The long hot summer

This has been the hottest, muggiest summer since I have been retired. Now that we're into August, I long for those cool, breezy nights where we can sleep with open windows. Fortunately, last fall we installed a really quiet, multi-stage, energy-saving a/c unit and out of necessity, it has kicked on every day for months now.

Despite the weather, I am still going to the pottery barn at 577 where there is only fans and days when the 2000-degree-plus kilns are on and heating up the place. This pottery thing is truly an obsession. I am doing or thinking about it all the time. I surround myself with pottery books and online potters' sites where I am inspired by others, and ponder what directions I want to take next. All in pursuit of a personal style and professional quality. Currently I am doing a series of sfgraffito pots. This a form of decorating the surface of a piece by painting the surface with an engobe (a colorant for clay) and refining it by scratching off and refining the design similar to making a scratchboard drawing. An example of one I made last year is shown here. In the pieces I am currently making, I am trying colored interiors and keeping the background a little cleaner. If I'm successful, I'll post those.

This afternoon I made a fresh tomato salsa with the tomatoes and garlic I grew organically at my 577 garden. It came out great using plum tomatoes, a key to a salsa that isn't too watery. Next year, I need to remember to include a jalapeño pepper plant in the garden. I was so pleased with my garlic crop this year. Check out the size of those bulbs. I hope to double the harvest next year with a fall planting at 577 and some at home in my new kitchen garden.

Just over a week ago, the landscapers came and cut in my garden, complete with gravel paths and metal edging. It was so nice to have them do everything including the removal and haul away of the sod, add organic compost into the soil, all done in a day. I can't imagine how grueling and lengthy it would have been if I had to do it all. Phase II includes the fencing and a cedar arbor. I am hoping that Christopher Jones will be able to do the job.

Need to get back to my printmaking. Been selling enough to get a little exposure and incentive to continue producing. Got word today that the Carruth Studio wants 3 more prints for their showroom.