The Butler's Pottery: Church's Nursery Wall Mural

www.wspc.ca

Church's Nursery Wall Mural

The Joy of the Lord Is My Strength

Our church nursery had plane walls. I had painted scenes on the walls of my house and our previous church so I approached Pastor Steve and asked if I could paint something to cheer up the nursery. He and the board approved and said you are the artist do what you feel is right.  I prayed about it and felt to do cartoon figures. I had always wanted to do cartoons but my insecurity and fear of man kept me painting more realistic work. The mural I did in my previous church was an aquarium and I began there to get some cartoons going, such as lobsters wearing running shoes and octopuses talking on the cell phone. 

I asked the church for help and Ursula volunteered.

Once a week and some times twice we talked, painted, talked some more, painted and mostly bounced ideas off each other, and laughed. A friendship had developed. I had recently heard that friendships in churches are developed more by working together than having social gatherings.  This was true here.

I had decided from the beginning that I wasn’t going to let fear of man control what I did. I just wanted to enjoy the process and have fun. I wanted the joy of the Lord to show in these walls. After all it is for the kids.

I needed to get out of my box. This first thing that got me out was painting turtles purple with dark purple poke-o-dots instead of a green shell.

It was a great joy working with Ursula. It was also enjoyable watching her grow. I had grown full circle in my art and I wanted to pay it forward. In the beginning Ursula would ask me if her grass was to my liking. And it was. Quickly Ursula grew from asking to doing her own thing. She added flowers to her grass, painted over 70 bumble bees and even shading a some mushrooms.

Bouncing ideas off each other helped the wall to develop. When Ursula suggested we put in spider, I asked where? The walls were filling up, but why not a spider? I found just the right space on the door and the web could attach to the clay pot we had. It needed something on the other side so it wouldn’t flap in the wind. Ursula grew again. She drew a large lily which we could spin a web to.

Lot’s was going on in this room, lady bugs, spiders, caterpillar, worms, and bumblebees. Why stop there, some ants we did need, an ant worship band over the counter as a back splash, complete with worm singers.

Ursula and I painted around the room and we grew in our creativity. God is the creator of this universe. And look what he has created. He also created us in his image and since part of his image is a creator than we too are creators. The problem is this world in full of critics who tell us what we should do and how we should do it. These people had controlled me most of my life and I believed I had no talent.

God desires to bless us abundantly with everything including our gifts. Like the three men given the talents,(Matt 25;15-29) we too can choose what to do with ours. We can fear the master and bury them, which is what I used to do, or we can invest in them and God will grow them.  Ursula and I started by picking up the paint brush and dipping it into the paint and God blessed our talent and grew us in it. If we hadn’t volunteered to do the nursery not only would the walls remain plain, but we wouldn’t have grown in our friendship or our God given talent.

If we feel a nudge to do something it can only lead to blessings if we obey that nudge.

 Three months later we signed the wall and said ‘It is finished’, but not our friendship or talent.

Fear not for the joy of the Lord is your strength. Just do it.

Pastor Steve Barkley has posted my article on out churches website, www.wspc.ca, where you will find many other inspiring articles.

Trust in the Lord

I have taken a side line from writing about my pottery.

This week I was reading the Cast Team Blog (http://castteametsy.blogspot.com/2011/04/trust.html) and it was about trusting God. 

Do I trust God in all ways? Proverbs 3: 5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding.  This is not easy to do when the world screams 'do it your way', 'figure it out on your own' 'be independent' 'fix your problem and if not worry about it'. So how are these thoughts working out for you? I know they are causing me undo stress and worry.

How do I trust God and not take matters into my own hand, especially when a person hurts me?  What did King David do when he had a chance to kill Saul? In 1 Samuel 24 Saul was going to the bathroom right in front of him. What an opportunity to catch him with his pants down, as we say. Even David's men said 'kill him'.  They were tired of running from him too.  David did cut off a piece of his robe to prove to Saul he was there, but this even bothered him. vs 5.  King David didn't take revenge on Saul, he let God do that, but he did have to wait for God.

David didn't listen to public opinion either. James 2:1 My dear friends don't let public opinion influence how you live out your glorious life.

I know that God has called me to make pottery. My problem is - should I make what is in my heart or what sells? When I struggle with this thought I think about the movie "Field of Dreams", build it and they will come. Many great people have built and done what was in their heart and the people have come. My great great grandfather carved these monuments and many more.  Did he worry about what he should do or did he make what was on his heart? He did take commission jobs like this coal miner, but he used his son as the model, not a coal miner.

My functional pottery is selling but not the creative pottery. A few months ago I was struggling if I should just make functional pottery. I do enjoy making functional pottery, but I need to create. God gave me an encouragement. I made this vase put it in one show and it sold.

Yes I need to make what is in my heart and trust God that I am being whom he created. Some days I want to turn on the wheel, other days create. If I listen to other opinions of what I should make I am being them and I am not happy.

Another stress factor I have is how much pottery should I make?  Luke 12 is all about DO NOT WORRY.

Verse 22-28 for this reason I say to you, do not worry about you life as to what you will eat nor for your body as to what you will put on, for life is more than food and the body more than clothing. Then Jesus goes on to say that God takes care of the birds and the flowers and aren't we worth more than that. 

 I like to take pictures, but I don't carry my camera every where and I don't go looking for animals. I did want to get pictures of owls, dear, moose, palliated woodpecker and other animals. Each of the these pictures I just happened to have my camera when they appeared. If God can put wild life in my path why don't I trust him to lead me in other ways?

The Message Bible sums it up best in Luke 12:29 What I'm trying to do here is get you to relax, not be so preoccupied with getting so you can respond to God's giving.  Do like these wild life do, relax. They don't look stressed out. 

I need to enjoying making pottery, taking photos or living my life. Now to get this into my life so each day I can be who I am, that's the tricky part. I am working on it. 

 

Be Happy Don't Worry. 

Rest in the Lord and he will provide my hearts desires.

The Butler's Pottery: Hoot Goes The Owl

The Butler's Pottery: Hoot Goes The Owl

Hoot Goes The Owl

Several years ago, while living in Sudbury a barred owl decided to feast on the mice in my compost bin. My family and I ran out to capture him on film.  His fear of us was greater than his hunger for the mice. Did I miss the photo opportunity?  Alas he did not fly far. It was day time and they are nocturnal birds so he perched in a burr oak tree in our back yard for a nap. His stripped feathers blended in quite well with the tree. Quietly I walked out as to not wake him and shot away with my camera. I did get a few great shots of him but his eyes were closed. Oh, so I desired for his eyes to be opened. I even thought I could photo-shop opened eyes, but it just didn't seam right and I felt I wouldn't have done the real eyes justice.

After we moved to Bracebridge Ontario  I would listen to the hoot of owls during the night. I later found out we have several barred owls in our area. What would be the chance of seeing one with his eyes opened?

Lately I had taken a fancy to owls and have painted some whimsical ones on pottery. A few weeks ago while sipping on a glass of water and looking out the kitchen window I wondered where my frisky squirrels had gone. Then I saw it. At first I thought it was my imagination due to painting so many. No it was real. Sitting on the pine bow searching for the my scarce squirrels was a barred owl. The sun was on it as its eyes scanned the ground like radar. I quickly grabbed my camera and shot away. I managed to get several shots of him before he flew off into the forest, hungry. The squirrels reappeared after he left.

Prints of my owl and more of my photos and pottery my be purchased on my website at butlerpottery.etsy.com

Winter Scene Vase

I entered this vase in the Muskoka Arts and Crafts theme show. The show was over and I went to pick it up. To my delight the vase was sold.

I'm still making vases. Last spring a palliated woodpecker was trying to build a nest in a dead tree next to the woods in our back yard. I snapped many pictures. This vase is my creation of him hanging on to the tree stump.
First I turned a variety of colors of clay. Scored the clay to give it a rustic look and added a few stumps on it. I  made woody wood pecker and set him on the tree stump. He was hand painted with under glazes and high fired with a clear glaze. I have him up for sale in our a new art gallery in Muskoka, Bracebridge  the bohemiumcafeandgallery.com

The Creation of Vases

Gardening has always been a passion of mine. I like to grow flowers, mostly perennials and ones that I can pick for flower arrangements. Collecting flower vases to put the flowers in was a natural thing to do. I even have a couple of my mothers vases.

When I started to make pottery, flower vases were one of the first things I made. They have evolved over the years. I started with extruding them in a mold.

I turned a few by mixing the clay resulting a marbled or striped vase.

My favorite vases that I have made are rectangle or square vases. I then cut out pieces of clay in peddles and leaves and placed them on the wet clay. Some times I paint the flowers other times I leave it neutral.

Carving a design into the top of a vase which I have turned on the potters wheel is another design.

My vases are becoming more diverse and complicated as I make them. Our local art club has an annual themed show. This year we were to pick a favorite artist and create something about them. I chose a painting from Grandma Moses. I formed a triangle vase then I either carved or in-laid clay on it from a painting of. This was the most detailed one I have done.












Most of these vase can be purchased on my etsy web page.