Sunday 3/5/2023
On Sundays I reflect.
I haven’t been drinking since my show last month, not even a beer here or there. It’s felt good to abstain, and I can’t even think of an occasion when I wanted to have a beer. Going out without drinking is still challenging, and I don’t go out very often. Over the last five years I have figured out how to socialize without drinking but that doesn’t mean it’s easy for me.
I didn’t get to ride my snowboard as much as I wanted to this week amidst the snow we got, but yesterday made up for it with an epic day on the slopes. Seth and his 9 year old daughter Ziva and I got in one hell of a day at Vail which we wrapped up with the Minturn Mile. I’m not very good at filming and riding so you’ll have to look up some footage of the Mintrun Mile if you don’t know what that means.
Have you ever had that feeling of sending it full speed down a powder covered mountain without needing to turn?
Have you ever felt the heat of 5000 degrees of pressurized fire in your hands melting glass as you mold and shape it the way you want?
These two experiences represent the intensity that is my life, and I spend as much time as I can chasing that feeling. It can be exhausting. It can cause me to deprive my body of food and sleep. It can elevate me to the flow state, where there is no thinking and only being.
Sometimes at the end I find myself eating shit into a pile of snow, and sometimes at the end I am forced to trash hours of work on the torch. Those feelings humble me and remind me of my humanity and imperfections.
Once in a while everything lines up. I’ll send it off a 10-20 foot Cliff at full speed on my snowboard and connect with the ground to keep moving forward on the board. There are also those days when I open my kiln and there are no imperfections inside.
Do you ever listen to one song on repeat for a few hours while working on a project, or a few days if that’s what it takes? Sometimes that’s my way or turning off all the static and distractions so I can be fully present.
Right now the jam is Hands In The Sky (Big Shot) by Straylight Run. Recently it was Different Drugs by Bloc Party. The song changes with my mood and feelings, but the meditation of a single song on repeat, often the simpler the song the better, is how I’m able to get to Zen.
I’m planning what feels like a Cup Show each month this year around the country. Lots of artists have reached out and expressed interest in contributing which is great! Some of these artists have decided to reach out the week of my shows or even the day of my shows to ask to be included. To be as clear as possible, I choose the artists on the lineups for my shows in advance and typically my shows are comprised of artists who support what we’re building the rest of the year and not just on the day of my shows. If you are an artist that wants to be involved with our Cup Community please reach out to me about setting up a visit to Bat Country Studios or getting some of your work on our shelves now as we are putting together our lineups for this year and next.
I’ve been on the torch a bit since my big show and will continue prepping for solo and collaborative work with my composition notebook series for upcoming shows. In between prep I’m trying to make some more affordable solo cups to release, but ultimately my time is limited and getting into the mental space to create continues to be a challenge. I struggle with the commercialization of my own art, which feels somewhat strange for a person whose job is to merchandise and sell other people’s art.
Sometimes I get caught in a loop in my daily life. I’m a creature of habit, just trying to choose good ones. I find at certain times that traveling can help me with a bit of a reset for myself. Soon I’ll be taking my annual Birthday trip to the East Coast to catch up with friends and get out of my routine. I have some collabs planned, and some meetings. I have plans with friends and a birthday dinner planned. I don’t think I am physically capable of running the Central Park 6 Mile Loop at this point in my life, but maybe I’ll walk it. I used to run it at full speed and it took me less than an hour. I thought I was going to find what I was looking for out there. I didn’t.
Acupuncture has been a major part of my routine the last few years. I consider that to be my weekly self care practice. That is the one hour a week I don’t think about work or anything else. When Alicia puts the needles in I lay face down. Once the needles are all in position I begin counting backwards from 100. I usually don’t make it past 85 before I find myself waking up 20-30 minutes later in a state of complete relaxation.
I’m working on an article for The Flow Magazine next issue which will be covering borosilicate drinkware. To be honest writing this article has been stressing me out lately. Usually I don’t write outlines and one of my mottos is “Ready? Fire! Aim.” This weekend I consulted some of the most important people on my journey and with their help I have been able to outline an article that will focus on The Current State of The Cup Market.
So now it’s time for me to get to work. We have so much new work to share today for Sunday Specials. Make sure to tune into our story on Instagram, our live streams on Instagram, and our new Sunday Specials section here on the website.
If you want to connect during my East Coast excursion please reach out now and I will try to make time on the calendar, but the trip is already jam packed. If you want to get me a birthday present this year please just buy a cup here on the website so I can afford to not think about work while I’m on my trip. If you specifically want something made by me feel free to reach out and I might add you to the list. I’m not really accepting custom orders, but I have a list of people that I reach out to first when I find time to make art. I’m grateful for those people and to all of you for supporting my journey.
Thanks for tuning in and enjoy your Sunday,
BB
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