A New Beginning....

 03.15.2013

How it all began:   Well, seems like things happen when you least expect them.

Two years ago I left Miami, after 25 years of renovating and selling real estate.  Mostly, it had been a good career, until 2008 when the bottom fell out.  A couple of years before I had decided to diversify, and I purchased a small commercial property on the North/South Carolina border (Landrum, SC).  Initially, it was to be a 6 mo. renovation followed by a tenant or two, or possibly a resale.  As fate would have it, the reno took 2 1/2 years....leaving it empty in the middle of the great real estate debacle.  My initial assessment of the area being immune to recessions proved to be 180* wrong.....

 

Fast forward to 2012:  I managed to have a 2-yr tenant who ultimately went out of business....I had decided that real estate in Miami held little promise for me, and had re-located to Savannah, Ga.  When my building became empty I decided to move to Landrum until I could sell or rent the property.  Not excited about the prospect but realizing that it was the 'right thing' to do.  I soon found myself stranded (sort of), with only a couple of possible tenants falling through.

Suffering from boredom, and a certain feeling of being in exile, I hit upon the idea of taking a pottery class at the Tryon Arts & Crafts School.  (Now, I had never had any artistic ability, but many years before, had developed an interest in collecting pottery.)  So I decided to see if I could 'throw' a pot.  Starting in July I took a series of courses, ending in January of this year.....and followed that with a course in Sculpture at the Tryon Painters & Sculptors School.

Going back to July.....in about the 3d class we had a session on hand-building which was pretty much at an elementary school level...but, nevertheless, an intro.  Several weeks later, I picked up a small ball of clay at home, and decided to see if I could do anything with it.  And out came this funny little head. 

 

 I was amazed!  All of a sudden I began to think in a whole new direction, and soon found that I had a serious 'like' for sculpting small heads.

So that is the beginning.  The most amazing part of this is that I have, for the first time in my life, started thinking creatively!  (well there were a few creative real estate deals along the way, but I never even remotely believed that I could do anything artistically)  But, as a result, I have re-invented my life going forward.

And I have a new tenant in the building....The Little Hat Tavern will open in April '13.

My intention with this blog, is to keep friends updated on my progress, and rather than deal with a website, keep a current running inventory.  I enjoy taking photos, so expect a lot of visuals......

So thanks for checking in...pls. let me know what you think.  (constructive criticism is also appreciated. ;-)