At first I could not climb

"One day I went to the mountain alone. At first I could not climb; I lay flat on my face on the slope with the sensation that I was being completely absorbed by the earth. When I took the first steps up the slope, I had the physical sensation of walking with tremendous effort in some matter as thick as mud. Gradually, however, it all became easier, and in a few days I was able to negotiate jumps. I could climb vertical walls as easily as any goat. I very seldom got hurt, and I realized the possibility of a very subtle understanding, which I had not perceived before. Finally, I managed to take no false steps and to wander around quite easily among the rocks."
—Leonora Carrington

I stumbled upon this when looking up Mary Anna's quote -- the source said it addresses "getting stuck and pushing forward in artmaking." I agree this is an excellent metaphor for overcoming artist's block; it could just as easily describe tackling any task which at first seems insurmountable.

Art, Design, Craft

Mary Anna shared this with me:

"In all object making, that aspect which relates to it's conceptual interpretation is Art, that which relates the object to an intended purpose is Design and the quality of it's execution is Craft."
- Hella Basu

Has it been a year?

Wow. I was preoccupied by other things and before I knew what happened, a whole year zipped by. I won't attempt to recount ALL the things I've done in the past year lest you stick a pencil in your eye to avoid having to read it.

Here are some highlights:

• We just got back from a week-long vacation in Kissimmee, FL (aka Disney World). The kids had an AMAZING time. It was hot, crowded and expensive. Debi and I greatly enjoyed their sense of wonder at the whole thing. We hit most of the quintessential Disney attractions, but we let them decide what they wanted to see & do for the most part. It was nice visiting with Debi's family (brother-in-law Danny proposed to Sabrina) and great to see Zack (all the way from CA) again and meet his girlfriend, Jessica! I'll post some photos later.
• After leaving Orlando, I met my Aunt Ruby and her husband, Art, for the first time. Cool people. Enjoyed getting to meet them. Hope to see them again soon.
• Isabel performed in a York County Ballet production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. She was a diamond. Very cute.
• Isabel completed her first year of school. She really loved kindergarten. She had a great teacher, who seemed to really "get it."
• Amelia was accepted for a K4 program for next year, but we haven't decided yet if we're going to send her or wait for her to start with K5.
• I've taken a couple of pottery classes w/ my friend & expert potter, Jen Mecca at Clayworks in Charlotte. First thing you need to know about pottery - it's very cool to make something useful out of mud. Now that I think about it, making pottery is a LOT like raising kids: once you try it you realize it's not as easy as you thought it was, it can be frustrating at times, you make a lot of mistakes along the way, if you work hard and care about what you're doing you can and will learn from your mistakes, you will eventually get it right and the end result will be worth all of the effort. I'm still a novice. I've made a couple of bowls that I'm not ashamed to bring out for company, but my mugs are mostly hiding on a shelf in the garage. I hope to get some time to practice this summer to improve me mugs.
• Got to babysit Finn a bit while mommy & daddy were also taking pottery classes. It was great to have a baby around again. Also very cool to be able to talk pottery w/ Matt & Michele.
• Niece Tiffany graduated from High School (WOO HOO) and is preparing to join the Marine Corps band in the fall. I'm nervous & excited for her. Nervous b/c of the war (hopefully they don't send the band into combat) and excited for the incredible adventure she is about to embark upon. Going out on one's own is an awakening. The discipline, comraderie, training, boot camp, meeting people with a wide variety of experiences and being sent to the far flung corners of the world (hopefully) are going to be AMAZING for her.
• Long-time friends, Valerie & Steve moved from FLA to York a few months ago on their way (eventually) to a nice mountain get-away near Asheville. I hope it takes them a few more years to finish their place in the mountains as I'm rather enjoying having them here.
• Whatever's left, I'll save for another time.

Later gator.