Beltane\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Waning Last Frost Moon<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can make our minds so like still water <\/span>that beings \u00a0gather \u00a0 about us that they may see,<\/span> it may <\/span>be, their own images, <\/span>and so live for a moment with a clearer,<\/span> perhaps \u00a0even with a fiercer life<\/span> because of our quiet.\u201d<\/span> –W.B. Yeats<\/span><\/p>\n Surprises.\u00a0 They come unexpectedly.\u00a0 That’s no surprise.\u00a0 I had one tonight.<\/p>\n Kate signed us up for a couples clay class at the Northern Clay Center.\u00a0 It ran from 6:30-9:00 pm.\u00a0 Matt, a BFA grad from the U, teaching during a gap year before graduate school, lead us clay novices.<\/p>\n ( Kiln Prayer)<\/p>\n It was fun.\u00a0 Maybe more than fun.\u00a0 The clay had a vitality, a presence I hadn’t expected.\u00a0 The pieces I made ranged from uh-oh to not too bad.\u00a0 One, a tea bowl, had some promise.\u00a0 Since they won’t be fired and ready for two weeks, it’s tough to say just what happened.\u00a0 But I liked it.<\/p>\n Talking with Matt, who began discussing sodium trees versus calcium trees and how those differences affect the wood ash impact on ceramics, a realization began to dawn on me.\u00a0 This is clay.\u00a0 Clay.\u00a0 It’s part of mother earth.\u00a0 Part of her body.\u00a0 Working with clay is not only like working with soil, it is working with soil.\u00a0 Glazes can be totally organic, using plant and mineral materials available anywhere.\u00a0 In fact, the properties of the clay differ from region to region.\u00a0 So do the types and variteies of plant and mineral materials available to fire kilns and use in glazes.<\/p>\n Ceramics, in other words, is a sister activity to permaculture, bee keeping, flower gardening and native plant use.<\/p>\n Every once in a while I like to push myself outside my comfort zone.\u00a0 Tai Chi and Latin are my current excursions.\u00a0 I can’t see getting into clay until after our cruise in the fall, but I want to do it.\u00a0 By that time the learning curve for both Latin and Tai Chi will be manageable.\u00a0 After that, though, I can see taking a class or two, maybe more.<\/p>\n Manual dexterity is not my thing, at least it hasn’t been, but why not?\u00a0 No practice as much as anything.\u00a0 So, if I can learn basic techniques and practice.\u00a0 Well…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Beltane\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Waning Last Frost Moon \u201cWe can make our minds so like still water that beings \u00a0gather \u00a0 about us that they may see, it may be, their own images, and so live for a moment with a clearer, perhaps \u00a0even with a fiercer life because of our quiet.\u201d –W.B. Yeats Surprises.\u00a0 They come unexpectedly.\u00a0 … Continue reading Clay<\/span>