Settling Into Our New Life

Spring is here and with it sunshine, even if the breeze is chilly. I got a haircut today, maybe to celebrate all of the change that’s been happening around here. Cutting away the old or something like that. Nearly 8 inches gone and it feels good. I can also see more gray, all of which I am nurturing in hopes of them growing.

We are beginning to settle in to our new island while still going back and forth to the townhouse until it sells. I will admit I am absolutely loving our time in the camper when we’re here. It’s vintage (two years  younger than I am) and doesn’t have any modern conveniences but it’s charming and cozy and the view can’t be beat. I wake up as the sun rises and the wall next to my bed is all windows facing the water so it’s the first thing I see. These days I tend to stay under the quilts a bit longer as it’s still fairly chilly in the morning but eventually I make my way to our temporary kitchen to make coffee which goes into a carafe and comes back to bed with me. 

There is progress on the house as well. The house site is clear, the footings are in, the land around the house has been leveled for a yard, and just last week we had a small drive cut into the hillside down to the meadow. And watching each step completed fills me with an excitement I don’t think I've felt since childhood. After nearly two years of planning and dreaming, sketches and research and making lists, it’s finally all coming together right before our eyes. 

If you would like to follow along on this adventure you can join us on Instagram to see us build!

And then there’s the studio. After a year and a half away from making pottery and knowing we are a long way from a studio on our property, I decided that I needed to find a space to work in the interim. I was lucky to find something that will work well both for making and to welcome people in occasionally. It’s on the north end of our island (we live on the south end) quite near to a few of our favourite places to bring guests. I hope if you are ever here on Gabriola you will stop by~

I’m hoping to have a shop update in the next few weeks. I’m heading in today to mix glaze and then crossing everything that this first firing goes well. There are some great pieces on the shelves ready to go in. These pieces were all made in my last studio. They were bisque fired there and then packed away. It was interesting to pull them out as in the past two years I’ve been inspired to try new things. I’m looking forward to seeing how my work evolves in the coming months. I’m already working on some terra cotta pots with holes for my favourite plants~ maybe you need some too?