Opening and Why?

Got home after a day of unloading, cleaning up, catching up with old friends who came for the opening and sale. Unwrapped the pots, fondling and looking at them for another long time. Knowing I haven't stop smiling since the first pot came out of the kiln, all of a sudden feeling deflated because I realize I can not do this alone. They're not really my own works no matter how much I want to claim. A big part of them is team work. 55 hrs of non-stop stoking, not speaking of the effort of mindful loading (what shape/size/glaze/clay go up/down/back/front/which side face forward at what angle) while having a picture of how hot ash fly in mind, and months of wood gathering and preparation. Plus don't forget hundreds of hours to make the works. No, it doesn't make any economic sense. No, it doesn't look bright, smooth or shiny (PERFECT? like most commercial pots). No, it's not for someone who's in a hurry.

So why? have you ever question why Mom want to make you old fire soup? Why some people want to ride their bike slowly anyway/ everywhere? Why home schooling? Why gardening?

Firing night 2

12:00 am : 33 hrs into firing. Stoking almost every 10 minutes.

3:00 am : 36 hrs. Crews playing with iPhone Apps in between stoking in the rain.
4:00 am : One day, there will be iPhone Apps replacing the pyrometer, plus plotting graph in real time, telling you exactly when to stoke with alarm. If there's no response, it will proceed to call the other crew to tell him you fell asleep on your shift. Crews dream talk in 37 hrs.

5000 mile monkey prize

I think it is a great accomplishment to ride 5000 miles in around a year. So, congratulate and keep it up. BTW, the prize including this monkey draw and 4 boxes of Klondike Ice cream. Probably enough calories for another 5000 miles.

Firing night

4:00 am : 13 hrs into firing. This pyrometer is showing the temperatures inside the kiln. Top number for the front and bottom one for the back.

5:00 am : 14 hrs. Our sleepy stoking companion.
6:00 am : 15 hrs. Dreamy scene of fire and snow. Snow of ash.
7:00 am : 16 hrs. Karen has been up whole night.
8:00 am : 17 hrs. What? Which stick you want?

Loading day

9:30am : Wow, can we fit all these pots in? Mary the elephant is in there somewhere!

10:30am : Looking good! Let's have lunch, I'm hungry.
1:30pm : Every piece has to sit on a few little ball of clay, so it wouldn't stuck on the shelf. I just learned how to feed wood from the little windows without hitting the pots. I will have some chances to try it out this weekend.
4:30pm : Time to call it a day, even not every pot get in.
Here's the side view of Justin's new Anagama. He didn't like how the last kiln fired, so he built this one in record time.

Why you're doing what you're doing

Went to a "free lunch and learn session" in Trike shoppe this Sunday. Learned why and how Ian Sims is doing what he is doing. Ian is Greenspeed's founder from Australia. Greenspeed is the leader in the recumbent trike market. From the presentation, you can tell Ian just loves what he's doing. Since he was young, he has been making/ inventing different kind of automobile, side-car, bi/tricycle....... He enjoys technical challenges (it's amazing how much advanced physics is involved in wheels, steering, aerodynamic, structure, even in a little tricycle) and the development of his company.

On the other hand, we also learned about why Trike shoppe owners is doing what they're doing. Do you remembered a story about a blind and a cripple helping each other out? Now, just put them on the tandem trike, of course, the one with good eyes in front, the one with good legs in the back. What a team! They also wish they can help other people with or without disability to have fun, get fit, and more important, find freedom.

After test ride the gt3, Ian recommended a small x3, even they don't have one in stock. So, it will be in my wish list. Someday, I want to cycle around the Island of Ice and Fire down south. It will take weeks if not months, much better to have a real seat than a little saddle.

Killing Mary the Elephant

I made this pot after reading the horror story of why and how Mary got hanged, after she stepped on her keeper's head. Before that, she was a big star, full of talents in a circus almost a century ago. The black humor was that the chain actually broke.

I fantasize Mary just wouldn't die, even they try to execute her in different ways.

The second chain didn't break, but the crane came down ... ... ...

No gun is big enough .. .. ..

Electrocution! Not enough voltage to tickle ... ... ...

She simple would not touch poisoned food ..... ..... .....

My fantasy ended with her slow death of sadness, missing all the attention from her audiences, losing the special love from her owner.

This very strange image stuck in my mind for a long time.