20 Cylinders...sort of....

My first assignment at school is to have 20 straight sided cylinders thrown (and trimmed) by this Friday....this is a photo of my progress.
I feel like I've regressed back to summer camp.... and then just a step up from a plastic lanyard.
I just keep throwing pots.
Surely, eventually something will click and this will become second nature...until then.... well, here mom....I made you a pot.

Gelato and a Frog in The Water Bowl

I've finished my first week of school. I've thrown 30 or so questionable cylinders. I've drawn some negative space.  I've looked at slides of some really old pottery. I've come home covered in mud every night....I love this!
I drove back to Atlanta this weekend for a visit with my dear one and a hair appointment.....because once you find the perfect stylist you just drive there (M4 Studio)..... no matter what.
Atlanta was hot...but pretty.  We had some delicious grits for breakfast this morning and then had the best gelato ever.....actually, it was the first gelato I've ever had.  Much yum!  It was made by a gelato aficionado named Paolo.
The drive home was exciting.  Someone decided to stop on the interstate.  This is never good.  Cars slid around, horns were blown,  the smell of burning rubber was in the air.  Amazingly no one crashed...however Rufus (my big dog) ended up in the front seat with me....along with everything else that had been so carefully packed.  After I figured out the reason my car wouldn't move was due to Rufus slamming us into neutral (thank goodness not reverse) I found a pull over spot and put things back as best as possible...the rest of the trip was uneventful....
But, when I got home there was a bit of an event.....there was a frog swimming in Rufus' water bowl!
How did it get in the house?
Oh dear lord what else might be in the house?
And....I had mopped the floor with creature deterring peppermint oil before I left on Saturday!  Just imagine what would have been in here had I simply used Mr Clean?
I drove down to my parents and got my dad to come and remove it.  When my dad got out of the car there was a really, really big spider on his shoulder (never tell someone not to move and expect them to remain calm while you muster the courage to brush off what ever the creature is that demands stillness).  Dad pretty much held still while I found a shred of courage ( I really hate spiders) and did a sort of crazy dance brush off thing.  We took a moment to regroup and then turned our attention to the frog. It was doing the breast stroke around the edge of the bowl.  When dad picked the bowl up the frog stopped and just looked at him.
I hope he enjoyed his late night flight across the yard.
I hope there's nothing else in here with me tonight.....

Eupatorium Maculatum

This is Joe Pye Weed.
I've always wondered who Joe Pye was and why he has a weed named after him. Now that he's blooming all around me I decided to look him up.
Joe Pye isn't a weed at all, he's a wildflower. A really big wildflower... sometimes 6 feet tall (like the one outside my window).
The book I was reading says Joe Pye is an imposing presence....but me, I prefer to think of him as a protecting presence.
Anyway, the botanical name is Eupatorium Maculatum ....there are several species but I think I have the spotted kind...FYI, maculatum means spotted ( my dad is a landscape architect so botanical names are important in my family....so important that my sisters and I all have botanical names, Jeneferus Fragrantissima, that's me Jenny, Amelea Umbellata, my sister Amy and Annis Margrypus, that's Annie, the baby)
Back to Joe Pye....he was an Indian in Massachusetts during pilgram times and, although some species are poisonous, he cured typhus fever with Eupatorium Maculatum...how about that?
Now we know.
We can all sleep better..... and, if need be, typhus free.

And So It Begins....

This is my 45 minute commute to school every morning (notice the traffic).
Today was registration/orientation. I was not the oldest person....but close.  Anyway, orientation was well done but somewhat stupid and very boring ( I know a lot of work went into trying to make it a memorable experience so I hate to be too critical....still, yuck). Registration was mostly lines.....I decided against the line for the parking decal and ID card....perhaps next week when things slow down.
The new craft buildings are suppose to be ready in a couple months...so I'll get to experience both the way too small, falling apart, NOT air conditioned buildings and the new solar powered, roomy, arts and crafts style, totally beautiful buildings....I kind of like this getting to be part of the change to something so very amazing!
My mom went with me...because your mom should always go with you to orientation....no, she's fond of the school because she graduated from the fiber arts course a few years ago and was interested to see the new buildings.....we went to lunch at the Mellow Onion or the Good Onion...perhaps the Noble Onion....anyway, it was delicious and worth a trip to Waynesville NC....just look for a restaurant with "onion" in the name.
I like it here.

Dog Socks and Wild Turkeys

After one too many falls down the stairs, I found some non-slip dog socks for my big dog Rufus.....he looks a little odd but he can move around the house now without his legs sliding out from under him!  This is good.

The Road

Last night I was driving up my very steep, bumpy, somewhat scary road and six or so (never try and count things while driving up my road) wild turkeys ran out of the woods and then ran in front of my car the rest of the way up to my house.  They were very funny looking ....sort of plucked and leggy and worried......then I got a little worried.  What if they were fierce?  What if they wouldn't let me out of the car.....what if they were like geese?

I had a goose once.  His name was Ubu. My parents gave him to me because I got trapped by a snake under the hammock (long story)...apparently snakes and geese don't get along.  To be honest, geese really don't get along with much of anything.  Ubu hated the lawnmower, big wheels, shoe laces, frogs, bracelets, earrings and most people.  The garbage men would grab a lid from the trash can and use it as a shield when they picked up the trash....a hissing goose with a 5 foot wing span running down the driveway to protect his trash can be a bit daunting....they would jump back on the garbage truck and throw the trash can lid, frisbee style, at Ubu...lucky for Ubu they were not ultimate frisbee players. 

Ubu ended up at a park with a lake.  He and the other geese that lived there were relocated at some point....  people couldn't get out of their cars.

...anyway, the wild turkeys ran into the woods when I parked so I have no idea if they were fierce or not.  I sort of think not....they were a bit too silly looking.