I made it home. For me, it’s always a big sigh of relief when I land at my home airport. In order to get into the country, we had to get a Rapid Antigen Test within 24 hours of our departing flight. It was a little crazy finding the Lisbon testing site. It was my fault for not being able to read Portuguese. The lab and testing was on the 2nd floor of the parking garage underground. Clearly, I found it and was tested since I am home. Home to gorgeous weather conditions – sun, icebergs at the beach, and warmer days.
The last few days at Clay Kitchen Portugal were intense. We fired a wood kiln for three days – stoking it every 15 minutes around the 24 hour clock. The anticipation of opening the kiln, discussing the pots, and packing up. One of my classmate’s son who owns a restaurant on Nantucket joined us to cook us our last meal. The food was fabulous. Plus, we ate from the new dinner plates and serving pieces created over the last month. If you want to see more about this experience, go to my Instagram account for pictures.
(Thank you, Patti, for all of the great pictures.)
In the studio:
I am making mugs and serving bowls. I need some new materials for another project that will arrive next week. It feels so good to be in my own space with familiar tools. The world is always such a small place. One night I was watching a clay video, the day’s homework, and found another video that mesmerized me. It was about David Binns who is a ceramic artist living in Wales. A few days ago, a clay sister sent me the same video. It had caught her attention. Isn’t the coincidence amazing?
In the Gallery:
Five of our artists were invited to participate in the regional Cups Invitational. It was fun to be asked to talk the opening night about handmade cups. The simple but very complex form that most potters love to make. Lee Brown did an amazing job installing the artwork. If you live in West Michigan, I would recommend a visit.
My heart goes out to the Ukrainian people. It has hit close to my heart because one of my dear friends has a daughter in law with family living there. It feels personal, as it should. Living in our small community with a warm home and my needs met, I can’t help but feel guilty for my life without “real” worries. So, I want to help in some small way. For the remainder of the Ukrainian conflict, all profits will be donated to the non-profit organization Unicef to help feed children and their families in this war.
20% of Every Purchase will be donated to Unicef
as long as there is a war in the Ukraine.
This is not a gimic. I will be paying the artists their full commission and donating my net profit to help feed those kids. I hope you will help in this small way. I know that just by pure luck I was born in West Michigan. It’s time to help. Peace, C2
