Creative Play

Monday I went to Sherley Tucker's clay workshop for the first time since total knee replacement surgery. I found the masks I had worked on before surgery had been bisque'd, glazed and final fired, and waiting for me to pack up and bring home. A new ceramic artist, Louise, had generously glazed my pieces, even though we'd never met. She did a great job! When she was working on the masks that I had made braids on, she said they were too much work, and I should stop making braids! HA! In spite of the work, she did them all, individually and perfectly. I am in her debt. Knees slow me down, but physical therapy through Josh Vance, is teaching the legs to walk correctly, pushing me to exercise as a daily routine, and I see in the future the capability to walking through our hills, camera in hand, back to capturing the beauty of where we live. I cannot wait!!!

 "All Eyes" Coronado Clay, Glaze, Ceramic Buttons $50  "Woven in Blue" Coronado Clay, Glaze, Buttons $50  "Brother Dot" Coronado Clay, Glaze, Beads $50  "Sister Dot" Coronado Clay, Glaze, Beads $50 "Wise One" Coronado Clay, Glaze, Beads $50

What an adventure Spring is in Three Rivers. Here were are feverishly getting ready for the Studio Tour Ten that begins next Friday, March 23rd, and we awaken to a snow covered land! Facing North from our home. Notice the green circle under the Oaks protected from the snow. There are fiddlenecks growing under those trees, as there has been for a month all over my property. Spring was here, and flowers all over Three Rivers were popping up, blanketing the hillsides more each day. We were hoping for the beautiful colors to attract more people to the Tour. Well, I'd rather have this stormy, snowing, raining time happen this weekend, than next! Facing East from my back Porch. Facing South from my back Porch. For a while now I have been bragging to everyone that the flowers are filling in the hillsides, carpeting the land with yellows, purple, orange, white, pink, and more, the weather as perfect as it gets around here, sunny, clear and in the 70's. The art below are...

January 28th the artist's gathered at the home/studio of Elsah Cort. We were to spend the day visiting one another's studios. This is in preparation for the Three Rivers Artists' Biennial Studio Tour Ten, March 23, 24, & 25. For me, it is the dessert before the main course, a chance to spend time with artists, to see how people work, to admire their artwork, and to help one another plan for the Studio Tour Ten. About half the artists were able to attend. Elsah has hosted the Studio Tour for twenty years and it is always an amazing experience for artists and guests. As usual Elsah fed us well. The breakfast of quiche, fruit salad, bacon and sausage, breads and cakes, juices, coffee, tea were delicious, and we felt extremely well cared for. Thank you, Elsah. After we ate, she welcomed us. Elsah, Ann, and Mona sit on the stairs that lead to Elsah's studio. We each introduced ourselves. When you buy tickets on the day of the Tour, you will be greeted by Ann....

CATCH UP TIME and CERAMIC MASKS Happy New Year 2012. For about the last couple of weeks I have felt something lift in the air. A hopeful sense has filled the void. One war ended as far as our troops are concerned. Still other wars to remove ourselves from, but experience has taught me to take joy in small increments of change, and then fuss about all that is still to be done. Lasting change usually happens in small steps. There are so many messes in the world I know, but here and there in our country I see progress moving in the right direction. Good change is in the air. Crazy to say that during an election year but I think a majority of our country wants this new atmosphere to continue and if President Obama and Mrs. Obama stay in the White House another four years I believe progress will continue. He isn't perfect, but who is. And he is a far cry better than the last administration, and I don't want more of that point of view. "Hope springs eternal," as someone...

Kaweah River Road walk was beautiful that morning. It was July and the mornings were barely cool, enough to get out early before the summer heat hit. The river was flowing quietly, river rocks glistened under the cover of water. I saw Mr. Burns old VW bus coming up the road. I also noticed a couple walking a big dog toward me. Both vehicle and the couple reached me at the same time. “Get in the car, Shirley,” Mr. Burns commands. “Scottie and Eddie, you too. I have something wonderful to show all of you.” There was a back and forth about the dog fitting in such a small space with all of us, but Mr. Burns exuberance overcame all objections and we piled in the back of the vehicle. Eddie, Scottie and I made introductions. They are new in town, built a house not far up the road from me, and have walked the dog daily. That is how they met Mr. Burns. Turned out they are birdwatchers, too. Mr. Burns drove over the bumpy dirt road to the Catfish Farm and Parks. He wanted the dog l...

"Return" Clay Mono Print by Shirley A. Blair Keller I didn't start out with Mr. Burns in mind as I painted on the layers of colored slip onto to the clay slab. But once I picked up the swallow stencil the memory of him floated up and he was with me the rest of the afternoon. Each year, on our walk along Kaweah River Drive, we'd get to a certain string of telephone poles. He'd point up and say, "Well, any day they might appear." "Who," I asked. "The swallows," he'd say. It was September, if my memory serves correct, or maybe even October. Summer was slipping away, and some days felt like Fall. He told me the swallows that we have been enjoying since Spring will be gathering soon to make their trek south for the winter, flying maybe up to 1,000 miles in some cases. His admiration of this species of bird very obvious. He'd been teaching me about them from the moment they showed up, gathering mud from the river, and building mud...

http://www.threeriversrocks.com/2011/07/slicky.html

In Memory of Mr. Richard Burns, Extraordinary Mentor I grab the new digital camera and head off on the walk. Mr. Burns, retired Forest Service Ranger,  usually walks with me to the Catfish Farm, a private estate, to share the varied bird life and his knowledge of plants and other critters that live around Three Rivers. This day, though, I start out alone, to play with my new toy. I follow a Domesticated Duck as it waddles toward a pond, taking pictures as we move along. Digital is so forgiving. If you do not like a shot the delete gets rid of it and you move on to the next one. It is great fun to experiment and since Mr. DD is so cooperative and used to having people close, I am able to learn about the camera. I feel movement cross over my head and to the left. Since I have the camera up to my eye I turn and follow the sound. A Great Blue Heron lands into the pond. Click. Click. Click. No thought. I record the Heron’s movements as it hunts the fish in the pond. Mr. Burns appear...

Noise outside the studio attracts my attention. I grab the camera. On the back hillside, behind the buildings, are seven deer grazing on the slips of new grasses. Males, just 1 year old, lock their new horns with spring fuzz on them. The two tussle back and forth, play and practice for the serious future when it is time to fight over the females. The three eat, and enjoy the sunny day . Something is caught in my peripheral vision. A Great Blue Heron lands on the hillside, not ten yards from the deer. It is not concerned that I am below, clicking away with camera. Heron is stalking across the hillside, away from the deer, moving in slow motion. Suddenly, it stops, head bent low, waiting. Pounce. Up, the head lifts. Dangling from the beak, a gopher. The Heron throws the critter up into the air and it falls into the open beak below. One swallow and it is gone. The stalking begins again, this time the bird returns across the hill toward the deer, who by now settle at the edge of m...

We park the vehicle at the entrance to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) at the end of Skyline Drive, Three Rivers. 8 year-old Drake, and 6 year-old Annie, run through the gate, taking only a minute to figure out the tricky latch system. “Whoa,” says Mother. “If you find a gate closed, what are you supposed to do?” “Close it,” says Annie. “But Mama, you and Dad and Granny have to come through,” says Drake. True. And we do. We used to take the main trail, more like a road a jeep might use. The BLM folks maintain it and display signs that we are really walking through private property on our way to BLM land. This is an access road and we are warned to stay on it. But as you walk along you see side trails, made by cattle, then warn by dirt bicycles, deer, horses, other wild critters and hikers, with and without dogs. The main road takes 30 or more minutes to wind up and over, around and down, to the ponds. A metal plank, balanced between granite, secure enough for bikes, crosses ...

http://www.sierranevadageotourism.org/content_detail.php?uid=sie2E6D5F6020DD8F152 National Geographic and the National Parks Service joined together to set up a website for tourists. They call it Geotourism, a way to find not only places of interest, but to add information as you travel to and from your destinations. For instance, on the way to Sequoia National Parks you have to pass through the town of Three Rivers, a true Gateway to the National Park. This has been an artist colony almost since the beginning and yet, how does one find the artists if you wish too? Each studio, or gallery have sites now, easily accessible to tourists. Restaurants, motels, and more are clearly available, photographs to entice visitors. Quite exciting. A very fancy "business card" to pass out for all of us! If you go to the site, please feel free to check out the LIKE button, and even make a comment. It adds energy to the experience and we appreciate your efforts.

Spirit Hill Studio is now displayed on this website along with the rest of Three Rivers. This is a project in conjunction with the National Parks Services and National Geographic to promote tourism throughout the United States. They began with the Sierra Mountains, dividing into four sections. We are the Southern Sierras.

2010 is almost ended. The pace in which it past is breathtaking! Bruce is off from school and we are taking this holiday time to stay home and enjoy Spirit Hill. The non-stop storms that have washed over us this  past week, and continue as I write, are making our Oaks and other plant life very happy. The wild life manages to find ways to protect themselves. A Scrub Jay, and an Acorn Woodpecker, jumped in our pond and took a full on bath, while it was raining, to my great surprise. I put out seed and it is gone in short order. The birds need a lot more food to stay warm these days. They are all so fluffed up, sometimes I cannot identify them. A Northern Flicker, the Scrub Jay and the California Quail are eating the berries off the bushes and leaving the limbs bare. Robins were here last week gobbling up the berries, too. On January 1st we will host our regular 1st Saturday. We expect fewer guests because it is a holiday, but some said they plan to use that day as a chance to visit...

This is Pat's latest Tow Truck, the one he was using when he retired. Pat went up north to buy the truck and was told it was his to take, but the man wouldn't take his money. People in Three Rivers had already paid for the truck, surprising Pat with this gift of thanks for all his generosity over his many years of service to the town and visitors who have passed through Three Rivers. This could be the tow truck Pat used to pick up my nephew and his cousin in the story written early this morning.

The car broke down at Stoney Point Campground. My nephew was told my the Ranger that the closest Tow Truck was Pat O'Connell of Three Rivers. So they called him. Pat arrived, attached the vehicle and it was decided my nephew and his cousin would accompany the vehicle. The rest of the family would continue the vacation and return in the other vehicles. It was obvious that this group of people were Muslim. The women dressed covered head to foot, the men bearded, and most looked like they came from Pakistan or India. Pat must have been interested because he asked questions about who they were and where they came from. These two were students, working themselves through college. When they arrived at Three Rivers Pat suggested he take them to Visalia. He told them the auto shops, restaurents, motels if they end up needing one, would all be cheaper and they'd have easier access. So the young men told him they would pay for  the extra mileage. Pat shrugged and drove on to Visalia,...

I read an interview of Alice Walker in this months Writer's Digest. Then I went to her blog. I loved her writing. I responded in her comment section to thoughts she kicked up. As usual I write too much, so I had to edit, edit and edit some more to get it down to the number of words they insist upon. She'll never read it so I am not sure why I spent so much time. I guess it has to do with knowing the writing is really for the writer. I love reading others. And then I love responding. That's enough. As I read I could hear my Uncle Joe spouting his opinion of Alice Walker. He was angry at her Color Purple, the book and movie. Being a black man he felt she dishonored black men in the movie. They were the enemy. He called her a Lesbian, as if it was a bad word. I had no idea whether she was or wasn't at the time. I said, "Uncle Joe, what difference does that make? It's a book. A movie. A point of view. And so few people of color get the attention she is getting, e...

Today is the Sunday before 1st Saturday. I am spending it clearing the clutter in my studio in preparation. I've done the bulletin board already, with photos that have a golden color to go with the theme of "Golden Hills." Jeri Burzin, Photographer, will share space in our living room to display her wonderful work. We just spent 3 days in Yosemite, with a third friend, Deby Cook. We lucked out at the peak of flowering season in the meadows. Oh my, was it glorious. I'll post some of the pictures. And we hiked to the Chilualna Falls, a little known wonder, as beautiful as any of the water falls in Yosemite. The trail starts at a village called Redwood Village.

Photo by Shirley A. Blair Keller ©2009 From the Circle Line Tour Boat Photo by Shirley A. Blair Keller ©2009 A breathtaking sight, a first for me: Ms. Statue of Liberty. I do not know if my grandparents were greeted by her when they came from Russia before the turn of the century. Some went to Canada so may have skipped this step. But I felt as if I'd been here before. Maybe its all the movies I have watched, books I have read, about the immigrant story. Such bravery to cross an ocean in the way they had to, steerage, to suffer all they did for hope of a better life for their children. From every corner of our globe people have come. Such bravery. I cannot imagine being able to do the same. I was born here have had the kind of life those ancestor's had hoped for their children. And I thank them in my heart daily. Setting up the bulletin board in my studio to celebrate Independence weekend, starting with 1st Saturday Three Rivers, has kicked off all this above the line think...