2017 is Coming!

And with it an expansion of my artistic vision, if that doesn't sound too pretentious. I've been setting goals for the upcoming year, and barring a repeat of 2016's year of challenge after challenge, I can do it! 

 I've outgrown my space, you see. To alleviate that issue, I've been purging things inside the house and am moving on to doing the same in the studio in the coming weeks.

One of my goals is to purchase some good-quality, sturdy cabinets for storage for both the garage and the studio. They're not cheap, but the will last nearly forever! And that will tidy up the studio quite a bit, free up some space and organize things more efficiently.

I plan to sell my smaller kiln for a second, larger electric kiln, which will require another visit from my favorite electrician, Kevin. 

Sometime in the future, ideally within the next couple of years, I plan to purchase a gas kiln. Of course, I need to check with the city first, and see what the building codes are going to be, and see if I can even have one here at home.

And I would dearly love to build a permanent Raku kiln, although having something built permanently in the back yard may be an understandable aesthetic issue for Mr. ShellHawk. Staring at a bunch of fire bricks covered with a tarp all year may not be what he (or I) consider to be the vision of a tidy and relaxing back yard!

Ultimately, my true vision is to make the everyday things we use -- cups, teapots, bowls, etc. -- things of beauty. Things which people look forward to using and show proudly to their friends and family. I plan to create sculpture which people will love to see in their homes every day.

I've mentioned before about my Patreon site, which is essentially a twist on the usual crowd-funding sites and is built specifically to support artists through ongoing patronage by their fans. I launched it a while back, but then life attacked me and I was unable to keep it up. 

Well, I've re-launched, and I would love it if you, my readers and fans would head over there and look over how to become a Patron of my art. I've even included a permanent link in my upper right side bar.

I've got it set up so that nearly each level of monthly Patronage receives special benefits from me! Even $1 a month will help, and you can cancel your patronage at any time. 

Whatever you decide you can do, know that it will contribute to my goals and visions of being able to continue to create great art every year, and beat back the boring, uninspired things we use every day. 

Each day should be filled with beauty, don't you think?

ShellHawk's Creations Patreon site is here.