My Path of Clay

For over 20 years while designing and installing landscapes and working at various other jobs along the way, I had a dream of some day having a garden to share, to be able to impart my love of nature and plants and landscape design with others. When we moved here over four years ago, we, (my husband and I), developed our lavender and flower farm, literally from the ground up. Grading, installing drainage, building roads, moving boulders, putting in pathways, planting lavender, flowers, shrubs, trees, roses, and natives, building patios and pergolas, building rock walls, building a gift shop, painting signs, developing a website, doing advertising, marketing, and much, much more. I owe a great big thanks to my husband for helping me create my lifelong dream. That's a photo of my husband (tractor operator extraordinaire) taking a photo of me, wearing his garden hat, at an air show we went to recently.


After our gift shop, above, was built I wanted to display the lavender and floral arrangements in some unique, handmade vases. I was disappointed when I couldn't find just what I wanted. I took floral arranging classes eight years ago and wanted to take a ceramics class then, but didn't get the opportunity. So I decided I would take a ceramics class here to make a few vases for my gift shop. The vase with lavender is one of the first vases I made in my ceramics class. Something happened while I was in my first ceramics class, I found clay, or clay found me, and I was hooked.


I never thought there could be something else in life I would like doing as much, if not more, than landscaping. Well maybe not more, but something different and fresh. There is something so relaxing and therapeutic about working with clay. There is something so wonderful about being able to think of an idea and then create it in clay. And there is something challenging about realizing I will never know all there is to know about clay even in a whole life time. Here is something which can keep my attention, keep me stimulated, keep me learning. I just love it...and I want to share my feelings about clay with others.


So now I find myself at a crossroads in my life. I still love landscaping and nature, but after so many years of physical labor in the out-of-doors, I find I can't do what I used to. So I have decided to transition my career path into clay. You'll be hearing more about my transition from time to time. Today, I am combining my garden blog into this blog, so now you'll be seeing photos and posts here about my gardens, like the gift shop and the lavender field photos I have shown.

How are garden, landscape and nature posts related to clay? My gardens and nature are one of the many sources of my inspiration for creating in clay. I am inspired by what I see growing around me, the trees, the lavender, and the Canna Tropicana lilies shown below all inspire me. I am also inspired by my husband, who is so supportive of my new found pursuits in clay. All that surrounds me each day rewards me with beauty and inspiration ... as I skip along my path of clay.