Be joyful though you have considered all the facts
Back to patterns! Having a plan for the slope has re-opened my mind for the immediate front: the balcony, the level stretch of garden up top, the top of the driveway. This is what it looks like right now: I already analyzed one of the more general  problems: the negativity of this space. There are some more specific …
Continue reading “Applying the Pattern Language (ii): Inviting Entry, Making Connections”
I got Christopher Alexander(et.al.)’s A Pattern Language from the library a few days back and am just blown away by it. This man had such humble, democratic insights into the task of the architect and a real feel for natural, beautiful,  human and humane living spaces. His book first proposes patterns for building cities, towns, neighborhoods. About …
Continue reading “A Pattern Language for Building for Life: Positive Outdoor Spaces”
Last session Amie also took classes with my fabulous pottery teacher, Lisa Dolliver. These are some of the pieces she made: The unicorn is a piggy bank. At the moment it has a clay blue heart sitting in its slot. Aren’t they lovely? That, by the way, is a Go board: DH and Amie are …
Change of plans! This poem will not be our friend’s birthday poem after all. So it is going out to someone else, with the following ink and water color painting by Pinka Das, from Kolkata, India. The inkling Some things just must be said Some things just say themselves If only for a mouth I just need to …
Yesterday I went to my teacher, Lisa Dolliver’s annual show. After wowing all the pottery on display and making a small purchase I picked up the small, heavy box with my name on it. It contained the pots I made during the last session. The session before that had been cancelled so these pots were …
Poem 2 in the 350 poem project was sent on its way on 5 June and must have arrived at its destination (or I wouldn’t post it here!). I’ve not received any poems back as yet, but it’s early days yet. This poem too was sent on its way on the back of a stunning …
Amie is getting very excited about entering Kindergarten – she has an orientation on the 7th and school starts (only!) on the 10th. But she is also getting a little apprehensive. She remembers how she was comforted by a little seal doll during her first days at her preschool, and requested a new doll that …
Amie is at the moment in her tent, erected with sofa cushions and a sheet in our living room a couple of days ago. With the aid of a flashlight she reading aloud from an Usborne Farmyard Tales book. She has made strides reading. If she keeps it up, she’ll read fluently from, say, Henry …
Continue reading “Amie’s Summer: School Work, Art Work, Play”
I was very happy with how this session’s pots have turned out, especially the glazing. I never seem to have any inspiration when glazing. This time around I went for a common theme: turquoise (which is matte, as I found out last time) overlaid with a clear glaze (which makes the whole thing shiny). Here …
Yesterday at the beginning of a new pottery session I got back the ten pieces I made during the last session. The glazing turned out totally different from what I thought it would be. Fortunately this ruined only one pot, as the glazing of its lid turns out not to match it. My first handbuilt …