This Was Different

For those of you who read this blog regularly, an quick update.  I am now the owner of a new vehicle and I am out of fun sized Snicker bars.  I have mixed feelings about both of those things.  I am glad to have the shopping over, but sad to have a car payment again.  I also feel sad to have abandoned my old car.  Yes, I do know that is nuts.  As for the candy, I love Snickers, but I am happy to not have the temptation.  I need to eat fewer Snickers and more apples.

This week, I had a group in on Saturday morning to try their hands at a little hand building.  Think "Paint and Sip" except replace "paint" with pottery and the sipping was coffee since we started at 9:30 am.  I thought about calling this a "Pot and Sip" class, but that doesn't sound quite right. I have to mention how grateful I am to Gail and Lisa for their assistance yesterday.  I would not have been able to do this without them.

These ladies made some really nice pieces!

The studio was definitely a Happy, Busy Place.

Eight potters working all at once and the studio is FULL.

(Angela is missing from this picture, so she must be behind the camera.)

Intense ornament creating.

This was a new experience for me.  Things went well I think, but I've made some mental notes on what to try different if I do this again.  I'll have slabs already rolled out for one thing.  There was a lot of waiting around while I got slabs ready for each person.  I might also reduce the number of choices for decorating pieces. Too many options can be overwhelming.  In a perfect world, I would also like to be a little less hands on with my help.  I want the participants to have a good time and to end up with something they are proud to have made.  I may have helped a little too much in a couple of cases yesterday.  Maybe next time, I can show everyone what to do and then let them do it more themselves. 

Big thanks to Gail and Lisa for bringing in their friends and to Anita, Renee, Angela, Dianne, and Patty for trusting me to teach them a little bit about pottery.  I enjoyed the experience!  

It JUST hit me that the last time a group picture was taken in that location was the last time that Allen was able to be there.  (Cue tears again)  Allen, I know this is not something that you ever did, but I hope you are proud of me for trying something new.  I'm going to put on my new hat now, drive to the studio, and check on the bisque fire that I loaded yesterday afternoon and on the pieces that were made in OUR Happy, Busy Place yesterday.  As always, I'll be missing you. 

Love, 

Susan

PS: I bought a CR-V...maybe there's an old van in my future too.