Raku: Part 1

So this is the outdoor setup for my pottery class. The kiln is off to the far left and is placed outside because we crack it open at 1800 degrees and pull our pieces out to drop into flaming canisters of hay ... The canisters are actually made out of old chimneys, with lids to cut off the flames when the proper level of oxidation is reached. I was surprised to learn that we raku and saggar fire out of the same kiln. For some reason I thought saggar firing was less technical ... The entire firing took place in the two hours we had class. The traditional japanese method of raku is to submerge the piece in water direcly after taking it from the kiln. However, this can cause pieces to crack with the abrupt change of temperature so instead we left them in the chimneys and later sprayed them down with a hose. I brought the only two pieces I had thrown this year that might be considered non-functional, using the B-mix 5 clay I've been working with, although after this I will use the stoneware made in class. For my first piece I chose a matte glaze called copper sand and learned the hard way that the longer it stays in the kiln after opening the more blue it begins to turn ...

I also wanted to try out the glaze I helped make in class, called crackle clear. I didn't have many pieces already bisqued to experiment on so I used an old bowl that had cracked through the bottom and had to be cut away. I really like how this glaze ended up and will be using it on some more quality pieces in the future, provided I can throw some quality pieces ... I thought maybe I could put a mirror in the bottom of it and hang it on the wall.

To glaze these I used the spray booth at the studio and just sprayed a consistent coat. I guess as I learn how the glazes react I can get a little more experimental. Some of the other students work came out so beautiful that I wish we also glazed together as a class so I could re-create the effect ...

World Refugee Day

Yesterday was world refugee day. I probably would have never known this except a friend of ours, Sara, worked for USCRI - the US Committee for Refugees & Immigrants here in Albany, and came up from NYC for the event. It was held in Washington Park and consisted of refugees, some in native dress, dancing, food & soccer. Many of the refugees are familiar faces to me because they work at AMC, some of them in the cafe. Jason knows many more than me because he helps place them in jobs. He was something of a local celebrity at the park, and it was fun, everyone introducing us to their children and just meeting some of them on a more personal level.

One of the girls we play soccer with, Caitlin, came to the park for a pickup game with the refugees ... and she started telling me how she works with women dealing with domestic violence, helping them through the court process. And at some point it made me stop and reflect, hanging out with these two women who have these very important, amazing jobs and are so passionate about what they do. It made me sort of upset at myself because I remember a time, not that far gone, when I used to be filled with the same passion and idealism, when I used to feel like I would go out and save the world. And I wonder how I got so complacent, at what point that ceased to be a priority for me. Their jobs are a fundamental part of their life, their whole focus is wrapped up in what they do, while I can't stand to think about my job outside of work. What is wrong with this picture? Their jobs are all about helping people deal with life & get through life, while I deal with these same people - refugees, DM victims - and my job is to discipline them when they can't make it to work, to terminate them if the obstacles in their lives prevent them from being productive cogs in the machine. It was a real jolt of perspective ...

By the same token it is heartwarming to see people so invested in improving the lives of others. Sara has touched the lives of almost every refugee present yesterday. They still come up to her, one year later, and thank her for helping them. She still remembers each of their names, and now their children's names.

Solo

Jason completed his first solo flight yesterday, .6 hrs!

Leafy Greens

So this is what our farm share looks like. Talk about a lot of food! I was told that the share was structured to be enought for a family of four ... This week I went over to the Friends Meeting House, which is a Quaker center and also distribution center for our farm. Around back they had several crates of different vegetables with instructions on how much of each to take. The one problem was the crates weren't labeled and aside from the obvious veggies I wasn't sure what was what. I guess part of this experience is learning to identify more than the three or four veggies I am used to eating on a regular basis.

In June they said to expect mostly leafy greens, and that is exactly what we got ... so to break it down we received lettuce, chinese cabbage, swiss chard, broccoli, celeriac, scallions, and radishes. We have sauted the swiss chard a couple of times already, once with onions & garlic over pasta, and once with scallions, cheese and eggs in a souffle suggested by our farm guru. Both were pretty good ... you can actually experience the freshness as a a taste element that is missing in most produce i've had lately. The celeriac has me stumped. Supposedly it is one of the most versatile vegetables grown and can be used for anything from coleslaw to soup stock. I'll have to go online & get some recipes ...

Slide Mountain

Elevation: 4,180 ft

Yesterday J & I knocked out another hike from our book. Mt. Slide is the highest peak in the Catskills, and home to Rip Van Winkle, whose story I only vaguely remember. The Catskills is fast becoming my favorite park around here. We tried to get some friends to go with us but everyone seems to be out of town lately. It was one of the more humid afternoons we've had so far but a pretty mild hike up to the top. I'm excited that we have spent more time this summer getting outside doing stuff like this. I was worried because Jason has committed to flying almost every weekend that I would be on my own all summer but so far it hasn't been much of an issue. It also helps to put a timeline on things. Knowing we are leaving in November makes me much more aware of how I am spending my time. I have a wishlist of things I would like to do before I leave and a countdown of five more months to do them.

Running seems to have taken a backseat ever since the challenge, but we have been hiking and still playing soccer, which makes me feel like I haven't slipped too far back. Anyway these days I doubt it would be possible to run unless we went before 8am. The summer humidity is here in full force ...

Hunter Mountain Jam

Spent yesterday sippin' down beers at the mountain fest down in the Catskills listening to Ozomatli, G-Love & Special Sauce, Umphreys McGee, and Gov't Mule. The fest was complete with hippies, hula hoops, poi jugglers, and *some* sunshine. Until it stopped shining ... but what a great way to spend a Saturday! Summer music festivals always make me want to quit my job and follow around 'the band'. It's the same feel at each of them, and the same cast of people. I kept looking around all afternoon thinking I recognized everyone walking by. When the rain started coming down people folded up their blankets and took out their tarps and umbrellas to cover their lawn chairs that held their beers while putting on their rain jackets. Everyone that is, except j & me who hadn't thought to bring so much as some water with us ...

Road Trip 2007

Total RoadTrip Mileage: 1,500

Jason & I decided to take six days over the holiday weekend to do a sort of northeast scenic tour. I can say now our plans were totally ambitious for the amount of time we had (not to mention the amount of time we wanted to spend in the car) and we probably only did half of what we wanted. Our road companion was this sweet book I bought last year 100 Classic Hikes of the Northeast, that was a motivator to conquer a few more hikes while on the trip. We left on Wednesday morning from Albany heading north through the Adirondacks, and this was our first stop:

Jason & Riley on Poke-O-Moonshine Mtn.

Poke-O-Moonshine is just south of Plattsburgh and about a 2 hr hike. That is beautiful lake Champlain in the background. We finished up, then took the ferry over to Grande Isle in Vermont where we camped out on North Hero Island for the night. The next day we crossed into Canada at the most random border crossing ever. I was worried about getting the dog across but all they were interested in was where we worked and why we were using that crossing. The dirt road leading into Canada was a good sign not many people use this approach ... We skirted Montreal and headed towards Quebec. It is no joke that everyone there speaks french but we were able to get by with the assistance of helpful signs like this:

Most of our day was spent in Quebec. At first I was not very impressed. There was a huge castle downtown and a few cute shops and views but not much else going on. Luckily we stayed long enough to find our way to their old fort, parks, and the old Quebec portion of the city that reminded me of Disneyland more than anything.

While Quebec was nice to visit for the day, there wasn't really anything compelling enough for us to decide to stay overnight. We didn't want to bother with a hostel since we had the dog so we decided to keep driving. We made it all the way to Edmunston, New Brunswick that night (my first time in two new canadian provinces). The next day we had to decide between going down Brunswick to the easternmost tip of Maine, which we somehow thought would be very exciting, or heading over to Baxter Park, which hosts the highest mountain in Maine as well as the terminus of the Appalachian Trail. Easy choice. Unfortunately about 40 min from Baxter we tuned into the radio to discover that the park does not allow 'domestic' animals ... Unwilling to let that ruin our day we found something just as satisfying to do with our time:

After spending the day swimming, drinking beers and relaxing we made it down to Acadia Nat'l Park and set up camp at Seawall. The weather the next two days was unreal. 90 degrees, blue skies, and perfect. We spent the time hiking, swimming, and eating a lot of lobster. I really wanted to kayak but unfortunately the tour operators all told us that we could only do a guided tour, not rent out our own kayaks, due to insurance increases post Sept 11 on rentals. While I still fail to see the connection of terrorism & kayaking, I couldn't subject us both to a 20 person kayak tour ...

Jason at top of Cadillac Mtn in Acadia

Me on the climb up Beehive Mtn

Jason overlooking Sand Beach

Chillin' in AcadiaMonkeying Around

Riley Dog

Monday morning we hit the road again down scenic highway 1 along the coast. We stopped in Camden for our final hike of the trip, Mt Battie. Camden is definetely a place I could move to, a cute seaside new england village.

Then on to Boothbay harbor for lunch and visited a couple of pottery studios. We saw this cute little guy following the car for about half a mile as we were headed back to the highway ...

A final stop at Freeport for some outlet shopping at the always exciting Patagonia sales, and we were headed home. Six days in the blink of an eye ... I miss Maine already.