Ceramic Bust

Pot Head

I made this head planter a while ago, and have been terrible at updating this blog. I purchased a class online from Cristina Cordova. The class was to create a bust, but I chose to leave the back of her head open. 

I don’t have a picture of her fired and glazed. But I was pretty happy with the way she turned out. 

 

Sold Art

March 20, 2018

So the little black and white relief that is in the Eccles art Center black and white show, sold during the show! I was so excited to know that someone loved my work enough to purchase it. I received the check last night in the mail. As I looked at the check, I could see the name of the person that purchased my art. Barb Crosbie! Barb is the lovely talented ceramic artist that I had a class with last summer. It was in her class that I created Groot. (Really should stop calling her that… but I can’t), I messaged Barb to tell her thank you for purchasing my art. She informed me that it was to be a gift. It touched me even more that it was purchased for a gift. I can’t really explain how nice it feels to have someone love my art enough to purchase it. My heart is full of gratitude.

Changing Direction

I posted this relief that I have been working on a while ago. I set her aside because I was really not that happy with her. I liked her face but other than that she was pretty boring. I need to work on better compositions with my work. I like things simple, but most of the time simple equals boring.

This is still very rough, but I am liking the direction better than before. I think I will leave the bare trees behind her head as recessed into the clay. The little pine trees in front of her face I think I will build up slightly and see how I feel with that look. Need tons more refining and I think her shoulder area is not in the right alignment/proportion. But full steam ahead!!

Black and White Angel

I made one more cast of the angel relief that I sculpted. This time I cast her in white resin. I added a very tiny amount of flesh color to the resin so that is was creamy, not stark white. Then I painted a  patina on her with acrylic paint. I entered this piece into the Black and White statewide competition at the Eccles Community Art Center. https://ogden4arts.org/ It is exciting to have a piece accepted into a show. Eccles said they had 277 entries and only accepted 175. It will be great to go see her at the opening of the show!

Bronze Angel

So I have now cast the angel relief that I sculpted a few times. I ordered bronze powder and have been experimenting with different ways to cast her. There has been so much trial and error. Some I like.... some not so much.

So with the one above I added the bronze powder to the resin then did a gel coat to the mold. So far I think this has given me the best bronze look. I buffed the angel with steel wool, but was careful not to buff to much of the background color away.  

With this cast I had tried to method of dusting the mold with the bronze powder before I poured the resin. I was really not happy with the results that I got. So... I decided to get some metal paint and patina from Modern Masters. This process was interesting and I think I might be able to like it. During this I think if I would have left it alone and let it do it's thing I would have liked it better. For now there is so much going on that I think it detracts from the sculpture. Not sure how I feel about this cast, and not really sure where I will go from here. 

Side by side shot of the two casts. I cast one in white resin and will start finishing her soon. Will keep you posted. Any thoughts on them?

Letters to Scott

Going through some old thumb drives that I had, I found a series of letter that I wrote to my friend Scott. I don't really know why I started this. Probably to feel like I could still talk with him. Maybe just my way of moving through all the pain. It was interesting to read through them after so long.


Dear Scott,

It has been a little over a week since you took your life. I’m getting back to my everyday things, but it still seems sadder than things used to be. When you did this you could not have known how much you meant to so many people. You would have never left us if you had known how much pain we would be in. I can’t imagine what Robbyn and the kids are going through. I can’t imagine doing things and not having you there when the families get together. I have been angry at the church for some reason; I can’t quite figure that one out yet. I know that over time I will always have questions and that most of them will not be able to be answered. My biggest question would always be, how could you do this? Robbyn and the kids, needless to say the whole family will have to deal with this for the rest of our lives. I never thought that you were selfish or mean, but this was a very mean thing to do. Kristine had said something about you and Robbyn talking about separating. If that was what pushed you to do this, still my question would be why? Did you think we would not be there for you? Bill and I would have been friends with you forever. I know that Steve would have been your running partner for as long as you wanted to run with him. Your kids would always love you and you would never have to be alone. Bill read me the note that you had written and was left in your locker. I never knew that you thought about death so much. It was dark and strange it didn’t help in trying to figure out why you did this. I know that I will never be able to figure that one out. I ran at the cemetery and talked with you Monday. It didn’t really help much and it was a hard run. I think I’m slowing down a lot and that is bumming me out. I wonder if I will be able to do all the runs that I wanted to do this year and next year. I can’t believe how many of the family wants to take up running now. I think you would be proud to know that you have prompted them to do it.

Dear Scott,                                                                  November 5, 2004

Today would have been your anniversary with Robbyn. I don’t know what to say to her or if I even should say anything. How do I help her get through this? It still seems strange that you are not here. I can’t believe that we will have to go through the holidays and not have you here with us.  I keep writing to you like this so that maybe I can figure out some of my questions. I think I was mad at the church and mainly your church leaders that were at your funeral, because I thought that if you were as religious as you were, you should have been protected from this. I guess I thought that the church should have helped you more to work through what ever trouble you were having, and not let you do this. But we all have free will and I can’t blame the church for your free will. I have been thinking of going to church again and it feels very strange. When I took Kaitlyn trunk or treating at the church it felt strange just to walk in. I’m so glad that Robbyn has the wonderful support of you ward members. She is very lucky for that. I think Chase feels guilty for getting so much help, but I think it is wonderful. They all have a very long and hard road ahead of them. I wish I knew better how to help them.

Dear Scott,                                                                  December 15, 2004

I’m doing better with all of this, but I still miss you very much I don’t know if I will ever stop missing you. I still can’t imagine never seeing you again, at least not in this lifetime. The family Christmas party is this Sunday and it will be so weird not having you there. I hope that Tara and her family being there will help make it easier to not have you there. Brooke, Chase and I are trying to plan a run in you honor. I know that you would hate this but you have to remember that we need a way to heal and remember you in a positive way. Running is something that you and I share to a certain extent and your kids knew that running was an important part of your life. I will let you know how it goes but I think it will be good. There are so may people that are willing to help out when they find out it is for you. I wonder what you are doing now. Are you running with some famous people? Have you met and talked with your father? Have you met and talked with someone famous? I hope that you are happy and that you finally have some peace. I never knew that things were this bad for you and I’m sad to think that you never trusted me to help you. 

Dear Scott,                                                                                          December 20, 2004

We had the family Christmas party last night. It was great fun to have the grand kids there and they are so wonderful. Your Mom and Bill talked a lot of the night. I think it helped her a bit. It was strange to have fun and not have you there. Robbyn and the kids seem to be doing OK. I wonder if it will hit them after the holiday, I know they are going to have a hard time. I still miss you a lot, I think I’m doing better and the antidepressants are helping a bit. I still just hurt and wonder why you would do this. It is so hard to understand. You were and are such a wonderful guy that it is still so shocking to think that you were so desperate and sad, that you felt you were better off not here. I hate to think how long it will be before I see you again. I try to believe that I will see you again but sometimes it is very hard to think about it and believe it. When Bill talks about you he says he believes that you are here with us all the time that you were at the party watching over us. That you are always here we just need to think about you and know that you are in our hearts. I think that is his was of coping, not really thinking of you as gone, just here in a different way. I will be talking with Brian Nickelson and start getting some of the plans worked out on doing a run in your honor. I know that you are probably not to happy about us doing it, you never really liked attention, but we need to do it for us to help us cope with you being gone and to help us heal. I think is will be good and we

will have a good time doing it.

Dear Scott,                                                                                          January 5, 2005

Well it is the New Year and I’m doing a bit better. I still miss you very much and worry how Robbyn and the kids will do now that people are getting back to their lives and they are stuck without you. I have been taking antidepressants and they seem to be helping a bit. I hope that I won’t have to be on them for too long, and I hope that they don’t have too many side effects. So far I have not had any trouble with them and it seems to help take the edge off of my sadness. I still wonder why you did this I think I will always wonder that. But now I try to think about what you are doing in heaven and who you are meeting what things are you doing? I hope that you are happy and that you are not sad anymore. I hope that you have the joy you didn’t feel down here. I want to believe that you are in a beautiful and peaceful place. So many people talk about how bad it was that you took your life and that God does not forgive this, but I don’t think that is true. God knows you are a wonderful person and that you were not thinking in your right mind when you did this. I’m not certain that I believe about all the kingdoms and all the Mormon stuff, I think I just want to believe that you have your own heaven and that the people you love and the people that you want to know come and go through your heaven. I was wondering the other day after the horrible title wave disaster, do you get to see all these new people that are coming into heaven. I guess as a kid I always thought I would know everyone in heaven, but if you think about it that would be nearly impossible there would be all the people that died before us and all the people that are getting ready to be born. Maybe when we get to heaven we are so much smarter it will be possible. Steve and Julie are having a baby in July. Have you met the baby? Are you so happy for them? I know I was very excited when Robbyn told me. I’m very happy that Steve has Julie and now a daughter or son to be with him. I hate to think if he was alone what you death would have done to him. Julie has said he is having a hard time with it. I want to talk with him but don’t really know what to say.

Dear Scott                                                                               January 11, 2005

Today things are better then they have been in a while. I stopped by your grave and talked to you the other day. I know that you are not there and I know that you are probably not hearing what I’m saying to you. But I need to feel that somehow I can still talk to you. I went with Brooke to yoga the other day. I was nice I had a good time with her. She is a lovely young lady that is very sweet. I hope that she can apply herself as she starts collage this week and find something to be passionate about that can help her discover what a great young lady she is. She and Alex are very close and I worry that they are getting intimate I know that you would be concerned about that too. I don’t think that I have the right or that it is my business to ask, I just hope that she is smart enough to know not to complicate things any more then they already are. You have complicated their lives enough for now and I think they need to work through all this before they start to move on. It is not my place to say anything I just hope that I can be somewhat helpful. I think it would be very hard on all of the family and especially Robbyn if Brooke gets caught up in things like that.

I think we will have your race close to the anniversary of your death. That will get everyone enough time to work through things and also give me time to get what needs to be done taken care of. I guess I have become the go to person for this race. I’m really not that good at it. I would much rather be the person behind the scenes. But if this is what I need to do to get the race going then this is the person I will be. How do you feel about this? I know that you probably hate it. But I’m sorry it is going to get done whether you like it or not, so you might as well accept it. I do expect you to make sure that we have perfect weather though LOL. I want to talk with Steve but don’t really know how to approach him. I hate to think that all we have in common to talk about is you and in some ways you are very hard to talk about. I think I talk about you too much to Brooke and the kids when I’m around them. I guess talking about you makes me feel like you are still here. Or at least that you will not be really gone if we keep talking about you and thinking about you. I know I can never forget you, I know that you will always be in my heart and that I will always be changed because of my friendship with you. I would never have been a runner if it were not for you and now I identify that title with myself very much. Wife, mother, runner, artist. That is who I am, and that is why you will always be a part of me.

February 3, 2005

Dear Scott,

Valentines is fast approaching and I worry about Robbyn not having you here on that day. I was stopped by one of my friends at the gym last night and he was asking how I was doing, I think I’m doing better then I was, but like I told him I will always feel different, changed somehow by your death. I will always be a bit sadder and I know that I will always miss you. I know that you would not want me to be sad and that you want all of us to be happy and have good lives while we are here. I was also talking with a doll friend and had mentioned you and the way you died. She told me about a friend that’s sister committed suicide and that she had a dream where her sister came to her and told her that she had to let go and be happy because her bad thoughts were holding her back from progressing in the next life. I wonder if that is true for you, are our sad thoughts and memories holding you back from progressing in the afterlife. I know that your mom is having trouble letting go of you. I worry so much about her, but I think she has a part time job that gets her out of the house a few days a week so maybe that is helping her. I think I will stop by your house and see Robbyn and the kids tonight after I go to the gym. It has been a while and I have been wondering how she has been. I know that it must be getting harder now that all of us have gone back to our lives and she is left to try and make sense of hers. She is luck that she lives is such a great neighborhood, and I think that they are still taking care of her, but that is also why I wanted to stop by to make sure that she know I’m still thinking of her and the kids. Bill has been by a few times to help Chase with the car, but I have not been there for a few weeks. I have not stopped by your grave in a while either. I have been thinking about it though and I will try to soon. Tyler and I ran the 5K-winter training series race. It was fun but it was hard to cross the finish line and not have you there to give me a hug and tell me what a great job you though I did. Tyler got a bit chocked up when I talked about how much I miss you and how hard it was to run that race. You had always been there with me. You were such a steady and wonderful force in my running. I will forever miss you and I think every run that I participate in I will think of you and wish you were here to talk about it with.

February 10, 2005

Dear Scott,

I stopped by your grave to talk with you Tuesday it still feels like you are here but I just can’t seem to get it in my head that you are really gone. Things at work for Bill are not going very well; he is getting very depressed that he will probably not get the civil service job that he put in for. I have been trying to tell him that it will be OK and that we can make it whether he goes civil service or not. But I know that deep down he is really not feeling very good about himself. I hate to see him this way and I don’t think there is anything that I can really do for him. I do love him and I hate to see him not feeling happy about things. I think you felt this too, I know that you were not real happy with the way things were going for you up at the base. And I know that you felt just like Bill that you were doing a good job and were better qualified then most of the people who got the jobs that you were trying to get. How do I help him, I wish you were here to talk with him about this and that he would have someone who could identify with him. Well I have to go I will try to write again soon.

February 11, 2005

Dear Scott,

I talked with Robbyn last night and things seem to be getting a bit better. I hope she calls me tonight and maybe we can go to the movies or dinner together. We are trying to make plans to go to Saint George together. I’m hoping that Tara, Brady and the grand kids will go with us and also Tyler. I think it would be fun for Tyler to go and hang out with Chase and Jared. I will miss you not being there because we always had fun together in Saint George. I will always miss you things will never be quite the same. I think I will always feel an empty spot that your absence has left in my heart. We delayed and now we are having trouble finding a place to stay. I think we will try to get into the same hotel as Robbyn and the kids so that they can be close to one another. But I guess we will have to see. Temple View is totally booked.

Monday, February 28, 2005

Dear Scott,

Things have been getting worse between Bill and me. I wish you were here so that Bill would have someone to talk to, not that he would, but I think it would have helped if you were here. Bill is coming over and we are going to lunch today so I hope we can get along. You would like to know that Jake is getting married to the girl that he brought to Bear Lake. Also Bill got the civil service job at the base. Thanks…if you had anything to do with it. In a way I think you did, I feel that you are looking out for him because he was your friend. I wish I knew how to make our marriage better. We both seem to be stuck in a place that we can’t move from. The way we interact with each other is very destructive. I have wondered if you and Robbyn were the same way. What was it in your marriage that was not working for her? I guess is doesn’t really matter any more. You are not here and that is what matters. I know that there are things I will never know about you and about the way things were in your marriage. I think that is for the best. I need to think about positive things and work at healing the wound that was left when you took your life. Annette was talking to me today and asked if Alex could help with your race for an eagle project. I said of course and that I thought it would be a good thing. I guess will see if Alex wants to do it and what he will help me in doing. Things seem to be moving faster then I remember them. I never seem to be able to get all the things accomplished that I want to do in one day. I probably waist too much time also. I had a pretty good run Saturday with Sue, she has not been feeling well so I ran to her house, then ran the parkway with her, then ran home. That way I got in a pretty good run and she didn’t have to run too far because she is not feeling well. I think it was about 11 or 12 miles for me.

April 26, 2005

Dear Scott,

It has been a while since I have written to you. Things are going pretty good. I’m going to run the Ogden marathon and I hope to improve my time. It would be great if I could do in less than 3 hrs 50 min and qualify for Boston. Tyler and Steve are running as a team. I think it makes Tyler feel pretty good that he is running as a team with Steve. It kind-of gives him a connection to you. Nick and I were talking about you the other day and how much he misses you. He talked about the trip that you took last summer up to your brother’s cabin. I think that was one of the funniest times for him. I tried to be positive about things and told him to remember those good times because that is how you would want to be remembered. I don’t think things will ever been really the same as they were before you died. I miss you so much, you were such a good friend to Bill and my kids especially my boys) looked up to you and they will always miss you just like I do. I have not stopped by your grave in a while. I will try to soon and talk with you because I think it helps me coupe with things. I don’t think your Mom is doing very well Kristine said that she is not moving on very well. I think I will get the CD from Brian soon, I think I want to watch it soon. I will probably cry, I think I will always cry when I think about you. I can’t believe that you will not be here for so many important things. How could you do this to the kids? I know that you and Robbyn where having trouble, but the kids do not deserve not having you around. I won’t be mad at you I don’t think I could ever be mad at you because you were always so wonderful to me. I hope that you are happy now. I hope that you are having wonderful adventures; I hope that you are running in beautiful places and meeting interesting people and learning new things. I hope that you can work on your art and photography it always gave you so much pleasure. I hope that you have peace. I know that I can’t hold on to bad feelings because I don’t want to hold you back from progressing in the next life. I just feel so sad that it will be a long time before I’m able to see you again. I can promise you that I will never forget you and that I will always think positive things about you and the life that you had here.

Dear Scott,                                                                              May 13, 2005

I wanted you to know that Bill is on his first day driving today. I mean the real thing to be a full time UPS driver with all the benefits that he wants. I hope that he does well; I know that he will and I hope that he enjoys it. The one other good thing is that his boss up at HAFB gave him a month leave without pay so if, for some reason he does not want the UPS job or he doesn’t cut it he can go back to Hill. I somehow feel that you have had a hand in things for us. I think that you are looking out for him and my family and making sure that we are OK. I some how feel that you are now like our guardian angel to my entire family. I know that it may not be true but it feels that way to me. Lately I have been missing you more then I had in the passed. I think that I’m doing well and then I think of things like the marathon and I get sad that you are not here with me. I don’t really know what to say to Robbyn any more. I’m upset for some reason that she is not wearing her wedding ring. I’m upset that she wants to move on. I don’t think she is ready to start dating and I know that I’m not ready for her to do it. But I think she is moving passed and in some ways I don’t like it. I know that it’s not a good thing to think that way and I’m sorry that I do. I think that I may go to some counseling and see if that will help me. I’m still on the anti-depressant I think I will be on it until June and I’m worried when they take me off it I might have trouble so that is why I’m thinking about going to a counselor. My questions will never be answered as to why you choose to leave us, and I will never understand why you would do this to your kids. Did you really think they would be better off without you?

Dear Scott,                                                                                          May 23, 2005

I did not do as well as I had wanted to with the marathon. I didn’t qualify for Boston, but it was a beautiful day with a nice breeze at our backs. Tyler struggled but I’m very proud of him. Steve was wonderful and I think it made Tyler feel really good about the whole race. I wonder if he will run any more or if this was just something he wanted to try. He tells me that he will run a marathon in his lifetime but I don’t know when that will be. He is so busy with all his other stuff. I’m pretty stiff, but ready to try to improve my time and maybe even do some longer races. I still miss you and wish you were able to be there at the race. It’s so hard to think about you being gone. I know that I need to move passed it but I guess it is hard to move past when I just can’t understand why you would do it. Maybe I need to have more faith in the church or in God that all things happen for a reason. But I just can’t seem to grasp that. I see no reason why you needed to die, and also why you needed to die so horribly. I don’t think that God had any hand in this. But I hate to think that evil had a plan in it either. I don’t want to think that evil was that close to you. They say that time heals all wounds, but I have yet to feel any healing. I know that in some ways I’m doing better. I’m not crying all the time. I don’t talk about you all the time even though I really want to. I think I need to go to some counseling. Not only to help with you but also to help with my marriage. Bill and I are definitely not happy. I can’t seem to be close to him and I don’t know why. All the things that I think are holding me back from him are petty and small and make me feel very sallow that I don’t want to be married to him because of them. I feel that he and the kids and I are physically unclean and our house is definitely unclean and I feel grossed out most of the time by him and the kids. How can a mother and wife be grossed out by their own kids and husband?

Dear Scott                                                                                           June 22, 2005

I stopped by your grave last night and for the first time had a hard time talking to you. I’m off the anti-depressants and I’m still feeling pretty good. I don’t know why it was hard to talk to you; I think it is because I’m upset with Robbyn and her relationship with that guy, I can’t remember his name right now, but I’m not very happy with the whole situation. I think that Robbyn is not really thinking to clearly right now. I hope that she doesn’t get hurt, and I know that this is mean to say but in some ways I hope that she does. I think my anger at the whole situation is because I’m still very hurt over your death and to she her move on so quickly makes me very angry. I know that I had a very idealistic view of you and you were probably not the person I knew. I know that you and Robbyn had trouble in your marriage and that things were not always good. I know that some of that is because of you, I can’t blame all the troubles on Robbyn, and I know that I need to get a more realistic view of you. Let’s face it, you took your own life, you could not have been the happy person that I always seen.

Dear Scott,                                                                                          February 3, 2006

I guess it has been a while since I have written to you. Robbyn has married Dave and life has moved into a new place that I’m still trying to adjust to. Bill and I are selling the house and building a new one. I think this will be a good thing in the long run but right now I’m worried about the money and being able to do all the things we want to do. I hope that we are not living beyond our means. I still think about you all the time. I don’t talk too much about you though. Nick and Tyler talk about you still quite a bit. I think they will have a hard time with your death for a long time. I have been dealing with bad feet my thyroid being out a whack a bit. I go to a new doctor and I hope that this will be the start of being able to keep my weight under control and start feeling better about things in general. It hard for me knowing how bad I feel when my thyroid medication needs to be adjusted and then I realize that you were not taking your medications and that you were probably feeling real bad at the time of your death. I read an article about an ultra marathoner and her battle with depression. It made me think of you and how I wished that I would have been closer and known more about how you were feeling, so that maybe you would not have taken your life. This kind of thinking is not good though, it has happened and I have no way to get you back.

I’m angry with Robbyn, I can’t stand being around her and Dave and when we are at family thing I avoid her at all cost. Bill tells me that you would not have wanted this and I know that he is right but I really can’t help it. I know that I blame her for your death and that is probably not really fair either. But I really don’t know how to deal with this or even how to get over it. And the thing is why do I have to get over this? I don’t think I need to be friends with her and Dave. I’m not that close with Ron and Debbie so who says I have to be close with her.

I think of you often and hope that were you are now, you are happy. I hope that someday I will see you again.

Dear Scott                                                                               December 11, 2006

It has been a while since I have written and also been a while since I have been to your grave. My Dad passed away 3 weeks ago, the day we moved into our new house. It has been hard to loose him. I miss him very much but in some ways is has been easier to loose him then to loose you. Dad was 73 and had a long and good life. When he decided to let go of this world he went fairly fast. The hard part now is for us here to be without him. I’m sure he is in a much better place and happier now that he can move and see and do all the thing that he was not able to do for so many years here on earth. I have wondered if you have seen him. If he has given you a lecture for being so stupid as to take your life. I will always miss you and wonder way you had to go. Why you thought that we would be better off without you here with us. I know that Chase and Brooke and having a difficult time with things. They are trying their best but it is not easy for them. I don’t like Dave and Robbyn, I’m sorry that I can’t forgive them and I don’t want to be around them or be friends with them. I have had to concentrate on just my family and my kids and grand kids. I hate that they are happy, I know that is wrong but I do. I think she made your life miserable so I don’t want her to be happy.

Dear Scott                                                                                           March 22, 2007

Thing are going pretty well for Bill and I. It is hard making the house payments and we will probably have to take out more money from his retirement fund to make it through the next months let alone Bill wants to fence the yard and put in a sprinkler system. Bill and the kids and I stopped by your grave the other day. Bill cleaned off the bird poo that was on your headstone. It is still difficult to think about you being gone. I know that you are but sometimes I can get busy and not think about it so much. I’m like that you are with my Dad now also. But when I really take time to stop and think that I will never see you and Dad again in this life time I get very sad. I think that I will be here for some time to come and all the things that I still want to see and do. I think about you and Dad not being here to see and partake of the things that I will be doing and I get very sad. With Dad I can understand why he is not here, it is still hard. But with you I don’t even have that; I just am so sad and angry that we don’t have you here to talk to and to do things with. Why did you think it was a good thing to take your life? I’m trying my best but I don’t think I will ever be over this.

Dear Scott                                                                                           November 2, 2010

It has been so long since I have written to you, in fact I completely forgot about all these letters. I had time today when I had to sit at the front lobby. When I found the document and reread all the letters it was surprising to see them.

I ran in the cemetery on your birthday this year. I’m not running very well anymore and it makes me sad. I will never be able to accomplish the running goals that I had. But I will continue to run and just try to enjoy it as much as I can. When I ran in the cemetery on your birthday I sat and talked with you a while. You would have been 52 this year I think. It’s amazing how time is moving on without you, and yet there are times when it seems to have stood still and I forget that you are gone. I really try not to think about why you took your life anymore. There are no answers for it, and I can’t make any sense of it so I just try to remember the good times I had with you. That is what I have to hold onto now. Bill has found a good friend in Cliff. I’m very happy that this happened, because after he lost you I did not think he would find another friend to hang out with. You really were his closest friend. He really did need you! Along with me, my kids, your kids… you name it there are so many people whose lives have been changed because you are no longer a part of it.

We are doing better year by year, day by day. Life will forever be changed by not having you here. But we have learned to move on, to find happy things again. You would be amazed by my grand kids! I’m sad that you are not here to see them and be a part of their lives, like you were for my kids. The boys will always talk about you. They miss you and think of you often.

November 19, 2014

Dear Scott,

Wow, finding these letters again after 4 years. So much has changed, so much is different. In October it was the 10 year anniversary of your death. Your kids had meet with me to do a race. I am sad to say that nothing came of it. I wanted them to take the lead because I was in the middle of a life changing event. I knew that I would be moving out and divorcing Bill, and I could not put my effort into your race. I am sorry… I am so sad that I could not honor your memory with a race, or even a small run with friends. Brian Nickols had talked to me, so many people wanted it to happen. So many people were asking about it. I am so deeply sorry, you deserved to be honored. I will always remember you, that is a given, but somehow there needed to be something to mark the passing of 10 years. My deepest regret, and sadness.

Life is changing for me faster than any other time in my life. It is scary and at times I am overwhelmed in fear of what I am doing. I pray for the strength to do what is right for me. Sometimes I don’t know what that is. I am hopeful that I can figure it out. I am hopeful that I can find the peace and happiness that I so want in my life. My kids have all been accepting of this change, they only want Bill and me to be happy. This holiday is going to be difficult. I tell my kids…it will be different, but that doesn’t mean it is bad. I have not talked with Robbyn in probably almost 10 years. I don’t hate her and I don’t wish her bad, I just don’t know what to say anymore. Our lives are completely different, we no longer have anything in common. I am sure she is happy and that is good.

Nickolas has left for an adventure, something I think you would have been excited for him to do. I can’t say that I am excited about it. He of all of my kids has been dramatically effected by your death. You were more of a male role model to him that I think Bill was for him. It is sad to say but I do believe it’s true. I wonder if you were here if Bill and I would have divorced. Would he have gone and done the things he did if you were still here to be his friend. I can’t focus on things like that, because the reality is. You are gone. I am now 51 years old and divorced. I am terrified at what lies ahead of me. I am hopeful that I can create a life that I love. I am hopeful that is all I can say.

October 28, 2016

Dear Scott,

I am in a better place than I have been in years, maybe my entire life. I don’t mind being divorced and I am creating a life I can be happy with. There are times that I struggle, thinking why Bill did what he did, how can he move on so easily? But I can’t think about that often. When I focus my energy there it doesn’t help me. I need to focus all my energy on myself, my life and my art. Those are the things that make me happy. I am in a wonderful relationship. He treats my like a queen and even says that I am his queen. He wants good things for me and we have a great time together.  He is very different from Bill and I am so grateful he is in my life.

Sue and I still run on Saturdays. I can’t run like I used to, but I am working on getting stronger. I really would like to drop some weight, because I know it would help my running ability. I guess I’ll see how that goes.

You would be happy that I have talked to Robbyn. Our mothers had their 90^th birthday and it made it so we spent some time together. At the end of it all she told me she missed me. I started to cry and we hugged. It was nice to close that open wound, healing the pain that had been there for so long.

I often wonder what life would have been like had you not taken your life. If you could have just made it through the pain of the divorce would you have found happiness again? Now that I am through the worst, I know it was worth all the pain to move on. My boys talk of you often, they are always thinking of you. Conner and Nickolas are still close. Conner looks so much like you, it makes me smile whenever I see him.

I hope you are looking down on all of us, happy that we have all been able to create happiness in our lives. I hope that you know, you will never be forgotten, you will always be loved… always remembered. 

Finished Angel Cast

So here is the finished mold of the angel relief sculpture. I am happy with the results, but it has become really clear to me that I didn't need to make the walls nearly as think as I made them. It would have saved me some cost for the materials. Just a really good lesson to learn .

Here is the first resin cast. I mixed bronze powder into the resin before I added the catalyst. It was much darker that I anticipated it to be. It seemed to not be this dark on the You Tube videos that I watched about this process. But I could be wrong. It was the color of the bronze powder. Maybe I need to try a different metal powder.  

Here she is after a couple rounds of buffing with 0000 steal wool. I have to say I am not really happy with the results. This is one of those moments that makes me question my abilities. Why do I even want to try to be an artist? The vision of how I wanted her to look is not this. I made another cast using a different process but I am not sure it will be must better. Not sure where I am going to go after this. 

Burned into me head

That didn't happen.
And if it did, it wasn't that bad.
And if it was, that's not a big deal.
And if it is, that's not my fault.
And if it was, I didn't mean it.
And if I did...
You deserved it.

Mold Making

So I finally pulled the trigger on molding and casting this relief sculpture. I built up the mold wall with clay and did my best to seal the bottom to the board and all the seams. 

Here is the first layer of silicone. It is clear to me now that I have put on the first layer of silicone. I made the mold way to big!! LOL I guess this is just one of the many lessons that I will learn along my path to creating art. I will get another layer on tonight and hope to cast the first resin this weekend! Fingers crossed, that everything will work out> 

Glazed, Fired, Finished!

So I picked up me ceramic sculpture last night, She was glazed and fired. I am relatively happy with how she turned out. 

I wish the glaze had modeled and crazed a bit more. Also the blue that I put on her really didn't show as much as I had wanted. But all in all for my first time working with this material and also this method. I am happy. 

Do or Die

My last attempt at saving the ceramic sculpture that I have been working on. Barb, the instructor, informed me last night that this was do or die, either way she/I needed to by done. She needed to be fired. 

I got the poem carved into her back. I fixed as many cracks as I could with a concoction of slip, paper, and vinegar. Barb said this is the best option I have to get her to not crack. 

I also added the birds on her head and also in the nest. I can't remember what Barb called the stuff that you can see on her wrist and a few other locations. This is also something to help bond the cracks that are forming. 

I need to either change my method of sculpting or not use this clay for this type of work. It has been a great learning experience to try this clay and also to push myself to sculpt with a very limited time frame. Not something that I am good at so I think it has been good for me. I think she will be bisque fired next time I am at class. So then I need to think about how I will finish her. What glazes will work, and how do I want her to look. 

More Work... Not Happy

So, it has become painfully clear that I don't understand the process of ceramic clay. When I got to class a couple of weeks ago I had to redo all her hair/nest. I didn't understand the process and the clay had all pulled away from her head. I could literally just chip it off. Do the picture above is after I had redone her. Also had to reattach her hand AGAIN! Seriouly this is killing me. 

It has been a couple of weeks because I didn't go to class on Halloween. But Barb (The instructor) sent me this picture of her. Again she has big cracks on the clay that I had tried to attach. She said she thinks we can fix it without having to remove her hair/nest again. I guess I will see when I get there is coming week. I am at a loss with her. Do I continue and try to make something of this? Or do I scrap this project? 

Poem

She was a lost bird in a deep blue sky

But when she spread her wings, 

she remembered how to fly. 

Atticus

Ceramic Class Updates

A few updates on the sculpture that I am doing in ceramic class. She now has a face... not sure I am happy with it. I'm sure that I will be tweaking and detailing it at some point. 

I don't know if you can tell but I had to give her a new hand. (Look at the one on her abdomen) I got a bit western on her last night and in the process knocked her hand completely off. Ughhh!! I am so not used to this clay or it's properties. 

I have made a few decisions about her. she will keep the hole in her head and I will sculpt a bird coming out of it. Also as you can see her hair comes down to a next on her shoulder. Looking at the picture I think her hairline needs to move down her forehead a bit. I will take a picture of her back side next time ans see how I feel about her hair back there. I will also carve a poem into her back and some trees on her dress. 

Ceramic Class

I fell in love with the work of Cristina Cordova. She works with ceramic type clay and creates amazing figurative sculptures. I looked into classes and so far have not been able to commit to the cost of them.
So I found a ceramics class in Ogden and thought I would try the clay on my own and see how I like it. It is clear to me that this process is something completely out of my comfort zone. I can only hope that it will work into something that I like.

I think this was taken after the second time I worked on it. This process of having to keep the figure hollow and working from the base up has been a challenge for me. I think her torso settled a bit, she is very short waisted. 

Added one hand, and her head. I had to keep the top of her head hollow because the clay was so soft that if I tried to close it up, it would have sagged. I lovingly call her Groot. 

She got another hand, her head is almost closed... I am still thinking about not closing it and doing something. She also got ears. This process is a challenge for me... and I guess that it was I really wanted. The sculpting process is completely different than when I work with wax based clays. I'm not sure I like this, but I will finish her to the best of my abilities before I decide if I will try this clay again. 

Working on More Relief Sculptures

I have started working on another couple of relief sculptures. I don't know if I will do anything with them but it is good practice for me. 

The progression so far is pretty good... I think. But it really is missing something. I like her look, but as a whole it is pretty boring. I will keep tweaking it and see if I can get to a place where I like her. 

Also working on a sleeping baby angel relief. Again, I am at a point that I am not really happy with it. Needs alot of work to get it to a place I will be happy. 

Changed the babies hand position. I think it works better. But needs more work. 

Calling this one done

I have always loved relief sculpture, and have tried my hand at them a couple of times. The ones that I have created previously were very deep reliefs. I wanted to try my hand at creating a shallow relief. After looking at numerous images on the Internet I decided to give it a try. I found a small wooden oval to work on and these are my progress pictures.

So on the first picture a just drew a profile in the clay with a long wooden tooth pick. After many tries, I cheated and found a small profile picture, cut out the image and then drew around it with the tooth pick. This helped me get the proper proportions.

I should have taken a picture one shot earlier, but this is the basic filling in of anatomy.

More detailing of her face and hair. Also beginning to get her wings and dress. 

Here is the finished shot, I gave her dress some pattern by just gently pressing a decal into it. Added more to her wings and added flowers to her headband. This is the point in my process where I usually sit and mess with it so much that I will eventually ruin it. So I am stopping here and calling her done.

Here is a close up of her face. She reminds me a bit of my niece Jennifer. 

I was talking with the gentlemen I am dating and shared with him the picture of my relief sculpture. He asked my if I was happy with her. I said I am good with calling her done. He has never dated someone artistic and he commented that I seem to have trouble knowing when to stop. His comment got me thinking.

I think it is because to call it done means that this is as good as I can make it, and with that comes the fears of "Is it good enough?" To be done means that this is how it will be when I send it out into the world. It starts the crazy comparison crap that we do to ourselves. For me it can almost be debiltating. But I tell myself that this is where I am now, but I can and will be even better in the future. I tell myself that I do this because it feels so good to me to create, and not to worry about all the other stuff. 

So I will mold her and cast her, I will be happy with the process of creating and continue to do it. I think I will give the cast to my mom for Christmas.

A shot to show her size.

Birthdays

In a few days I will turn 54. It is completely crazy to me that I am that age. But it is also totally awesome!

I am at a wonderful place in life. All my children are grown and seem to be doing well. They are all good people and I am really so happy to be their mother. All the people that I love are heathly and that is really something to be happy about! 

I have really learned in the last few years that it is the simple things that bring true happiness. 

Being optimistic about my life and my future has not always been easy for me. My progress with self acceptance will always be something that I work on, and I have come to peace with that. I finally feel like I am in the driving seat of my life! Keep it coming! I love a good roadtrip!

Finished Fox Door Knocker

I am a bit slow in getting the pictures of the finished door knocker But here are some photos of the finished cast bronze of the Fox door knocker that I made. I have been very happy with how it turned out. 

 Baer Bronze did a wonderful job casting it.