toad in the hole and other miracles

the shifu workshop

working with drop spindles

using totally new skill sets

comes down to twisting a spiral

controlling that spiral enough to make a thread

thread to hold together

but not tight enough to break apart or snap.

my students 

every one

got it.

emma, 

extraordinary assistant,

was always there when i needed her,

and one day she dressed

 to match our markmaking

or

the marks made their marks matching emma.

 we used some leaves of indigo 

and 

some spent day lily blossoms

thoughtfully 

provided by emma

 to make some marks, too

what happens in a five day workshop is that

you really get to know each other and

a level of trust and adventure overcomes all.

that happened with my other summer art institute teacher

nancy diessner

who was the best housemate ever.

nancy and i went to bed early one night, 

and my students, int he studio under us,

heard us roaring with laughter a little later than the 8:30 to bed attempted time.

(grin)

 our indigo dipped lokta skeins

dried on the garden sculpture

the indigo vat prepped 
and left for us
as well as japanese indigo

planted for us to share

all prepped by chris petrone
who has worked at wsw
for 10 (or so) years.

  a clothesline in the papermill

held marks on kozo, lokta, and flax 

made with

 osage orange, madder, bengara, indigo

and black walnut

taken from the pail of aged brew in my mill

(called wake robin)

 kate searching her stash

 i climbed the outside porch stairs

and placed my hand on a little granite stone sitting on the railing...

which was surprisingly soft

disappearing quickly

into emptiness!

 there was a moment of weirdness

and then i looked closer.

there was a fantastic toad

who'd found a place to hunt

sunbathe

 and surprise the humans around the place

 and 

 looking up from ms. toad

i found the back of an ear

melissa has been here...

and ms. toad was photographed many times

 walking at wsw was always a treat (except for mosquitos)

the path had mountain bikers and an equestrian

trotting in shorts

(yikes)

 these were amazing relics from the days

when this whole area

made the cement for 

new york city

i drove home on friday afternoon

in order to beat a morning of thunderstorms

(big rain on busy roads is a bad combination)

and found myself plenty hydrated

and using public outhouses

called, in the proper old adirondack towns,

pit privy

 it was a bit later than this

and there really was no light show, 

only clouds and muzzle

but i felt like the joy here was appropriate.

oh, 

and here

at the place becoming home,

not connected to the plumbing yet,

we are nearing kitchen.

my cup is full

indeed!