Lovelady Creations

09/16/2026

Her name was Addie Queen McCormack and she was born on November 6, 1879. She was my great grandmother, and she died on January 23, 1953, in Decatur, Alabama, where I would be born about 15 years later. That's how I never came to meet her. But you hear stories. Especially about a lady named Addie Queen.

If she'd have been alive, I would have called her Granny Queen or something like that. As it is now, I can't help being more familiar and I just call her Addie Queen. Because... THAT is a name to keep on the record.

I made up a story about her. Because she was as sentimental as I am, and I bet this is how it was.

Addie Queen was the only child of Sarah Cemelda Graham McCormick. Sarah was only 17 when she married my great great grandfather, Carrol McCormack on December 11, 1860 (and yes, the spellings are different even today in Ancestry.com). This is important, because in my story, the piece I will tell you about has to have belonged to Grandma Sarah. And she probably had to beg Grandpa Carrol to buy her this piece. I imagine their conversation went something like this:

Sarah: Honey, I NEED a cabinet to put all your pies in! The flies are terrible this year!!!!
Carrol: Honey, you don't need that cabinet! I'll just eat the pies faster than the flies!
Sarah: Carrol, you run over there and tell that man you are buying me that cabinet, TODAY!
Carrol: Yes, dear. Anything for your pies.
Sarah: It's not just for pies! I can hold my dishes in it too! See how pretty that top piece is? I can show off my pies AND my dishes. Now THAT'S what I call 'mulit-purpose'!
Carrol: What in the world does that mean?
Sarah: That means that some people would just buy it for pies. But I'm going to put my dishes in it too. So, it's cheaper than TWO pieces of furniture!

Or something like that. Fact of the matter is, Grandpa Carrol and Grandma Sarah had been married all of 5 years, and he just couldn't say no to her, he loved her so. But he really loved her pies.

So Grandpa Carrol and Grandma Sarah were married a whopping 19 years before they had baby Addie Queen. I imagine they were over the moon in love with that baby. Maybe they had given up trying and she came along just to prove them wrong. But she was loved very much by her Mama and Daddy, and they lived close to the river in Decatur, Alabama.

When Addie Queen was 21 years old, she married my great grandfather John Graves Stewart on December 16, 1900. By then her mama had taught her all she needed to know about making pies, and her mama decided she wasn't going to make any more pies. She was tired of pie. So for a wedding present, she told Addie Queen, "Go ahead, Darlin, and take that piece of furniture with you. You'll need it to put your pies in. The flies are terrible this year!!!"

So Addie Queen told her new husband to throw it on the back of the wagon, that they were taking it home, for pie. Good ole Grandpa John would do anything for his new bride, so he picked up that piece all at once and put it carefully into the back of his wagon.

As they pulled off, laughing and singing in their newly wedded bliss, Grandpa Carrol just cried and cried. Cuz he knew what this meant: he would no longer get to enjoy Grandma Sarah's pie.

09/10/2026

My work is taking a personal turn for a bit, and I couldn't be more excited. I've done a lot of garden/outdoor/landscaping projects, but I rarely come inside (it HAS happened and the projects have been life changing!). But in all my years and all my projects, i have never, ever, gotten to do something that is all mine, that only I, and a few chosen house guests, will get to enjoy.

But I'm doing that now. And I want to write about it as I go. It's a guilty pleasure. Selfish. Centered around how i live, and where i find joy: my bathroom.

Since I was a little girl, I found solace in the bath tub. We had a chaotic household with 5 girls growing up together. Sharing nearly everything, mostly out of necessity - certainly not out of the goodness of our hearts. Girls are mean. Vindictive. Often hateful.

After dinner, my chore was to clean off the table and windex the glass. I have that table, and I still clear it off, and windex the glass. It was only recently that I painted the table as part of a much larger inside project.

And as I dispose of the paper towels I use to Windex, I am prone to announce, since childhood, "I'm going to take a bath."

My memory has never been good. Trauma, sadness, chaos, gaslighting....it's all played a role, but the fact remains, my memory isn't the best.

But i can describe every single bathroom I have had in my life. I can't do that with my bedrooms, kitchens or living rooms. But my bathrooms have always been sacred territory. My retreats. My happy places. Or my sad places. My first apartment out of the dorms in college was particularly noteworthy, as there was only a shower. And it was in the kitchen. The layout was about 4x10, on State Street in Madison WI. I lived above the Benneton. There was one window in the entire apartment and the view was of the brick wall of the building next door. The bed was a raised bunk, over my desk. There was a wall, a door, a tiny stove, a tiny sink, a toilet, and a shower. That was my kitchen/bathroom. It was epic, because it was ALL mine. It cost $300 for the summer break at UW.

I moved out of the dorms and into my first apartment pulling a borrowed Red Rider little red wagon.

I've been thinking about that kitchen/bathroom a lot lately. Because I've been thinking about that girl a lot lately. She survived that summer. Even after inviting a friend to live with her and share expenses and that tiny space and the kitchen/bathroom that should have been ALL MINE. Expenses. Times were tough.

Times ARE tough.

But as I remind myself a lot, all we have is time.

So that's my first bathroom. I didn't have nor would have thought of a camera to document that moment in time, but it's etched into my DNA, and that's where MY bathroom story begins.

09/02/2026

I have bad news. And good news. The bad news is I will not be at the Folk Center's annual show. There are a few reasons, but the main one is that I'm laid up in the bed fighting bronchotis and pneumonia. The rest would just sound like a whiny potter that most don't care about anyway.

The good news is that the show must go on, and there are so many talented folks who WILL be there, and I hope my customers will go and enjoy and add to your collections!

I wish everyone a successful day and I will be loading pieces onto my website when i can look at a camera and screen without it causing my head to explode.

I'll miss y'all!!!

Visit our Facebook event and let us know you’re attending.Over 60 Artists!Folk Potters, Studio Potters, Woodworkers, Painters, Jewelry Artists, Glass Artists, and much moreDemonstrations!Pottery, Blacksmithing, and Folklife Living History Food Trucks!Four food trucks on site with scrumptious optio...

08/12/2026

Uh oh!!!!!

08/10/2026

08/10/2026

Why i am shy on line...

08/10/2026

It's been a rough year! But I've finally been working and getting back into the swing of things. I hope ya'll will come see me at the Folk Pottery Museum for their annual Folk Fest September 5. Here are some pieces I have in the making!

08/10/2026

Had an awesome and challenging day in the studio today! A new design for berry bowls has hit a nerve in the potter community and i had to try it!

04/23/2026

I received a gift today, quite unexpected! A fellow in my neighborhood has a grandson in California. His grandson, at 10 years old, had a fascination with pottery and his grandfather brought him to me, to learn. That was about 6 years ago. Colin is 16 now and is studying pottery at school. He wanted to know how I would create a gallery for a teapot lid, as that was his next assignment. It was quite out of the blue, as I wasn't expecting company and I had just fallen and hurt myself down by the waterfall, taking my dogs to swim. But down to the studio we went, with his entire family: grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. As he had a specific question, I handed him a ball of clay and said, "Show me what we're working with so far." He sat at my wheel and threw a perfect little teapot. When he got to the point that he was stuck at, I showed him what I would do.

Apparently during the process, Colin's dad had taken this photo. He had it printed and framed for me as a thank you for my time.

I stopped teaching a couple years ago because ....reasons. But this photo landing on my doorstep today reminded me of the joy I have sharing this amazing art form that lives in my soul.

Just thought I should share. I added it to my collection immediately.

12/19/2025

Ever wonder what AI says about you? I just found out!