I’m In!
I wanted to, officially, share some exciting news: I am in the ArtPrize International Art Competition! If you have been following the progress of the Jeremiah Tree, then you have had a sneak peek of my piece for ArtPrize. I am so excited to be apart of this competition and experience. ArtPrize takes place in Grand Rapids, Michigan from September 19 through October 7. It sounds like it is going to be a pretty sweet event. There are about 1500 artists (give or take a few) that are competing and showing their work all over the city of Grand Rapids. Different venues are hosting artist’s work that will be exhibited for those two weeks. I believe there are about 195 different venues. The venues range from libraries, stores, galleries and banks, to restaurants, bars and parks.
Any artist could apply/submit their work into ArtPrize. I had heard about it almost a year ago and knew I wanted to definitely try to go for it this year. I had to create an artist profile on the ArtPrize website, complete with images of the work I planned to submit, send in my entry free, and then try to connect with a venue. As I said, anyone can enter and pay the fee, but not everyone will actually get to participate in the actual ArtPrize event. If a venue is not interested in your work and no connection is made, then you will not be in the exhibit and competition. So, you really are at the mercy of the venue’s interests. I submitted my Jeremiah Tree to about eleven different venues that appealed to me and had to anxiously await their responses. I was turned down by several, was given a “possibly” by one, and then and offer to host from another! It has been an exciting process so far.
I am happy to share that the Monroe Community Church will be hosting my Jeremiah Tree for the ArtPrize exhibit and competition this year! I am nearing completion on my installation piece and I think it is coming together nicely. I must have it completed and ready to install on the 15th of September. So, it looks like we will be doing some traveling this fall.
The awards are “people’s choice”, so voting actually takes place during those two weeks, to place the top ten artists. There is also a juried selection for “best in show” as well as best 2D, 3D, mixed media…etc. I am psyched to be apart of it this year. I will be posting more images as my tree nears completion and as the time draws nearer. I hope I win something. That would be so amazing!
Bisque Firing
About two weeks ago, I fired the kiln for the first time since Noah was born. My parents were in town and I was feeling overwhelmed with the amount of work that I needed to get done in the little time that I have. My mom then encouraged me to just go over to the studio and get the kiln loaded and fired while she stayed home with Noah. So, off I went along with my dad and my husband. They helped me carry my work to the kiln while I loaded. Into the bisque went six owl banks, the rest of the tree trunk pieces, leaves, and a dozen plates. Everything fired quite nicely, so I was able to start prepping for a glaze firing.
Ok, so why am I so overwhelmed? Well, I am officially going to be apart of ArtPrize this year. It is an international art competition that takes place in Grand Rapids, MI this September and October. I need to complete my Jeremiah Tree in time for the installation date: September 15th. (I will fill you in more on this exciting endeavor later.) I am also hoping to have my second fall show in Maryland this year and I may potentially be coaching field hockey again this fall. Normally I would not feel so stressed about all that is going on but, I am going to be gone for two weeks in July and then I will be out of town again for the whole month of August! So, that is a lot of valuable time in the studio that will be lost. On top of all of that, I now have a new first priority: taking care of Noah. It is a lot to juggle. I just need to take it one day at a time and make the most of any studio time that I am able to get!
Saturday, I was able to fire the kiln for a glaze. What was in that firing? 60 more leaves for the Jeremiah Tree project, and all of the pieces for the tree trunk and roots. The kiln is finally cool enough to open up today. I may not, however, get to that today. I am anxious to see how it all turned out – especially the tree trunk. I stained the trunk and roots in red iron oxide to really bring out all the detail in the bark and give it a more dramatic look. It should look more brown after it has been fired. Can’t wait to check it out. Here are some shots of the process.
Our Winner is…
Amanda Patrone
Amanda you are the winner for my 2 year giveaway! Congrats to you and thank you for supporting my work and following my blog! Your cobalt crystalline candle pot will be mailed out to you tomorrow. I hope you enjoy it.
Tomorrow I will be able to open up the kiln. Over the weekend my husband, Andrew, helped me load and fire the kiln. It was filled with parts to the Jeremiah Tree. I hope to post about that soon. I have a lot of work I would like to get done this week. I sure have a lot going on this summer and fall…one day at a time right? Well, here is to a great third year of business and creating. Thank you again to all who have been supporting me and following my work. You have all been a great encouragement.
The 2 Year Giveaway!
I have been in business for myself for 2 years now! Time to celebrate that with another giveaway! I can’t believe I get to do what I do for a living. It is the greatest job. At times it is definitely stressful and overwhelming, but I love being a potter and being able to create. The month of May officially marks 2 years of business, but my life has been a bit busy with our new addition to the family: Noah. I am slowly getting back into my work as I try to figure out the balance between being a good wife, mom, and artist. It has not been easy and I know it won’t ever be, but right now I am grateful for being able to keep on working and sharing my work with everyone. Thank you to everyone who has been supporting these past two years and for those who have just started to follow me and my work. I appreciate it so much.
I am giving away this cobalt crystalline candle pot (with candle) to one lucky winner. All you have to do is leave a comment on my blog and you are officially “entered” into the drawing. You can increase your chances of winning as well by liking me on Facebook in addition to leaving a comment on this blog. I hope to hear from a lot of you and look forward to seeing who our winner is. I am excited to continue working and seeing what my third year of business will bring. You have until Saturday the 23rd, to enter.
Sorbet Cups & Caramel Plates
I am not officially back to work full-time, but I am going to ease back into my work as I can. I had said I was not going to do work the month of June, however, I have kiln firings to keep up with. Yesterday, my husband and my dad came over to the studio with me to help move my greenware pieces out to the garage so I could load them into the kiln to bisque. It took about an hour to get everything sanded for the firing, moved to the garage and loaded into the kiln. I was starting to feel a bit stressed about the work I needed to get done within my tight timeframe. It feels good to have that firing going.
Anyways, this little set came out of the kiln before Noah was born. It was originally a commissioned set. When they came out of the kiln, there were hardly any crystals that had formed and four out of the six bowls had broken. It was pretty upsetting to open the kiln and see that, but these pieces that survived have really grown on me. I love their caramel color and subtle turquoise crystals that sprouted occasionally. I am thinking of posting them for sale on Etsy because they are in great shape. The crystal formations were the only thing that didn’t come out as hoped. My favorite pieces are the little bowls. They are the perfect size for sorbet! (In fact, I made homemade lemon-berry sorbet which is in those little bowls. Very yummy!)
See, aren’t they a great size for sorbet? They also make a great rice bowl. I have since, remade this order and delivered it. They look a lot different, but they are the right glaze and what was originally desired. Maybe you will see these pieces on my Etsy shop soon. Poke around on there if you would like! I hope your weeks are off to a good start!
A Baby Story: Welcome Noah
Many of you have been following my blog for a long time now, and have been following my growing baby bump each week as well. Our baby is here and today our little boy is 12 days old! This first week and a half has been full of love, snuggles, nursing, family and recovering. I want to share with you my baby story to wrap up my baby bump journey.
My due date was Tuesday, May 29th. At 2:30am on May 24th, my water broke. Earlier that day I went in for my 39 week visit with Dr. Browne and shared about how I had been having Braxton Hicks contractions for the last few days. After checking me out, she said that I was dilated 1.5cm and was 50% effaced. (Sorry if that is too much info.) She then said, “You are well on your way. You could have this baby tonight or in a week”. Not exactly what I was wanting to hear, but I was grateful that I was making progress. I was pretty uncomfortable that whole evening. My husband, Andrew, went to Bible study at our church that evening while I stayed home watching Beauty and the Beast and cutting out patterns to make an owl mobile for the baby. I then decided a bath would be the right thing to soothe myself. By 10:00pm I was so tired and achy I decided I would try to just go to bed and sleep. I took a Tylenol and curled up with the heating pad on my back. At 2:30am, I was jolted awake by my water breaking! (Good thing we put plastic down on our mattress!) I woke Andrew up right away. We were so excited and nervous. I called Dr. Browne to let her know what was going on and she said to get my bag and come on in.
I first hopped in the shower. I figured why not start out feeling clean! We arrived at the hospital around 3:15 am and I was brought right into my delivery room. My contractions were already well on their way: 2 minutes apart, but not unbearable. Labor was going really well and I was progressing pretty quickly. My contractions were definitely getting stronger, but I was feeling like I was able to handle them pretty well. I was seven hours into labor and was already dilated 8cm. I was having the urge to push and so we called in the nurse. I pushed a few times before she called in the doctor. At that point she felt I would be delivering our baby within the next hour. I was so excited and nervous. My contractions were pretty strong at that point, but still no drugs. That next hour was slow-moving and extremely painful. My contractions were coming every minute and very intense. No one can quite prepare you for the pain of contractions during that part of labor. Andrew was an amazing partner and coach through the whole thing. He also discovered I am much stronger than I let on. (I was squeezing his hands pretty hard!)
When the doctor came in to have me push, that’s when some complications started to happen. My contractions were so intense at that point, and the baby wasn’t responding well during them. The baby’s heart rate was dropping during each contraction and I had to stop pushing. When they told me that the baby wasn’t going to be coming for a while, I decided to ask for an epidural. I am so glad that I got it. My entire body was shaking with pain during those contractions and our baby’s heart rate was not steady. It was hard to sit still during the administration of the epidural, but they were quick. I felt the relief fairly soon after and was able to rest. I was put on oxygen for the sake of our little one. The heart rate was still dropping. They were wanting to give me Patocin to help speed up the final part of labor, but couldn’t do that with the state the baby’s heart rate was in. I was in this state for about three hours with the doctor coming in to check on me every so often. Around 12:00pm the doctor came in to tell me that because the heart rate was dropping she was concerned that there might be a problem with the umbilical cord. She said that I could try to deliver normally, but she was afraid that it would turn into an emergency C-section where I would be under general anesthesia and Andrew would not be allowed in the OR with me. So, it was decided that I would deliver our baby by C-section. It was not what I had hoped for, but I definitely felt that God was protecting the baby and myself by allowing this to happen. I agreed to it and was right away prepped for the delivery. I was given some drug (starts with a “T”…I can’t remember the name) that stopped my contractions for the C-section.
Our heads were covered and Andrew was suited up for the OR. The doctor called in the anesthesiologist, and her OR staff to perform the C-section. We had the delivery room to ourselves for a few minutes, so we cried and prayed together for safety and protection. Then my nurses came back into the room to wheel me to the C-section OR. The worst part was when we got there, Andrew was not allowed to go in with me until after I was prepped for the surgery. I cried when the door shut behind me. I was definitely nervous, but I felt confident that all was in God’s hands and the doctors said everything should go smoothly. Once I was prepped for surgery and given a very strong dose of the epidural, Andrew was allowed to come in and sit with me. It took 13 minutes from the time the doctor said, “Incision”, until Andrew was standing up announcing, “It’s a boy”! The doctor help up our baby boy above the blue curtains so I could see him. I cried and cried. I was so happy and relieved that he was here and he was ok.
A couple of minutes after our son was lifted up over the curtain for me to see, he was cleaned up a bit, wrapped in blankets and towels, and brought over to me to hold for the first time. That was the most wonderful minute. I just stared at him and cried, and kissed his cubby little cheeks. He is mine. Sadly he could not stay with me for very long, since I had to be cleaned up and stitched back up as well. The nurses took him off to the delivery room to clean, weigh and measure him, and give him his first exam. Andrew followed behind while I stayed in the OR until I was ready to be brought back to the delivery room. He was born at 1:19pm. 21.5 inches long and weighed 9 pounds, 11 ounces. He was a BIG boy, but perfect! Still seems so tiny in my arms.
It was a good hour and a half before I got to hold our baby boy again. It was a hard time to wait. His temperature was pretty low and they were trying to raise it up a bit with him under the warmer. Then they brought him over to me for some “skin on skin” time and nursing. It is so cool how my body regulates the right temperature for him to achieve just by laying against me. God is an awesome creator! After feeding him for the first time, our son (who still didn’t have an official name at this point) needed to have his vitals tested and went back under the warmer, followed by his first bath. Andrew still hadn’t gotten the chance to hold him yet! It was four hours after delivery that Andrew finally got to hold him for the first time. It was a really precious moment.
Our hospital was so wonderful. The staff was incredible and they took such good care of us the whole time we were there. We stayed an extra night because of my C-section, but I am so grateful for our time there because we were able to rest and be pampered before heading home. Andrew and I were debating between two different names for our son, when I told Andrew that I loved them both and wanted him to pick out his name. His name is, Noah Gregory Vogan. Naps with Noah are the greatest thing! Throughout the whole labor and delivery, Andrew had been keeping our families informed on my progress and how everything was going. My mom had a flight already booked that she was working hard to rearrange to be able to fly out to see us. She arrived that evening to meet her very first grandchild. My Dad will come out this weekend to be with us and then “Pops & Mimi” will go home together.
My recovery has been slow and very painful. I wasn’t able to stand up until nearly a full day after the delivery of Noah. The nurse said, “Ok, this is going to hurt. It is going to feel like your incision is ripping apart as you stand. It is not. Just try to breathe through it and stand very slowly”. She was not joking! It was so painful. If any of you have had a C-section out there, you can relate I am sure. My recovery is still slow going, but I am definitely feeling stronger and know I am getting better. It was just nothing that I had anticipated. I had figured after that first week, I would be up on my feet and ready to go (of course this was before I learned I would be delivering via C-section). When I look at Noah, though, it was worth every bit of pain. I love him so much. I cannot describe the love that has swept over me for him. He is an answer to our prayers.
After nearly four days in the hospital we were discharged Sunday, the 27th, and allowed to go home! It was a bittersweet feeling, but it is wonderful to be home and work out being a family of three for the first time! My mom is here with us until the 12th of June. She has been pampering us and helping us in countless ways! I am so glad to have her here, especially as I continue to recover. We are anxious for the arrival of my dad on Thursday…he is anxious to be here too! This was a long post, but I hope you enjoyed it, especially if you have been following my weekly “baby bump” posts. So glad our Noah is here! I will be easing back into work slowly, but I am looking forward to it.
Hand-Crafted Pottery by Arryn 