change up!!

hello all..... I have now started a new blog for my home pottery making.  it is www.turninpots.blogspot.com.  I hope you will follow and enjoy.

The end of a beginning

Ok, so I am extremely glad to be home, and now I have a real view how lucky truly I am.  I am perusing a career that I am absolutely in love with and have a huge passion and drive for. On top of all that I have extremely supportive parents getting me started on the right track.  My house is covered in pottery because my mother is in love with NC pottery.  What more could I ask for as a potter at my age?

When I give a tour of my house it is so hard for me not to stop and talk about every pot on display (I am sure there re around 30 or so displayed at any given time while many, many more sit in cabinets).  I think it is because if you know the person who made the pot it is easy to see the characteristics of that person living in it as it sits on the table or it is being used.  Sitting down to eat a meal out of a warm inviting plate is like sitting down to a meal with a friend.  

The following morning of my return I ate a bowl of oatmeal out of one of Rons new bowls and drank some english tea (pg tips straight from england, I don't know what I will do when I run out) from a coffee cup by Doug Fitch.  These guys are two of my great friends and eating from their pots made me think so much of them and their characters.  A meal is a very intimate time for family and fellowship that I find necessarily wonderful.  Although I ate my breakfast physically alone yesterday morning I still found it enjoyable and warm because of the presence of my friends represented through their passionate work.  

This is the last post of my China trip blog.  i am going to continue to post my career as an emerging potter on a different blog.  I am planning on putting a studio and kiln together this summer which should make for some interesting writing ad information.  Before that I will be firing at school, and with local friends to get ready for a few shows and sales I have in the Spring.  I hope all of the readers will continue to read my blogs while I am working at home in Cherryville, NC.  Thanks to all!  

2008 olympics

I took this picture behind the pond which is frozen at this point.  There were even some people dumb enough to go out and walk on it.  Oh,,,,,and this s the birdsnest where the US gymnastics team dominated over the rest of the world. 

I just thought it was a nice shot.

Maybe this will help you understand how complicated it is.  

I got a sweet video of this one too, but I suppose it will have to wait since it is not cooperating 

And of course:  This is the building where Michael Phelps took on the swimming world.  If you did not know already Phelps dominated the world in swimming.  The lights go off at nine and there is nothing going on in there now.  I personally think they will just sit there and rot unless someone speaks up.

The trip to xi'an and Beijing

Of course we saw the terra-cotta soldiers.  I could not believe how amazing the history of this place was.  It was much like rome in that they were so far passing their time as far as technology.  There was a huge wall around the city where loads of museums were.  There was no way we could have seen it all in the the time we had, but what I saw was amazing.   This is only a view of pit one.  There were 3 pits total making up the Qin emperors tomb. Every time I said terra-cotta I thought of the way Doug says it.  I started calling them the terracotter army

Yes it is the great wall.  I tried to upload a video I had, but It was being fussy so decided to let it have its way.  You can see that this beautiful wall covered in snow goes on for miles and miles.  It is an incredible feat when you realize it was 223 bc when it was made and how quickly this wall was going up.

I made a snowman on top of the great wall to wish everyone a very merry Christmas.  I also did it just so I could say I did it.  I took loads of pictures from this trip and had a blast learning and going to museums in Beijing and xi'an.

jug Band

This is my kind of music. 

 

I should probably consider starting a band like this myself.

enjoy!

Last Full Day

I am only half way through with this day because I have to go and eat the last dinner which is on the foreign affairs office.  This morning was alot of fun though just goofing around with friends and packing slowly.  I shipped one last box this morning and then went and got a morning snack at the #1 bakery.  I got three little egg pies they really hit the spot along with a good bottle of milk tea.  mmmmm.  The milk tea was horrible when I got here, but now it tastes like chocolate milk so......I suppose that means it is about time to head out. haha.

This is the inside of the bakery.  Nothing here tastes as good as it looks.  I have tried many things in here but none of them are as rich and american/european as I think they are by looking.  The baked goods are very light and fluffy with funny flavors.  It does the filling job while I am here though.

This is some of the cakes of culinary masterminds.  Most of these are icing, and dont taste really great to me, but they make a great picture.   

At lunch I went to eat with some of the best friends I have made here.  James and Malay.  She is from Malaysia and likes to be called that.  She speaks 3 different languages and makes me teach her spanish while she teaches me malay.  Loads of fun.  She is a real trip.   

One of the dishes we had was this amazing eggplant, tofu, vegi dish.  I figured I would post a pic of it for everyone.  It was really tasty. 

     I have also been giving all of my clothes to James as it is getting cold soon and I am sure he will appreciate it.  I took all of the money from the sale and gave it to Rick to disperse among his students that need money to eat and stuff.  We are in a pretty poor part of China and the little bit of money I earned here (about 100 dollars) will go a very, very long way for a person that needs food.  

     Well..... It is getting time for supper here and all this typing of food is making me hungry so...... good morning all!

2nd Sale day.

The last sale day was today and we sold a good bit of it.  Other than sitting around watching a bunch of chinese people buy pots I chatted with some of the people, ate a nice chinese lunch, and watched a movie.  Not a very active day, but I am gone to Carolina in my mind so truthfully I was not even really in China today.  I like to lean my chair back on two legs to pretend it is a rocking chair as I jam out to some of my favorite bluegrass tunes.  All the while my eyes are shut and I dream I am at home rocking on the back porch in front of a blue ridge sunset.  I can hear mom calling me in for chicken and dumplings from here.  Gotta go!