BIPOLAR PANNACOTTA

Meet Allan

2012-01-11T11:54:00.000-08:00

I haven't been on here for a long time because there was nothing that I wanted to pin down.
However today I met an interesting man.
He's 75 and his advice to me was to get in my car and live fast because by 70 life turns to shit along with your body.This was right after he tried chasing me off his property. Allan spends his day trying to keep thieves away from his yard and for the same reason he spends his nights by a bonfire.Till 3am. He's a hardcore collector and he loves his stuff.Fu dogs,cast iron tubs filled with grass (his neighbors hate that) farm equipment.
The city wants to tear his house down.He thinks this is the proof that we are living in a communist country.
More things about Allan? He was an advertising executive,lost a million in his divorce,loves California ,loves dinosaurs which he makes out of scrap metal and he has my phone number.What can I say.I liked him.

Calcification series

2010-11-22T05:28:00.001-08:00

A while ago I started a project "the calcification series " and hoped to find out more about the people who like my work.It was always a mystery to me where my work is going and most importantly why .
I thought there must be a connection in what moves both parts, and I hoped there will be a spark carried back and forth.

This is a short story by Katie Farris , sent to me shortly after she bought my little creature which she called Annabell.The creative spark went back and forth more than I ever hoped for because after my initial excitement Katie shared her soon to be publish amazing manuscript with me and we decided I should try to illustrate it.
I will definitely show you the results soon.
Until then meet Annabell and her story by Katie Farris.

The Solid Bell of Her

She possesses all the necessary bones: femur, tibia, fibula, but instead of two distinct legs, there’s just a round rump and a tail out back. Her two legs like tongues within the solid bell of her flesh.
Her mouth is so small her inhales and exhales both whistle thinly. That thin whistle, and the smell of her which is the smell of a delicately herbed chicken broth, is what brings the Dogman running. The Dogman is loyal: he walks slowly beside her as she makes her laborious way from one thing to the other thing. With no definition she wades in. She wades in her own flesh.
The Dogman sits when she stops and squats beside her, winding his paws around and around himself. He looks at her, sees her sad flesh. Both her tiny mouth and his large toothed jaw can form no words: only vowel sounds.
“Eeeeoooouuu.” He howls.
“You.” She says. “You.”

To my mug; just in case you don't make it

2010-11-16T08:06:00.000-08:00

I know I wanted you sparkly spotty white so I can stick a trendy image on you and sell you in the market.I wanted you to conform.
However you came out of the kiln all honey colored and dripping with layers of glaze, the only one of your kind.
For a little oxidation pot with an unassuming white glaze you sure got that luscious "I wish I was a wood fire" look on. That shows ambition and I respect that .Just in case you don't make it trough the second fire and you die a bubbly splotchy blob of brown,I wanted to tell you ,you have been loved.

I'm on fire

2010-10-07T23:39:00.000-07:00

Not literally.Maybe is the lack of sleep but I have a vision of my future that is practically crammed with action. An old project of mine (the calcification series) wanted to shift the focus on the people who own my work. More than a year and a half has passed and the response on the project was insignificant.Yes the pieces sold but I had very few people ready to take a chance and reveal themselves on the other side.I will send out a call but basically not bugging people over it is part of the project. Until yesterday when an amazing short story showed up as a response to one of my sculptures. And to top it off the writer sent me a manuscript and asked if I would illustrate it . We're taking about October and November which are my busiest months of the year,the potter's market is 8 weeks away, paint creek center for the arts asked for my work in their gift gallery,my etsy shop is picking up and I still have to finish 3 big custom orders until November.
I drive 60 miles a day to take my kid to school,I have no idea if my husband sneaks in the house to sleep or has a cot at his office and I ripped my house apart in a crazy purge/renovation project.Yet .After reading the short stories I could not sleep, layers of images were forming in my mind and the next day armed with new ink I went off looking for a quiet place to work.
Farmington Hills is a sad,sad place to live in and while fighting crowds of well dressed shoppers I found myself in front of a strange place.It must be my weirdness radar, the vibe ,that thing makes me walk into drug deals, dance next to masturbating freaks , now,this place is mindblowing and while standing in front of it I knew it was what I needed.So my first attempt to draw the devil in the short story was while I was staring at a vintage siamese twin doll.And it was good.

Remembrance

2010-09-17T05:11:00.000-07:00

We all hold on to memories ,many of them never uttered out loud or even conscientiously known until a small detail takes us back like watching a movie.
My memories come to me in always too bright of a light.It seems that there was always no place to hide ,things were sharp and focused or maybe I made them look like that.
I remember minute details from random times in my life and of course there's no better place to put intimate never talked about memories than on a public space where anyone can stumble across them.So there it is, the moment the came back to me last night while trying to fall asleep
memory #1
the kid who could eat earthworms.
I never knew his real name or if he was a boy or a girl,the short choppy black hair made me think he's a boy.
His face was always dirty and quiet but after each rain his moment of glory would arrive when with dirty fingernails he would pick up earthworms from the puddles and eat them.
The other kids were constantly talking/cheering/daring all this time but I just stood there watching, holding my little brother's hand tight and trying to push a thought out my mind ;maybe he's hungry.Sometimes he would spit a chewed up wriggly worm and dirt in his palm to prove he's really eating them and from his palm looking behind him I could see the muddy street ,the overflowing garbage chute from the 10 story apartment building , stray dogs fighting for food in it and I was still faintly pushing away the thought that nobody can be that hungry.

Back on the road.

2010-04-21T06:48:00.001-07:00

I've decided to take a longer trip to Europe.Amsterdam was always on my list of cities to visit and I took 5 days there first.I chose a great hotel The Toren on one of the oldest Amsterdam canals Keizersgracht ,grabbed my camera and went out walking.I didn't feel so excited and alive in more than a year.It was bloody cold,windy, a couple of fun people on fast bicycles were singing opera bits.
Next day I walked to the flea market in noordermarkt when a freezing rain started,I kept going all the way to the flower market and when I finally caved in, a small southamerican cafe looked promising for warmth and amazing good coffee.Not kidding here I know coffee and Amsterdam is many thumbs up..The owner was speaking Spanish and dutch but switched to English in a couple of seconds,the next people in were Germans,he made it work and finally he cordially set tables for a horde of funny and freezing Italians ,twelve.in half an hour there was a crazy mix of languages the restaurant cat was looking warily at the huge german dog a few italian kids were trying chimichurro sauce.The best way to spend a couple of hours on a rainy day.
Back on the street I dropped a piece of my pinhole camera in a gigantic old vine cask.We decided to try shaking it out.While it looked funny to everyone watching all we got out was very dirty water a couple of bruised fingers and a few puzzled looks in dutch. I tried one more time a couple of hours later, more rain water.I got out this time a cigarette butt,I patched my camera with black goth bandaids.End day one with a few more canal walks.
next day my holga pinhole broke again this time the part that holds the tripod attachment.I went in a small sex orientated souvenir shop and got some superglue ,managed to leave some of my skin on the camera..Took more pictures went on more canal walks, got lost repeatedly on kalverstraat and the nine streets,felt the urge to buy a dress ,had 10 coffees,and realized after 6 hours that is the end of day 2.It was Easter that night ,all bell churches started at midnight so I went for a walk.Freezing rain again,no people on the streets but the bars were full,took more pictures,came back to the warm hotel room ,soaking wet and had a small drink.
Next day we planned to see a couple of old fisherman villages (note to the guy who recommended this on his blog; dude,really?) volendam and markham
It was sheep tourism.While I was not going to spend 4 hours waiting to see Ann Frank's museum or any other museum for that matter, I ended up in a bus filled with people,with a guide who was interpreting each language,German English and Italian and with long lines to see the windmill,cheese factory and the clogs factory.I broke off and went on my own little stroll.Missed the whole cheese deal and watched a gigantic dutch woman in pink clogs bending over a Japanese kid who kept dropping Delft ceramic cats ;snarling; Wat in the world is wrong with you? took more pictures had fish and chips in the rain ,in the port with lots of mayo,took another stroll saw a kid chased by a mean swan.All in all a good day.The tour company conveniently missed to mention most tourist attractions were closed for Easter the same way the next day they forgot to mention that the trip to the tulip fields is basically one red field and some daffodils.that was quite a misunderstanding because the prospect said tulip farms and there was a picture of a kid in the muddy fields with a bunch of flowers.Instead we got to this pristine park.meh.oh forgive me,we got to this exciting park with supergardens that is the best in the world Keukenhof.The day was not a complete bust because by now back in Amsterdam I knew my way around the city and went exploring more and more colorful parts of the city ,talked with some seriously weird guys,looked in the windows of many many art galleries (closed for Easter of course) and had a mean meal in an organic restaurant with two cats.
Exit Amsterdam.
what I loved: most old homes on the canals have a pulley system on top ,many old homes bend dangerously on one side or another, amsterdamers are great on bikes ,people were friendly and smart,the food was great ,the cats were lazy ,art was daring the attention to design was everywhere.There was a very interesting feel on the city at the early hours before sunrise .If you decide to see the small villages and windmills what have you,go on our own ,avoid the turist crowds and you'll have a time to remember.definitely on my list to go back but next time I'll spend time in Rotterdam.

Many thanks

2010-03-22T07:08:00.000-07:00

To the dedicated team behind the unofficial etsy featured seller blog.
I spent a couple of days now discovering amazing artists and their stories and I'm proud to be featured in their blog.
you can read my interview here and make sure to browse the archives because there's amazing work in each post.
thank you!
XoXO

How to care for your handmade pottery

2010-03-10T16:34:00.001-08:00

I'm assuming that after reading my previous post everyone turned their store bought dinnerware into a very interesting broken pottery mosaic project and spent the next couple of weeks eating off recycled cardboard plates while frantically building a whole ,spanking new,amazing collection of handmade pottery. ( the thing with the cardboard plates? mum's the word,I can only say it happened)
Now you have dishes that you care very much about, maybe because you're attracted to the way they feel in your hand, maybe you like that little creepy image staring back at you from your soup or you just hear on the back of your mind your partner's sigh when you came back with more of those expensive dishes and you don't want to know how they sigh when drop a 30$ bowl.
Whatever the reason you are very careful with your pots and would like them to live a long happy life with you. Believe me, I know ,I've been carrying a broken handle mug on three continents until last summer.
On to caring for your handmade pots.The dishwasher is not your pots friend as a hot alkaline environment but we both know you're not going to spend time washing all dishes by hand.Unless you like it and you're into conserving water in which case I would like to know your secret and follow your lead.
If you're like me and you loathe doing the dishes ,you should, while loading the dishwasher make sure they are separated in the wash to minimize touching and shock, use less detergent preferably one less harmful to the earth like method or seven generation brands (I never found the liquid detergents based on corn to work properly for me but is a personal choice) keep the water not very hot and skip the drying cycle letting your dishes dry naturally instead .
With this treatment your stoneware and porcelains should be fine ,if you have earthenware you might end up with crazing on the pots (see the previous blog post for reference)I recommend hand washing and careful drying for earthenware ,as well as for fragile items,or items that have protruding decorations like clay ribbons excessive handles ,very thin handles, lids with big knobs, teapots. A good rule of thumb is to avoid the dishwasher for pieces that are complicated and made out of more then one part.
You might consider your household dynamics when you buy pottery.In my case I prefer sturdy simple pots that will survive a drop on the hardwood floor with wide bases that are not easily knocked over by my child ,I avoid matte colors that can get scribbled on by metal utensils and some texture on the outside so little grabby hands can grab a slippery wet pot. Before I had a child, well , I was into translucent, magnificently thin Japanese porcelain which now lives in my mosaic scrap pile.
I remember somebody asking me for thicker plates because their partner was regularly chipping plates while loading them in the dishwasher and somebody who wished for a very organic ,uneven,knobby mug handle for person with arthritis in their hand.
The chemical leaching is a concern no matter what kind of dishes you will use(except Pyrex but that's not handmade ).In US regulated so far are only lead and cadmium but most colors are using oxides, to one percentege or another.I personally stay away from eating from luster surface pots ,the iridescent mother of pearl like surface is usually created by excess of colorant on top of the glaze and it can rub off in your food with use.
The amount of leaching depends on many ,many factors ,the abrasion of the surface,continuous thermal shock (hot cold cycles) dishwasher detergent, physical damage to the pot, hairline cracks,glaze crazing and very important AGE. Like anything else pots are aging and they will develop problems. The chemical exposure from handmade pots is thought to be minimal over the life of a pot(and I like to think less dangerous than eating your food from a burned nonstick pan ) ,I couldn't find data directly linking injury or death to eating from pottery but I would be interested if anyone will post links to articles on the matter.
You can minimize your exposure by taking turns in using different pots in consecutive days ,stop using them if they get discolored , scratched or the surface looks pitted ,stop using them if when tapped the rim sounds dull or if they start getting hot in the microwave.
I know this sounds like a lot but in my household which believe me is an extreme testing ground our handmade pottery from different potters survived for the last 6 years with minimal damage.Think how many of the store bought plates you still have from 6 years ago and if you like them today as much as you did when you got them.
I know I do and I have a story for each of my eclectic handmade pots.
Feel free to post your own collection in the comments.
Until then.

A buyer's guide to handmade pottery take2

2009-12-18T15:38:00.000-08:00

Handmade pottery it's a little more than a mere recipient for food or drink ,a beautiful vessel properly made will enhance your dining experience ,will become a familiar sight in your kitchen and hopefully bring you comfort and joy.
Taking a little time to pair a pot to a dish you love, hugging a warm mug you know like the back of your hand in the morning, provides a moment of pause and beauty in which you can concentrate on your food , aromas and textures, and be thankful for people you are sharing it with .

There are many kinds of pottery and you can find beautiful examples for each in the ceramics and pottery category which might be overwhelming at times.
Hopefully by the end of this article you will be able to identify each style and have an easier time choosing the kind that best fits your personality and household.
I will concentrate on traditional pottery that follows the entire process from a wet lump of clay to a finished piece of pottery with the help of extremely high temperatures.
Other types of ceramics you might encounter are industrial ready made decorated pieces.Depending on the method of decoration those pieces could be fully functional and safe to use with food (if they are glazed and fired in a ceramic kiln) or mostly decorative if they are decorated with enamel ,glass and ceramic paints and cured in a household oven.It's always a good idea to ask the question: was the work fired in a kiln or baked in the oven? If a piece is cured in the household oven the designs should not be on the surfaces that come in contact with food and I would inquire about potential safety warnings that come with each brand of paint.
The difference between glaze and paint is that glaze is fired at such a high temperature that it becomes a thin layer of glass permanently melted onto your pot while paints are just on the surface and they will come off in time.

Back to pottery , if you are the kind of person who likes travel, ancient cultures, ethnic foods and exotic looks you might be interested in buying the oldest form of pottery:

EARTHENWARE

Like it's name earthenware is made of clay in warm earthy colors ( red, orange ,buff or soft white) with a porous appearance after fired.
Terracotta is one common type of earthenware it literally means baked earth and you are familiar with it in the shape of red clay flower pots.
What makes earthenware such a great choice for a flower pot, ( allows excess water and air to penetrate the walls keeping your plants healthy) poses a problem when you want to use it with your own food.
That's why the way functional earthenware pieces are glazed is very important.
The glaze will seal the surface of the pot making it watertight and practical to use with food and drinks. Ideally you want earthenware pots to have the body fully glazed with just a small ring on the bottom which will reduce the moisture that might penetrate your pot walls.
The reason you don't want moisture is that it could make the body expand and in the process crack the layer of glaze. This might not be noticeable at first but a repeated cycle will result in crazing of the glaze which you can notice as a thin web of lines and crazing could facilitate the release of glaze components in your food or it could harbor bacteria.
Another reason you don't want moisture in your pot walls is because they might get too hot to handle after microwaving them.
Ways to minimize these potential problems are drying your earthenware fully between uses , serve but don't store foods for long periods in your pots ,wash them promptly with hot water and detergent and avoid using abrasives. Exercise caution when using the microwave and stop using it if your pots start getting hot or have any chips or cracks.
Earthenware history is thousands of years old and it's widespread used in many countries around the world. The relative low firing temperature compared to stoneware and high fired clays like porcelain , make it perfect for casual and relaxed pots with a playful and colorful surface.

STONEWARE

is clay fired to a higher temperature than earthenware ,with the consistency and durability of stone. This makes it perfect for dinnerware, storing containers like pickle jars or ovenware like casseroles and pizza stones.
Left alone and fired to the maturing temperature of the clay stoneware should be watertight, however the way you will most probably encounter it , is glazed in a wide array of colors for added durability and aesthetics.
Stoneware items are the work horse of the kitchen ,it is preferable for the glazes to be strong and durable, able to withstand frequent washing , food acids and heavy use without major damage to the glaze .
Good questions to ask your potter are : is this item microwave or oven safe, are the glazes used food safe ?
Because stoneware doesn't absorb water when properly fired ,moisture problems related to crazing discussed in the earthenware chapter are not as relevant but it's still recommended to avoid crazed ,textured surfaces in the places that come in contact with food.
Regarding food safety from a chemical leeching point of view you will need to get reassurance from the potter you are buying the ware from.
Lead and cadmium are materials regulated by FDA and glazes with lead and cadmium should be tested for glaze stability.
On a bright note the use of lead in glazes is being phased out by functional potters who have safer alternatives these days. There are countries that don't have restrictions on the use of lead and you should be aware when you buy ethnic pottery that it could have been imported at first as strictly decorative and after changing hands a few time it might inadvertently ended up in the dinnerware aisle.
Stoneware is a good choice for busy households and available in colors covering the whole spectrum. The items made of stoneware perform well under heavy usage and the best way to take care of them is to avoid hitting or dropping them.If your pots develop a dull sound when tapped on the rim it means they might have a hairline crack and you should discontinue usage.

HIGH FIRED CLAYS

I'll start with high fire porcelain because everyone is familiar with it ,from pretty tea time china to sinks and bathtubs porcelain's use is widespread and extremely popular. What makes it so popular? First of all durability. Despite it's dainty appearance your grandmother's heirloom tea set stands witness that porcelain can survive unscathed, a serious amount of time.
Usually fired at the highest temperatures for functional ceramics porcelain clay becomes vitreous with a composition similar to glass which makes it food safe . Extremely strong after being fired , porcelain items can be very thin , light and one of the most sought after qualities of porcelain was translucency ( the capability of letting the light pass trough the walls of the piece provided that the walls were thin enough).
Porcelain handles high temperatures well and the pure white color makes a great canvas for unlimited decoration techniques.
Gold , silver ,platinum and cooper accents are sometimes used to enhance porcelain , that makes the items not microwave safe because the colors called lusters have a high concentration of metal in them .
Tea and coffee stains can be easily removed with baking soda and with proper care your porcelain will live to be handed down to your grand kids.
In today's market there are many kinds of porcelain available to work with and many porcelain bodies have been formulated to fire at stoneware temperature thus making the use of porcelain widespread in potters studios and more affordable for the buyer.

There are many other clay bodies that fire at high temperatures and the common thread is that they are very durable and they share a more restricted color palette.Depending on the type of firing oxidation or reduction the pots will be on the colder color scheme in oxidation(green,deep browns ,blues etc)or warm in reduction (orange,warm browns,reds)
High fired clays are fully vitrified at maturing temperatures which makes them generally safe to use in microwaves, ovens and they will not absorb moisture reducing the chance for bacteria to cling and propagate on their surface, which brings me to the next chapter;

WOOD FIRED POTTERY

this is the moment when I tell you to throw the rule book out the window.Did I say crazing is bad to have in earthenware? Well now I say crazing rules in wood fired pots and you should look at it as a plus.Crazing, textures ,exposed clay bodies carbon trappings that look like black spots , all these and more are things you will encounter in wood fired pottery and they are embraced and loved by all who appreciate organic, natural shapes, simplicity and refinement .
Considered the purest interaction between fire and clay in ceramics, wood ash fired pieces are often left unglazed and in a unique unrepeatable process ,the ash deposits from the burned wood will form a layer of glaze on the pots.
When glazes are used most of them draw on Japanese pottery roots and have names like, shino (white to peach thick glaze often with a crackle pattern),tenmoku (iron rich glaze resembling oil spot with colors that range from persimmon to yellow crystals to deep dark black) ,oribe (dark green copper based glaze that can be translucent or matte depending on thickness)or celadon (very light gray to blue/green ,iron based glaze, usually translucent)
The glazes mentioned above are generally food safe but you should not store foods in crazed pots and for drinking vessels if needed you could start by buying the ones that have a liner glaze extending all the way to the lip.

SODA FIRED POTTERY
is the softer looking cousin of wood fire with a similar organic appearance and interesting surface textures .It could be extremely colorful or in a soft range of grays.While I'm trying to be objective here I have to say that soda and wood are my favorite types of pottery because of their uniqueness and individuality of each piece ,so it's hard for me to find cons about buying them. They might need a little more care in washing than a straight up solidly glazed stoneware item but generally speaking they are durable and solid.

RAKU
pottery employs the help of fancy pyrotechnics , red hot pieces are taken out of the kiln and quickly cooled in a smoky medium, straw, paper.The results are usually rich metallic colors and dark looking clay bodies.Raku pots are not food safe because of high concentration of unstable metals in the glazes and the porosity of the body.They will not hold water and they need to be treated gently.
Horsehair raku is a southwestern variation on raku which uses strands of horsehair or feathers on white burnished pots ,the burning hair leaves very dramatic dancing black lines on the surface and is sometimes traditionally accented by a turquiose stone.Strictly decorative.
Western Raku was adapted from a traditional Japanese type of firing.Without getting into too many details a Japanese raku tea cup is intended for use in the tea ceremony and you might encounter pieces like that.They are usually high priced and treated as collectables here's a link where you can read more about it.

Stalked

2009-12-18T04:17:00.000-08:00

My work is in this blog which made me remember that this side project I've started didn't go anywhere yet.Maybe I should have made the pieces more affordable and a lot of them.
I was interested in the people who buy them ,are they quirky and curious ,do they have a sense of humor .I'll add more to the series .When I had the timeline set I didn't take in consideration the time that takes for the work to be discovered by the right person.I'll extend my deadline to another year,I didn't get any feedback on it yet anyway and start by having a new limited edition of 50 small creatures by the end of February 2010.I already have 10 made but I love them and we're still friends,can't let them go.

Progress on my illustrations

2009-12-17T17:48:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately like most other people I have to prepare for holidays so what I looked forward as my downtime is becoming a busy complicated period.I had to cut back on the time for painting and go out to buy presents and food.
In the process I unknowingly ditched two of my friends I really wanted to see for lunch (wave,sorry) because yet again I misplaced my cell. Somebody should make a cell tether ,something similar to those pacifier clips.
Anyway two of my drawings are ready ,summer and fall, they are totally cheesy but my 5 year old was jumping around happy about them so I guess I did it.
I'm sorry I didn't make all 4 I promised but I'll get them done in January.They smell amazingly nice because I used a pure beeswax layer on top and buffed them to a soft shine.It was fun.

I have a favorite part in the fall drawing and you're the only ones that will know it : the white rabbit gets it.Not a word to the kids.

day planner part two.

2009-12-16T15:39:00.000-08:00

It's night ,I'm tired ,no tree yet, playdate check,packages on their way to the post office,and first painting started check.
Did I mention I'm trying to make 4 paintings by Friday for my kid's school? I decided that nothing sells summer better than a kid with a bowl of strawberries.
It just so happened that despite my best intention,the androgynous kid I had in mind turned out to be my own. yes.I ended up with a portrait of my daughter no matter how hard I tried to make that kid look like somebody else I might like.
there it is , I think I just took a step back in my project because it would be kind of silly to donate her portrait to her school .I'm getting back to this tomorrow.

Day planner

2009-12-16T07:07:00.000-08:00

I woke up at 5am to make it to fitness boot camp ,while wildly flailing my hands around I started laughing hysterically because I remembered the last time my muscles were so so sore and I certainly was not paying money for it.
In fact I hated it ,I got pulled in a Romanian gymnastics program when I was little and it was an amazingly painful and breaking experience.That might be the reason I never stepped in a gym in 20 years and considered hiking caving and outdoors climbing the only kind of things worth having sore muscles for until I quit that too.
anyway.
I decided to make an artwork donation to my child's school.So far I payed 4 times more in materials than the recommended donation, and the work must be done by Friday.
I promise to have a picture of it soon it will be hopefully something kids 3 and 4 years old can relate too.They better be liking it.yeah!
I have to buy and decorate our tree today, prepare for a play date and do more research on the pottery buyer's guide I publicly promised to a bunch of people on Etsy.So far I had a coffee,sharpened a pencil and hoped breakfast will magically appear in front of me.
It didn't .Somethings are just wrong.

Hola

2009-12-15T13:18:00.000-08:00

Wow I didn't write in my blog since summer.
A few things have happened but nothing extremely interesting.
There a very strange kind of quiet in Detroit and I took the habit of counting for sale/lease signs on my daily commute.I had the fleeting thought of opening a street studio by my house, moving to Denver, moving back to Europe but I shook it off and got back to my daily routine.
Between September and December I made approximately 400 new pots working in my "spare time" whatever that might be and sold most of them.
The show at the end of the year the Potter's market was a great success that managed to sell 25 ooo pieces of pottery in 3 days for a a little over 400 000 $ .
Along with 130 other potters I worked until tired,ate and laughed in the little kitchen that was the heart of our behind the scenes activities.
A great sense of community and a beautiful way to kick start the holiday season.
I don't usually get teared eyed at Christmas but this is the first time I didn't see my extended family in 3 years and is starting to hurt a little.

I'm getting ready to take a break from functional work and put together a show .

I might be optimistic but I hope it will take me 3 months to come up with something I like.So far the idea of abandoned buildings ,grafitti , urban decay and what home means after the human component is gone is appealing to me.
I'll start by taking pictures I will later print on fragmented wall pieces.

I'll be better about keeping up with the blog.
I think.
I'm trying to put together a basic buyer's guide to pottery and I'll use the blog for all the rough work.It should be interesting

Condensed

2009-08-27T07:40:00.000-07:00

I'll try to fit my last couple of months in one short post.
One day at the park I felt a sudden surge of energy, pushed a kid aside and quickly did the monkey bars.High on my achievement I climbed a tall tree (like a panther) I said in my defective little brain.That was almost 4 weeks ago and yesterday was the first time I was able to use my right hand without significant pain.My right eye is twitching which drives me crazy and I had an hysterical nurse call to threaten me with an imminent heart attack .get in line lady.I put the phone down and carefully picked up my breakfast
I was looking for Margie Lawson.My neighbor came back from a garage sale with a little box filled with neat old pottery tools.When my hand stopped hurting, yesterday, I've took a closer look , wanting to use them and there was a name inscribed on them, Margie .She had to be working in a common studio if she marked her tools, she or her kin lived close and she must be old because the tools are old timer.Maybe I've even meet her before.Anyway the tools were 50 cents and I don't know any potter who loved their tools and would let them go for 50 cents so I decided to look in obituaries for her name.There was one Margie Lawson who died at 72 years old ,a Margie who was a wasp during the war,a doctor,a teacher but no info about Margie the potter.

I hope she's in Florida.
I also hope the tools carry good energy.

Do you even drink?

2009-08-12T18:59:00.000-07:00

-excuse me?
-Sorry, but with you looking so conservative and all I thought I should ask because we're having shots at the party and I don't want to offend you.
While I was scrambling for an answer ranging from "I'll drink you under the table woman !",(with a thick Russian accent) or a squeaky condescending ; "shots... pudding shots...I'll check our schedule and let you know if we can stop by.... but.... it doesn't look good" it hit me! I'm having a midlife/identity/do I even drink? crisis brought on by a simple question.Yes I could drink straight gin for a night or try all the cocktails on the menu in the bar where my best friend worked as a bartender and still carry on a conversation I can remember ,but in the last seven years I drank the equivalent of one glass of vine a month and most of that was one Brighton pub crawl.
I don't drink.
I don't smoke.
I don't smoke pot.
My hair is one color.
I buy nice clothes in the same shades of grey ,black ,brown and white.I have one orange scarf.
I am conservative.I like gogol bordello shirts because they are irreverent and funny but I would not wear one on the street.I like Carlin but I watch him with headphones so my daughter doesn't hear it.I listen to my music only when I'm alone .So who am I? I changed so much that truly I have no idea.Does it help my child or my husband that I changed for them? My child told me I'm no fun and it might be true.I'm putting makeup on,I have an agenda and I run errands I take my child to private school and politely listen to conversations about the beauty of Friday mass.I don't even know what that is ,and a few years back I would just point at my t shirt and the woman would sprinkle me with holy water but now I'm smiling in my impeccable white shirt and I tune her out.
There's a fuzz on my brain ,how do people ,normal ,happy looking people have fun? Can't even watch a rated R movie in my own home.The art movies I love give nightmares to grown ups.
Today I convinced a hairdresser that she can dye my hair black because I just LOOK conservative.I might even know what emo is.
I might be buying a sports car next.
Here's my picture in a conservative before and after layout.And don't tell me I'm shallow, just think about it.What or who defines who you end up being is such a random fickle thing.

10 vacations

2009-06-24T09:05:00.000-07:00

*New Year's about 14 years ago.
I got ready to go to Prague ,we stopped to visit a good friend of my husband's who convinced us it will be a lot more fun to join him and his friends to a cabin in the mountains.It turned out it was not a cabin.It was a former stable with only one room, not in the mountains but on a hill and you would say so what but when it started raining mud was up to my knees.The food was a big pot of beans, the closest village was 60 km away.At 6am on January first I was sitting in my silk dress and muddy boots in the middle of a dirt road trying to get a ride anywhere.

*New Year's about 12 years ago .
My husband was working as a ski instructor so we could not go anywhere.He promised me a special ski trip.At 9am on January first my ligaments were broken on both knees.I lied to him about doing my warm up ,spent the next 6 weeks in a cast.

*North Manitou 3 days romantic getaway .We had Axel join us at the last moment.There were swarms of blood thirsty flies,we run away from the flies to a swamp with thousands of mosquitoes we found out Axel didn't camp before so we carried his gear,oddly enough he still could not walk.Axel was very very sick for 3 days ,we did what we could for him ,back in town we found out he had mono.

*Mackinaw Island 4 year wedding anniversary .We got there late.It was raining real bad ,we missed the "horse taxi" for our hotel so we had to wait for another horse.It was a half an hour drive in the woods behind a horse with diarrhea .no kidding here .pouring rain ,diarrhea and inside our room there was a talking fish.Like all lake rooms it smelled moldy and my allergies flared up so I coughed most of the night.We
left at 6am.

*Myrtle Beach summer of 2005.our child was small we stayed at a fancy brand new hotel,23rd floor or something like that.For 4 days I kept telling my husband I'm afraid the hotel will catch on fire.I even did a fire drill by myself with a heavy backpack one day.The same night at 10 pm the hotel had a fire.On our floor,the room next to us.We had to evacuate and we spent most of the night on the beach and sidewalk with another 200 people.The fire drill was useful ,I was the 5th one down with the baby but I had no skirt.

*Antalya ,Turkey summer of 1999. My first real contact with an oriental culture.People hired by restaurants would grab my hand and drag me inside, if we said no too forcefully they would be offended and swear at us.The temperature was constantly 40 to 50 degrees Celsius ,we left a restaurant in a hurry when my husband advised me not to drink coke in that heat, the waiter thought he's calling me fat so he decided to defend me.We also got kicked out from a store where I wanted to pay whatever the insane price was on a swimming suit instead of sitting down to drink tea and bargain with the seller which made him very very mad.The highlight of the trip was swimming in an open cave in the Mediterranean.

* Upper Peninsula Michigan .our child's third anniversary we spent it on the side of the freeway trying to get a tow truck for our broken car and a rental car .Nobody wanted to drive a rental car to our location even though we told them we are in 100 degrees heat with a 3 year old.we got a tow,we took the car to a service where they took it apart and literally 3 days later stuffed things back in.We lived in a rental car ,the kid thought it was hilarious and we had a friend coming over 300 miles with a rented tow.The damage done by the car service was way way greater than what was originally wrong with the car.

*Caving in Kentucky. My first and last trip with American cavers and my last caving trip.It was a 3 day underground working trip which meant a lot of measuring and writing down info for the cave's map which they didn't allow us to see.We were 4 of us who did not know each other previously.We arrived there in a summer storm and we asked the guy who drove to have us in the car until the storm passes .He refused and told us to get out and put our tent down.We did, by the time we were done, 7 min later ,the storm has passed most our stuff was wet.Next day I guess they decided to see what are we made of so they made fun of our french gear and started running trough the cave they knew by heart.We hardly kept pace with them me swearing most of the time.For the next two days we worked on a schedule and in line with our culture me and my husband jokingly bitched about everything but we got only stares back so we stopped.we do love caves and at one point we decided to rebel and went off on a sightseeing trip which was great.By this time our endurance built up and we were fine sleeping in wet sleeping bags .Out teammates got sick they were vomiting and popping ibuprofen and the guy traded us some grapes for a piece of our Italian salami.We got out tired but in good humor and we helped them carry gear on the way back.We had the weirdest breakfast in a coffee shop/bookstore/pottery shop where everybody was leaning a rifle against the chair.Good trip too bad for the paranoid ,muscle driven ,humourless company.

*Montreal,Canada New Year's .We drove in a snowstorm for 12 hours ,we got to our B&B and there was a misunderstanding with the reservation so we had to get the only thing available ,an apartment ,which left us broke.The next day we hit the slopes it was -27 Celsius.We went to an Italian restaurant in our ski pants ,they sat us by the bathroom door and tried to get rid of us fast.We ended up at a casino where my friend and my husband won a lot of money and from that day we went to the Italian restaurant every night,the food was great and they were oh so very kind.(Remember to order a good bottle of vine first if you want to be friends with your Italian speaking staff) the new year is a haze but I remember refusing to go to a Celine Dion concert ,a bottle of champagne we gave to a homeless guy who looked at it and burst: ohh ho,madame Clicquot ,merci! and ending up in a subterranean party.

*Nara,Japan 2008 "take more money than you think you'll need" it was good advice.Other than that the trip was fabulous and we were kindly returned the wallet stuffed with more money than we thought we needed , we lost on the first night there.

good morning

2009-06-12T06:50:00.000-07:00

technically is still the same day since I posted the movie.I always wanted some shots of me working and last night at exactly 8.11 I made too much coffee which I drank.I felt this sudden surge of energy,(it might be related to forgetting my meds too in addition to the elephant sized expresso shot).
My friend called that she will come by,she was sensible and drank green tea while I had a few shots, more coffee and potted like mad.She took pictures of me and it was very nice to have her around keeping me company.

At 12.30 I finished 10 teapot bodies, around 40 small attachments a few of bowls and I was definitely talking twice my natural English speed but not quite the speed of my maternal language.now If I could just move out of the chair and put the things together.I'll show you more pictures.I also have to glaze the fairy homes before we go camping which happens in the next 36 hours.
The house is trashed. My mother would have a micro heart attack if she showed up today.
I'm planning to go to the Toronto short film fest next weekend!Great huh?Life is very good if I get to do what I love.Yes mom I'll make sure to wash the dishes before I take off.

8.11 to 12.30

2009-06-11T22:47:00.000-07:00

What 6 shots of expresso can do.Did you missed me ?

This is for my husband

2009-06-03T11:17:00.000-07:00

You know the title of my blog talks about the familiar stranger.That's you.Seeing that we're approaching a year since you've been gone the familiar part fades more and more and the stranger part takes shape.
We are opposites and the place we clicked was the shared passion for exploration ,extreme sports ,ice cold water,high adrenaline and south american literature.
The rest of the time we lived separate lives.I was drinking and dancing in clubs each weekend night.you never.I had many friends,you had one creepy fan.
You dressed terrible,I was wearing cutting edge fashion.I was a nudist you never took your pants off in the nudist colony.
I never wanted to marry and I told you so on our first date.I want to be free I said sitting on the dirty sidewalk.That's fine you said I respect that.Then a week later you asked me to marry you and I bashed in your head.
You're stubborn so you asked again and again.
Now we're married .This year will be 18 years since I first took a walk with you.
You live in Tokyo,I live in a Detroit suburb .You have a stellar career,I 'm a stay at home mom with an artistic side.You read philosophy books and concern yourself with the meaning of life,I make grocery lists , read the moomintrools at the ER with the child while trying to find a sensible explanation to a 4 year old for the man with a freshly missing leg .
You go to fancy Tokyo clubs.I babysit for my friends so they can go see Coldplay.
You dress well.I don't.
I still love you but you better be fixing this.
And no, you can't stay one more week.
I know you're reading this.

Yesterday in pictures

2009-05-29T10:59:00.000-07:00

6.35 AM
Folding laundry .
I had an epiphany .I always do it with hate because I feel is time that gets robbed from me.I still do it so I thought: Why not put some positive attention in it instead of being angry.It worked.

on to a great start I went to unload my bisque kiln
10.45

I wasn't aware at the time that it will prove to be the climatic moment of my day.
I hit a few snags later.
The city inspector came while I was preparing my glaze tests.She wants to tear my new deck down.I shook it off and with one hour left to work I gave myself a small pep talk and went back to my glaze testing..I think after you reach a high in one day you need to be aware that the low will inevitably come.
Keep reading there is a lesson in here somewhere
Actually two lessons;
1. When you panic stop squeezing.
2. Centrifugal force is real.(I was supposed to know that one since 4th grade)
anyway it took me exactly one hour and 10 min to clean up the studio and take a shower .

I hope you people love blue pots.
Here's a flower

the rest of the night was pretty uneventful except for the guy with the Michigan water conservancy act who asked me to write a letter but never came back to pick it up and two kids eating an uncanny amount of popcorn and keeping me up until 11.45 while yelling one more story,one more story.

Places I've been to

2009-05-24T11:25:00.000-07:00

Make yours @ BigHugeLabs.com

fun but i realized how big this world is and how little I've seen so far.

Somebody had a pissy day

2009-05-15T15:44:00.000-07:00

This is my yard, somewhere underneath the rubble my kiln life line runs trough.A 220V power line.Seeing that the builder assumes no responsibility for damage unless the line is flagged I called Miss Digg to have my utilities marked.The conversation was baffling to me but it seem to make a lot of sense to the person I was talking to.
-why do I need two ticket numbers?
-there's one # for each builder
-are you going to mark the all lines at once ?
-no ma'am we need to come twice.
-but they are the same lines in a small yard.
-yes ma'am.
A few days after this conversation two small orange/red flags appeared.Nothing else happened until three weeks later the builders started digging,today.When they started hitting concrete patches I decided to call and see if the second marking was done.You know just in case.
-I have a ticket number.
-Yes.We can't know if the second flagging was done.
-OK.Is too late now the holes are getting done.
-We'll have to send somebody right away.
-But.... they are digging right now.
-Yes ma'am.

I guess the orange thing on the ground is a personal message to me.
"3rd time cleared "in one foot bright orange letters

Now for the punch line.My kiln 220 is not where the big bold orange message is ,but all the way 15 feet down by the far right hole the people were digging.
I should take the breaker off when they start digging again . You know,just in case.
Sometimes I wonder if is me.
Today I bought fruits from a fancy market.I had a panic moment when the cashier could not understand my accent and she wanted to know if my melon was a 10$ one or a 3$ one.Then with the tension raising we got down to sugarcane which was 99 cents.
-A piece or a lb?
-A piece .
-I have to check it.Where did you get it from?
-Down by the ananas (pineapple in German )I said pointing at it.
-Sorry I can't understand you.
Well after I shook the pineapple,she run down talked with the manager came back relived that the sugarcane was indeed 99 cents a piece.Now imagine a middle aged woman who's smiling and not grilling me about the prices ,picks up the sugarcane stalk and goes;
-wow this is very tough ,you can use it as a weapon,and she pretends to whack my toddler over the head, left and right ,with the sugarcane, while making some star wars hissing sounds.
It can't be me.Seriously.

How the Universe is kicking my butt

2009-05-06T13:38:00.000-07:00

I woke up at 3am worried about a ton of things but with a great dinnerware idea in my head.It was too cold to go in the studio so I decided to make use of this time and made a Dutch apple cake for the kid's school snack.
At 7 I went back to bed but a few minutes later my child's skating instructor called to let me know she and many of the people working at the ice rink have the flu and that I should stay away.
While having my friend over for coffee,I deeply cut my finger with the hair scissors cutting grapes (the kitchen scissors were outside used for pruning)
The kids might know a few swear words now.
I can't throw when I have bleeding cuts so here goes my schedule for the rest of the week and my dinnerware set will have to wait.
My husband called, he'll not be coming home until September.This time I had it under control and I was just mouthing stuff and kicking furniture.
I got dressed for school , my friend's kid vomited on me.
Went to a store where I bought a new pan to replace the one I burned a few days ago.Outside the store a teenage driver ran me off the street and swore at me.How hard is this? inside circle ,right lane, outside circle left lane.Instead we had inside circle left lane,and me in the landscape while the girl was beeping and calling me stupid.
I picked up a teary child because the other kids complained the snack was yucky and disgusting.Apple cake and black grapes ,by this time my eyes are bloodshot.
I went home, cooked salmon in my new pan and the lid fell in and got stuck.Really stuck ,the handle broke off, the fork bent .After 5 min I tapped into the road rage that was still lingering grabbed my biggest hammer and smashed the thing in along with a couple of plates that were by the sink .I salvaged a few pieces of salmon set them on the table and opened the door to a couple of Jehova's witnesses who started by asking me if I'm by any chance: "the queen of this castle"
I took a long hard stare at my yard which after the concrete removal from yesterday is a maze of dirt, sand,deep holes, concrete pieces, old landscaping cloth and solitary tufts of grass sprinkled with colorful sand toys .
I closed the door.
Had some of my fish and started feeling very sick and worn out and decided I'll have a drink and tell you all about my day.
Didn't get to my drink because in reading the forums on Etsy I realized the somebody who has a real life and death situation to deal with would give anything to have a day like mine.
And now if you'll excuse me I'll have little bit of Cointreau on ice and read a book.
What are you doing reading this I have no idea .

New hana necklace

2009-05-01T11:15:00.000-07:00

I like the versatility or this long strand.I played with in in many ways and my favorite is making a knot around the flower .Here are more of the traditional way it wears.you can find it here.

Work in progress

2009-04-22T06:19:00.000-07:00

Porcelain pot with a bacannale going on.Yeah for the celebration of bodily love

and a crazy sculpture I'm thinking to put antlers on.

bouncing bunnies emt challenge

2009-03-19T18:43:00.000-07:00

there's nothing like a good challenge ,and this is a good one. Etsy mud team decided to have a bunny contest and you can see the entries here.
there will be a winner! you will choose ,and you the voters will get a 10% off coupon in participating stores one of which is ,you guessed right, almapottery

here is my entry

An eulogy
He was a gentle soul.
Unfortunately he could not escape his wife's insistence of having rabbit for bridge nights ,while year after year the rabbits in his shire grew fiercer .
By the time his wife left ,calling him coward! he took extreme pains of not going out of his house at night .
His disappearance later in the year was talked about it in quick whispers and the village's amateur naturalists took up less dangerous hobbies, like pottery and weaving.
From then on, legions of rabbits scurried undisturbed in the neighboring forests.

Things I love right now

2009-03-02T16:30:00.000-08:00

the yoshida brothers

nuttin but stringz

I will write a letter

2009-03-02T06:30:00.000-08:00

yes you heard that right .A hand written piece of paper stashed in a licked envelope with a forever stamp.Just in case it will take forever to make it to destination and the postal rates will increase.You see I lost my friend, she's been moved to a nursing home in a different town and while we said our good byes I still want to visit but I don't have the place's name.So I will put my faith in the postal system and hope they are still forwarding her mail.
It would have never crossed my mind to do that until my computer crushed and I found myself typing frenetically on the desk a few times a day.I had that ghost feeling the amputees talk about.I could see the laptop was not there but still went to check a few times a day.
We read some books for entertainment one of it being The hobbit.
I still love that book .
All is well here,I make bread every second day and my friend's child was a healthyhappychubby baby boy.You can't take a peek at him but I'll show you his fingers. He has really cute fingers and he gripped to his mom's hand in a very touching way.
New life is wonderfully magic.

My neighbours have a band

2009-02-22T15:36:00.001-08:00

They are not at all bad, they might actually be the next White Stripes from all I know but last night I wanted to hurl a chair though their window.I know ,I know, a reasonable person would call the police on them but I resent calling the police unless there's blood dripping from somewhere.I think we can deal with the rest of the problems in an understanding ,friendly manner .
-here's your chair back .
-thank you.have good night.
-you too.
Now I'm tired because unaware of the imaginary mayhem I set upon their house they played and partied until 5 am.
My child was coughing and vomiting all night so I guess we can call it a block party.
Tonight I will not sleep again because I wait for my friend to give birth.I will run over to the alternative birthing center when I get the call with all my cameras ready and cheer silently while taking pictures of the event.Last time it took 13 hours and I almost passed out in the end ,because you see I tend to pass out when I see blood.But I didn't and I was so happy and excited that I talked nonstop for the next 24 hours about the miracle of life.Yeah ,I know ,I'll keep it cool this time.

Tekkon Kinkreet

2009-02-16T15:57:00.000-08:00

Was the inspiration for my little people and congratulations to the person who figured it out with no previous anime experience.You rock .

I do love Miyazaki

2009-02-15T05:24:00.000-08:00

In Mitaka ,next to a park there's a little castle with stained glass windows.
Gibli museum
http://www.ghibli-museum.jp/en/
You have to purchase tickets in advance and everything happens in a very nice and orderly fashion ,leave your umbrella and you set exploring .There are many ways to go up,the ornate forged iron elevator, winding "secret " stone staircases which are getting smaller and smaller.there's a suspended bridge inside and a garden on top of the castle where a laputian cube and a robot are set up for a picture opportunity.There is no photography allowed inside the castle .
Children can jump on the cat bus in a special toddler area.
http://www.ghibli-museum.jp/en/
It's a nice kitschy place with a mind blowing mix of cultures, many of the texts were in Italian ,the characters have that hybrid look, I'm an Englishman and this is my castle I happen to look Asian,which I think is what attracted me in the first place to the movies from gibli studios.It seems like a world traveller collector's room.Bits and pieces with lots of individual charm stacked together in a colorful and crazy kaleidoscope.

your guesses to my game reminded my of my trip in torrential rain to gibli museum.I think I skipped the picture place but I'll try to find a place online for some images.
http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?p=ghibli+museum&js=1&ni=18&ei=UTF-8&y=Search&fr=hp-pvnb&fr2=tab-web&xargs=0&pstart=1&b=19
PS the movie that inspired me is not one of miyazaki's.

game,game ,game

2009-02-14T03:58:00.000-08:00

I have this new work in the shop I really truly love.I gingerly posted them on my mantel and they make me smile every time I pass them by.
they started off as anthropomorphic salt shakers but I made them bigger and bigger and they are probably unusable.

I don't' know how much seeing Etsy's interminable antler's Treasuries have influenced me ,I used to makes beasts with gear head for a long time but I kept them small because antlers are not practical when you haul around ceramic pieces (big wings thin spikes,arrows and hair like clay ,fall in the same category)
anyway when I look at them I could clearly see my influence in the richness of decoration and color, the idea of complementary pairs and the anime Asian feel.
I have a 20 % discount on one of them (your choice if you can tell me what you think my influence is).
Things they were probably influenced by but not in a major way:
moose, unicorns ,taurus , boombah,liberace , elvis, freddy mercury, bowling pins,matrioska,russian dolls and the hot stag from bambi.

I will give out clues,now because we have google I checked the clues I wanted to give out and ,not fair, the thing popped out the first in search.so I will give out indirect clues.

so far we have

BIG YELLOW SPARKLY ANIMAL>

you'll find the next clue in my next listing.
come here and post it or shoot me a message.:)

Sitting here with my coffee

2009-02-13T05:33:00.001-08:00

My plane is supposed to take off in the next 24 hours.To Japan.
Somebody complained that I'm not writing the funny stories in my blog anymore.While I can find comic relief in serious tragedies a flat day does not ply itself to anything funny.
My days have been hectic and mostly boring.My close family is spread out on 3 continents on 3 time zones and is not because we own land in the colonies.I spend many days yelling at my Verizon phone robot which I have grown to hate with a vengeance.I think she's mocking me:"are you still there?" "you entered the wrong password".If talking with the robot is always frustrating try talking with NWA real live customer service after you talked with the robot. not much of a difference.I had the rule book about peanut allergies read back to me by 2 different people.They even tried to read it to me more than once in one session.Frankly IF I could not read ,would I call to clarify certain passages?
I want to go to Japan and I have 24 hours to think if this trip is worth endangering my child's life.
NWA has reintroduced peanut snacks on all their flights since February 1.2009 and they will not make an announcement anymore in the plane to let passengers know there's a life threatening allergy on board.
This is the only direct flight I have from here.
I'll make a decision after I have my coffee.

Hi there

2009-01-29T19:13:00.000-08:00

I seriously,left my blog aside for a while.Today I was thinking why would I have a blog? I don't want to use it for marketing purposes,I'm not a self proclaimed design guru to suggest great items for your home that will change your life ,I don't write children's books and I lie.I mean I would like this to be my true ,honest to God journal but it is a public place and I do refrain from giving you the real deal on what's happening .Which is lying, right?
On top of all this the level of my English is for high school readers and I have the blog badge to prove it.

I spent a few hours looking for shelves on Craigslist and came up with two lessons learned: the majority of people have dreadful taste in bookshelves ,the only way that industry was going on is that the designer and the buyer were related.Lesson no 2 average pics on Craigslist make you eyes bleed.
I got the flu.
I need really pretty clothes that will not make me feel guilty buying them, thinking about small children with bony bloody fingers who put my dress together in a dim lit basement.Fair trade, sustainable,fashionable minimalist clothing.and cheap.great.
feel free to post some suggestions in the comment area.Anybody?

I have a real rabbit fur lined hood.I didn't know is was real until a few days ago and it made me a little squeamish to wear it. My child had a long whiny evening about not wanting me to get old and die and not wanting to grow up and wanting to be rich so we can live forever Then there it was my rabbit fur parka which she hugged ;I really like this coat,if you die can I have it?

Superhot days

2009-01-11T19:03:00.000-08:00

I know this is a silly name but I couldn't come up with a better one in the heat of the moment.now for a bad pun.
Here's the deal, Etsy combined with my other gigs ,keep me busy,no complains there but I need to organize a little, get on a predictable schedule.
After having a child I completely understand that sleep is for jazz musicians, beatniks, and narcoleptics.I still might need some soon.

Superhot day is the actual day I unload the kiln .I will post a picture each time and I believe it will be every two weeks or so.
Things will need a day to be photographed and then I'll get them on Etsy.In the same time I will choose some items in my shop which will be on sale and if you are on the mailing list you will know about it.Yes,is a special sale for my people.you are probably my people if you're reading this.

and for the gnomes,they are slowly coming.Two weeks tops.

Great.Thanks for chiming in.

I think something like Happy New Year would be adequate

2008-12-31T22:48:00.000-08:00

I don't know.I spent the night with friends reminiscing about childhood and mixing too many different drinks.Subjects we touched on but didn't follow in depth:
how to properly kill a pig in a remote Romanian village, recurrent nightmares we had as kids apparently mine has to do with a big ball of yarn,former new year's parties which were more fun that this one and kids.Talking about kids is a given when people still pondering if they want or not to have kids are meeting 4 years after the fact.
Kids are pesky little buggers which are interfering with the creative process.After deciding that I gave a kiss to mine who was sleeping on me all this time and couldn't help but think this is the most beautiful creature I've ever seen.
So there.Having kids is not that bad.And I heard they grow up really ,really fast.

I'll make happiness and patience my resolution.That and whatever the new trendy top ten are ;drink more water,buy organic,get hoodia in my fast food,follow some celeb's twitter for 48 hours straight and so on.Happy New Year.

new work

2008-12-17T05:23:00.000-08:00

my creative process is simple.
I yank it from there.
when it does not want to come I have to wiggle it ,wait until is unaware and yank harder.
here's a picture of my last work .On the left you have the quiet,compliant one ,on the right is the blurry one .Usually the blurry one ends up to be great but it needs more time and a strong grip.

Last show of the year

2008-12-09T04:06:00.000-08:00

Potter's Market is the biggest inside pottery show in North America, differs from other shows because we sell all work together,grouped by functionality and not in separate booths and we depend on each other to make sells.
After working bulk inventory I can say that there is a lot of work to do but is a very dangerous job.I got to handle thousands of pieces the show's total sell number was around 21 000 pieces sold and I grew more and more despondent with the passing of time often hiding in corners with a piece of clay mumbling ,miiineee , my precious....after the first couple of days passed and I saw the inventory getting low I run away from my station filled a basket with pottery and payed real quick.I managed to fight the buying fever for the remaining of the show but it was hard.I need a big mixing bowl ! wait a second I have hundreds of pounds of clay by my wheel and my kiln is idle and ready at all times.
at least I'm not the only one.Other potters would grab something and go :"this is a potter's pot, so ugly but it feels so good that only a potter could love it.I'll get it"
Nice stories from the show.This guy found a painting at an estate sale for under 100 and later he got 80 000 for it at an auction.Great find, he showed us the picture I would have passed the painting with no second thoughts.This shows that I need to learn more about great American painters even though my art history teacher never used the word great and American in the same phrase ,some sort of European contempt I assume.
I had a few pottery crushes which usually start by inappropriately touching somebody else pottery then you stalk them and ask more questions and you decide you have to buy some of their stuff.Usually guys.I'm attracted to manly pottery.
here's the stuff I bought from Rick, Chester, LeSeur and three other potters I don't know .brian beam's wood ash work was absolutely great.

Anyway ,with all the economy scares the show made 20% less money than last year which is not that bad considering we live in Doomcity and people are joking about waiting for the bumper stickers to return:
"Last one out of Michigan please turn off the lights"
now I'll take a break clean up the house get ready for Christmas and go on a ski vacation.I'll get near my wheel in January if I can fight it that long.

Update to lists

2008-11-30T19:28:00.000-08:00

I literally blasted my bisque load.
that's good ,no?
I used the shop vac,cleaned up the mess took a look at the carnage and decided the survivors are tough enough to make it trough a fast firing.I'll let you see pictures tomorrow.
I started printing stuff and got trigger happy with the colors.I always do.Somebody should steal my colors and give me black ,grey and white to make me classy and all that.

These are my masters.:)

these things took longer to make and finish than any other kind of things I make. Mind blowing work but really Japanese cute :kawaii!!

Lists

2008-11-30T06:13:00.000-08:00

The Potter's Market will start Friday. I have to do an inventory, squeeze in a bisque and glaze firing ,print my postcards and business cards on my Gocco! ,sand wash and inspect around 150 pieces, print labels , PRICE !(that will be tough because everybody is going very low with their prices.
I usually have 300 pieces ready for the market each year but considering this year I started working in mid October,I can't expect to make that much.
I managed to get my kiln to fire evenly from top to bottom.
After having a hard 4 on the bottom and a hard 6 on top ,now I reach a clean cone 6 on all levels.It took lifting up the last shelf one more inch packing loose on the bottom and very tight in the middle and top ,and a 10 min soaking at maximum temperature after I program the kiln to automatically fire at cone 5.
After all this ends I'll run an extensive series of tests to figure out the inner works of my kiln.
The bad thing is that the nova glaze soft white from spectrum runs like a sob at cone 6 and I lost half my load until I figured it out ,plus 2 of my full kiln shelves need a lot of grinding.All in a day's work.
The lost pieces are gorgeous glazes so I decided to break ,grind and design a mosaic for my fireplace.That will be my fun project after the holidays.
I need some sleep ,good food I did not cook ,and a manicure.

See you in all a week.

Sweet

2008-11-27T06:35:00.000-08:00

What I was thinking about at 6 am while assembling a 3 layered German chocolate cake.

I was thinking about SOS children's village ,the charity which asked me to upgrade my support by one dollar and wondering why the children in Africa would celebrate Thanksgiving in a charity started by an Austrian .I feel guilty for not affording an extra check for our sponsored child.I hope he's well cared for.
I was thinking about economic depression.NPR seems to be bent on spoiling every single day I drive.
......do you remember last year we were debating if recession is the right term ....this year we ask is it depression?...will the economy recover before 2010?....a special ..stories from depression survivors on thanksgiving day! ...
what's up NPR? Gloomy much?
Then ,listening to the depression stories I realised I have my own ,and that living hard times can be kind of fun .
There was this Romanian cook book most households in Romania owned.It was good because it gave you substitutes.
eggnog recipe.what to do if you don't have enough eggs.what to do if there's no milk.
french butter pastry with no butter
replace coffee with roasted chicory ,or if that's not available roasted dark bread crumbs.
100 ways to cook potatoes.
Back to my chocolate German cake.

3 fluffy chocolate based layers ,the first cream is gourmet dark melted chocolate with mascarpone and a little bit of condensed milk, the second layer is stuck together with vanilla cream and I will whip fresh cream, with no sugar and fresh raspberries on top.
The Romanian cook book was a favorite of mine and my brother's.We would read the recipes and pretend to make something sweet.We both remember page 222 for crepes and the drawing for cat's tongues (ladyfingers) and we know many recipes by heart.
Now when I have my own child I keep hearing about imaginative play, the food play with my brother comes always to mind.We were genuinely happy pretending to make sweets.We would pretend to eat exotic fruits from the German catalog neckermann and when our cousin from Italy asked us what we would like to get next year as a present we both agreed that we would like a coconut and we showed her the picture.I drew a whole bunch of "coconuts " and oddly enough palm trees behind our armoire that year.I have no clue how I was moving the really heavy furniture and my parents were so puzzled when they discovered it that I not only got away with no punishment but my dad allowed me to paint anywhere on the walls.
We never got the "coconut" from Italy but we got bubblegum and blue jeans and color changing markers which propelled us to the A list of school's social strata.I fear to dream what a real ananas would have done to our social life.
Today I'm making "bombs" too
cocoa + sweet graham crumbs tied together with condensed milk until you get a thick dough .The 'bomb" part comes from rum filled sour cherries you stick in the middle of each small ball of chocolate dough.You let them firm a little and toss them in sugar crystals and more cocoa powder.yum.You should not eat too many of those cherries if you plan on doing any driving later.

What am I thankful for today?
I'm thankful for my life and my family .
I'm thankful for all my memories and my future dreams.
Happy Thanksgiving wherever you are.

My kiln and I

2008-11-24T14:50:00.000-08:00

.

I gave him a name and we're both hotheaded.So far we didn't mess up much.
Here's an army of little things which I found out are trendy ,before and after their trip in the kiln

My kiln and I are happy together and one day we will have our own children and start a fire cult.

Peanut allergy

2008-11-19T05:23:00.000-08:00

Let's say you are like me and you woke up one morning knowing your kid has a severe peanut allergy.You are armed with an epipen, right? You know how to use it, you will sleep with a hand on it and one on the kid.
You learn how to recite all the names for peanut products like arachis oil, peanut oil, peanut flour, monkey nuts, beer nuts, ground nuts.
You're thinking to learn exotic languages : pistache de terre, arachide, aardnoot, cacahouette, pinda.

You'll come to the realisation that many things around you may contain peanut oil including some of the Oil of Olay face creams so you'll end up reading your soaps, your lotions ,your lipstick ingredients, .
Your child might not be allergic to tree nuts but you probably will be adviced to avoid them because of the possibility of crosscontamination in manufacturing .
A safer way to feed a non allergic child tree nuts is to buy them shelled and unprocessesed.
Wow.
Now you know that birthday parties , family gatherings, coffee with friends, haloween, thanksgiving , everyday lunch , will be a lot o work and not much fun.
But how about fun?
Kids want sweets and while it might be easy to give them a pound of sugar and a spoon ,it might not work on the long run.
There are many places where you can find parents pulling toghether resources and list of fun and safe things to eat ,remember to always read the ingredients as same products can be manufactured in different places.
In Canada, Nestle has a line of nut free products which you can find buy online in different stores ,but remember to look for the nut free sign and always read the label.
Another great canadian company has peanut free facilities for their cookies and more important (for mothers at least) their line of crackers is really tasty and nut free.
Here they are: DARE.Did I mention really tasty chocolate cookies?
Nut free chocolate. That is a little hard to find.If your child likes dark chocolate there are this gourmet chocolates from the spanish company Chocovich ,Guaranda and Ocumare (which are nut free according to the label) You can find it at Trader Joe's for under 3$ ,or online.The chocolate is real good and slightly addictive for adults.I used Vermont nut free chocolates a couple of times ,you can try it for yourself. I think the price was what stopped me from using it regularly.
Now this is a trap for parents;you want to enjoy your scrumptious biscotti and coffee, again, without hiding in the closet to have it?
here they are: TOUCHE bakery.I'm starting to think I might be shopping nut free for myself .
Haribo's gummibears are supposed to be nut free.It does not hurt to ask again.I buy the ones made in Germany and we had no problems.The mini gummi, individually packaged make a great portable treat for your kid .Keep in mind that original gummi are made with animal gelatin.
The dreaded peanut butter.I tend to hate it anyway,but if the other parents in school give you the lecture of nutritional setbacks because their own kids would eat nothing but peanut butter feel no guilt and whip this out of your pocket ; SUNBUTTER
In the end a list of sites I found useful.
Wishing you a lot of luck in keeping your kids safe.
allerneeds.com
Miss Roben's allergy grocer
enjoy life
mayo clinic
the food allergy and anaphylaxis network

Hey there!

2008-11-08T17:25:00.000-08:00

I should make lists, of things want to do and things I actually end up doing.
It would put things in perspective.
Now with a nice cup of tea I will recap my last 5 weeks.Stick around.
I installed my new ceramic kiln and fired it twice without burning my house down.However ,after changing a couple of bulbs I managed to get the glass in the light fixture to melt which shows I don't need expensive gear to inflict damage.Who knows what I can do with a small tealight.
I digress.

We survived Halloween,the poor kid going :Trick or treat !I'm allergic to peanuts!
-Errm, this are Reese's do you want it? Nooo, cry , moooooommy.
It was akward but in the end I managed to figure out a compromise in which I convinced the kid that giving candy away is more fun because you get to see all the kids costumes . We spent a happy warm evening on the porch flunked by our pumpkin family and scaring people with my shakuhachi practice...(I think she might be crying)
I bought mean looking hockey equipment for a toddler and tommorrow I get to see the first game.That will be fun.
I'm trying to get ready for a big ceramic fair in December and I'm making many many things.I'll show you pictures soon.I "fixed" my shaky table with a piece of cardboard I could not fix the garbage disposal,I got confounded by the time change and I regularly miss my appointments,I cried election night and then I got pissed at all these soft hearted idealistic people who are crawling out in the open and getting to me.
I inexplicably miss Japan and I often dream I'm there.
I plan to go back in spring.
Oh ! I almost forget.All of you who are not my mother,brother and best friends and are still reading this I have to tell you it will get boring and personal.I probably did a few more things because I just remember increments of 10 min till my next chore.

In case you were wondering gingko nuts smell like dog shit.Uncanningly.

I hope

2008-11-07T17:35:00.000-08:00

The new president will tell us the truth about aliens.
He promised he will never lie to us.
"-peace and long life.
-live long and prosper", Mr.Obama.

What can you achieve in 3.5 weeks if you run in circles, screaming

2008-10-06T05:17:00.000-07:00

I have a pottery wheel and a kiln.200 pounds of clay.My child is adjusting fine to her new school.I bought a new car.I feel weird driving an suv .Japanese too.I listen to country music while driving.My child is great but by some screwed up divine joke she likes country music.I had no hand in this.So it's either that or a continuus child scream.I don't know what's worst.
I found a dance school, an ice rink I made my first 15 pieces in 2 hours for the upcoming december pottery show.
I still don't have my house back.:)
I had horrid japanese/american food and wanted to ask the sushi chef ;how can you do this.Shame on you.
I miss Japan .Very deeply.
The colors are changing here and is breathtaking when the weather is fine.

.

Maybe I'm stalking this guy

2008-09-10T03:54:00.000-07:00

I don't think so but it is possible.I wanted to talk to him when I thought he is a bum building a random wood structure( he looked like he would know English) in front of my apartment building.
Today I almost said hello when I realised that most of his team was staring at me with unfriendly eyes so I just took off.After all they looked busy ,and cool little Japanese artists.
It was hard to find information about the flying Dutchman project because of course everything is in Japanese on the website.So here's the guy; Florian Claar

I like his work a lot and that explains my attraction to his site (that and the fact that I pass them everysingletime I get out the door ,and I have to keep my child from going there (she's excited about them building her a new playground)
here's me stalking him:

and a random image of the clear skies over minatomirai

As a really interesting side note between the site of this installation and the impressive building of Yokohama museum of art ,there is a small cement waterfall.There is a homeless man who lives there and washes his clothes with a small piece of soap very often.Every time I pass his clothes drying on the fence I think about slipping some money into his pockets.He calls himself a japino (japanese/filipino) and he speaks pretty good English even though he does not make too much sense.There is a tremendous clash of three different worlds in such a small space there ,tourists and art students at the museum,the small space occupied by the homeless man which everybody seems to ignore like he was invisible and the group of very serious hard at work people building something that maybe will or not, prove to be important in the future.

I decided to spend tomorrow at an art fair
koganecho bazaar where I realised I know one of the artists in line up.
My leave is wrapping up quickly.I went to a bar last night and had too much weird food and too many variations of drinks based on Beefeater's.As a really nice touch at the exit I got handed a piece of gum .
I can't help but think how cool it would be if the big bang experiment will go horribly wrong and our world gets sucked up in some alternative universe or we just totally and completely get wiped up in a split second.

10 days left and off your medication

2008-09-04T00:38:00.000-07:00

what looked like partially succesful packing turns out to be just completely wild out of control clutter.Your child gets an eye infection right after you threw away the eye drops, digging in the clean japanese garbage is fun and if you're lucky along with the medication you can retrive some of the food which inhabited your cabinets .
you can make a list of things to do with this extra week like a 24 hours photo trip, quickly make 20 more friends and visit a few new cities or you could contemplate giving in to depression while watching japanese tv.I chose the latter so I spent my day wrapped in a 15 years old sleeping bag,improving the design on my japanese bamboo flute with a tiny nail file watching a really bad cooking show and joining in with the few words I knew ;Eggs! eggs! eggs!salt!.
Then I pretended to be a tiger and eat my child, started washing my windows, and decided to eat all the chocolates I bought for my concierge as a good bye present.After all I'm not going anywhere.
Damn.

4 days left and off your medication

2008-09-02T20:38:00.000-07:00

you end up buying some of these;

(from Sou sou japan)
and many other things that looked good in the store 5 min ago.
you are also walking around wearing the clothes from the "throw away pile" because you can't remember where you packed your stuff and you tell your child "what panties you don't need any, is hot and we can cut this stains out your skirt so you can wear it.You desperately look for something to eat at breakfast and realize you got carried away throwing all the cereal boxes out.
you give your houseplants away ,think of ways to stop your housekeeper from sobbing, realise there are more stains on the walls than when the furniture was in the right places,ask people over for coffee and send them out when they can't walk without bumping into things,wonder what you are forgetting.
Don't worry you'll remember it after boarding the plane.
Sweet moving time.

Starbucks made me cry

2008-08-27T23:56:00.000-07:00

I did cry quietly in my comfy chair wiping my tears with a dirty napkin for 10 minutes straight.I think I reached the deep end.
I wanted a sandwich for my daughter.She had it before so it is safe peanut allergy wise but this time she wanted it hot.Because the girl at the counter spoke very good English I decided to break away from the safety of our routine and I asked:can you please wrap it in paper before you put it in the heating tray? My daughter has severe allergies.She said of course.ok.A boy came and before I could stop him carefully unwrapped it and put it down in the heating tray.I freaked a little.The girl came back she said sorry ,you want another one I'll wrap it in paper.The boy left upset.I said thank you ,I'm sorry for the trouble I'll take all of them.She said OK. She put the wrapped new sandwich in a convection oven where it caught on fire.She took it out .By this time the place was reeking with smoke .She put the fire out,took the sandwich wrapped it in new paper ,put it back in the oven where it caught on fire .
By this time my hands were shaking.Even the most polite people in the bookstore glanced worried at the black smoke coming from the counter.I asked her to stop please I apologise for all this just stop the oven now.She said OK.
Then I went in my chair and cried.I'm so unbelievably tired of this.

The saga of killer dragonflies

2008-08-25T02:40:00.000-07:00

-they eat children.
and what happens next?
-nothing else,they die.

Where do I start?
Kamakura
Sankeien gardens (tea ceremony,wow)
Sarushima (the monkey island)
Atami
Hakkejima (aquarium)
Nara(lots and lots of walking in sacred places)
Kumagaya ( the hottest place in japan.just my luck to get there in the hottest day too .But we went there for Tourou nagashi and it was worth it)
Karuizawa ( western type mountain resort)
Tomi ( art village at the bottom of an active volcano with a great nobori gama kiln)
Tokyo (kicking it up with the locals I ended up with a new passion shakuhachi I made one but can't make too much noise with my shakuhachi )
and the best of all onioshidashi
I'll return with pictures and details.
Happy to let you all know I'll be back in michigan on 6th of september and I'm ready to get to work.I believe my one year holiday in Japan is over.It was great.

Japanese boys cry easily

2008-08-16T02:43:00.000-07:00

it might be because of their feminine highlighted haircuts and cute front open flowery shirts ,or, it might be because they are overwhelmed by feelings of loneliness and despair at the thought of leaving their date at the subway gate and having to go home to sleep with their parents in stuffy small rooms.They wipe the tears with their fists in a quick manly manner and start to text frantically to their loved one.Japanese girls text quietly, with long dark hair draped in front of their face and spend time between the sobs to carefully select the right emoticon for the situation, blue heart, spinning cat,steaming devil or tears drowning smiley.
I know this because somewhere along the line I decided to break the ;"do not stare rule"(watch Buscemi in Paris je t'aime) and I spend my commuting time openly spying on the people around me.I read their manga books, I smell their clothes ,I spend time pairing down the right shoes with the right dress and the right body with the right face,I smirk if older ladies reproachfully look at me.Sometimes I take their picture.I'm becoming a westerner bully and I think is about time I left Japan before I actually give in to my new compulsion of tasting random people's drinks in restaurants .People like me just reinforce the stereotype of the "rude crazy American".

Ultraman tiga

2008-07-29T04:25:00.000-07:00

Yes they are coming home .I watch them occasionally and right now I'm fascinated by the description of weapons in this wiki article
Today I tried going to the movies.I asked at the info desk if they speak English.They did.I asked about the panda movie in English ,they made a sign on the program 16.15.I hyped the child ,for the fat animal as she wanted to see Wall-e.I wanted Wall-e too, Wall-e opens in December here?
we got there at 16.00,we payed around 25 $,I gave the clerk the program with the little sign and waited hopefully.She said forbidden kingdom, theater 1.I thanked her while drowning the small alarm that went on in my head , pandas , forbidden kingdoms were close enough and I was busy obsessing about one single word from Murakami's book Kafka on the Shore :peanuts.In the book the boy munched on peanuts while at the movies.Was I to take Murakami's work as a reality slice and risk sounding crazy once again? Yes.
-do you sell peanuts in the movie theater ?
-what's peanuts?
-pinattsuru,rakkasei.
-OK.smile.
-OK...
I went in ,the place looked great,they have booster pillows for children ,blankets and hooks for your purse.After suffering trough many many trailers none of them for children I started to consider the possibility of being in the wrong room.By this time the child was fast asleep.
Jackie Chan,Jet Lee in the forbidden kingdom..I love both of them but I don't want my 4 year old to cry about how mean was the one who hit the other.At least with the pandas I can explain.They are not real.The real ones are at the zoo.In China.
Got out ,asked to exchange the tickets could not remember where my stubs were. I started feeling mad,and I got even madder at the thought that is all just a misunderstanding and I should not be mad but polite and try to smile.I could not smile.I wanted all to be done with it faster ,the child was crying,the clerk was on the phone with the manager,I was mad because I can't read Japanese,because I did not check what the name of the movie was, because I could not get myself to smile or at least to pick my stuff and go.
I'll try again tomorrow.I hope that panda is worth it.

Like a rat in a maze

2008-07-27T06:25:00.000-07:00

I'm foraging for food.
For the second consecutive time I forgot to order food from the nice organic company I'm using which left me with the option of buying groceries every second day.
Here I am in the middle of Yokohama station.I have a bunch of heavy groceries filled bags and like every single time I'm here ,I took the wrong exit.no kidding.I do it every time.By now is routine ,even when I try to outsmart myself and do the opposite of what I think to be right I still go the wrong way.However it feels better than getting lost outside in the muggy hot weather where every wrong turn is becoming a small universe shattering event.
I stopped for vegetarian organic food ,feeling strangely guilty at the thought of having a raw piece of chicken in my bags.ohh the horror.bringing the meat in the clean house of greens.
I had edame salad, potato salad, hummus, arugula with sesame sauce, pasta with red hot chili,something like a sponge,something else like a pizza slice,something like plums but they tasted nothing like it,various pickles,tiramisu, custard,carrot juice and a coffee.The custard was in a shot glass,exactly one teaspoon sized with a tiny mint leaf and 3 drops of strawberry syrup.It was the tastiest desert I ever had.
I'm starting to be scared by big food after getting used to table settings with lilliputian plates and amazing variety and flavors.The best thing in Japan was the food.The food never sucked no matter where I eat.

The Tin Tings

2008-07-17T01:55:00.000-07:00

If you're in US you can watch this video on mtv
or maybe you can watch it here

They are hugely popular in Japan (apparently their name is an expression for small cute penis in japanese urban culture )
After finding them highly annoying for a few months I decided I like the videos and by juxtaposition with japanese pop I decided they are great singers too.
I spent a couple of hours glued to my tv when a retrospective Busta Rhymes was on Mtv japan.
There was not one single white horse/foggy sea/skinny ,lace dressed ,sad ,blank staring girl holding a pink withered rose is his videos.
So refreshing.

JIbJab !

2008-07-16T19:12:00.000-07:00

I was waiting for this campaign video to come out.:)
Watch it here.

Shibuya

2008-07-14T18:00:00.001-07:00

You know the movies in which thick crowds of people in Tokyo cross the street at the same time on something resembling a triangular crossroad? I always wanted to go there.For me that was the symbol of modern Japan.Like the Times Square in New York or Soho in London.
I woke up last Saturday ready to discuss matters of consequence only to have my husband grumbling : I'm tired can't talk now.I'm an early morning person and the rest of my family sleeps until noon which makes me tired and mad. Already mad I picked up my camera,and said OK :I'll show you.I will go shopping today.Which is odd because I loathe shopping,it might have been my desire to fit in a marriage cliche.In the train station I considered my choices,Yokohama was too close so I decided to take the express to Tokyo, Shibuya and I was somewhat puzzled at the lack of crowds.I never been to Shibuya, I did not read how to get there but I was determined to take some pictures and find the really ,really great shops.I randomly chose one exit and waiting at the light the whole image seemed strangely familiar when it hit me.I was there.

At the famous crossroad only it was grim and empty.I started looking around me.Just a few people on the street and none of them perky.Lots of garbage.Glamorous dressed girls who were not tying their strappy sandals ,they were in fact unable to sit up.ha.Many people on that street were drunk of sick after being drunk.

All shops were closed except some strange pink fake fur capsule with something resembling a hairdresser chair in the middle and a flower stand on the outside.Some guy was collapsed on that chair while 3 cute pink furry uniformed girls were massaging his scalp .A pimp at the next corner.Pimps are the same everywhere in the world.
I finally checked my watch :6.20 am ? what was wrong with me? It meant I left the house at 5.30 am
Forget the shopping I was beaming at the possibility of taking great pictures, but while I have experience with street photography I tend to scout the neighbourhood at least once so I don't get in real trouble.This was not a good time as I was not fitting in and there was no place to hide.
The light was strong and the heat was already in the nineties.

I got a coffee and set back in a commuter train filled this time with people going to work.

A trip to Nikko

2008-07-10T02:05:00.000-07:00

It started out hot,crowded we got on this lines to see the inside on the temples and immediately we found ourselves in a pickle.Everybody stopped in front of each sculpture, altar and carving on the wall listening to the monk talking about the history (I understood amaterasu and shiroi zoo out of a 10 min talk).Sometimes they prayed.We looked at each other in desperation while I was silently gagging the sweating child who kept whining I want to go home ,now, go home now ,go home now, home..now..pleease.
I made up my mind and gently split out the crowd ,passed the suddenly silent monk and walked towards the light.Much to my surprise it was all it took for little factions of Japanese rebels to follow suit.In groups of 2 and threes they were scurrying out looking at the ground.So much for that.I made a mental note not to get trapped inside the temples again.
Sweltering hot,then relief,a torrential rain made the crowds take shelter.

I got drenched while taking pictures of Sanbutsudo temple, soaking wet,the place looking suddenly like it must have been looked in 1887 when the temple was rebuilt.

What the monk was saying is the the first time the temple of the three Buddhas have been built in 848 ,but in 1877 Shintoism and Buddhism in Japan got separated and the temple got demolished only to be rebuilt 10 years later.
I learned that Torii a Shinto gate

has no doors to symbolise that any people can come and go freely (with the exception of lower class people like farmers and merchants who had to sit on the one thousand people's steps to look at the shrine),that the lotus is the symbol of Buddhism because the flower is pure growing out of mud .
In the five storey pagoda

rebuilt (of course )in 1818 each roof has a corresponding element earth, water, fire, wind ,heaven and it has no foundation for it's 106 feet while a big pendulum inside helps overcome the vibrations from earthquakes.

At this point I got separated from my family and spent the next few hours on the brink of tears while running trough temples, guard houses ,sacred pillars, gardens with off limits signs

stopped shortly by Japanese women who wanted to take pictures of me with their own kids and cursing the moment I left the cell in the car.
Exhausted I stopped only to hear my husband's calm voice behind my back; did you see the hear no evil monkeys? I didn't.I also didn't buy my fortune for the fear that it will be bad and I'll have to hang it outside the temple

We left,had lunch in a udon place, drove to Chuzenji lake ,and stopped shortly by the Kegon falls only to find out that in may 1903 a young student driven to despair by philosophy (no kidding) killed himself by jumping in the falls.Apparently his last words were so moving that during each year over 100 people come there with the intention of committing suicide. I have this bits on information from a guide to Nikko written by Masao Tezuka, maps and postcards and bits of wrapping paper with important facts.
Enjoy your trip to Nikko

Social experiment no 67

2008-07-07T05:57:00.000-07:00

-Good evening ,do you speak English, please?
Stunned silence then the phone goes dead.
My husband laughs at me.Slightly peeved I try again:
-Please bring somebody who speaks English.
-Chotto matte (one moment)
Pleasant music comes in another girl comes to the phone;
-Moshi, moshi.
-I would like to order a pizza
She closes the phone.My husband is laughing real hard now.I contemplate giving up but the flyer in my hand said pizza LA ;freshly made from our oven to your house.It's emulating pizza from my country and I want it.
I call again.This time I'm pissed;
-Eigo.NOW.
Music.More music.While I wait for the call to drop I device the plan of calling them for the next two hours every 2 minutes and closing the phone on them.
A boy comes on .He tells me a long story in Japanese about how he does not speak English.In the background the two girls are giggling .
My husband watches me interested
I avoid saying OK which will end the conversation and I start loud and clear;
-Pizza !wakarimas-ka?
he repeats: pizza
-Italiana.wakarimas-ka?
he fatefully repeats Italiana.
I continue reading from the flyer;
-LARGE!
I feel he's relaxing a bit so I push it:thin crust.Too far .A lot of Japanese pours in and I back out fast: -It's OK. Any crust.I'm very hungry.He repeats :very hungry.
More Japanese.I feel I'm about to be defeated so I decide to take action.
-My address now. OK?
I start saying it in English.He stops me at each word and I realize he does not understand what I'm saying .I wish the girls would stop giggling because I can feel him sweating.I quickly glance at my hand and I remember my numbers;
-room number :ni, dzero, san ,go!
-hai!
-MINATO MIRAI!
-hai!
-MID SQUARE
in a climactic moment he adds :regidence! hai!
More Japanese I say OK ,arigato gozaimas, turn off the phone and I sit on the couch drained.I'm not hungry anymore.My husband is quiet.Do you think they will come? I don't know what to answer.
55 min later my husband hands me a cereal bowl when the doorbell rings.
-Should I give him a tip? he asks
-There is no tipping in Japan.
-I know but if we manage to start the habit I think everything would change here.
The delivery boy politely refused the tip.

My head is full of crickets

2008-06-30T07:54:00.000-07:00

Not the nice creatures that lull you to sleep in Bali or the good luck charm insects Chinese used to carry on long trips (while we're at it they smell )given the choice I'd rather carry a rooster to protect me from the basilisk on long dangerous trips.Even better I should not take long dangerous trips and stay at home have a glass of wine in a comfy chair and read Borges .The book of immaginary beings
I always wanted to be an explorer.Yes I read about Amundsen I felt bad for Mallory but in my mind it was the climate and bad luck.I would never venture on the Arctic or try my luck on the Everest .I can't swim so I would not pull Thor Heyerdahl's trick either.Norbert Casteret sparked my imagination and for 6 years I was getting more and more into cave exploration or speleology .I still miss it.
I kept reading books about real explorers somehow skimming the detailed account of illnesses ,horrible parasites, more illnesses, snakes, worms, and giant flesh eating creatures of the dark.It just made the whole adventure more thrilling,thus more desirable.
I have a cold.A simple common bug that for people here would be a few uncomfortable days .For me it has been 4 weeks of breathing fire, walking around at night,chugging down every cold relieve I can get my hands on.My head is full of mean ,loud crickets which temporarily shut up if I sneeze for the exact amount of time it takes me to clean up my pajamas. What's better is that all of us are sick and all the people we spent any time with last month are sick too.
It just made me think how much it must have sucked to drag along in the great exploring adventures while shaking with malaria ,vomiting violently or cramping up with diarrhea.Jules Verne's books are just good exploring PR.

A long slow night

2008-06-22T22:50:00.000-07:00

My second experience with the strange japanese health system started with a short visit at the clinic downstairs for my 2 weeks old now ,sore throat and cough.I got more antibiotics and some asthma medicine.
Staring at my pills I asked the doctor why do I get antibiotics if he said it is a virus.The answer was: Yes, make sure to take them all.
My next question was :am I contagious? Can my daughter catch this? The answer was a definite no.
10 minutes later I was back with my child ,which was suddenly burning with fever.The doctor said :She has same as you, got her antibiotics,some fever medication and some cough syrup.I gave her the first round and she seemed better until later in the afternoon when her fever spiked to 40 celsius.I tried giving her the horrible bitter powder for fever which made her vomit.Not once but 4 times,I called the clinic ,the doctor was not there but they asked me to go to the nearby hospital.I waited for the taxi made it one block down the street 20 min later ,at the emergency smiling pretty receptionists told me they have no pediatrician so I should find another place to go.I asked for any doctor to see her.By this time she was burning on my shoulder not responsive anymore .
Wait here.
I took a sit hopeful and after a while somebody came out with a post-it in japanese telling me :you have to go there.I left choking with frustration, decided to walk back home where I wrapped the child in cold towels. She woke up vomiting again.With the help of a japanese friend we got on a taxi and headed for tokyo red cross hospital who told us they will see her.30 min on the freeway we were there covered in vomit.We saw another doctor who dismissed the first diagnose and told us the child has a virus ,inflamating her bowels.New medication.Nothing serious .We gave her the new meds, the vomiting stopped the fever stayed up and she started geting hives.She's highly allergic so hives are a big problem for us.New taxi, new hospital,wait.All this time I'm clutching the epipen in my pocket and wondering what will happen if I have to give it to her.
New doctor,yes is a virus,yes she has urticaria we don't know the reason she's weak.We can keep her in and put her on a IV.The fever medication you got from Tokyo is not strong enough for her weight. This time my questions were useful;Can I use Motrin and Tylenol to manage her fever? Will her allergy meds interact with whatever I gave her so far?
We went home,while the sun was gloriuosly coming up over the ocean.My friend who translated and stayed with us all night lent us money for the last taxi as our 500$ in cash were gone and no credit card were accepted anywhere.We got home threw the meds away and gave the child a tea and a tablespoon of Motrin.
I spent the next day reading about the japanese health care system and thinking about the stories I heard from other moms.
I will not have the life of my child endangered and I'm looking forward to give a hug to her pediatrician in us.

News

2008-06-19T19:34:00.000-07:00

The first thing I did back in us was to turn on the TV on a news channel .Cup of coffee in hand I quickly gasped at some heartbreaking images of some people in some sort of natural disaster.For 30 seconds.Before I could process the info the next news came on "LOOK A PUPPY!"his name was Douglas ,he was 6 months old and he was looking for a home.He was wearing the cutest red bandanna and he yawned twice.I hope those half naked people made it past the dead cow in the mud slide OK.
Yesterday I watched fox news
"Outraged Liberals: Stop Picking on Obama's Baby Mama!"
It took me such a long time to figure it out :Obama's mama had a baby.Obama has a child outside the marriage .Obama has a baby with his mama.
It turned out to be different.I can image the meeting which birthed the headlines :
-This people are getting too popular we need to do something about it.Let's pretend we want to defend her and remind people she's not good for the country.Brilliant! You see what I'm doing here?
Use some ghetto talk the black people understand that will attract their attention.You there in the corner you get me a catchy phrase .
-But I...
-No buts I know your cousin married a Mexican.Ask her to come up with something ,other than ho.Last time we used that word on air everybody got up in arms.

This is how I would like my TV news to look: People trying to make a change.It might be idealistic but it's worth trying.

2008-06-18T23:42:00.000-07:00

Another day at the pottery studio.I grew accustomed to the soft whispers behind my back sometimes one of the Japanese potters would tentatively ask in English about my experience. I'll go on explaining about art high school, ceramic sculpture, functional pottery after a while when I realise I'm basically giving a speech I stop.Then my interlocutor turns around and announces loudly:10 years! sometimes is 14, sometimes 7 years depending on what part of my past clinged to them.I usually smile embarrassed and stand up and say thank you every time somebody new comes in ,greeted by: This is Lavinia-san! 10 years!

Regardless of the fact that I don't understand the questions people talk to me all the time so I decided to use my Japanese when it became obvious that is my turn to speak.Instead of apologising for not understanding as I do 30 times a day I ventured to announce loudly that "the white fish is not swimming".There was a dead silence after that.Nobody smiled or asked me to repeat my words.

Later that day I met a few of the women from the pottery class in a pastry shop.They cheerfully recommended some round cheese stained thing.Try that is very good. Warm smiles. I asked permission to sit with them.The one next to me put her hands on the two empty chairs close to her smiling: no room,no more room, bye, bye now.Instead of sitting at another table I just exited the place wondering what I did wrong ,went to the park sat on a bench eating the surprise pastry, wondered if the nauseating feeling I got is from the 100 degree heat, from eating a potato wrapped in bread ,wrapped in cheese, from experiencing the mad hatter moment or just from stirring some awkward childhood repressed memory.

It turned out it was none of this,by the time I got home I realised I'm burning with fever and I passed out for the next 5 hours. Later at the hospital a smiling doctor keep repeating two words.It took two more people until I made out they were saying common cold, common cold.

That was a week ago.I flew to Detroit and back and I still cower in lung splitting cough 15 times a day.

I finished a great Gocco print and I'm looking forward to the next one, and today I glazed 6 cups which hopefully will be ready next week.

I'll sleep for a weekend before I make more plans.

Hydrangeas are in season.It rains.

Hello there!

2008-06-06T16:21:00.000-07:00

I'm slacking off.I know.
Summary: today I read this article from wired mag and I understand it.
http://www.wired.com/gadgets/wireless/news/2008/06/japan_phones?npu=1&mbid=yhp
I for one ,I do not touch any random combination of keys on my phone for the fear that something might pop out.I'm one of the people who freaks out when the phone all of the sudden connects to the web; no, no come back I just need to make a phone call, no I don't want to hear the latest charts in Japanese pop I will not give you my credit card number and certainly I can't read the news .That's how I missed on the big news last week of the woman who lived hidden in a guy closet for a year until he finally figured it out.I think I should pitch a movie idea somewhere.Until then I started to lock my doors and half jokingly I've put some order in my closets.
I hired somebody to clean our house.After the first day I was completely depressed with the realisation that I am an inept housekeeper.I truly believed that she will never finish ,piles of books ,toys ,clothes I have an ongoing war with domestic items which leaves me half crazy.She put everything in order in 8 hours.I went from disbelief to mad happy until two days later when I decided my closets need to be color coordinated and I have to move all my furniture .In the middle of this I found my jewelry supplies and sat down chopping bits of silver in the living room.Ever since the house is back to the "Omg you've been robbed !"look.
I tried finding out if the urge to move furniture once a month is related to some mental problems.I'll go crazy because I have to do it in one room with only 6 pieces of furniture.
More about Japan, I started planning this trip for the end of August.I found out it is the week of obon ,the summer festival the second biggest travel week in Japan.
I wanted to go here Itsukushima shrine, in the middle of reading about accommodations one phrase made me burst out laughing and I realised it is the best advice somebody would ever get about Japan; "take out more money than you think you'll need."

Enjoy

2008-05-17T05:33:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbl-FZ7eb50&NR=1

What the hell did I just see?

2008-05-16T00:19:00.000-07:00

Is starting to wear off. I'm becoming oblivious to subway advertising pictures of a nice girl pointing at tiny ,black eyed , penis shaped white rows of things.
Funeral chants for a blood soaked white dog by uniformed school boys with painted white faces in an apocalyptic , if I were to guess ,alternative theater.
Much to my family's distress I dream of never leaving this place ( I also dream about superhero sunglasses which will make my white salt world so amazingly crisp and bright , I guess my family should not worry much about my interior life. Sometimes I dream about an eggplant colored couch and yellow walls.Mildly unsettling.
names for posts I never wrote:

How to take crap pictures,
What does it do
My last post
Earthquake, again.
I'll revisit the crap pictures one because is information we can all benefit from.You will need two expensive cameras in order for your pictures to achieve the height of " chimp operated cardboard disposable camera " look , anything less that that will lack authenticity.

My daughter asked me to buy the slender shaper after watching a long ad on TV.
-YOU buy that !YOU put it on the belly and YOU push on the buttons!!!!
-and what happens?
-NOTHING! she said beaming , nothing happens.

The up side of parenting

2008-04-28T23:20:00.000-07:00

In one hand I'm holding Complete prose by Woody Allen. My eyes are directed towards the comfy chair and the brandy I poured earlier in a round glass, while trying hard to ignore the view of all my dishes ,dirty ,piled up in my sink. My mother shows up with that wordless sigh and I throw a quick guilty look in the general direction of my kitchen trying to shoot above the mess.Despite the fact that my mother is in reality across the world, sleeping , my right hand moves without my control while the left hand keeps hanging on to my book with the fading hope that it will win this time. After a few minutes of struggling with the one handed washing I give up and get to work ,by the time I'm done my t-shirt is soapy wet sticking to my belly and I reevaluate Woody Allen as a lecherous old man and my mom as a voodoo witch.

I hope she passed on some of the powers.

Pimped up Saturn

2008-04-17T18:40:00.000-07:00

Yeah baby! We're back in Motown.

Driving down Woodward ,downtown Royal Oak muscle cars and raving bikes ohhh is good to get high on carbon monoxide again.
I hate cars with a vengeance but somehow in a twisted way I was happy to be "home" and even the rented , burgundy ,automatic transmission ,stiff like a boat and nauseatingly slow PT cruiser could not spoil that.
I live in a hotel.
Not cool.

The visa didn't come yet our trip back to Japan is postponed another week.
My husband works Japanese hours.
People are worried about their future and some small businesses I used to love are closed.
Not cool.
But my friends are still here! Is hard to explain how happy they make me feel. I talk and talk and talk.
Last week I went to Seattle

and Vancouver

I visited SAM for the roman art from the Louvre and passed the Amsterdam cafe .

Saturday I will try to go to Ann Arbor.The Dalai Lama will give a lecture there.
That China.
Too many things to say about it.Stop buying Chinese .
The last 6 months have been a roller coaster.
Far away from Japan I can put things in a better perspective .I can say for sure that over there I'm worried for our immediate physical survival . I know it sounds harsh but that is what I think. I feel we could die there and nobody would care .
Are you touched yet, tears streaming down your cheeks? I am.
All this being said I'm ready to go back .I have a knack for getting attached to lost causes.This time I'm better prepared :a little pocket book "survival Japanese" has replaced the great Rosseta Stone computer program, I read a couple of books and hopefully I roughly understand the "saving face" concept and try not to put too many people in awkward situations. Hah. At least that is my honest plan. It might abruptly change if the contempt on both sides spirals out of control.
Deep breaths.
Here are some older pictures and I'll let you know of I made a sign with
one world,one dream free Tibet ,this Saturday.

Is your present in there?

2008-03-29T06:32:00.000-07:00

I spent the last two days shopping and wrapping presents.
Now I need one more suitcase.
Or I have to break up with some of you.

I'm working on a new series.

Working is overstating it because I barely have time to think about it but I finished my first piece.

I have a few more drawings I really love on my flickr account.

Other things I did: busted my knee trying to ice skate, had a fire alarm at the apartment which made me run 23 floors carrying a 30 pound kid in what felt like 3 min.Man ,am I in good shape.I thought .The next day my legs seemed to want to bend backwards and were sending a spasm trough my body with each step.

Italian food, cherry blossoms , got my fortune read (mostly good),saw lots of nice pottery , pottery , pottery.

Payed 150$ to the guy who yanked my spoon out of the garbage disposal 30 seconds after entering the house.

For the first time since here the stress let out and I fully enjoyed a few days.

I climbed a hill in 5 " shoes.

Now I'm packing.

I'm ready to check out now

2008-03-18T02:21:00.000-07:00

This was the name of my never written last week blog entry when another wave of illness and general moodiness hit us up heavy.

In the meantime much good had happened.With the help of a friend I found a great ceramic studio which is placed in a traditional Japanese garden. A very beautiful real Japanese studio which made me feel so hopeful for my work.

We went hiking last weekend I will show some pictures

and we talked with people who liked to climb.We decided to meet them again this weekend even though we both fear that the climbers in their late 50 's are in way better shape than both of us and we will make a pitiful figure scrambling up the wall.

The child does good in school and we both have a few new friends.What more can I want all is falling into place.

I would say that if I was not a born pessimist always waiting for the bad news.The bad news came in the form of our visa expiring ,and here we are packing our bags .I'm looking at a trip of an indeterminate period in the States ,smack down in the middle of the child's school and my coveted pottery classes, followed by an indeterminate period back in Japan ,followed by some other mystery trip to Germany.

As a result I decided to sod buying curtains for my room and I hanged up my flat sheets.

See you in Seattle ,peoples, and you better be flu free when we arrive because I can't take one more round of it this spring.

My new pottery

2008-03-07T16:54:00.001-08:00

Teacup. More to come .

How to save 4 $ ,work 4 hours and get rid of Winnie

2008-03-05T03:30:00.000-08:00

My child needs an art smock. Or an apron. She needs more stuff but I was hazed by my first kindergarten invoice and I could not hear the rest.I know the teacher was talking to me but I was only thinking that half of what I was proud to call the child's college fund will go on paying three months of 2 days a week kindergarten.

Later we went on a apron hunt.First store no luck,dragged ourselves to the next one.This time I picked up an adult sized one, grabbed an employee and showed him the kid.They didn't carry any.Last stop the dollar store.No aprons.The child is hungry and crying as she fell on the escalator stairs, I have orange juice dripping out of my only designer purse and a piece of tuna melting on the stroller seat.I'm haunted by the yellow clouds outside.

Right at that moment my husband (who left for a couple of days two weeks ago) decided to call and advanced a solution : make one yourself. After yelling at him for a few minutes I looked around picked up some things and headed home.So here it is my felt apron which could have been a no hassle ,1 dollar piece of plastic with Winnie the Pooh on, but it was not meant to be.

1.supplies from the dollar store, thread, ribbon, needles , felt, and a little owl towel I ended up not using.8 $.

2. first cut from a square piece of felt folded, and square pockets .

the pockets.

I decided to run the string trough the middle and stitched a place for it

I also made a little pleat on the top part to have more fabric for the strap

I covered the top part with pink ribbon

Did the same pink ribbon for the top part of the pockets,altered the dimensions a bit and rounded the bottom corners

after stitching the pockets (the light pink has two skinny compartments for brushes) I 've cut some felt for decoration.On the flower I used a trick from sewing buttons to give it a little dimension ,I twisted the thread a few times under each layer of felt.

bee.

On top I doubled the back where the strap goes in and sewed it like a button hole.I also took extra time on the top part of the pockets you can see why.

Here you have it .All done.

Yellow storms

2008-03-04T04:41:00.000-08:00

I'll be back right after I take a shower.
OK .I 'm not easily spooked by a bunch of sand in the sky or a minor ecological disaster like China's desertification thanks to a fulfilling childhood 1 km away from a Communist chemical plant.If you need to know what that means I can sum it up in a few words : close the windows at 11 pm or you'll start choking , do not go out in the rain as little holes from sulfuric acid will ruin your clothes and playing in the red smelly river coming from the plant was a tad boring because hardly any fly was zooming by (they still didn't 15 years later)
That did not stop our parents to go wash the rugs in there in the summer and it was always an outstanding family picnic.Add to that the knowledge that the official "agricultural fertiliser plant" had x special sections making and storing explosive and you could hear your parents whisper about how big of a crater will be left when we blow up.You get the picture.
As a result I scoffed at the asian dust warning which came upon me yesterday.I barely noticed it as an explanation for the massive amount of masks worn by people on the street.Until my child's face started bothering me.It looked like allergic spots but they moved.I would dish out the benadryil in a second but she eat only food made by me so it was not an allergy, moving cold sore ? No way.Then I remembered: try to stay in today.I didn't and she played out for hours .After scrubbing the child, the floors, washing curtains getting the clothes in the washer she got her face back and I realised I'm doing what everyone around me was doing all day; vacuum, scrub. Suddenly the foggy view from my window seems very unattractive but is not as bad as this clip from bbc.
I swear the next post will be about how great it is to live here.Or at least I will have a pro and cons list and let you make up your own mind.

Should I be worried?

2008-03-03T03:24:00.000-08:00

My child has a new pet: a real spinach head. She gave it a bath in the sink dried it in a towel,made him toys out of other spinach pieces and sung it to sleep. Apparently later it will come to bed with us.

Here it is:

For now I'm just studying the phenomena.

Yesterday we watched Troy together and while she enjoyed the wooden horse and the fireballs attacking the Greek "pirates" she wanted to know "why Hector (Nectar) wants to die? He doesn't have to go out ".True. She didn't like Achilles much and she really wanted to know more about the dog, the river ,the boatman and how heroes are ending up in the Elysian Fields. I started making a mess of the whole story and in the middle of it she interrupted:"What is the name of that thing you point and push the button when you see the bad guy? Is it called a killer?"

I 'm a little worried now.I already explained where the babies come from and what a c-section is.

Green stuff

2008-03-01T18:15:00.000-08:00

As in tea.

I used to drink 6 to 8 espresso shots a day until I experienced my first ocular migraine.Well until I knew it was an ocular migraine I went trough the normal cycle: omg I can't see, I have a tumor, I'm too young to die what should I do so the world will remember me, damn ,I wasted my life, maybe I should not sleep from now on and make sure I discover/create something big ,I wonder how much time I have left ,I don't want to know.

Ocular migraines are pretty harmless and I had to give up some of my coffee abandoning my plan to never sleep again (I paused the plan of wowing the word with my creativity for now, after all I'm not that old and some people like Gaugain bloomed fairly late)

I always liked tea, black , and my all time favorite is Earl Grey extra hot with a little milk.In four months in Japan I made coffee in my house twice.I make tea around 4 times a day and I slowly grew to love green tea.I have an admission to make I've been drinking green tea for 10 years now and I hated the very taste of it.I learned how to make it properly but no matter what I did I kept calling it steamed lawn clippings in my head.I drank it for my health, because I'm a little bit of a snob and can't embrace a popular opinion like green tea sucks and to torment some of my visitors.
Discovering genmaicha a few years back made me enjoy green tea.Now I have organic powdered genmaicha and the taste of roasted rice is amazing.

Here Starbucks has matcha lattes,I don't know if they are marketed anywhere else .Matcha is green powdered tea who's use is extended from tea ceremony to baking.I make a great ice cream by whipping cream with matcha powder and sugar .

A tasty example is the mochi ice cream from Trader Joe's. You can find it in the ice cream section in green tea , chocolate, strawberry and mango flavor.They are not very sweet and the chocolate one has very subtle milk and dark flavours.In the beginning you might want to skip on the rice coating and just eat the inside, it took me a few weeks until I started appreciating the gooey skin.

Back to tea.Here's a list of great places to buy from.

adagio teas

tea noir my favorite etsy seller

special teas in case you want to blend your own

Rishi has a great selection of teapots (you know this whole post was only a promo stint as I will try to get you all hooked up on tea and then sell you my exquisite ceramics.

rishi tea

cafedirect in case you just want a decent cup of coffee and forget about the tea nonsense.

Spelling bee

2008-02-25T17:01:00.000-08:00

shut up, shut up ,shut up.
if my child takes up on this crazy competition I will lose my mind
clavecin .
cabotinage.
terrene.
my last week:
child /fever/doctor/medication.
fever/fever/fever/second doctor/tamiflu.
vomit X 6/hospital/doctor/medication
fever/no more meds
fever/cough/fever
husband called from Vienna.fever/cough/fever in his hotel room.
Babysitter didn't show up. Somebody buy orange juice. The spelling bee on TV for the 10Th time.Please put Elizabeth the virgin Quinn on!
I'm missing the deadline for this competition.
I want to sleep.
Outside there are cold wind storms.
Last night I was dreaming about reading this book: Three man in a boat.
I guess is part of my comfort zone.I wish I still had it.
I'm reading some historical essay instead which bores me to my bones.
I think I want to go to Italy.
Right now.

This post is about me.In case it wasn't clear.

What I miss most

2008-02-17T19:18:00.000-08:00

This is going to sound silly.
What I miss the most from US are emergency services.
Once when our electrical wires caught on fire the firefighters were at my house in a few minutes.
At the zoo when my child got sick I was in a truck with the paramedics in 2 short minutes,they were calm , talking slowly, they never stressed the child but they managed to take her blood pressure and pulse without her even noticing.We left with a little bunny toy and my child happy about visiting the fire truck. For me that is the best thing about the United States.It somehow gave me the feeling that help is out there, after growing up with the clear understanding that no matter what happens, you are on your own and if your immediate family can't help you're royally screwed.
In Romania the overall quality of emergency services is improving.Still there's an acute shortage of supplies, the hospitals are crowded and undestuffed and most doctors have a social status which places them above questioning (one ex. the director of my local hospital which refused my bone cancer dying father his morphine and replaced it with fucking Tylenol)
Here's a movie for you. The Death of Mr. Lazarescu
Now getting back to Japan.
In two different ocassions I saw people hurting.
Once on the subway stairs this young woman could not stand and she was leaning against the walls in order to step forward.Her face was in pain and she was holding her stomach crouching down from time to time.I know most people were aware of her but when close to her, they were looking at the ground.
On the streets of Tokyo this old lady was leaning against a wall after an obvious fall ,her nose and forehead were bleeding.This time my friend stopped and asked in Japanese if we can help.We were politely refused and told she's just resting from her back pain.After we left I looked back and saw her sliding down at the foot of the wall.
At first I was appaled :why? how insensitive? only to realise weeks later that I in fact witnessed the opposite .It was discretion and deep respect that stopped the people from interfering.
Asking if something is wrong is assuming and patronising.The answer will be "nothing is wrong", anyway for the first couple of times.I read that Japanese people even if they are in need will not ask for help.

If help would not be offered , asked for, or accepted, when are the Japanese paramedics coming in place?

seed

2008-02-15T00:22:00.001-08:00

seed, originally uploaded by almapottery.

I can't seem to upload pictures from blogger so here they are, in flickr

Hoooooney,I'm back!

2008-02-14T21:14:00.000-08:00

Yes I am.

I made a few pots.Working on the wheel "the japanese style " had me sweating but there is nothing I like more than a challenge.I have to switch everything I do because the wheel turns the other way and as a conseqvence every time I stick my dominant hand in ,I rip the clay off.

I decided to keep it out of the way until I learn how to use the other hand which probably looked very funny because I just sat on it.

In the end I made a small tea cup using some very strange ( futuristic I tell you) hand locks.

Next time I'll ask for a full demonstration from my teacher and make sure I steal her technique.The wheel is very weak compared to what I'm used to and if I put it in reverse it turns into a screaming banshee so apart from starting to fiddle with it and some wd-40 there is only one way to go :clockwise.

Ok.I spent some time researching what I did in handbuilding.

Did I mention my japanese teacher speaks Italian? We have moments when we both give up and just point at things. Quela, questo,quelli, questa,quello.We got that down.For this reason I mistakenly understood that "katakuchi" is a soup bowl.Well it isn't .It is a traditional sake serving bowl.

Sometimes things are right under my nose and I need them to slap me on the face.In US I got tired of making pitchers and started making little hand held bowls with a small sectioned spout .I was very pleased with the look of my "prototype "but it didn't have a good pour so I gave up on them after making a dozen.I had to stare at this picture to realize that I was making katakuchi for the last two years ,and this is the reason why from a pile of japanese traditional pottery samples I picked up the one I'we been digging at for a while.

I'll show you my katakuchi after it is fired.Come to think of it I was just planning ways to introduce the little spout on smaller cups but apparently they have been doing that for hundreds of years.Quite the shock to realise I'm deeply rooted in the japanese tradition.

Many other things had happened but I stopped counting.

I have some spring pictures which some of you might find inspiring and I'll post some on flickr and a couple here.

A truck has crushed in the digestive equipment of the building

2008-02-09T20:38:00.000-08:00

.
This was the note waiting for us at the front desk this morning.
We didn't get too much sleep because at 11 pm the security made an announcement in Japanese on our house interphone.We got dressed ,went out, waited a little,went back in and tried our best to read the instructions on the screen.We took pictures,we tried recording the message in an effort to send it to all our japanese friends who could tell us if it is really bad.We gave up after a few hours.
But we kept our clothes on trough the night and a backpack with our passports and money at hand...
The morning note made everything crystal clear.

Tokyo symetry

2008-02-09T11:11:00.000-08:00

Pictures.

Great food.

Matcha tea in a graceful sweets shop.

Testosterone train ride.

What can you say

2008-02-08T17:50:00.000-08:00

They were inspired to call it madness:
http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_JP/rooms_ideas/democratic_design/CollectedPage.html
Try looking at the one with the vase (catch the woman's head with a medium lenght dark hair.)
As a potter and artist the beginning of the statement was baffling:
"there's nothing attractive about an exclusive design..">....ending in "mass produced .with love...."

What I find interesting is that Etsy promotes this handmade pledge on one side but in reality the democratic design cheap and in unlimited quantities is the best way to make a steady significant income on the site, which propels more and more sellers to cut out costs and offer their art in a more affordable format.
In this regard the only difference beween Ikea, the queen of mass produced elevator art and Etsy stands not in the concept but in the manufacturing process.I guess that's enough.
I'll return to the scheduled broadcast momentarily.

It only takes one.

2008-02-08T05:26:00.000-08:00

I deleted some of my entries.
Why?
Because no matter how frustrated I will get from now on I will refrain from making generalised rushed judgements.
Why?
Because one person I met here was nicer than I can ever describe and a general negative comment would encompass her .It would be unfair and hurtful.
It takes ONE.

*Of course my blog will be suddenly boring , all lovey dovey, sugar coated ,rainbow sprinkled.Hmm, I should change my tag line.
Love you! did I just say that?

"how to give a great man to man hug"

2008-02-04T02:05:00.000-08:00

watch it here.

The periodic table of elements.

2008-01-31T17:31:00.000-08:00

Marie Curie's radioactive dress

I took this up on a whim mostly because I really love big groups of people coming together on a project.It must be my communist upbringing :"with the masses for the masses!" or my love for the three musketeers.
Now looking back at 2007 it is one of the things I am most proud of.I wish I was friends with all this great artists involved in the project.
Here it is. P U S H
*If you're some great editor who's going to turn it into a book and make us all famous, by all means ,go ahead.

Unexplainable

2008-01-30T17:24:00.000-08:00

I feel like a sponge.While in ceramics of jewelry I can control my impulses ,every single time I sit down drawing ,something weird comes out.
The subway in Japan is indeed a magical place .I'll just go with it see what happens.
Look what I've got.I can't say it out loud how much these flawless stones costed.Faceted labradorite,beautiful coin pearls, peridot ,faceted chalcedony.mmmm.

Saturday I'll visit a pottery studio where the Japanese teacher knows Italian.He studied ceramics in Firenze .Now I wish my Italian teacher was a little more down to earth and included in his curriculum some everyday talk not only the Renaissance literature.Maybe I'll try to wrestle some poems in the casual conversation?

I got cable .In fact I got a box sent to me with a lot of instructions. Being a determined and patient person I tried all combinations possible with the cables.It worked.Much to everybody's surprise.I think I unveiled my inner geek or my paranormal powers as I pushed sistematically all buttons on my remote control and the tv is still working.Sometimes in English.
Interesting enough my daugther wants to watch the Japanse kids program we already had.I don't blame her: there's kabuki ,cute domino constructions,singing and dancing the algorithm dance and some very strange colored blobs I have to instant translate for her and I guess my absurd plots are fascinating.
This kid doesn't know that beer ,pot and voice overs are a way to spend some of the time in art school.
Or so I've heard.

GOCCO!

2008-01-26T22:02:00.000-08:00

It figures.I chose the new media and the messy house.
now the story;
I got it as a kit from Tokyu Hands a pg-11.It was 10200 yen which is under 100 $.I got extra inks,screens and bulbs and headed home.
On my way home I stopped by an Italian osteria where after a quick expensive glass of vine I stared back at my gourmet pizza.It looked like parmigian but it was a baby sardines topping.Minuscule white baby sardines with black reproachfully eyes chirimenjako dried fishbait.
I ate them.
Then I had a giant crepe filled with strawberries whipped creme and caramel sauce.Crepes are hugely popular here. I like to make them and fill them with ricotta and dill but here are sweets.Next I pushed my man to get a haircut.He didn't really need it but he was my social experiment of the day.10 min barber shop.I guess the equivalent would be the corner barbershop in downtown Detroit.
I waited outside while people were staring.And staring.Until the next customer came and I realised I was sitting on the waiting chair.
Then I got sick.
I made it home and looked trough the Japanese instruction booklet.It didn't make sense to me so I threw it away.I performed a Google search for Gocco troubleshooting .Nothing interesting.
Went to sleep .
For the first time in months I woke up at 5 am.I drew my masters.One of them on tracing paper.Performed a Google search: "tracing paper does not work".I scoffed.
I put the thing together fired away (on the third try )and then I spent a couple or hours cutting paper.man.When your hands are itching to see what you've done, this jobs come in.
It worked.I printed,I learned a quick few things in the process which will help a lot.(heated floor and drying gocco prints a good combo)
I did an edition of 3o on arches watercolor satin paper which I'll number and put on the etsy store.One of the things that fascinated me while waiting at the barbershop was the coming and going of the masked people .Seeing the practical part of this phenomena I kept thinking that if I was a wanted woman I could very well wear a white medical mask for the rest of my life and hide in Tokyo.But I would still stand out in a crowd.
So my print is about overreacting to viruses.It makes sense doesn't it?

Ohio Gozaimasu

2008-01-24T15:33:00.000-08:00

while my mnemonic method keeps this in mind by translating it into :"take me to Ohio please" (not as weird as other things in my mind) in reality it means "good morning".
I wanted to show you the spectacular view I have in face of my eyes while writing this.

Yesterday I got chased around a store by an older man who kept hugging my child.Compared to an American mother I have a "10 hugs then you're done" policy but at some point I started getting anxious as I could not understand what he was saying and he followed us everywhere .Last thing I heard from him while rushing out the door was "ohana". she-flower .I felt silly for turning my back on him.
now for some real posting.
I have been looking for this for a month now.I didn't know it was called the algorithm march or Pythagorean .The idea is that you will never touch the person before you if you master the dance.I'm working on it.
\
Enjoy!
ps.you should definitely watch the one with robots too.

You bloody turists

2008-01-22T22:18:00.001-08:00

yes,like in the sound of music I homemade our clothes, originally uploaded by almapottery.

All so happy and cute.Try living here for a change.
Just joking That's us ,or at least us if we were GQ models.
Things I did:
Took the bus with no major incidents except for the line ending in the middle of my trip and having to look for alternative transportation.
I had tempura in a very,very small place with the friendliest staff ever ,one of the ladies almost tried feeding me the salad.
I got invited to an anagama kiln firing in march .
We will have cable so I'll finally zombify my kid. ( Yes I'll do it ! I'm running out of Waldorf songs, and I know all those books by heart. )
I got the flu again.
I got an awesome macro lens.Found the mother lode for goccos, printing and art supplies, and the most breathtaking collection of beads I ever seen in my whole life.
Now I just have to figure out : Is making jewelry time well spent? Should I direct my efforts towards finding a lab to print my pictures? Should I start printing with a Gocco fully taking in a new medium and a lot of messes to clean in a house I don't own ? Or I should just walk around being all touristy because I'm not here forever ? Find a ceramic studio ?Feel free to offer opinions.

Collage Challenge

2008-01-18T08:52:00.001-08:00

remember this, originally uploaded by almapottery.

One collage a day, this is my number 6.I'm having fun for once.

Self portrait thursday

2008-01-17T23:37:00.001-08:00

spt, originally uploaded by almapottery.

I don't know what to say.

I feel in love with some

2008-01-16T10:08:00.000-08:00

clothes.unfortunately I can't show them to you and the only place mentioning "bulle de savon" is an old article;
Article which made sense to me and finally made me understand how huge is the gap that lays between me and a Japanese woman.First of all I'm not petite.I learned how to strut on 5 " heels ,I got C cups at 16.
I'm a fashion disgrace for this place.If I dress dowdy I look the part and I will not do it as long as I can think straight.I hate tiny floral patterns and hanging cotton socks.This weekend I got my first ever patterned top which is dark grey cotton with small lighter polka dots and I think I look like an oversized cement mushroom.Today I was actually considering buying an apron .Then I woke up: why? are you going to cook? because you surely WILL NOT WEAR THIS AS A DRESS!
But "bulle de savon" had such a clean subtle cut that I immediately fell in love with it.At least with the solid colors part.:).
Now I understand the mystery of the high heels abuse I saw on the street.Is hard to walk on sexy high boots with the intent of looking "not sexy" so you need to walk funny and crooked.
How does the Japanese fashion get to Finland?I think I should move there next.
See you soon.

Are you thinking of selling your kidney?

2008-01-11T07:04:00.000-08:00

Do a market research first.What in the world would people think if the perfectly good young kidney sells from 25 000 to 150 000 to best offer.
Who goes to kidney clearance sales?

"kidney sale
i'm a 26 yo white male blood type AB unsure of RH factor but can find out, i'm selling my kidney the…

WILL "DONATE" KIDNEY…
My name is Apple and I am willing to donate my kidney for Financial Donation in return. I am a Bahamian…

KIDNEY
I would like to donate my kidney my blood group is A positive u could contact me at

hi am a foreigner living in…
hi am a foreigner living in india i wuold like to sell one of my kidneymy blood group is A-

Kidney
29 Male American (White) Kidney Donation for Financial Donation in return. Kidney has never seen…

Hi!
I returned!!!]:-)r>

Donate my kidney for 40,000 USD
I'm 29, blood AB+, from Israel. I do sport, and keep my healthy strictly. The price is flexible.The…

kidney for sale USD25,000
Dear all, Im Indonesian will donate my kidney for $20,000,healthy perfect,non alcohol or drugs,Blood AB…

i to sell my very good kidney
i my name is david and iam from london englang i do not somk or drink. iam very fit and well. if you…

i like to sellmy kidney
my name is david and i live in london england. i need sell my kidney to any one who needs one i am very…"

I just wanted allergen free cornflake cereals.

Quick edit:

This post has sparked a lot of attention so I decided to post some links here. One is a documentary from Frontline about the kidney trade in India , one is an article from Los Angeles Times about allegations of harvesting organs from chinese prisoners .
There is also a video of a laparoscopic kidney transplant

The hell with body clearings

2008-01-11T06:29:00.000-08:00

Today I had thin transparent pieces of pork fried, wrapped around tasty thick mushrooms,fresh ginger and lots of other stuff my japanese friend cooked for me ,in my kitchen ,with complete instructions. You probably realize from "lots of other stuff" that I was just pretending to understand and I forgot immediatly what she was putting in.Cooking unless the term is used very loose ,is not my forte.I am hunter not a gatherer and I tend to improvise with sometimes terrible results.I can however make any food look stunning on a plate and I've been told that looks are what counts in life.
Feeling rather smug today, nicely dressed on my new couch.All I need is a real drink to replace this green tea.

Tantra yoga

2008-01-09T09:26:00.000-08:00

yes ,you heard me. At the time leaving all modesty aside I was by far the hottest in the group.Which explains my 60 years old guru's interest in unlocking the secrets of love for me, the young athletic D cup .I must have racked hundreds of nicely illustrated courses over that year. My classmates consisted of :my retired literature teacher,a few of my dad's colleagues ,one of the museum curators trying to deal with a partial paresis and a young couple who in their spare time were fighting demons in their kitchen.I don't know what kind of demons and why they were showing up in the kitchen.I have no clue what I was doing at yoga either.Looking back I think I was the secret weapon of one of my remote cousins who wanted to score points with the cult leader.As I specified I was hot, my cousin had the privilege to cook peas for the guru and he was awfully upset when I missed the long talked about appointments with the holy man.What nobody cared to ask at the time was if I knew what an orgasm was, and if I cared to have multiple ones.After a while the promise of enlightenment trough sex started to annoy the heck out of me especially that the old man was getting close and the smell of sandalwood and patchouli was clashing with my limited edition Gucci.So I turned to a life of free climbing and extreme hiking squandering my life energy in useless entertainment.
Why did I remembered all this? Because after three weeks of celebratory Romanian food I feel like I'm about to blow up leaving a greasy stain on my nice floors.The good part about my yoga stint was no meat,no alcohol and a lot of daily meditation .
It is decided.
Starting tomorrow I will eat boiled rice and drink green tea.For let's say a week.I can't say I'll meditate but I can surely relax in the afternoon.I might slip and have some sushi but I'll keep it quiet.
Now I wish I didn't throw away all that info on tantra.

On a side note I met the cutest crook.He sold me a little engraving from a "mille trenta " book and bamboozled me about everything I set my eyes on ,in his antique shop.Italian.I have a soft spot for them.

Things I forgot

2008-01-07T06:48:00.000-08:00

The names of my classmates, places I used to live in, artists and writers I used to love. Phone numbers,the multiplication table and how to calculate the volume of a sphere.French.How to read music.
I forgot how to deal with daily verbal abuse which sometimes replaces an almost affectionate greeting:"taking a picture ,eh,you fucking bitch" (said with a smile and I believe, insane hope for striking a conversation next )
Lovely family and friends abuse ,the closer they are the more they feel the need to set you straight with utter disregard to what you might think.There is a sense of property in this ,you're family you belong to them and every part of your life is up for discussion and believe me there is no constructive criticism in that part of the world."Real people" pick themselves up after getting their life picked apart and trashed.Only "losers" get hurt.I forgot all this.
ha.I must be getting old.For the first time I did not spent too much time thinking about it ,I managed not to fight with anybody and spent most of my time in conversations keeping score and trying to count how many times personal insults came up while I was keeping my responses civil.It might sound like a nightmare but is norm.I am definitely happy for one thing.I was like that once.Now I can respect people's choices enough to keep from interfering no matter what I personally think.(btw this would be seen as a stupid ,american,fake,way of interracting with others "real people care" and violently try to change you.)
Back in Japan things went ok until the child threw up in the bus. On me.Kudos to the japanese who did not flinch while I was walking around. After another short brawl with the taxi driver
"mid square tower, I don't know!"
"I'll show you,I don't know!"
which happened one block away from our building while we were frantically pointing at it ,we made it "home".

Full circle

2007-12-31T10:01:00.000-08:00

This has been an interesting year. There’s an old curse: may Gods give you interesting times to live.
Now a few hours from midnight, with the smell of burned cake, high on Benadryl as my face strangely blew up, after moving the new year party three times, I ended up alone , my best friends stranded with a severe flu somewhere half the country away.
I had time to look back at my year.
cancer ,again, death, a beautiful wedding ,a brand new child, Moses, an amazing purge of material possessions, breaking our ties once again and starting to weave new ones, a passionate and time consuming love affair with my computer and trough it lots of amazing people, all twisted and turned my small family unit. Some people call it the nuclear family model. For me that name means something highly unstable and prone to blow up with catastrophic repercussions. Quite appropriate.
This trip "home" is in fact a pilgrimage.
There is sadness and freedom in this realisation.We have no home.
Can one live in small numbers of is it an abberation? Are we on the brink of madness repeating the same conversations each day? Do we carry ourselves in a fishbowl around the world?
My New Year resolution is to contemplate. There is no better place than Japan to start that.
Last week in 2007.

Micro entries

2007-12-28T23:57:00.000-08:00

post office :
-is Uganda part of the European Union?
-Uganda is in Africa.
-I understand.Is it part of EU?
-no.
-We can't take your package then.

my 79 years old grandma at the ER after she split her head 12 stitches worth ,raiding her bicycle on ice:
-come in lady, you're covered in blood.
-are you crazy ,I need to lock up my bike!

You see this place is hardcore and I could write about death, misery, despair but it all fades when you meet the people.There is warmth ,sensibility and a wicked sense of humor under the very cold, mean surface.One of my friends compared my hometown with Flint ,only tougher.I remembered the scene in moore's film ,rabbits for pets or meat, yesterday while watching our fish get killed because the vendor wanted to make sure we understand the rainbow trout is fresh.
Somehow it did not taste as good as the one my dad taught me to catch with my hands in the same stream 15 years ago.

+10 to -15

2007-12-26T00:34:00.000-08:00

Centigrade.
I'm a little cold.
I found a pair of down filled pants ,brown which give me a cuddly, bear like look.I fought putting them on for 2 days .My whole family is running around when the sun comes out happy for the "great warm day" and asking if we are sick or something because we can't stop shivering.The locks on the car are always frozen and we spend 10 min mouth blowing warm air in the locks before we decide to drive while one of us is holding the door closed.
oh.Merry Christmas!

The way my people are fighting the cold is by a serious overdose of fat and twice distilled plum brandy.Social constrains rule out the refusal of food.Unless you are visibly ill from it and in that case you will be submitted to a series of home remedies like twice distilled plum brandy boiled with pepper and herbs and some fatty chicken soup.
japanese plastic food

In a very strange way it works because at some point your body stops fighting it and you wake up at 5 am craving stuffed cabbage,smoked bacon boiled in sourkraut,vine,sweets and twice distilled plum brandy all in the same meal..Then you are ready to go CPR your car,or wait for the bus.

We're waiting for "real snow" .Clouds will ease up the cold and make it really nice for skiing.