have been busy doing baby research, nanny search, professional studio cleaning service search (and sealed)...endless list...

...SOO MUCH MOM STUFF. 

...I'm SOOO tired today. 

My belly barely fits in the scene! (30 week belly bump)

.Warren Mackenzie.

“Pots are the communication between the person who makes them and the person who uses them.” Warren Mackenzie

1:11-3:00 is something I need to hear in my head everyday in the studio.

.Words.of.Wisdom.

.I have a Confession.

I find great inspiration from...
FASHION.
In high school and college my rooms were covered in fanciful photographs from Vogue.
Grace Coddington's genius as a Fashion Editor spoke to me as a young lady stuck in the hills of West Virginia. She allowed me to escape reality with the imagery she created with the help of her creative team.

I have watched the Diana Vreeland documentary "The Eye Has to Travel" almost everyday. 

...Just randomly...

I place my Ipad near while doing laundry, dishes, and domestic diddies.

Simply, I find strong and creative individuals truly energizing.

.Grayson Perry.

Grayson Perry. Grayson Perry. Grayson Perry. Grayson Perry.

Is AMAZING.

I am just...I am just...at a lost of words with my excitement.

WHERE THE FUCK HAVE I BEEN?? WHY DID I NOT KNOW ABOUT THIS MAN YEARS AGO?
Under a rock...?
well...working a production job under I-95...so...yes.

But...Now! 
I have found an individual who links traditional ceramic arts, digital age intelligence, and performance...not so much pieces...but he is theatrical in presence...

I am extremely excited about finding more about this individual.

.

Life happens.
Sometimes it feels like bliss.
Sometimes it feels like hell.
But...
Life happens.
Moments pass.
Be present.
And...
Presents will be present.
(did you see what i did there...ha)

Roussillon, Vaucluse

The ocher cliffs of Roussillon, Vaucluse in the Luberon were breathtaking.
Mortimer and I walked many miles in the town...oohhhing and aaaawwwing at the locally sourced colored homes.

Icheon Master Hand: Lee Hyuang Gu

This is the best video I have ever seen of a potter at work.

.A New Year.

2013 rocked my life upside down...shook me...hugged me...kissed me...and placed me down on a wonderful big bed with down pillows...

I've been in a cloud. 

I get to work in the studio everyday.
I have two commissions:
Acchaa
http://www.acchaa.com/#ourstory
Kangaroo Cups
http://www.imagiroo.com/ 
Both series are well on their way and looking mighty fine. I should be done in three or so weeks!

I have a wonderful boutique in Lake Tahoe selling my wares. Thank you, Village Interiors. ! http://villageinteriors.com/

This year Mortimer and I traveled a great deal.
Vancouver, BC
Nova Scotia
Alabama
Bahamas
and
....
France!
Paris, Montpellier, Avignon, and all over the Luberon. 
Two weeks of fantastic food, wine, and site seeing.

I can't wait to see what happens in 2014.
I have a feeling...It's going to be exciting.

Utility is useless without the User by Ashley Lin Ames

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmGm8kphO68

**I am not sure why the video is cut in half. If you click the link above it will direct you to the youtube page. I will be able to download the original version before Friday evening.**

 

“I do not consider pots finished when they emerge from the kiln, but only when they have been christened with their first mouthful.”– Sandy Brown

         Utility is Useless without the User is an interactive pottery performance piece.   Pottery is not intended to be an idle pedestal piece; it is made to be used and enjoyed.  I will have forty 6-ounce vessels that incorporate a bell chamber[1] on display. Participants choose a cup and I fill their cup with water.  After they celebrate the moment, they may take their vessel home or I place the cup in a canvas bag and break the cup.  

           

       I am a child of the eighties brought up in the boom of the nineties and graduated college during the recession.  “The more one can get for less is best” became the motto.  America consumes bubbled-wrapped products from outsourced and often exploited factory workers, not knowing their faces, hands, and way of life.  During my performance, I want people to have chance to put a face and personality to the vessel in their hand and enjoy a one of-a-kind product.  Handmade pottery is about being with people and engaging with them in the material world.   
          
          Destroying any vessel does not mean death but rebirth. The shards will be donated to a community mosaic program.

...And some will make my mosaic urn...obviously.

On a side note:
It is a metaphor for life.  There are moments when one will think, "Wow, I love to blank!" With passion and dedication they strive and work diligently to fulfill their goals but ....it doesn't work out.
Alone in a mental mist their dusk begins. 
...Finding footing in unknown scenery...
They fall.
They tumble.
They break.

At least I did.  

But, you stand. 
You mend.
You walk to the dawn.

And you learn how to live a different life in a new light. 

---

[1] My drinking vessels include a chamber in the foot of the pot that makes a chiming noise when used

.One Person. One Pot.

This lil'clip really excites me.

I have to be patient for one more week. !!
Keys will be in hand.
My car full of supplies.
A truck on its way to my new space with many pounds of materials, clay, and a brand new wheel.

.Baby Money.

..Is the best money 'cause 
it 
is
the uke strummin',
foot pounding,
doo-woop meets urban-western diddie makings
of  Pamela Maurer.
( https://www.facebook.com/BabyMoney4eva?fref=ts)

Lady P is the creative genius behind the Art Installations at the Anthropologie on State Street in Chicago. She is the set designer at The Building Stage. And, obviously she is an incredible singer and songwriter.

Pamela is the cat's pajamas and the bee's knees!

.Official.

It is Official.
I am Official.

Ashley Lin Pottery, LLC.

Papers are signed.
The fee is paid.
I am Official.

The IRS just needs to get back to me about about the FEIN.
Then..
I need to sign a lease on a space.
&
BUY..
a kiln,
a wheel,
shelves, 
a table,
dry materials,
a sieve,
damn..
A LOT OF THINGS

THERE ARE A LOT MORE STEPS.
BUT 
I'M AT THE FOOT OF THE STAIRS 
AND 
ALL I NEED TO DO IS MOVE 
UP. 

I COULD NOT HAVE DONE A SINGLE THING

WITHOUT THE LOVE AND SUPPORT 

FROM

MY HUSBAND

 

.Flick.It.Yo.

www.Flickr.com/photos/ashleylindodge

I made a Flickr account.

nothing.witty. to say about this fact.

pity.

!

There is madness to my work.i mean i work so much i get mad.like a hat maker in the eighteenth century. giggle.s.
no. not really. i could work more.
always.more.always.i wake up to work.i live to work.i have nothing else to do but work.
i guess i could shower.i could go to that party.i could go to rittenhouse square.climb a tree.and people watch.i could.i could.i could do lots of things actually. i'm capable of getting a desk job too. nine.to.fiver.health insurance.
i choose to work in the constantly shifting.unstable.realm of art.making.
i chose this life.this time 'round.'round.'round.

what i'm trying to type. ... there is a.reason.theory. purpose. of some sort.


yes. yes. yes.


purpose.and thought process to my method of living.working.decorating.glazing..
and i really want to write it down. just not now.




.cause.i have to make more of these.but.with handles.oh.ya.new element.more time in a dirty hot studio with a cotton hat on.


.bells.lid.straw cups.







.high.five.

.New.Cup.Move.Down.MOve.Down.Move Down.

.

I bought my first hand made mug today. wow. ay. shame on me.
but. as a potter.with potter friends. there is a.lot. of exchanging going on...

This Artist is Stephanie Kantor. she has a wordpress.com (link along the edge).
but.since you are here..she is a painter.and.potter working at red star studios in kansas city.
.(check out her wordpress. her quality is top notch. her style is a high.fiver in the air.awesome.).

.I saw a Post Modern Art Bark (art.art.art.art.bark.like a seal) while walking through a fish.town alley.the piece made me giggle.as i swayed my way to la.studio through the dribbling march rain.


..

.snow.snow.snow.

yesterday.
i walked atop the tips of trees
beneath a blue celadon sky
left of a rutile peach horizon line
'twas a lovely scene
indeed.

oh. snow.snow.
you are pretty and ladida.
i wait patiently for you to leave.
four days.
no heat.
no electric.
i am far beyond my deadlines.

buses cannot fit in the philly streets.
my death will be of suffocation from silicosis.
not from a silly slip on a bike seat.

snow. you can not read.
snow. you are just cold h(2)o.

The Coho Crew had to cancel the bake sale account of the snow and la.di.da.
One of our members sold our cards at an art opening diddie last night. so. hopefully that went well.


.LA.DI.DA.




Love.
Hm.Hum.A.Humma.

Love.
Love is..Lust.
Love is Llust.
With a Blanket of Respect..
Basket of Patience..
Bottle of Time..

Find a shaded spot..
Fill your cups..

(Twice)

CoHo Crew

The night sky is velvet.ee blue
indee.la.dee.do
may i remind you..?..that my eyes are the color of poo.
gee golly.
there must be a better thing to post then this here dude.a.roo

diddies.dots.and.pots are the best things i do.

i am now part of an ART CREW!!

.WOO.HOO.

The Cohoquinoque Crew
-www.cohophiladelphia.wordpress.com-

"the deal"
Cohoquinoque is a group of artists in Philadelphia working towards the organization of positive social adventures and the preservation and promotion of creative culture for the love of Making.

We are currently working on a show for the NCECA. in the month of April.
which.for me.is truly exciting.

next weekend we are having a bake sale. v-day card sale. and. ladida. on 2nd street..near the foodery.

lil.pre.view..






alright.now.i gotta try to make something of myself.
tootles

Sometimes..i just want to hang out with my buddies.eat cupcakes.drink tea.with gin. and watching the tree limbs sway..but..mostly i just want to work. while eating cupcakes and drinking gin.

This is my first year out.official year. of school. (i was a ceramic tech at a small college in the hills of West Virginia for a year). It think about how i spend my time..and..what i am working on..and..why.

i feel like i can't just work to work. make a mug for the gee golly thrill..like..i have to do something..bigger. I've really been trying to think about something larger then the making. but. i have been making just for the love of making.

i never want to loose my love of making.




NOTE..
MY BOSS MAN TALKED TO ME ABOUT MONEY THAT DAY. MONEY AND FUTURE DIDDIES. YA. FREAK ME OUT. I'M ABLE TO LIVE.BY.LIVING IN THE MOMENT. I TRY NOT TO THINK ABOUT THE FUTURE.FAR.FUTURE. BECAUSE THE FUTURE IS NOW.WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT. SO. WHEN I JUST FOCUS. I AM A LOT HAPPIER.

I DON'T LIKE THINKING ABOUT HYPOTHETICAL SITUATIONS. TOO MUCH.