Football at Fenway and the TreeHouse

Community: I spent some time away from the studio this week. We decided as a family to build a treehouse up in Vermont and the only way to really make it happen was to take a couple of days off and spend some time up north by myself to get the platform built. I headed up Tuesday night, spent Wednesday morning at ReNew - a building salvage center - a paradise for junk hunters! The afternoon was spent laying out the materials and measuring the space. THEN, jumped in the car and drove back to Boston to see Celtic v. Sporting at Fenway...

So cool to see the bandbox outfitted with sidelines and goals! We were in the thick of Celtic supporters - drunk Irish and Scotsman singing at the top of their lungs while standing the whole time - very Euro...of course, Celia had a tough time seeing over everyone so she and I retired to the top of the section where we could walk around, get some air and cotton candy. Still, a wonderful time.

THEN, back to VT (arrived at 1:30am). Building of the platform began in earnest the next morning...
Here's the site:

Got the platform built on Thursday and the floor laid out (purple!!!!) on Friday...

Trish and the kids came up on Friday night and we worked on the "house" as a family on Saturday. Trish took photos: I'll post progress later this week...

Studio: Not much to report, obviously. Filled the bisque kiln with new mugs and am firing as I write. More mugs today?

Studio Pics and Emily Eveleth

Community: Betsy came over for dinner last night and brought with her brochures from her travels to see Emily Eveleth at Smith College. I have seen Emily's work before and am glad she has gone back to donuts. She dallied briefly with bald headed portraits, which were nice, but I felt like she hadn't fully mined the donuts for all they were worth. From Betsy's report, and from the images I saw, Emily has really pushed the work - recalling northern European painting, Ansel Adams landscapes, Weston photographs - the paintings are luscious explorations of intimate landscapes, family portraiture, pornography, CSI cadaver studies...

...and they are just jelly donuts! The image above comes from Emily's website - go there! It's beautiful! Her drawings are just as powerful as her paintings!

I will try and see the show while I am in Brattleboro this week.

Studio: As promised, some photos of the revamped studio:

The new divide between show space and work space...

The window-turned-wall...

The improved shelves for work...

SummerTime!

Community: Harvard came to Nobles and we fired in the heat! Kusakabe-san was back in town and we ended up doing a 16 hour firing - very different than how Nora and I have been firing. I certainly learned a lot about the possibilities of how to fire this innovative and versatile kiln. In preparation for the heat, I dusted off my sewing skills and created some shades - the kiln now has wings!

Kusakabe-san's trademark angels were again blessing the firing. The Harvard folks have been having fun posting their photos on Facebook. We had such a good time during the entire process - Wayne does a great job of teaching and the rest of the crew kept it lively and fun. We ate so well during the entire day, taking advantage of our "pizza oven".

A new goal? To write about this kiln and its genesis and submit it to The Log Book?

Studio: In my own studio, I worked hard in June to improve my space. I created more of a divide between the show space and work space, adding more shelves and a work table. I'll post images of the revamp soon. I needed more space for all the work we've been firing lately...

Also, my essay was published in Studio Potter this month - very exciting to receive it in the mail! My headmaster happened to be in the mailroom when I opened the package (they send you four copies) so I gave him one - he seemed pleased! At the same time, Laurie Erdman featured me in her Wood Fired Wednesdays - seemed like a lot was going on in a short amount of time...