My Pottery Mugs

This week I head back to the pottery studio, after a two-week break.

My goal, last session, was to make mugs. I made a few, in my hand-building studio time. They all have rough edges.

My strangest hand-built one was inspired by some animal motif mugs I saw online. I was trying to create an image of a cat wandering through tall grass!








 

Making mugs was also one of my goals in my class on the wheel. I managed to make a few. I also experimented with using colored clay ("slip") to decorate the mugs. I'm not really happy with these.

My instructor, Liz, helped me with this one - but I didn't succeed in making the subsequent ones (above) as tall or thin...

That will be my goal for this coming session: taller and thinner... and without uneven edges! (It's not as easy as it looks!)

Spring Cleaning

In Israel, many households view spring cleaning as a religious obligation as they prepare for passover.

I don't have any religious compunction to clean - yet this spring, I've been anxious to clean the windows, dust and vacuum closets, and get rid of clothing that no longer fits.

(What is it about this season that makes us want to start afresh, both inside and out?!!)

Hellebores Beginning to Bloom

More early spring flowers are beginning to bloom in our yard. (The first were Scillas that emerge in my front Hosta bed, before the Hostas come out.)

Now the Hellebores are beginning to bloom. I wish I could say I love them, but they are always a bit of a disappointment... Low-lying, they seem to bloom downwards! With their light color, they don't stand out, either. I really have to search to find them!

Maybe I need to investigate some of the more colorful ones I see online. I wonder if they would survive in our Zone 5 garden area.

Neighborhood Fire!

Every few years we smell smoke... and discover that there is a fire in our part of town.

Yesterday Terry saw a billow of smoke blowing over my mother's nursing home (which partly adjoins our property) and wondered how far away the fire might be...














 

It created a haze to the west...

When skies had cleared, we decided to investigate.

The fire was in a neighborhood apartment building northwest of my mother's nursing home, about half a block away.

It was big enough to make the news!

We walked around talking to various people, happy to hear that no one had been injured. But, for now, none of the residents of the building would be allowed to even enter it.

With part of the roof destroyed, I wonder the building is reparable or if if will have to be torn down. I guess time will tell.

When we left, firemen were still perched up on high ladders - where they will probably stay all night long, to make sure the fire is all out.

Paramedics were parked nearby.

The Salvation Army was there too, ready to help those displaced by the fire.

It was reassuring to see so many community resources come together at a time like this!

Gardening Season

Gardening season if finally here...

Or rather, raking season!

(I currently have 9 plastic garbage bins ready for next Wednesday's pick up!)
















What I love most about having perennial flower beds is the sense of anticipation - and surprise - I get every spring... wondering what flowers will appear.

First flower of the season in my garden? This little blue Scilla.

The Hellebores aren't far behind - currently in bud. Hopefully they'll be blooming soon.

Ottawa Saree Store

I like to walk in neighborhoods I don't usually visit. It's almost like being away!



Recently walking down MacArthur Street, I was surprised to see a store that sells Indian sarees.








 


And, of course, shoes to match! I didn't realize that they also carried Indian-style jewelry, or I'd have gone in for a peek.

I wonder what other interesting stores can be found in Ottawa. (Maybe I need to plan a "new neighborhood walk" once a week, to find out!)

Personal Pottery Update

My winter pottery session has ended. Twice a week, since January, my goals were to improve my skills on the wheel... and to have fun hand-building.

I had hoped to make a few usable mugs! (I can't seem to make them tall and keep them straight!)

In the forefront are three of my early attempts, together with a head I made in my hand-building studio time. One of the intended mugs has a turned-out top, so I guess it will have to be a bowl... (Or a vase!)

(The items in the background were made by other potters.)

By mid-March, I had improved a bit.

I want to continue practicing, so I've booked half day sessions in both the hand-building and wheel studios for May and June.

(Pottery - playing with clay - is very addictive!)

I've started making some mugs in my hand-building studio time.

Even these aren't flawless!

This intended-mug will probably be a vase, too!

Nothing is working for me tonight, one woman commented in class a few weeks ago.

I just love the feel of the clay in my hands, another replied. My goal isn't to make perfect things - just to have my hands in clay!

(Now that's an attitude I can agree with... though it is gratifying when an item turns out nice!)