Time away...

The further and longer I am incommunicado the harder it is to drop back in. It has been a couple of months. In that course of time so much 'goes down'.

Since Sunapee I have been working on new work, some turning out, other areas falling short of desired results, I'm leaving those on the back burner as I prepare for fall shows.

October is here, how did that happen? I am working on a new computer, this is good but everything takes a bit longer and I need to make decisions regarding what I bring from my old computer and what I can leave behind.

My thoughts were to take a break and sign up for a retreat to Haystack with MassArt Alumni, hoping to find beauty, community and a jump start...these thoughts changed as circumstances did. I signed up for a class In New Hampshire that meets every other week where I take my metal smithing problems to the incomparable Kerstin Nichols. The class is the best, full of interesting people all doing some thing different. Kerstin guides us through our own particular problems , we learn by seeing each others challenges. Anne, great grandmother, is making cups and spoons for her people. In both my yoga class and this metals class I am struck by the vigor and interest found in women in their 80's and 90's~

Olive is back home and being a great help with show prep, Lily is ensconced back at Putney, starting her senior year and all that goes with that. I see her at soccer games, and she and her friend Greer were so helpful in photo generation for the latest round of neckpieces shown here. Michael's progress is continuing with help from his yoga practice and acupuncture.

I am thinking as fall progresses about last year at this time. I was traveling to Denmark, Sweden and Holland. My dad was sick. My eyes were so open to 'being here now', a state that I find myself in while traveling. Why is it so markedly different to be so open to everything while in unfamiliar surroundings? It is wonderful to be thoughtful and present and not bogged down by the tedium of everyday. The poignancy of that time away and the reality of parents leaving this world has made for a bittersweet anniversary. I think so fondly of the people that I met, the places that I saw...and the dutch cookies that I ate.

Back to now...time's-a-wasting, the studio needs me to warm it up. Next in line is the Bead Affaire in Watertown next Saturday, then on to Washington, DC and the Smithsonian Craft 2 Wear show at the Building Museum, a beautiful space. This first trip to D.C. is one of three trips this fall to the area. I will return in November to teach for the Northern Virginia Bead Society. The first weekend of December calls me back to the Washington Crafts Show, to be followed by my left thumb surgery...and then I will rest.

In mid November I will attend BABE to teach a fun class with Anne Mitchell and to show my wares at this favorite show and location. Will you come join us?

I can't help but revisit the cheese portion of a Dutch grocery store, amazing.