2018-04-13 - Friday - Spring ferns

The Christmas fern fiddle heads are up, and the lady ferns growing happily this spring. Have I mentioned how much I like ferns? I thought so.

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2018-03-24 - Saturday - Spring plants

Spring happenings in the back yard. Things are popping all over.

May apples.

Cranefly orchids.

Fiddle heads.

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2017-03-25 - Saturday - Pots and ferns

Saturday I went to Clayworks where I made some mug bodies and stretched out the handsquatch pot a bit further.

When I came home I cut the grass and inspected the flower beds. I found the fiddle heads unfolding on the Christmas ferns. I love seeing the fiddle heads come up.

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2016-01-08 - Friday - Also...

With the unusually warm December we had, some of the plants are very confused. The daffodils are coming up about a month early and the holly ferns are fiddle-heading two or three months ahead of schedule. I hope we don't get a heavy snow that damages them.

I noticed this blanket thrown on the bed looked like a hooded robe which made me think of jawas from Star Wars. It's the little things, and the nerdy things... ok, it's the little nerdy things that make the day.

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2015-04-02 - Thursday - Yard, pots, and moving

I found some more fiddle heads rising in the front yard. We have several different varieties of ferns and they all look different. These are autumn ferns. I like the rust-colored fiddle heads on these.

Thursday a crew showed up to repair a broken water line down the street. They spent most of the day and several hours into the evening getting it finished.

Thursday night I went to Clayworks and threw a couple of pots that I plan on modifying more later. Not sure exactly what I want these pots to do yet.

I retrieved the two pots I had in the salt kiln and was pleased with the results although I thought they were going to be a bit more toasty. I have not figured out the salt kiln and do better with the gas reduction firings.

Bored pots.

Later I moved my stuff off the student shelf and put it all back on my new artist shelves. It took four cartloads and I've almost filled my shelves already. It's amazing how much stuff I had on that small shelf. On to the next adventure.

New name tag.

It looks so empty.

They look so full.

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2015-03-28 - Saturday - Fiddle heads and jug head

Saturday I found some more fiddle heads coming up in the yard. I really enjoy all the new growth in the yard, but the fiddle heads are especially cool.

Fiddle heads.

Later I went to Clayworks and made this guy. I'm enjoying playing with the proportions of the pot in relation to the size of the face. I'm going to explore this for a while... maybe.

Jug head.

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2015-03-24 - Tuesday - Yard plants and salt loading

Tuesday I checked on the yard again. I really like the way things change from day to day in the spring.  I had to grab another shot of the vinca blooming, more fiddle heads emerging, and the progress of the may apples. Things move fast.

Tuesday night we loaded the salt kiln. It takes many hands and since I got there late I stayed on the periphery, helped where I could and took some photos. We had a good crew and things got done very efficiently.

Deborah and Claudia re-wadding pots.

The Coniferous Forest.

The gas kiln is on the cool down.

Larry, Meredith, and Vince taking pots to the kiln.

The production.

Robert showing off the kiln.

More pots awaiting departure.

One more stack to go.

Decisions.

Chicken kiln god made by Greg on an old thermocouple.

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2015-03-21 - Saturday - Yard, museum, and pots - oh my

Saturday I was all over the place.

I started out in the yard reveling in spring's progress. The daffodil show is over and we're moving into the heart of spring where everything else starts to emerge and the overpowering green of summer gets a foothold.

I used to joke with a friend years ago that during early summer in the Carolinas everything was such a vibrant green that there seemed to be a green haze hanging over the wooded areas. We would laugh, but we still marveled at it. I miss Jim. He's been gone a long time now, but I think of him most in the spring and summer.

I am glad to see the may apples
I transplanted last year are propagating.

The native orchids are looking a bit rough after the winter,
but they're still here.

I think this native plant is called spotted wintergreen,
and it always makes me think of peppermint candies.

The lenten roses I transplanted from a neighbor's yard last year
are happily blooming. Thanks Sheilah!

The hydrangea is peeking out.

The vinca minor in the front yard is filling in nicely.

I love the fiddle heads on ferns.
This one is a holly fern.

Here is another holly fern past the fiddle head stage.

A close-up of the vinca minor flowers.

In the afternoon I went to the Mint Museum to hear Rose B. Simpson speak about her art. I arrived at the last moment and found a small contingent from Clayworks to sit with. Rose was amazing. She is a skateboarder, punk rocker, poetry slammer, multimedia artist from the Santa Clara Pueblo Reservation in New Mexico. She told us about her life and strong connection with her heritage. She amazed us with her artwork and her vision. She even treated us to one of her poetry slam performances. It was fun just to be around that kind of energy for a while.

Lindsay, Cathy, and Jeff.

Rose B. Simpson.

After the talk at the Mint I went to Clayworks to do some more work on my pots from March 11. They waited patiently under plastic for me to return so I decided to alter them a bit. The left one is softly altered, the right one is done with my usual method of adding clay to make the facial features. The middle face was made only by removing clay, so it appears a bit flatter.

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