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!

WSW

 this place is legendary

and for good reason

it's a place of art making

right out of the70's

(the good 70's)

i love it here, 

love the studio space

 love, LOVE the funny painting in the guest teacher apartment

 the head shots in the hall

 this one is for hannah

 and the blue nosed friends, too.

 we haven't been blue yet, but india ink and black walnut

and osage orange and red ochre and indigo inks are here.

we're working on madder.

making marks on paper, big, small

fine and not so fine.

this is kozo dyed with lotus leaves that kate brought

from her stash.

 weaving lokta shifu on new stumps

 i have three lefties in my class and one 14 year old!

 a happy susan mills

 the whole class here
my mess front and center.

it goes wonderfully quiet
as they begin
focus, fold, cut, 
working on their first bit of shifu

HURRAH!

 the neighborhood is historic

 and interesting.

 our apartment

 the wall

 art farm

 art farm

 paper/brick

my housemate, nancy diessner

has some of the same

interests as do i.

she rocks!

pre-travel grounding

 travelling is almost upon me!

 birdsfoot trefoil and purple vetch

that theme again, 

bloodroot and violet,

goldenrod and aster

those brilliant compliments

are the opposite of winter

and tucking in.

they are about generosity, 

livliness, 

shocking me out of dreariness. 

 sunset sometimes provides an entertainment

 bringing along clouds

dancing at the horizon

 coyotes chatting a little bit later,

 and the clouds are so worried about it all.

but the nutty structure

woodhenge, i absurdly call it

plays pick up sticks

to pass time.

 a few backporch flowers.

the hibiscus will come to school with me in september.

and on the dirt road where the new place lives

where i see a continual, untidy, glorious

parade of wild things

(the mower goes there, too).

swamp milkweed

said to me, "look here, velma,

LOOK i say, we're here, you must 

pay attention."

i know this because i did find sweetgrass this summer

for the first time,

i took one or two threads of growing silver

with the tiny flowering nibs

and then the blasted road crew

mowed them down.

~~~

i leave tomorrow

at the crack of dawn

for women's studio workshop.

this is the closest to 

new york city

i will have been in 50 years.