kilnside

(i wrote this in the kiln yard last friday while firing the soda kiln for my class. it has been riding in my notebook since.)
it is my favorite season again. i can think of nothing negative about fall. harvest is here, bringing in all my favorite starches; potatoes, sweet potatoes, winter squashes of all varieties. it is cool enough to grow tender greens. fennel, kale, and even the dreaded rainbow chard decorate every stall at the market. radishes of every hue look like unseasonably early christmas baubles. all of the colors of fall delight, not just the edible ones. sassafrass and tulip poplar are turning gold, while sourleaf, poison ivy, maple and dogwood ignite in red and purple. bluejays never looked better than in such a setting.
i am firing at odyssey today. it is the second firing for my class. sarah made me do it. she has an opportunity to be in ceramics monthly if she gets a photo made in time. good for her! i would have made me, too! the advantage is that i made so much stuff that i nearly have enough to fire again. all i have to do is made a few tea sets, but i can do that in a week. even with a weekend guest, birthday girl, homeschool, puppies, fixing plumbing and studio duties... sometimes my optimism astounds even me.
and it could not be a pre-election blog post without some political something or other. first, i saw the man himself! OBAMA in asheville! granted, i was one of 20,000 people, but i was still in the presence of greatness. however, while i was out in Bandana, NC (east of the sun, west of the moon, and across the great ocean at the end of the world) firing with Naomi Dalglish and Michael Hunt (who are, incidentally, really wonderful people) MELISSA AND MATT MET OBAMA AND GAVE HIM POTTERY! apparently, not having a date with the david letterman show, mr. obama stayed in asheville overnight to rest up and eat the best barbecue NC has to offer. which is, of course, at 12 bones(or so i am told... being a vegetarian and all.) and is right around the corner from my studio. i hear he is very tall...and extremely gracious. i am unsurprised, and more than a little jealous.
lovepeace
heather