After tonight’s depressing turn of events here in Wisconsin, where a dunce has retained his cap because the King lent him $30 million – no strings attached, of course… ugh. Anyway, I had to think of something positive. And nothing is more heartening than a tale of a Madison small business that makes artists out of people who simply assume they have no talent. Kim, this one’s for you and your intrepid crew!
FIRED uP!
Workplayhijinks at
the local pottery shop.
Monica molds clay into
small discs; she’ll chisel
Celtic figures to fashion runes,
piercing each disc with a lace.
A mistake with clay?
Hey, crumple, start over.
At another table, colors
burst forth as Stephanie
dips her sponge to draw forth
bright discs of color on
a black cup; the design
beats any we’ve seen, as
intricate dots are dropped
into the circles in third dimension.
Karen splits her spoon rest
into shades that will please
her kitchen. She’s done this
before, you can tell, she does it well.
CRASH! Something goes
over the table edge.
Owner Kim sweeps up. She’s
earned every bruise on her knees.
She crouches to retrieve
shards of hardened “baked goods.”
I wonder what closing time is like.
The kiln, glazing over bits of art,
and Kim’s face, beaming as she surveys
her corner of the creative world.
The kiln, or Kim…
which glows more?
© 2012 Amy Barlow Liberatore/Sharp Little Pencil
For The Sunday Whirl: Bruise, Chisel, Crumple, Crouch, Crash, Edge, Split, Draw, Pierce, Burst, Beat, and Glow.
Image courtesy of www.stockxchange.com, a royalty-free photo resource.
At FIRED uP!, owner Kim Stanfill-McMillan makes sure the members of her staff are all sassy, fun people. Girl Scout troops come in groups; home school kids have projects; and there’s a Ladies’ Night, where we all brown-bag our own bottles of Zin or beer… I combined two separate occasions because I wanted to mention all my friends and our projects!
Sharp Little Pencil 
Polly Robinson
Beautifully written, I can see it all …
Sharp Little Pencil
Such a joyful place, amateurs welcome!
vivinfrance
This sounds like a lot of fun. Creating, in any field, brings that glow – like when we finish a poem that works, as this one does.
Sharp Little Pencil
Yes, my godforsaken ceramic pigs ended up being quite useful… as fodder!
Karen Torvell
Amypants – I absolutly love the poem. Took me right back to the shop. Kare Bear
Sharp Little Pencil
And we have yet to settle on a Ladies’ Night! Let’s wait until I’m off this medication so I can indulge in one beer…! Love, Amy PS Great to see you here, Kare Bear!
El Guapo
Reads like a song
Sharp Little Pencil
And feels all squishy between your fingers, too! Thanks, Guapo, A
Debbie
I loved this and how you chose to do something positive to combat the not so positive event. We used to have a Fired Up place, about 20 min. away. I took Aub for awhile and just let her do whatever she wanted on what she chose. They are keepsakes! Blessings and love!
Sharp Little Pencil
It’s true, Debbie. These little siestas of creativity with good friends are like a balm in our current Gilead…
Sarav
YAY!!!! Supporting the arts! Go glowing Kim–that was a great ending 🙂
Sharp Little Pencil
Kim is indeed a trip, a bundle of positive energy and ideas. You, Sara, would love this woman, I know. Come to Madison and we’ll go “do some pot,” ha ha. Amy
kaykuala
Amy,
Gov.Walker made it through the groove, good luck to him! That’s one recall attempt done. Life must go on. It would be so much fun to be among peers at Kim’s where everyone’s all fired up.Clay and all other dimensions of creativity can keep one so engrossed in the activity that it’s therapeutic. Have fun, Amy, and such a wonderful verse!
Hank
Sharp Little Pencil
Gov. Walker made it through, but he’s still (sigh) facing indictment for other misdeeds. The man lives in an uber-mansion. You’d think be rich would be enough for him, but noooo… So Fired Up is a definite refuge for us! Thanks, Hank, Amy
mdwimagin
Loved it so much when I read it yesterday afternoon that I had to go back to Fired Up and start making my own set of Runes! Kim has a great place for creative needs.
Sharp Little Pencil
Can’t wait to see the runes after they are glazed. It’s a magical place, huh? Glad Elizabeth was in as well… and with the Java Cat just down the block, we have everything we need! Kim is a real blessing…. Thanks for stopping, Imagin! Amy
rosemary mint
I love this! Enjoyed this scene very much. Wish my name was in the list of artists. 🙂
Sharp Little Pencil
Rosemary, I wish that too. Wouldn’t it be great to get a whole bunch of us together and book a party? We’d end up lacing verse into clay, probably, and that’s a good thing! amy
julespaige
Those who promote art are heroes! Wish I were a tad closer to visit! Sounds like a wonderful place.
My offering is here:
http://julesgemsandstuff.blogspot.com/2012/06/whirl-59-freed-spirit.html
You might also like ‘Countenance’ and ‘Journeyman Woman’ – both on that blog near the one in the link. Cheers.
Sharp Little Pencil
Hey, Jules, I just name a character in a book I’m writing after you! Love that name, sounds like music… and yes, we must keep supporting art, actively, buying what we can afford, supporting one another in all forms of artistic endeavor. Thanks for a great comment! A
julespaige
Honored! Jules is sort of a family name…several relatives male and female with that moniker. Though I happened to be watching the movie “Julia and Julie’ when I needed to ‘create’ a name for myself for the net.
Jewels on a page….JulesPaige just fell into place 🙂
Lindy Lee
Very nice positive replacement for Wisconsin’s negative…
Remember, “Fired up! Ready to go!”? After reading your post, these two short sentences came to mind. If fact, thought this was what your post was about, before I read it…
Sharp Little Pencil
How ironic, LIndy, that I did not connect the two. Well, “fired” was what we hoped for, and now we’ll have to pay our tax dollars to watch him be indicted on campaign fraud charges. Bloggo redux! Aren’t you glad my poem was about happy stuff for once? wink Amy