Fall colors everywhere, like a fire that starts slowly until it burns completely in full passion. Good time for reflection, and around here...lots to do!

October 2nd, Gallery night at the Overture Center was fun and really busy. Lots of events around town plus the opening 2009-2010 season of the Madison Symphony Orchestra with guest pianist Peter Serkin in the building made it for a buzzing night full of people visiting the galleries. Most of our group of 121 artists, had art displayed through out three floors of the Overture Center. Meredith had a nice write up in one of the local papers.

We decided to show 2 of our collaboration pieces, expeditions to the unexpected, a fun and energizing experience.

Here with "Three points of view"

and with "Untitled"

We had a nice auction, one of my towers found a new home. Made new friends, talked a lot then, and much more later while celebrating with tapas and sangria in good company of friends. Salud!

Saturday 3rd...took some of our 400 pounds of red clay for a hands-on demonstration at the new and super beautiful Sequoya Library.

Getting ready to play

ooooh this is quite fun!

Ritu and her girls busy at work

Sergei making a bowl, and his mom trying out some pinch pots.

Jamie and Sergei very busy at work, just before trying a recipe of red clay soup

Sherrie joined us later and tried some pinch pots too

Relieving some stress

.look what I did! and look at mine!

Well... cleanup was not that easy, a bit of red in:  tables, chairs, tools...but we had a blast!

It's been a busy summer. Let's see...

Rest of June:

A gorgeous and cool women's weekend in Washington Island.

We took some red clay for a spin...and back.

Lots of relaxing and inspiring time in the woods, the beauty of wilderness in Rock Island

Visited Meredith's pieces at the

Red Cup Coffee House a fun place to go on the island and yes...great coffee.

Still no takers on our beautiful 400 pounds of clay...most of it will be ageing for a while at Meredith & Joe's garage for years to come?

Joe rolled a few bags down the hill to the studio. I took a couple home. We sliced, soaked, reclaimed and recycled until the clay rebirthed into a beautiful and workable consistency sans cracks.

Tap, tap, tap...started red triptych

We dreamt some plans:

a few batches of terra sig,

pit fire in the garden,

more collaboration projects,

more SOFA

and more of our own SO FUN weekends.

Meredith's birthday in the studio...candles and all. I'm forbidden to post memories.

White earthenware people that also come in threes...

Many planes and trains through Europe in July:         The  wedding of my nephew Nicolas, took Alan and me to Geneva where a big chunk of my family lives. A worldwind of hugs and kisses, my sisters, nieces, nephews and great nephews: Lalo who is now 3 and meeting Fausto for the first time who was 10 months by then. My sister's friends...It was like back in Argentina, back to my life in castellano but in a different corner of the world.
For the bride's family perhaps it was too like back in Ghana...or not. Four full days of fun, many travelers, many languages spoken, different universes...
All the bride's family and friends spoke english, Alan was absolutely delighted and relieved.

Paris...
and
good quality time with my niece
Malena . She had found a friend's atelier for us in Menilmontant

an ethnic neighborhood home of artists and intellectuals ...tres cool! It was the anniversary of the Eiffel tower and the city was full of celebration .

 Little jewels like the many little unexpected green places used by parisians till the square inch.

A little shop in the Marais that reminded me of Chagall

 and yes

 the corner spot of Amelie Poulain's market,

a glimpse of the Tour Eiffel through Jean Nouvel amazing Musee du Quai Branly and the Patrick Blanc's luscious vertical garden and so much more.

Then...Spain: Salamanca. Plasencia, Madrid, Toledo and (sniff) back to Madison.

August:  finishing up work, party to celebrate hard working friends

September: how much fun can we have?

"Watchful" made it in time to Faces in the Wild

weekend in Chicago,

Hustling with Meredith to finish pieces for the Open Art Studios Show at the Overture Center

some didn't make it...

but others did!

another women's weekend in Florence (Wisconsin this time) but missed the RPCV calendar packing party

a wow Handmade Tile Conference in Edina, bought some tiles at the Tile Festival...and came back with my own Majolica Tile to fire at home

The last weekend of the month ended with a beautiful hike around Richland Center and candied apples for dessert. yum!

Hey...there are 200 lbs of red clay being thrown away. Do you want them? I can drop them off at Meredith's studio- my friend Jo said

Yeah, we'll use it!- I answered, thinking in cone 5

Beautiful red clay...glorious chocolate color...all 400 pounds of it, a little stiff though, and of a very low fire kind, the one we haven't ever tried...cone 04-06

It's always good fun to explore new things...


We just wanted to share our good fortune, but...there were no takers in sight.