Urban Farmer, Police Wife, Mother, Potter, Fiber Artist...Living in the Mountainwest

I graduated from Westminster College with a dual degree in Art and Mathematics. I have taught pottery and worked as a potter for over 15 years. My functional clay work is heavily influenced by Utah's beautiful landscape, and I use local clays for much of my work. I lived and worked on the Navajo Reservation outside of Blanding, Utah as part of a pottery internship, learning the traditional Navajo pottery way, and also how to bead and weave. I fell in love with Navajo-Churro sheep while living on the Reservation. I've participated in multiple national gallery shows in the past 17 years, and taught pottery for many years at the Pioneer Craft House in Salt Lake City. I'm also a full-time statistician. Sixteen years ago, our little family started with a tiny apartment garden and the vision of a simpler life. Two acres in suburbia, an 11-year old son, a 100-year old house, some deeply troubled roosters, heritage turkeys, endangered chickens, a couple of goats, some gorgeous dairy cows and a flock of Navajo-Churro Sheep later, we are fully embracing the simple life. We actively breed many endangered livestock breeds and are members of the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC). We homestead in the heart of the Wasatch Mountains. The views are beautiful and the challenges never-ending. Currently, we raise almost all of our own food, including meat.

Jan 29, 2013

Quail Eggs and Buddha Beads...

Do you ever have days where you feel like this? Me, too.


Although the snow says it's still winter, my Valley Quail have already started laying their Spring clutches. One of our indoor breeding pairs left these beauties as a gift for me this week. They will all go in to the incubator in the next day or so. It gives me hope for Spring, and makes me want to start planting my garden, even before the ground has thawed.


I made a fun scultped mold this past week and manufactured an army of Buddha beads on Monday night. I think I will raku fire at least some of them this coming weekend. It was a nice, whimsical detour.


This week's hard work is noodle bowls...


What fun things are keeping you busy this week?

3 comments:

Linda Starr said...

Those eggs look so wonderful in that bowl.

January 30, 2013
Lori Buff said...

Those are some pretty eggs. The buddha heads look great, of course it's always fun when you open the kiln and look inside just to see something looking back at you.

January 30, 2013
Kings Creek Pottery said...

I love your animal photos~ what great character they have and they always make me smile :)

Love the buddah heads and think they would look great after a raku firing! Show photos when they are done!!

January 31, 2013

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)