kt40

Ceramic heaven

This Saturday I went with two of my best pals to ceramic shops we had quite a few wonderful unexpected detours too. I can't tell you how inspiring it all was and how many photos I took. How I couldn't stop taking photos. You may think whoa she has never posted so many photos all at once before and you would be right but I just felt compelled to share as much as I could. So here it goes

1) Bridget(thank you Bridget for driving as always) 2)Suzanne

1)Wall above the studio 2)Door outside the painting studio

1)The Kiln 2) window outside the shop

 

1) Masks on wall up to an apartment above the studio(this photo made me think of Jerry and Alicia)

The wife of the owner of the ceramics shop/studio took us on a tour of the warehouse it was built in 1812 and the walls were covered with black smoke it was so dark and quiet. I loved the black, white and gray tones that filled the space. 1) lone light bulb 2)Ceramic molds against wall 3)light coming through a shut up window 4)old pot open window

1)This was the husband's studio, the painting he had hanging up was given to him by his Uncle. The story goes that someone had given the Uncle this painting and he loved it and hung it up in his house, his wife however hated it and complained about it everyday. When she died he took it down because he felt so guilty whenever he looked at it and that is how it ended up in this studio. 2)The wife of the owner showing us the original kiln built in 1812.

This Man is an owner of another ceramic studio/shop(he is the egg-holder man, Melynn). I was so happy on this excursion to have to courage to ask if I could take people's photo this was a big step for me.(Mary, I will bring him back a photo)

1)He told me I could take a photo of the pieces he had made that morning I think he was quite proud of them. 2) Inside his shop/studio 3) This outside of his shop was charming with the laundry above.

funny how a day goes

This morning I wrote the post below and this evening I found myself watching an online video of Oprah with Eckhart's class chapter one this may not be for everyone but quite a bit of it really spoke to me. Made me even laugh because there they were discussing some of the same issues I feel like I am dealing with. There they were being addressed. They also talked about an experience Oprah had with a tree and feeling it's presence, yesterday in ceramics I made a bowl with a woman and where her heart was I etched a tree and it's trunk went down her torso and it's roots wove into her skirt. When I got up to leave class and I handed the bowl to my teacher she said "I'm not sure what is different about you tonight but you seemed so present, you didn't worry about rushing home to make dinner, you didn't seem distracted by anything." Then another adult came over and looked at my bowl and asked about the tree they wanted to know why I put it there. "That is her heart." I explained I didn't really know how to explain soul in Italian so I had said heart instead. So this evening when I watched the video and they started talking about the tree experience she(Oprah) had had Eckhart said to Oprah something to the affect of "Well the tree became a part of you when you were present." I got chills, really I did because that was my feeling I was having when I made the bowl that the tree was a part of this woman.....me......us, isn't it funny how a day can go.

Hanging-out with not so welcomed guests

Sometimes this blog feels therapeutic, sometimes it makes me feel like I am being self-centered, me me me. My hope is that it doesn't come off as self-centered and instead is a break from your own day to day stuff. I know when I go to other blogs I love checking-in, seeing what is new or even reading the same old day in/day out stuff and I love that these bloggers are putting themselves out there....sharing their worlds and the word "selfless" comes to my mind.

Is it just me that has this weird hang-up? The I can't talk to much about myself or share too much, without thinking that others think, I think, I'm all that and a bag of chips syndrome. I'll be honest, for me, it is strange forty years later to suddenly start writing about what is going on in my world almost everyday, share it and not always know who is reading. I do get a sense of freedom from having this blog, I can express myself more freely than I think I otherwise would, the somewhat anonymity of it all seems to make this possible for me.

I'm wishing I was a more confident blogger I guess.....wishing I felt like I knew what I was doing and didn't need any feedback reassuring me to keep on sharing....wish I had the confidence to hear that from myself loudly but instead it is still at the under my breath stage....more than half of my posts I have doubts about. If you were a fly on the wall in this computer room you would witness me writing.....deleting.....writing.....deleting.....coming back two hours later to re-edit my post, you get the picture.

I'm drawn to the bloggers who put photos of themselves on their blogs, I like seeing the face behind the voice, they seem to really own their blogs but it is difficult for me to do that myself. Insecurities again, boy they like to rear their ugly heads around here a lot. Well here I am the woman who feels like she is still trying to convince herself that it is okay for her to have a blog.

Here is only half of my face, it is early morning and I am sporting a gray sweatshirt and some grandma red lipstick. But what about you? Do you have any insecurities bumping into you as you wander around? Are they as big and cumbersome as mine? Unwelcome guests. This little blog is helping me take on those pesky insecurities that have obliviously gotten use to hanging-out with me, blog therapy again if you will, need to break out of your shell start a blog. Half a face is a start, means I am half way there right? Maybe next week it will be 3/4's of my face and then again maybe not.

My pockets

Jason asked to borrow my keys and I said "Yeah, I think they are in my coat pockets"
He did find my keys and also came over with a bunch of rocks in his hands.
"Now I know where our kids get this from" he said smiling.

I must admit that it was one of my prouder moments as being recognized as a parent who has had a little influence on their kids.

On any given day you can find a dried up flower, half a walnut shell, or an assortment of rocks in my pockets, don't ask me how long this has been going on I couldn't tell you.

This morning I decided to empty out today's pockets and take some photos of what I had picked up. Here are some different arrangements of my pocket contents today.

Get the bee Mom!

Today is the children's last day of spring break. We went for a long nature walk because Jasmine had an assignment for school, to take three photos of nature. She wanted to capture this bee but kept missing it so gave me the camera "Get the bee Mom!" I started laughing because it was hard to capture the little bugger but I finally did.  Well of course I had to give the camera back and tell her she had to get a photo of her own, that was the assignment after all. After much patience on her part, she did get of photo of a bee, several actually. Mine is just the one above.

A monday off

Today it is a holiday here, Easter Monday, so for the kids and I that means sleeping in, watching a movie together(it is raining outside) and continuing working on a craft project we started yesterday, place-mats, which I will post when we finish because so far they are looking very sweet.

I have mentioned before that we do not practice a certain faith but that doesn't stop me from seeing and admiring the beauty in all the religious icons around here. I feel like I have to explain this because I do post quite a bit of photos that would make people think "Wow she is one religious fanatic." I am, as far as the art is concerned, yes you could call me a "Religious art nut." and you would be right. This is photo I took a while back at a flea market I loved the way this person grouped their wares and the blues and golds. I have wanted to share this photo and well with today being a religious holiday here(Italy) made it seem like the right time to post it.

ghost post

Yesterday on my post still life in kitchen(down below) I wrote about a teasing incident between my kids, well I took if off this morning because it just didn't feel right to have it on here. Let's face it our kids do things that we wish they hadn't but that is how it goes. I still do things I wish I hadn't, like writing the post yesterday then blogging it. It is not that the incident I wrote about was horrendous quite the contrary but I thought afterwards if someone had a blog of all the teasing and mean things I had said to my siblings as a kid, well frankly I would be horrified, it isn't how I conduct myself now but that normal phase of my childhood had a part in making me who I am today. It is the stage where my kids are at now, not all of the time but some of the time but the bottom line is that they are still great little humans and like me they should be able to share their not so shining moments(learning moments if you will) if they want to, not have someone else do it, like their mom, me, who is still just learning too.

Still life in kitchen

Just another week here folks a little longer than others. So taking photos of kitchen still life seems to quiet my thoughts these days and trust me when I tell you these are just a few of many. Have a good weekend. katy

apple on tray

my glass of red wine

perfect blood oranges

peppermint and lemon zinger tea

Early evening light

I was cleaning up the kitchen getting it ready for dinner or maybe I was just thinking of cleaning up the kitchen and noticed the light in the corner. A corner that is home to the kid's chore calendar. A calendar that my dad made that I reuse every year so it is stuck at December and where I clip Iris's drawings....... I just notice it is a corner caught in December because the shadows are paper-chains that I didn't want to take down and Iris's Christmas tree story....well that is okay it is usually all blocked by an open door, so in case any guests come over in the early evening they won't notice the weird corner dedicated to December. Then I noticed the shadows above the stove, you might have guessed it, the fork and spoon are being held there by me just for their shadows.

Wandered into Iris's room and had to capture her lights, next stop the dining room.... oh my Portugal curtains how I love you....then before I knew it Jason was in the kitchen making dinner.

 

Note to self: sometimes just pick up the camera and completely loose track of time when the thought of cleaning and making dinner crosses your mind because you are lucky and have a great understanding husband.

Frustration

I am feeling frustrated today with myself because I took my usual morning walk but this time I wanted to step out of the box so to speak. I wanted my photos to be photos I really wanted to take. Let me try to be more clear........I want my photos to include people or be able to take a photo without worrying about the people watching me take the photo. This means I need to be able to ask for permission to take someone's photo which I just can't seem to bring myself to do, hence the frustration. This also means I need to stop worrying about the stares that I receive that seem to go along with me taking photos around here.

I took this photo of this empty warehouse because it was safe no one was around to ask permission and no one was around watching me take the photo. It all felt good at the time but when I returned home this morning and this was the only photo I had, I will be honest it was a bit of a let down. Oh the frustration that comes with trying to challenge yourself to do something new when a strong part of you wishes you could rise to it and then you don't. Picture a little You on your right shoulder all decked-out ready to get out there and go for it and on your left shoulder is a little You sitting on the couch watching reruns of the game show 'Wheel Of Fortune' saying "Leave me alone I'm busy." well that is where I feel I am, hanging out with the left side.....stuck....... and let's face it the 'Wheel Of Fortune' kind-of sucks.

Baking the cake

I have made two upside down pineapple cakes this week.

Wyatt helped on the first one and of course as I was mixing I said "Hold this please, I need to grab the camera." Everything since I was first introduced to blogging has become a photo. I look at all these other bloggers out there taking a shot, capturing a moment, and all of it seems important and maybe sometimes not so important but that doesn't really matter. It is not the beaters I will remember, it is Wyatt holding the mixer patiently so his obsessed Mother could take a photo for her blog among millions of blogs, and then asking her if she wanted to see her photos on his portable DVD player.

It isn't just a photo of a slice of cake to me but the slice from the second cake this week that the kids begged me to make, that Iris helped place all the pineapple carefully in the bottom of the skillet in an artistic pattern and I had the patience to not hurry her along (trust me this is rare). The one that Jasmine offered to her friend, telling her friend in beautiful perfect Italian, how it was "A very good cake that her mother had made that morning."

This is the same cake that my Mom always made for us when I was a kid, so it simply isn't possible to not think of her when I make it, which is all the more reason for me to bake it again and again.

* Recipe is from the Joy of cooking.

bending tree

The excitement I feel finally discovering that I can not only enlarge my photos but put more than one at a time in a post is crazy. Really I am so happy! It can be the tiniest things that make me happy.....like this bending tree you have to walk under......the person whose window it is growing into......I walked under it up the hill, then purposely crossed the street on the way back down to walk under it again...."I'm going to take your picture" I decided as I turned to look back at the tree....and I am going to make it big when I post it. I looked over and saw that an old woman who was hanging up laundry on her deck was watching me, and I waved, which I think caught her off guard so I received a distrustful "What's up with her?!" stare in return as she grumpily shook out a dishtowel to pin. That's fine by me because like I said "I am happy." Can you see me glancing sideways while simultaneously smirking in the opposite direction of my glance as I walked away from her. That's right, I wasn't going to let her shake my mood.

Noticing shades of blue today

I figured out how to make my photos larger! You would not believe how much work this has been for me and how long it has taken me to figure this out( gulp...since August), but just like I always tell my kids "Keep working at it you will get it...learning is a good thing." How many times did I feel like eating those words while trying to figure this out?!!!! But alas the sticking to it has paid off! They are still a little too large for me, kind-of freaked me out when the page loaded up, but I am closer than I was before to what I want. I am not to old to teach new tricks too just a little slow to catch on, I'm moving at a turtle's pace in computer-land I suppose. Below are some more photos from this morning's walk where blue seemed to be around every corner. Have a great weekend! kt

Cubana , coobsters, cooby....(Love Thursday, shutter sisters)

Originally uploaded by kt40

This week at shutter sisters they asked for a photo that one of your children might hang-up in their house when they are older, a photo of them with someone they loved from their childhood.

The story of Cubana is as follows; I had managed to talk Jason into letting me adopt a dog from a shelter near our house. A shelter that has 400 abandon dogs and really only room for 250, run by volunteers(I was told that here, in this region of Italy, animal shelters are run solely by volunteers)
I went to the shelter by myself, the kids had no idea we had decided to get a dog. Jason's only request was a dog that seemed easy going.
When I arrived a woman took me straight to Cubana, "This is the dog for you, her name is Cubana" she said. There lying on wet cement, fresh from surgery, laid a very skinny dog that was too "Out-of-it" to stand up. "No, this isn't the dog." I said adamantly. So she took me to look at about 100 other dogs and then brought me back to Cubana, "Are you sure this isn't the dog? She is a very sweet dog." and there was Cubana still laying there looking miserable while the two dogs who shared the kennel with her kept stepping on her. "I can't take this dog" I thought, feeling somewhat irked that the woman had taken me back to see her again. "No this is not the dog." I said yet again. I continued to looked at about 100 more dogs and then had to sit down to rest. As I sat on a bench surrounded by dogs I could only think of Cubana, "Could I bring home a dog who looked like she wasn't going to make it until the end of the week.....what would Jason say.....and what kind of name is "Cubana" anyways?" The woman came up to me and said "Do you want to come back another time?" "No, I want Cubana." I said, which probably surprised me as much as her.

When I pulled up to the house Jason was sitting on the porch I had to carry Cubana from the car up to the porch, which now is comical to think back on, I can only imagine what was going through Jason's mind. "Oh great, out of 400 dogs she had to pick the dog that can't walk."

Cubana is the true family dog but at night she becomes Wyatt's dog, it is his bed she sleeps on and she only deviates from this if one of the other kids are sick then it is their bed that she curls up on until they are better.

I don't think Wyatt realizes that about three to four times a week he will say to me "I can't imagine life without Cubana."
"Me too" I always reply

*side note: The woman at the shelter asked us to bring back Cubana in one year so she could see her. We did all return one Saturday, a year later and the woman bent down to pet Cubana and said to her "You are loved." then she looked up at me and smiled and left out the "I told you so."

that love

Tomorrow is my wedding anniversary. Fourteen years in marriage but it has been twenty-eight years since I first kissed my husband. I laid in bed the other morning, a Sunday, while the house was quiet, and looked over at him sleeping, his gray hair mixed with just a tiny bit of lingering brown and a white soft blanket resting up against it. "My one hope...." I thought "is that each one of my children get to experience this.....laying across from someone that they love....truly deeply love....and when that person wakes up they will know that the feeling is mutual.....and will remain that way.....even with the ups and downs that can go with love.....they will know that love that dives slowly below the surface like a sinking ship and it's heavy anchor, eventually settling somewhere deep, like the ocean floor, together it is there that their love remains because like the ship and anchor, they are attached. This type of love doesn't have to be said out-loud as much anymore because it has become a fact, just like the sun is the sun and the moon is the moon, both of those people lying across from each other are connected by love, that is the simple fact..... and like the sun whose appearance and powerful effect is always noticed...... along with the moon who is awed because of its beauty and mystery so is that love that they give and then there it is, given back to them freely......yes I want them to be able to experience that love that is to big to fathom that floats from that tiny room in that house, pass it walls, out into the air, and up into the clouds".....then while I'm at it......."Yes, it even passes the stars because it can't be measured or contained"........and as I was having all these somewhat random thoughts about my children sharing their love with someone special in their lifetime, Jason opened his eyes and silently looked across at me.

"Just your zucchini muffins"(green week, day 5)

Well if you have checked out this blog this winter you will know that I have three kids and they have been passing virus's back and forth non-stop. Yesterday I asked Wyatt and Iris if they wanted anything to eat yet, they haven't felt hungry for quite sometime now. Wyatt whispered(he has laryngitis now) "Just your zucchini muffins, Mom" Iris looked over from the couch where she has been laying down for the last week, with her pale complexion, "Yes just your zucchini muffins, Mom." Well of course I got right on it. As I was grating the zucchini I kept hearing "Just your muffins, Mom" love was going into those muffins I tell you. Well, we ended up having to take Iris to the doctors she has stomach issues on top of everything else, something the doctors are trying to get to the bottom of. As we left the house I remembered that the muffins were still in the oven, Jason had to turn the car around and I ran back in and turned off the oven. "Oh the muffins!!!" my kids sighed as I got back into the car. "I can make them again" I replied. It is funny, my muffins are not really sweet, and they definitely are not "The best muffins ever!" but my secret ingredient is love and maybe that has something to do with why the recipe is so popular with my kids. There are two happy endings to this story, 1) Iris was okay and 2) when we returned home I opened the oven and there were the muffins, perfectly cooked.

For more green week go to shining egg it is where it all started.

Green walls in store window (Green week, day 4)

Originally uploaded by kt40

This store is in Lucca, one of my favorite Italian towns that we have been to. I loved the display inside, the dramatic lamp over the statue and the bright green walls, lots of drama in this little store. I of course couldn't stop thanking the owner in my head for taking all the risks and putting together a little "staged set" behind glass.

For more green week go to shining egg it is where it all started.

Taking a walk (green week, day 3)

Yesterday when Jason returned home I took a long late afternoon walk with Cubana. These photos are in order as I spotted green along the way. At the very end I tried to take a self-timer photo of me and Cubana but I couldn't get her to face the camera, so finally I gave up running back over to the wall after the tenth time to press "set" again because two other people showed up to walk the path. I didn't really feel like being the odd woman posing with her dog for the camera on the wall, so this explains Cubana's backside.

P.S. If you want to see any of these photos larger drag you curser over them wait for 'Snap' to load the photo then click on the photo in the 'Snap box', they are still pretty small but a little bigger than what you see here.
For more green week go to shining egg

Moss on sidewalk (green week, day 2)

I walked Jazz to school today, after being sick for a week and half she is going back. She isn't really a hundred percent but she was stressing-out about missing so much school. Stress.... an issue I am trying to work on with her, one I'm not so good at myself. Trying to put things in perspective for her "This is sixth grade, one day you will look back and wonder why you were so stressed about it, or you may never even think about it for that matter." Her response "Mom, shouldn't you head back now? My friends are going to see you with me and think it is weird that you are walking me to school." Yes we are in different worlds right now. I have to rethink my strategy on how I can help her relax, stop offering "insane adult advice" maybe? Or not put her in potentially embarrassing situations, "The doting mother" need I say more. Anyways on my way home I saw this moss on the sidewalk surrounding the 'Public Illumination'....wish I had access to what was underneath, my light bulb when comes to relating to my children has been a little dimmed lately.

For more green week go to shining egg

Table clothes for green week

Emily at shining egg has come up with a prompt honoring the first month of March with photos of green. I really liked the idea so I thought I would tote my camera around this week and bring some green to this blog. These green table clothes seemed to call out "Come sit down..... café..... glass of vino?" There is nothing like sitting outside on a nice spring day enjoying either one of these drinks as far as I'm concerned and today it truly feels like spring here, when the sun showed up this morning the birds started talking and haven't stopped since, I don't mind though, I like listening in on their conversations..

Close encounters

I'm working on a ceramic piece right now, I have to call it a "piece" because I'm actually not sure what it is. Let me start over...I have been really inspired by my blog friends sperlygirl and breatheasy and how they are exploring listening to themselves and taking more chances with their art. I have dreams all the time with art that I have made. So, I have decided to try to create some of these pieces. The one I am working on now is from a dream I had seven years ago, yes seven years ago, with the image still freshly burned in my mind. So half of me is thinking "Maybe I can unburn the image if I make the freaken thing!" The other half is saying "Maybe you will learn something if you make this." I couldn't stop laughing as I was working on "it" the other evening because the scene from 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' kept popping into my mind, where Richard Dreyfuss is sculpting with the mashed potatoes. What made me laugh even more is that I loved that movie. I was the extra short, ten year old, with crazy big curly hair who wanted to jump out of her seat during the part where the scientist are communicating with the aliens and shout out to the audience "Two different worlds communicating through music isn't that brilliant!!!" I was also the geeky kid who went out and brought the soundtrack(album) only to play the groovy synthesizer part, over and over again, much to my siblings dismay(this is a quirky fact about me that Jason loves, he thinks it is soooo ultra nerdy). Here is another fun fact about me, I actually met Richard Dreyfess years later(I used to work at a motion picture film lab) I was super pregnant with Wyatt and he came up to me and said "Congratulations! Don't forget to take care of yourself." I of course was totally speechless. Well I realize I have gone off on a tangent... so back to the ceramic piece.....who knows maybe I will learn something if I finish it.