Girls' Day Out

This weekend was a girls' weekend.  Annie and I spent this past Saturday in Baton Rouge doing things that girls love to do.

First up was shopping.  We (I) really wanted to hit up a local boutique called Noelie Harmon.  What an awesome place!  The store focuses on things I support and love.  We were in search of some vintage threads.  Annie walked away with more than me, but shopping for her has become more fun than shopping for myself.  That's just the way it goes.

Ashley and Annie

Next up was lunch with our friend, Ashley.  We dined at a new restaurant called Truly Free Bakery.  It serves up some great tasting eats that are allergy friendly and health conscious.  Sounds like my kinda place.  It's great to see different restaurants pop up that cater to people with allergies.  It's also great to see places that really care about the food they serve to their customers.

Our final destination came at the suggestion of Ashley.  We visited a new ceramic teaching studio called Red Hot Center for Clay.  Wow!  This place blew me away!!  To sum it up, it's a place where people can go to take lessons in pottery making.  With lots of options that range from memberships to paying by the hour, people of all ages (including kids 3 and up!) can get some hands on experience creating art out of clay.  We watched some demonstrations by such artists as John Gargano and Danielle Runnels (I wish I had some links to post so you could see some of their finished work).  We browsed the ceramic sale where I scored this baby:

by Leanne Cambric

You may not know this, but while in high school I took a course in ceramics.  I loved it.  I loved the meditative quality of throwing on the wheel.  I loved watching something emerge through all the spinning.  I loved the non-permanence of the wet clay.  Watching the demonstrations this weekend really reignited that passion in me.  I wanted to study more ceramics in college and began my college career as an art major.  I eventually lost touch with that passion and instead pursued a degree in fashion design, still creative but not quite so calm and meditative.

John Gargano

I still create things on a day to day basis.  There is a list of projects that I'm working on, from pot holders to felted food to sock monkeys.   Add ceramics to the list of things to pick back up.  Add smocking to the list of things to try.  Although my interests in various things have waxed and waned over the years, it is good for me to realize that what I loved about those things was the same.  It's the ability to flex my creative muscle, so to speak.  And I've learned that indulging all my interests was okay.  Collectively they have helped me to grow in my knowledge and love of making things.