First an email from Phuni at Tibetan Karma in MA about a fund raising effort for Machik -" Machik works to develop new opportunities for education and training on the Tibetan plateau and supports initiatives that advance innovative, solutions-oriented approaches to the challenges of community revitalization and sustainability". Over the last few years, Phuni and I have developed a great rapport and she's been a great supporter of my work. She is Tibetan and a big part of her life and business is her commitment to supporting sustainable products and social justice. I'm always on the lookout for good causes to support, so for the month of December I'll be donating 10% of my gross sales to Machik.
Next on my morning cruise, I was checking in on new blog posts. I started with Tumbleword, followed her link to Lucid Cafe and started looking at the artist biographies which lead to one on Robert Motherwell which lead me to remember that a favorite video was due to be released on DVD, Storming the Citadel, a really excellent film on the New York School of abstract expressionists - really excellent film, now on my wishlist.
Thinking about favorite films that we owned on VHS and no longer have and miss terribly, lead me to look for an all time favorite, a National Geographic special, The Living Treasures of Japan. It's an hour of some of the most inspiring artists and work I've ever encountered ... a traditional potter, his enormous anagama kiln and exquisite pots, the very essence of wabi-sabi; the sweet smiling and ancient face of a weaver of hemp and dyer of indigo; music and theatre and paper and, well, it's just an amazing collection of artists. Turns out their DVD's are 40% off right now. Needless to say, this one is coming home to Kathy.
One rabbit hole I'm reluctant to do down is Tumblr. I see it everywhere, love the look of it - I especially love the archive at Abundance - but that's one hole I need to resist ... for now anyways.
So the tumbler I really use, that would be the rotary one with stainless steel shot, should be about ready. Ah, but one more update on my adventures in glass. My mondo box from Rio Grande was deposited on my doorstep sometime last evening, one side split. I opened it right before bed only to find the contents inadequately packaged. The 10 8oz. jars of crushed glass in one oversized zip-loc bag, one of the jars halfway open, the other nine jars swimming in 4 ounces of bronze frit. Not happy about that. A mess and an unsafe mess at that. I'll be calling Rio here shortly to fill them in and suggest some packaging improvements.
Well now, if I haven't been playing hooky just way too long. So on a gorgeous fall day, this will be me off to empty the tumbler and get back to work. Here's another favorite Nick Drake cut ...
I'm surprised that your Rio order came so ill-packaged. My most recent order with them came packaged like they expected it to travel to the far reaches of the jungle on the back of a donkey with a limp. For my tiny order that could fit within a 1 foot by 1 foot square box, they put it in a box with wrapping and vermiculite that I could easily crawl inside. I guess you have to order toxic chemicals to get good packaging.
ReplyDeletelove the way you link tumble)r to your own work, a literal tumble0r
ReplyDeleteTumbler's like a post it, or bookmark in a way. All of the web is really a social experiment right now, and its important to Experience it as such, for me, at least.
sorry if my Bitch poster offends, you can take that word out and make it more of a shield against the "bomb{ardment of holiday over emotionalismssssss... that poster was made orig, for the Brits if Nazis took over after bombing them, so it alludes to a lot of other stuff for me.
It alludes to staying peaceful always, no matter what!
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S. Hamada... is that the potter.
i would love a wood kiln too, or gas but for now, i might just like to step into the right direction-- maybe in the spring... i worry about the literal weight of owning it if i want to pop around into new worlds.
getting cold again.
happy birthday, and Blessings
Oh my lord - that's a visual I never expected ... a jungle donkey with a limp! Too too funny.
ReplyDeleteI have to say - everything I've ever gotten from Rio (and I've gotten lots) has always been packaged extremely well. The phone person took lots of notes and offered to send replacement jars and assured me it would never happen again - we'll see.
M - well, the poster didn't really offend. It was just a surprise which is a big reason I so enjoy your blog - I never know what to expect.
ReplyDeletethe potter was Arakawa - http://www.e-yakimono.net/html/arakawa-kato-PT-2004.html -
maker of black seto ware - amazing pots. And speaking of bitch - kilns are a total bitch to move around - why mine got sold ... still sad.
And I do love the whole evolution and experimental nature of the internet. It seems to be in a growth spurt. I've got this idea that I'm going to come up with a new way of getting my work out in the world and I know the internet will be playing a large part.
This will be me staying awake and vigilant!
snowed this morning, s'posed to be really cold this week. The soup kettle is on.
blessings and much gratitude to you for your always thoughtful posts and comments