Week Two

Hello All,I am quite settled into my routine now. Lynne and Phil have made me feel very at home here. The day usually starts at 8 am when I get up and head down for some breakfast and tea. Phil and I are usually in the studio by 9 and work until 5 or 6 with multiple tea/coffee breaks throughout the day. In the evening after dinner I have been getting educated about British TV. II am not much of a tv watcher myself but since that is what Lynne and Phil do in the evenings, I join them. am learning that the UK has some interesting sports. Rugby, which I had heard of but had never seen played, is practically a religion in parts of the UK. The Welsh team has a following much like the Red Sox because they are the underdogs but have an occasionally miraculous season. Rugby has some interesting terms like "ruck" and "scrum". Although it is a violent sport, similar to American football, the players wear no helmets or protection. Some of them wear this interesting hat that is tight and covers their ears. The playoffs were this week and the big game is this Saturday. Sadly, the Welsh team did not make it. Another sport I've learned about is called "conkers". In this game, the players collect horse chestnuts (which also grow in America). They drill a hole through them and string one on a leather boot lace. Two people each have their "conker" and they swing at the other's, trying to break the chestnut. Whoever first succeeds in breaking the other's conker, wins the game. I have to say it sounds kind of fun although when Phil went and looked for a conker for me, the tree did not produce any this year. I will have to wait for next fall when my neighbor's tree drops all its chestnuts. When I told Phil we had no such game in the US he exclaimed, "My goodness, you Americans need to get civilized!". I told him "We are civilized; at least we don't hit each other with tree nuts!". This week I have been making press molded bottles for Phil. It is a process where you press flat slabs of clay into a three-part mold. The result is a square or rectangular bottle with very precise corners. It is nearly impossible to get such straight corners from a wheel-thrown piece. It is a time-consuming and tricky process. I used to think that using molds was a much faster way to make things but now I see how wrong that misconception was! I also threw some of my own pieces. I was nervous and self-conscious with Phil right there but he did not really watch me. He commented on my speed saying I filled up my board with cups, "...rather quickly". Later after I had decorated them he said they were "....quite nice and very distinctive". I was relieved to hear the encouragement. I will be putting all the work I make into his wood kiln in December. We will fire it and unload it right before I leave.
This past weekend Phil and Lynne took me "to the countryside". They took me to this beautiful place called the Elan Valley. It is a long valley that was flooded on purpose. Several huge dams were build and are still in operation. The water was so still it looked like a giant mirror. It was a bit overcast that day but it was still lovely. I took some good photos and had a nice walk to one of the dams. Yesterday Phil had to go to a college gallery in Aberyswyth so I went with him. It is small seaside town about an hour west of Rhayader. Whenever I ride in the car I get a bit nervous because the roads here are so different. They are very windy and in some areas are only wide enough for one car to pass through. If two cars are headed towards each other, one has to either pull over to the side or, if there is no shoulder, back up far enough to pull into a driveway. Needless to say, I brought a magazine to look at instead of the road. We made it to Aberyswyth and I got to see not only a great little show of Phil's work but also the college's ceramic collection. There were some great pieces there, historical and contemporary. Although this specific college has no ceramics program, every 2 years they host a large ceramics festival. Over the years they have purchased many pieces from the demonstrators and artists that attend. Phil has been part of the planning committee for the festival in years past. Aberyswyth is a lovely little town and I took some nice pictures there too. I still can't get over all the sheep here! The other morning I was taking a shower. I looked out the window and saw three lone sheep right next to the house. Normally the sheep are in a field a good distance from the house. Somehow, these Houdini sheep had gotten through the fence. They probably thought the grass was greener on the other side. On the way to the Elan Valley last weekend there were many sheep grazing right on the side of the road! They were not even afraid of the cars. I have to say, I am getting a little fond of sheep. Well, It is getting close to my bedtime. I've got a pile of bottles to make tomorrow. Feel free to pass along this email to anyone else who might enjoy it.