The Elves Have Been Workin' It

We're working on our ornaments for the school Holiday Faire...

These are some happy gingerbread men...

And, the snowmen are reporting to the kiln...

We made lots of stars and trees...

And, we'll have some yarn ornaments for sale too...

Black Friday

Rolled out some slabs and headed off with this guy...

The slabs firmed up while we went for a brisk walk...

It was a bit windy...

Winston had an encounter with a saucy terrier...

Relaxed on the pier a bit, before heading back to the clay shed...

Made some pots for the sale at the end of December...

Thinking that these would look nice in turquoise...

Los Nidos

Fitting the coils together in front of the heater...

Smoothing and drying the backs...

Making eggs...

Studio manager, lurking in front of the heater...

Previous nests...

These are ready to dry in the warm house...

Old and new...

Holiday Fleas

There were many vintage ornaments on hand...

And, some questionable vintage lighting...

A flotilla of rubber toys...

This actually typed with a rubber stamp wheel...

Not sure that this is a very good deal...

Ah, the olden days...

Look who showed up...

An army of dolls...

Old books inside a doll's trunk...

A collection of pin cushions...

A homemade upright loom...

I like the petticoat ruffle at the bottom of this no nonsense dress...

Names that time forgot...

Gorgeous bicycles...

Sorta Self-Sufficient

In our home, growing up, self-sufficiency carried the day. Our religious beliefs nurtured this ideal. My parents encouraged it. We were taught to be independent, and to try to do as much as possible on our own. For most of my life, this has served me well. I live on my own, and I manage to do much to support myself and to survive.

But, I am starting to loosen my grip, to allow others to help me. This is NOT easy. It requires humility. My new school is a parent participation school. Parents are required to donate two and a half hours of labor each week. This is incredible to me. I watch parents pick up trash, serve yard duty, work with students, grade papers, and perform maintenance on the school building. For weeks, I have watched a parent who arrives at school after his regular job, to immediately start cleaning up the playground with a leaf blower and a broom. He always has a smile on his face.

These parents are eager to help and to give. It has been a blessing for me to have this time donated to me and to my students.

Today, I had a student stay in from P.E. because she is recovering from a bad bout with the flu. Generally, my philosophy has always been to do everything in the classroom, to control everything. In the past, I rarely let kids genuinely help. I thought that it was more important for them to play and to enjoy being kids. Today, I asked this student to help me with some tasks. So, we sat side by side, and worked together. I could tell that it made her feel great to be useful. I thought back to my favorite teachers in elementary school. Each one of them let me help in the classroom, and after school. And, it's one of the reasons that I loved taking part in their classes. My effort was needed.

What sad lessons for me to learn so far along in life! But, at least I'm finally understanding a bit about how to receive service gracefully.

Lemon and Honey

The bases of the telephones...

I've had the flu for about a week and half, and have felt pretty crummy. But, I received an invitation in the mail to be in a show at the PVAC Gallery at the end of December. So, it's back on the horse. I'm hoping to have about six phones and a few bird nests. This is a difficult time of year to work, because my shed gets dark very early, and temperatures drop, so the clay dries very slowly. Using a heater to force it to dry is sometimes helpful. The slabs need to be cheese-hard, in order for the construction to go well. It was nice to have the company of Winston in the shed. He's a loyal studio manager.

Working on the dials...

Attaching a dial...

Still need to put on the ear and mouth pieces...

Heading off to tomorrow's firing...

These guys are great company...

On the mend...

Early Holiday Shopping

Board games anyone?

These make nice wall hangings...

Gorgeous decoration...

Fabulous life size nativity panels...

Relevant board game...

Antique address sign...

Old school hoop skirt cage...

Cardboard book box...

French marbles...