Heaven and earth.
Ten years ago, Misty Hughes wandered into my gallery. She'd been stalking me, as it turns out. She'd driven by before we opened and was keeping an eye on the place knowing that it was going to change her life.
Not long after I opened the shoppe, she walked in and we immediately dove deep talking about art, loss, personal power, personal freedom and what it means to sacrifice your art for the luxury of others.
Over ten years of friendship we've talked often about collaborating on a project and we've had some fits and starts that sort of fizzled because it wasn't quite it.
YET.
Well. This is it. This is our first collaboration that actually stayed on the rails and I'm so fucking excited.
Collaborations rock my world because of the trust and surrender it requires. I made bowls. Lots and lots of bowls. Misty came to spend a weekend and brought an open mind and willingness to learn a new medium so she could infuse the surface of the bowls with her distinct form of abstract expressionism.
We played in the studio for a full day, I handed over the bowls I'd made. There were so many bowls that they covered the great big table in the studio and I had more on the rolling racks. With brush in hand, Misty started painting her energetic, expressionist strokes that immediately made me think of galaxies filled with infinite possibilities.
You see, Misty is a mystic. She's ethereal and seeks her truth in the stars. I'm a practical realist. I'm grounded in the earth and perfectly delighted to burrow in and find my joy in the dirty ground. We are true opposites in so many ways, even in height! She clocks in at just under 5 foot and I'm nearly 6.
But when we hang out, sparks fly and shit gets done.
Pulling these bowls out of the kiln was a true joy. I've been sitting with them in the studio and truly enjoying how deeply different they are than anything I would have done on my own - yet clearly of my hands and hers, both. It felt amazing to display them on the shelves at Gather in Bloomington, Indiana for the opening of The Divine Feminine in Everyday Ritual. The Goddess Galaxy bowls are just the right fit for a gallery show about the divine feminine, celebration, self care and listening to our intuition as we claim our power as modern day goddesses.
Misty painted heaven on my bowls made of earth and I could not be happier.
The Goddess Galaxy bowls, a collaboration in clay, are available during the month of May at Gather Shoppe in Bloomington, Indiana.
