Don't discard me.

Cut away pieces wanting to be made.
By Judith Parsons Art 2020

The cut away, forgotten pieces of clay want to be made into something. No one wants to be discarded.

As I cut away the arch shape, there is a triangle piece of clay that sits upon the edge of my plastic covered board. They sit watching me, as I cut them away from the mother piece of clay, they see me shaping and forming another part of themselves. They wonder what they they will become.

The longer I allow them to watch the making of their sister into a form, they take on the energy of knowing what it is to be made into something.

Blankly they stare wanting to be born.

I know the trick now. If I allow them to watch the forming of their previous self, their energy builds and calls me to them.

Then they have energy which speaks loudly.

However, if I cut the clay away and discard it quickly- not giving them the chance to “know” the making of formlessness into themselves- they have no time to find their voice.

No time to find your voice. Hm. That sounds like another blog to write. I could go on for days about voice and swallowing down your words. But alas, that is not for today. (smiling sigh) Back to the clay.

I can see you now, your head cocked a little to the side, as my crazy artist thoughts seep into you. The clay speaking its wanting to be born language. Admittedly, I do not always have the time to give the clay energy it deserves and I quickly discard it.

Arch/Boat/Glass sculpture.
By Judith Parsons Art 2020

I plop it into the watery grey muck where it sinks despondently into foggy cloudy muddy silt. Its voice drowns. Its own muddy heart beating in its ears.

The top right photo is small gargoyles (as my daughter named them- waving at Margaret) thank you Dear. The larger center face can be turned around and has two faces in one. Hmmmm. Interesting.

How many faces do I have?

As my fingers start shaping the clay- as much as I try my darnest to repeat a shape- the clay speaks its own mind. It knows before I know- and viola it becomes its own shape.

It just happens.

The bottom left photo are boat arches, that will eventually hold glass as well. O have pierced the sides and bottoms so the light can shine through. What is the point of have colorful glass inside something- if the light can not shine through it?

Right? Nodding head. Right.

Keep creating sweet Luvs. Some twin steeples need some attention. Time to get on that.

A dark night in a city...

Original art created by Judith Parsons Art 2020.

If you are an NPR nerd, then there are chances you grew up listening to Garrison Keillor and his radio program. It came on Saturday night and again on Sunday morning. It was a regular thing my family did on Saturday evenings. We planned our dinner and grilling around that hour. 

I miss the ketchup advisory, “Barb, what you need is a little ketchup.” I can’t help but grin and chuckle at that line, it seemed to calm Barb down and my whole family. We laughed together. If we were traveling, the children would listen along, and they too grew up with Garrison and the fabulous characters the show brought to life. The cowboys and the famous Guy Noir. 

“A dark night in a city that knows how to keep its secrets, but one man is still trying…”

Garrison is still out there sweet Luvs. He is on instagram with the writers almanac. Today he read poetry about being a little outside the box. Life was askew. And as much as the man in the poem tried to step aside to adjust his perspective, he found himself spinning and dizzy.

Life is sort of like that these days. A little dizzying. That spiral brings us to my favorite shape. The cho-ka-ray symbol of centering energy and drawing it into focus. Bring the spinning to the eye of the storm, to the quiet space place that makes life nice. That makes me smile.

Yep, -in my mind's eye- I am sitting with my feet up on my back huge porch, I am smiling at my family- and all of it is a memory. A secret room I visit where the old banjo man is grilling some ribs and the radio plays. And he smiles and says: “It looks like you need a little ketchup.”