Construction: New Roof and Walls

Part one of Part two of last spring construction's project will start this week. The scaffolding went up on Thursday and Friday. The roof will come off of this structure starting tomorrow. It will be rotated 90 degrees, and put back on. In addition the walls will be built out of brick, insulation will be put in, and a dividing wall will be put in the room to divide the area for a bathroom off from the main room.

This part of the project should take 4-5 weeks with a little help from the weather. Part two of Part two would be the completion of the interior of the third guest room, the plastering of the outside of the structure and the finishing of the connecting roof terrace. I will be happy when the exterior of this part is done. It's by far the biggest eyesore of the upper part of the property and the roof was threatening complete collapse.

I, by the way, can be found in the pottery studio madly working on tiles for the bathroom, pottery dishes for guests, and a few new fun projects which I can't stay away from.

Gratitude Friday: A Hazy Shade of Winter

The Alps, from the road above our house

This time of year, when things slow down, food gets richer, and wine gets heavier, I like to write and think about what is coming down the road. When I was younger I walked by the Delaware River's edge, wrapped in scarf and gloves, and just thought.

Just thought.

I have often said that November is my favorite month. Not because life is easier and more fun. But because life is quieter and more introspective. The woods become a cathedral, the last few leaves fluttering to the ground. I come back to myself in November. Now I feel it more than ever in my life. The last guests leave sometime in the beginning of the month; I can relax my body and soul.

There is not November that has come along in my life that the lyrics of that Simon and Garfunkel song has not come to mind.

Time, time, time, see what's become of me while I looked around for my possibilities I was so hard to please but look around, leaves are brown and the sky is a hazy shade of winter

farmer collecting the last cauliflower

Don't let these November days pass without going out and looking around. Let the breeze hit your face, go to the park, to the woods, to the river's edge. Go home and light candles, make some tea, give thanks. Let the grey days relax you, and enjoy the short sunny days for the beautiful long shadows that the sun casts around you.

new art

serengeti series.

commission for clients, london

freshly thrown dinner plate, still on the wheel

Studio Ceramics: Making Mosaics

As I wait for a huge order of clay and glazing materials to finish up my orders from the past season, I decided to start a project which will take some time and effort: a bathroom backsplash and surface on which two bathroom sinks will sit. The niche is about 120 cm long. I will need a a wall mosaic which is about 55 cm high and 120 cm long, and then a table surface of about the same dimension. Above the backsplash we will attach a mirror to cover the entire rest of the wall.

The wall backsplash will be square 6x6 cm tiles with small round tiles separating them (see above). The surface will be just the squares. I am still playing with the colors, since the floor tiles have already been chosen (remember this post?) from materials I have restored. I am thinking of a bronze-silver glaze for the squares and chile red for the little dots, but that might change.

In the mean time, I have about four platters of these made and need to make about twelve more to cover the area. Isn't the little tool I have to make the little dots cool? Makes life alot easier!

Gratitude Friday Two: Maryam from Marrakesh

This post from the beautiful Maryam from Marrakesh summed up things so perfectly for me that with no further ado I am sending you directly over to her. Just click on this link.

Gratitude Friday: Getting Back to Business

As you could see with last week's Gratitude Friday, I am back at the wheel. With the season behind me, I get to go in the studio and do what I love the most -- make pots. With a pile of orders to fill, I am throwing, turning and painting soft, smooth engobes which will fire to blues and greens.

I just placed a huge order for a whole new group of glazes. Normally I mix my own glazes and colors, but these new pre-mixed glazes are for a different purpose. First they are low fire, which is the opposite of the glazes I make by hand. Second they are bright colors. With these glazes I will be making groups of mosaic tiles to do a whole new variety of projects. Stay tuned.

I have such a great space to work in, with an efficient heating system and huge windows. I am working on my discipline now: getting in there each day to move my art forward in the direction I want it to go.

It has been six years and this is the first year that I can actually do what I have always wanted to do: seven months of B&B, five months of ceramics. I am very happy to have things to this point, finally. Happy and grateful!