Sorry this week's update is a few days late. With all the traveling and what have you its been extra busy. This past week was very full. I spent several days mixing up a REALLY big amount of what Phil calls the "pink clay". It is pink when its wet but it fires to a brownish color. When I was done the pile of clay was about 4 1/2 feet tall. Phil will leave it in the shed unused for a few months to let it age. Clay is similar to wine in that the older it is the better. Remember how last week we cleared out the barn to make it ready for the clay delivery? Well, the delivery came unexpectedly at the end of a day as we were finishing up work. In college, Will from Portland Pottery used to deliver the clay in a big truck (or lorry as they're called here) that had a hydralic lift. He also had a giant dolly to move the pallets of material. This guy pulled in with his lorry but he had no lift or big dolly. So, after parking directly in front of a big mud puddle he opened up the pallet and passed Phil and me the 50 lb bags of China Clay. I'm not sure why, but it was hilarious and I could not stop laughing. One of the bags got a hole in it and the white powder got all over my jumper which made me laugh harder. I guess it was just the absurdity of it all. There was over a ton of clay, about 40 big bags and we managed to get it all unloaded despite my unstoppable laughter. Phil kept saying to the lorry driver, "You'll have to forgive her; she's American". The next day we moved all the bags again so they were in their proper place in the barn. I do like the physicality of being a potter, lifting stuff and engaging one's body. Phil always says, "In the next life I'm going to be a jewler and everything won't be so bloody heavy!"
Phil continued to have me work on my repetition throwing, this time with bowls. He made a large and a small form and I made a bunch of each. I decorated the inside with a white slip; while some of them were still wet I dragged my fingers through the slip to make a spiral design. I liked the way they turned out. When we fire the kiln we will stack them inside each other.
On Thursday night, Lynne and I left for Newport to stay with Raymond and Sylvia, her mom and dad. They are such sweet people to spend time with. Although it was late when we got there they made us tea and we stayed up late chatting. After a proper English breakfast Lynne and I set out to go to Claire's in Cranleigh. Newport was halfway there which is why we stopped for the night. After a few hours driving on the motorway we arrived. We were enthusiastically greeted by the newest member of the Elliott family- Princess. The Elliott's rescued the little black lab mix; her previous owners did not have time for her and kept her in a crate all the time. She is such a lovely dog. She is quite small and gets very excitable about food. I made her a treat- some parsley wheat doggie biscuits. I don't even think she had time to taste the treat because she chomped it down so fast. Princess is nearly a year old and pretty well behaved.
Lynne, Claire and I walked to the boy's schools to pick them up. For Mattie it was a special day as all the students got to dress up like characters from a story. He was a prince of some kind with a velvety cape and a feather in his hat. There was a special assembly at his school that we went to. There were kids dressed like princesses, humpty dumpty and Oliver Twist; it was very cute. After we collected Charlie we stopped into a cafe to get some hot cocoa as it had started to rain on the walk home. The boys really love their new pet and she is very good with the boys. At bedtime I slept on the pull-out sofa with princess in the next room.
I woke up the next morning when I heard Mattie singing as he came down the stairs. I got up to fold up the sofa and put it all right again. It was still a bit dark as the curtains were shut and I was still groggy from sleep. I moved to the edge of the bed, swung my feet over the side and stepped in a messy present Princess left me on the floor. Mattie came down and proceeded to wake everybody up by yelling, "Kari stepped in Princess' poo!" Everybody came rushing down; I was laughing really hard between gags as I washed my foot off. We got it all cleaned up as Princess guiltily lay in her doggie bed. What a way to start the morning! I told Claire not to worry- it's all memory making and it's a funny story too! Princess is still quite young and accidents happen sometimes....
After I showered and thoroughly sanitized my left foot Lynne dropped me off at the train station. It took me about an hour to get into London and I switched trains several times, eventually ending up on the tube (the underground subway). The Royal College was a bit of a dull building compared to the grandiose Albert Hall that neighbors it. Once I got inside however it was full of what I like- pots! It was a very big show and well lit too. There was so much to see. I recognized a few faces from Oxford and some of Phil's friends. A man named Jack Doherty did a demonstration of throwing porcelain. He is the president of the Craft Potter's Association. I saw Lisa Hammond and her assistant Yoji Yamada who seemed to be quite busy selling her beautiful soda-glazed pots. I left for a few hours to go exploring London. I walked around in the giant Hyde Park which was right across the street from CAL. It is a really beautiful park with many gardens and trees. Many of the early spring flowers were out and covering the ground. There was pretty flowering trees and lots of brazen squirrels and pigeons. I did some sketching and got nearly knocked over by two big, black, wet, swampy smelling dogs who left a few muddy smudges on my trousers (it was not a good day with dogs). From Hyde Park I walked a few blocks the the Museum of Natural History. The great thing about London is that all the public museums are free! The Natural History Museum has a lot of things like fossils, dinosaurs, stuffed birds, cool rocks and hands-on exhibits. I did not spend too much time there because it was really crowded with school children who were visiting on their Saturday off. I went back to CAL late in the afternoon and sat through a rather dry lecture by Dame Elizabeth Fritsch who is a sculptress/potter. There were also a few videos that I watched that were really good. I liked how CAL was more than just a show; it had lectures, demonstrations and videos. It was all around a really great experience. I got back on the train at about six. It took me twice as long to get back to Cranleigh as on of the lines on the tube had closed and it was all backed up. Eventually, I did make it back, exhausted but happy.
On Sunday it was mother's day. Again, I was awoken by Mattie who was chattering excitedly about his present for his mum. He said, "She is going to be so happy she will just BURST into tears." With presents and cards in tow the boys went up to Claire's room and piled into her bed. I remember doing that when I was little. Simon brought up tea and biscuits and the boys tried their hardest not to get crumbs in the bed.She did like her gifts and cards although her reaction was not quite as dramatic as Mattie would have liked. After a proper breakfast we all went for a long walk in a big estate field behind Simon and Claire's house. Princess seemed to have an endless source of energy as she chased a ball. Mattie and Charlie showed me their very cool hideout, a completely hollow tree. I always wanted one of those when I was a kid. Simon pointed out that most of the trees in the field were older than America.
After we got back from our walk Lynne and I said our goodbyes to the Elliotts and drove again to Newport. We went to Lynne's sister Barbara's house for a big Sunday lunch of roast beef, veggies and yorkshire puddings which are kind of like popovers with holes in the middles. Ray and Sylvia were there as well as Barbara's husband Stewart and their youngest son Alex. Stewart's mom June was there as well. It was a big friendly lunch which was very nice. It felt a little wierd to have mother's day in March. After gifts were exchanged, Lynne and I left again for another 2 1/2 hour drive back to Rhayader. Finally we were back home! Libby and Tess seemed glad to see us as usual. I forgot to say last time that Libby had the lump removed and after doing a biopsy the vet said it was cancerous. The are hoping they got it all. The danger is that the lump was near Libby's lymph nodes so if it spreads there it could get pretty nasty. Libby seems perfectly fine so let's hope the vet got all the cancer out! Phil had been very productive in our absence and we are nearing readiness to fire the kiln. The three of us are leaving again tomorrow to go to the south coast of England to a place called St. Ives. Phil has a solo show there and the Leach pottery is reopening as a museum and artist studios. I will write more detail next week. Things are really busy right now! Until next week,
Take care,
Kari
www.kariinwales.blogspot.com
http://picasaweb.google.com
PS- several people have asked for my mailing address here at the Rogers'. It is as follows
Kari Olstad
c/o Phil Rogers
Lower Cefn Faes
Rhayader, Powys
LD6 5LT, UK
No comments:
Post a Comment