Randy Selede's sculpture inspired by "timbertown" willimina, OR

31 hr anagama

1 cord of wood and 31 hours later; greenware to 2400 F. Some pretty interesting results, though I have some ideas on how to mix it up next time.
Coming Oct. 3,4,5 and 10, 11, 12 the Art Harvest Studio Tour. 39 artists in yamhill county open their studios and homes to the public, so come on down to the wine valley and check us out.

3:30 am

Sometimes sleep happens when it should and sometimes it should but doesn't. This morning I'm greeted by two owls chatting and our night blooming cyrus(?) this plant is truly amazing; it blooms only at night and for one night only, with an aroma that is so potent it borders overwhelming and invasive. The flowers are appx 6" diameter.
At this time of night it's a good time to be a potter; reading would probably scare the hell out me right now as I'm reading "The omnivore's dilemma", watching t.v. just isn't an option, so I reckon I'll put on another espresso and go out to the workshop and keep making tea bowls. I can't seem to stop making tea bowls and they seem to be getting bigger and bigger; to the point that small birds would enjoy bathing in them, perhaps I'll see what I can do about making some for small children to bathe in.

FEELIN' RANDY.

This month the clouds have brought a gentleman named Randy Selede to the Aardvark; a quirky guy who's quiet but speaks quite quickly. He's started an installation in the horizontal forest with clay drain tiles, wood, soil, and plants. As it was nearing completion he looked at me and said " the clouds are shifting, I gotta go." With that he jumped in his '72 Riviera, said " not to worry, I'll be back" and headed west.

OUR LADY OF THE POPPIES

Ahhh, she truly is a beauty, no?

OUR GARDEN

spring green

2nd fire

we unpacked the 2nd firing the other day and wow! quite the drama during the firing though; i almost ran out of wood while the kiln was stalling, but i was able to reach temp. ( barely .) During the first night of freezing temps i ran to the house to get more clothes 3 times and brought back the dvd tv to the kiln, now i know all of you purists are shaking your head right now but what a way to pass the early hours of firing, as i have a tendency to push the fire in the night, this was an awesome way to go: put a log on and back to my movie; and what a movie it is. Frank Hebert's Dune, no not the crappy one with Sting in it; the good one that the sci- fi channel made with William Hurt as the somewhat absent star of the 3 disc movie. if you've never seen it, you should,for once they've turned a great book into a great movie.

Is that a mouse in your pants or.......

Yesterday morning while sleeping our cat eggplant brought a mouse into the bedroom, after quite a commotion kim got up to capture the mouse; to no avail. Well being as it was 5:30, i was awake, so i grabbed my pants and went to the kitchen to start the espresso, leaving kim and some cats to fend for themselves. Now normally i pass by the dining room to drape my pants over the chair so as to not have to exit my pajamas too soon; this was after all just an ordinary day.

8:30 and it was time to get ready to go to the county"s annual native plant sale to fetch our pre- ordered booty
Soil and Water Conservation District
so it's off with the pajamas and on with the aforementioned pants. As i buttoned my pants i realized i had a crumpled sock in the leg of the pants, so i shook my leg and ........WITH A FULL HEAD OF STEAM A MOUSE COMES DARTING OUT OF MY PANTS! The pants come off , i jump up on the bed in only a shirt, and kim can barely stand up as laughter consumes her.

Ah yes...there's really nothing quite like starting the day with a mouse in your pants.

ahhh, winter

as the storms keep coming this year, at least they offer up some visual treats.