I started this blog years ago as
a platform to talk about and showcase my artwork. At that point my future
pottery business didn't even have a name. I was still learning how to
work with clay as I experimented with functional and sculptural work. One
thing was for sure, Playing in the Dirt, was a good name for the blog as it had
a couple meanings for me.
Long before I had my hands in the clay, I had my hands in the
dirt. My family was and is gardeners. I grew up watching vegetables
grow and picking strawberries from the side of the house. The whole yard
(a half acre) was my playground. I can still feel the soft, crumbly dirt
between my toes and the rough bark of the apple tree. Whenever I was
having a hard time or just wanted to be alone, the old apple tree was my best
friend. I knew the curve of every branch and the quickest route to the
top. I had reading nooks and lookout spots and I felt at home.
My mom would can tomatoes and green beans every year and still
does. Those jars along with their potatoes will last our whole family through the year. No matter what was
on the supper table you would always see either fresh quartered tomatoes or
canned tomatoes in a bowl. I've always loved tomatoes and would eat them
like apples right from the garden. My grandpa would grow cherry tomatoes
for me because I loved them so much.
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Digging potatoes with the family
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My dad grew up growing peaches with his family among lots of other
veggies and rows of blackberries. They would sell peaches from a farm
stand along Rt. 8. It was the main roadway back then. It runs
alongside the river and that's where I now make my home, alongside Rt. 8.
Grandpa would also sell peaches in a bar in Newport, Kentucky. Every week
they would deliver baskets full of peaches to sit on the end of the bar, and
every week they would sell out. My dad would go with him as a boy and
wait in the back of the truck while grandpa was in the bar. He sold
peaches to the street kids for a nickel a piece. Grandpa planted the
peach trees in the field next their house in Alexandria, Kentucky, while the
kids were young. The kids grew up as the peaches grew and matured just as
the kids were maturing into teenagers and adults.
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My dad and his garden
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We bought our house in Melbourne,
Ky, in 2016 and spent a lot of time renovating the inside from top to
bottom. The outside has slowly seen change. The vegetable garden
was the first to go in and then some additions to the flower garden on the east
side. The biggest change came this year when two very large trees were
taken down on the west side of the house. First by wind, then by lightening,
and a handful of local folks finished the job. It was quite a shock at
first. Each tree was around 100' tall and the silver maple had at least a
6 foot diameter at the base. I took the trees for granted and was at a
total loss when they came down. The pine tree had damaged our roof the
year before in the wind storm and this year the maple crushed our fence and
landed in the street. There was little time to process as the trees had
to go. I tried to savor each step of the removal process and the boys
loved having a transforming jungle gym –from branches to logs and stumps to
mulch piles.
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The downed maple tree
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To get around to the back of the house and garden, we typically
walk past where the trees had been. My two sons and I are outside a lot,
and so a lot of time has been spent walking through this space. A blank
slate was in front of me and just like starring at a blank canvas, a vision
started to slowly form. Could I expand the vegetable garden to cover
where the pine tree was? What about the space in the front yard where the
maple was? Maybe some fruit trees? The
front yard gets the most sun. I've tried to convince my husband several
times to put the veggies in the front yard, but they landed in the back with
plenty of sun to do just fine.
With the help of friends, a
vision started to become a plan, and the plan turned to action. I’m so excited
to start this journey and can’t contain the excitement. That’s where the blog and Instagram account
(@playing.in.the.dirt) comes in. The blog will still serve as a space for me to
share my pottery process but will also be a space for me to share my journey as
we transform our .4 acre into a small homestead. I now have another avenue to be creative –
within the landscape surrounding the studio and our home. Whether my hands are making a pot on the
potter’s wheel or planting some veggies, I will always be playing in the dirt.
I hope you will join me along the
journey and maybe learn something along the way. The greatest hope is that you
too will be inspired to plant some trees and maybe grow some of your own food
too.
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Me in the backyard. Picture taken by my 3 year old son, Wesley
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