updated, finally

You may have noticed that I no longer have the "Mini Gallery" on my site (or maybe you didn't notice). They are all gone. I actually have 2 or 3 left but I'm holding onto them. I did add a line on my resume, but not a whole lot more. This summer has been one of working on my house like a mad man, being with my girls and soul searching with my art. I think I have come to terms with the idea of doing sculpture that is not limited to ceramics only. I have been looking at all types of art and looking for inspiration and a starting point. It really opens so many doors, almost too many. I love the idea of assemblages and building with tools, my hands and being aggressive with the process. My plan is to let school start up again and get back into that rhythm then set aside time each week to start a whole new chapter in my art. That will replace the "mini" gallery then maybe grow into other things yet to be seen. So please, stay tuned.

What am I doing?

So you might be wondering what am I am doing with the whole art thing. I've been wondering that too. Getting divorced, watching my mom go through cancer and seeing my dad have a heart attack & a triple by-pass, has allowed me to re-evaluate a lot of things. One of them being my art and the reasons why I do what I do. When there are so many things that need to get done in life, making art always ends up being last on the list of priorities. So how does it get put closer to the top of the list? For me, I need a purpose or a reason to blow off loads of responsibilities so I can focus on my work. I need to know that I am not mowing the grass, or cleaning the house, or exercising, or balancing my check book because I am doing something more important (making clay figures). I've been doing a lot of soul searching to find out what the real reason is for making art and how that links to what I make specifically and why I make it. It has caused me to re-think art all together. Art has been my entire life and now I am changing everything I ever thought about it. That's pretty huge. It's not something that I am resolving overnight either.
So in the mean time, I hope you stop back at my site from time to time and you still enjoy looking at my work. One of these days you'll come back and find some big changes. Although I couldn't tell you just yet what those changes will be :)

Starting Over

Since my last few posts, I've been planning out classes, what kind, when to offer them, what to charge, overhead, etc.... After a lot of planning and decision making here is what I've come up with. If I work really, really hard and this idea of teaching classes out of the studio works, then in about 6-8 years I will have the whole place remodeled, heated, septic and so on. Then I can start to make some profit. By then I will be 50 yrs old and I will have spent every second of my life working. My girls will be 15 and 13 yrs old. By the time it begins to make money I will be 55 and the girls will almost be out of school and I will have done nothing but work and I will have missed out on so much of them growing up and life in general. I don't want to be 55-60 and look back and say all I did was work. Life is too short. So as hard as it is to say, I'm not going to be offering classes any time soon. I don't want or need the headaches that owning and running a business like that will bring. If anyone would ever want private lessons (one on one) I would be happy to work out something with you. Or if you would like to rent some nice studio space, I would do that as well. But as far as group classes on a regular schedule.... it's not going to happen. Not now anyway. I apologize if anyone was looking forward to this.

Three left

The tribal looking rattle is taken. Only three left.

Once lost, but now found!

These were a part of my original portfolio submission to get into grad school. They are rattles about the size of a baseball. I had a bunch and thought they were all gone, but then I found a few stashed away this weekend in

the studio. I will part with these four only.

The series originally sold for $100 each. I will sell these to whomever wants them on a first come first serve basis for $45 a piece! If you are interested, just let me know.

Opinions needed!

I've decided to dive in head first, go for it and finally commit to having clay classes this summer. Things are not developed as far as I would like with the setting, but it's good and will work for now. If there is enough support this 1st summer, then the following year I can commit more cash and re-invest to make this dream grow.

So to get the ball rolling, I need some opinions on what kind of clay classes you might be interested in taking, what day during the week, day or evenings, and how frequently you would like the class to be offered.

Feel free to make any comments or suggestions here or by emailing me at mike@mikeprather.com. I'll put you on my email list and keep you updated on discounts, memberships, special offers and so on.

Here we go!