A Nap Can Do Wonders

Yesterday, I decided to take a nap before going to my last pottery class at The Farm. I attribute that nap to the incredible amount of creative energy I unfurled.

(A piece Rachel made last week, another student in my class)

First of all, a friend in my class taught me how to use the close-up setting on my new little digital camera, releasing the inner photographer that lay dormant since the gift of this camera entered my life last Christmas. As Dave says, "It's amazing what reading the directions will do."

My instructor, James Pyper, has built his own kiln out of found objects and sand, something the desert has plenty of. As kind as he is, he gave me permission to do pottery with my Art class at New Samaritan, firing our work for half the price of the wood. What a swell guy:)

So, my class worked hard, and this is what they came up with.

(My apologies to any students whose pieces did not show up here- I took those pictures before I learned to use the close-up setting)

Once I used up most of the good lighting to take pictures of their work, I decided to see if this new close-up feature I had learned on my camera would work on flowers and other treasures around the farm, like James' old Ford crammed full of wood for the kiln.

So long Dave, Christine, Rachel and James.

I'm a born again photographer.

**** Please Note****
These are not FREE RANGE chicken.
I encourage you to find FREE RANGE eggs.
PLEASE:)

CAGE FREE is not the same as FREE RANGE.
They are still caged, just not in tiny compartments.

Mixed greens in their natural environment.

I love fuzzy wuzzies!

My dog, Roxi and I delighted for about an hour in taking pictures around the farm.

A Pecan Tree Grove.


Happy little pecan- perfectly delicious.

It's starting to get dark, as Roxi and I make our way back to the Artists' Studio, the little red cottage in the very back of this picture up above.


On our way back, we enter the enchanted nursery.


The darkness brings shapes to life.

A maiden, turned to stone, guards the gift shop.

But I am still able to sneak a peak.

Almost there, just past the Retreat.

We even slipped into the Art Gallery. Above is a piece by my teacher- the one that inspired my candle.

This mask is by another artist featuring his work at The Farm

And then, I had just enough time to return to pottery class and learn to use the wheel.

I cannot tell you the thrill of holding clay between your hands as it spins on the wheel. It's tactiley delicious.

I don't have pictures of any more of
my work, except for this necklace piece I made.
It is not quite finished yet.

Once my work is fired, I'll let you see it.

The Farm at South Mountain

This is how the mountains look at about 5:45pm, on my way to my pottery class, which is held at The Artist's Studio at the Farm at South Mountain.

The sun is getting ready to settle down for the evening and the wind is starting to kick up dust.



As you can tell in the photo above,
we don't have many vegetable farms around these parts!

The Farm at South Mountain is a rarity.



It's become a retreat from the city, within the city.

There are cafes, restaurants, a healing arts retreat, an artist studio, outdoor yoga, shops, gardens, weddings, pecan groves, fresh air (well, we imagine it is),
and the sounds of birds chirping.


Once inside the Artist's Studio, this is the centerpiece that drives creativity.














This is my work of art.
I wanted to make a candle holder that created beautiful shadows on the wall. I didn't have a solid design in mind- just thought I would play around and see what happened. During the process, it started to dry out quite a bit. A piece chipped off at one point. A very important piece. So, I decided to go with it. We are going for the aged effect, so I started ruthlessly chipping, allowing the process of decay to unfold.

And so here it is, the final product. I can't wait to see how it looks after it has been fired. Mostly, I want to watch the shadows dancing on the wall!

Prom Night

Saturday was Prom Night at New Samaritan High School.

This is the beautiful cake that Stephanie Wiczynski's mom made:)

Here is the Prom King and Queen.
No, not really; it's just Swede and I, on the red carpet.

I had to include this picture, because Shannon has excellent taste in prom dresses. She and I both wore vintage pink lace dresses.

Ah yes, the real King and Queen.
Oops, another false alarm!
It's Dr. Miller, our Principal, and his lovely wife, KC.
She owns SWIHA, the Southwest Institute of Healing Arts, where I did my Yoga Teacher Training. In fact, our prom was in the YTT room! It's going to need some serious Feng Shui after we're done with it!

No need to worry about getting spiked punch with the
Punch Patrol
on duty! Mrs. Alvis, Mrs. Fierro and Mrs. Fierro's Mama.

This is Tasha, our Registrar extraordinaire. Without her this prom night would not have been so special. She did all the organizing, shopping, and decorating. I am sure there are a million other details left unmentioned. Oh yes, the guy misbehaving- that's Robert.
You can pretty much expect this type of thing from him.

Our newest addition, Brittany, who is going to teach in Indonesia next year, and Mark, our greatest asset and DJ, who will be teaching in China.

I guess Mr. Alvis is our newest newest addition, yet it seems like he has been with us forever. He is the English teacher who takes our students on amazing intellectual adventures every day.

The boys.
Daniel, our Math teacher, Mr. Canfield, Social Studies, and Mark again.

Drop it like it's hot.

Well, we are all dying to know who will be Prom King and Queen, right?

Alas, the jury is in. Desiree Perez and Robert Gonzalez. This is the first time Robert has ever behaved.

Pratyahara

"Pratyahara is the process of directing the senses inward to become aware of the subtle elements of sound, touch, sight, taste, and smell. Ultimately, all experience is consciousness. When you look at a flower in your garden, your eyes receive frequencies of electromagnetic radiation that trigger chemical reactions in the rods and cones at the back of your eyes. As a result of these chemical changes in your retinas, electrical impulses are generated that eventually reach the visual cortex at the back of your brain. The interpretation of these fluctuations in energy and information takes place in your consciousness. Although you imagine that you are seeing the flower outside of you, you are actually experiencing it within you on the screen of your awareness. "

- Deepak Chopra

Ingrid

This is my friend, Ingrid.

I love this picture. Long ago, Swede had this cute little apartment, and Ingrid and I would come over for coffee and reading. Here we are reading Swede's favorite Martial Arts Teacher, Hatsumi's book, Understand? Good, Play! It looks like Ingrid has been busted by Hatsumi doing something naughty, not that Ingrid has ever been bad a day in her life! I guess that's what makes it so much funnier!

This picture is nice, too. The Three Musketeers:)

Remember, I said Ingrid has never been naughty a day in her life. Swede on the other hand is another story. On this special occasion, Ingrid and I have patched up Swede's eyes so he cannot see. He went blind the whole weekend, while Ingrid led him around town on various adventures. Swede was testing out his five-dollar-dance moves with his new perception on life, while Ingrid is clearly taken by surprise!

Ingrid took our blinded Swede to the Mill Avenue Taco Del Mar. I don't know what Swede is doing in this picture, but we are all cracking up!

Ingrid joins us for holidays when she is not out of town visiting her parents in London. Here she is making cider on Halloween with Zabrina.

We all just love Ingrid.
She is peaceful and kind.
She is a music therapist.
She plays Celtic music on the harp.
She used to live right across the street.
She lives on the ocean in California now.
She is far away.
She is still in our hearts and thoughts.

BTW: She has a blog, too- and her poetry is beautiful.