a very mushroomy day as i began these caps. each have a hidden heart shaped spot. a sort of seek and find aspect to my mushroom crowns. tomorrow i will sew handmade bronze butterflies to them and add in a stem. summer looms... closer today than yesterday : )

and so it begins... the construction of the parts and pieces of the summer collection. so many unknows still as i navigate my way through new ideas and visions. i feel so antsy in this part of production, so hard to let go of constantly working to try to figure the hows of everything and i am only halfway there, more antsyness to come... 65 or so pieces will arrive at the ark mid june.

spent the morning in a newly errected playhouse in our yard, sitting on an old army cot, beading dyed fresh water pearls for the dangly center of crocheted flowers. so therapudic to be in a small wooden space removed from my living space of distracting responsibilities and just hanging out with my children. though not yet finished, the 8x10 play house has become quite a multi use space (mother's day brunch pavillion, reading room, music practice room and now beading room : )

my little copper world du la teapot is finally finished. so many times in the kiln and so many parts and pieces broken along the way. the original flower that was at the top in a previous post has long been discarded for it's shatteredness. one side, north and south america and the other europe, asia, africa and australia. it has just the aged copper penny look at last. loving it for it's long tricky road to the finish and set stones honoring miss t's current location and the location of my ancestoral roots.

such generous offerings this week as the world of miss t toured bouverie preserve in sonoma county via her metal clay instructor maryneuerlee
http://maryneuerlee.blogspot.com who is also a docent at the preserve. a private hike and wildlife informant all to myself and my children. So many beautiful sights and sounds. and i got to hold my first newt : ) pictured above is the pygmy redwood grove of bouverie, so sweet. we felt like giants in this miniature land of small very old redwoods.

also this week... a class at "castle in the air"

on fourth street in berkeley ca.
http://www.castleintheair.biz/ to make small boxes from walnut shells and acorn caps. so unexpected were the generous offerings of vintage and new materials for our creations. it felt so free and extravagant to create there. a full day in the classroom studio of "castle in the air"? so lucky to hear, all day, the often cuckoo chimes and laughter from the shop downstairs. what a magical place for my heart's creative places. pictured are my creations from the class. creations inspired by the very grounded, tinkering, inventive creative spirit and instructor john b. mcrae of "castle in the air". such luck to be under his wing for this class adventure.

gratitude times infinity for all the sensory and creative experiences of the week.

happiest may day wishes as i am off to a day of making metal clay butterfly buttons for my upcoming summer collection.

swishy fishy is officially scintered, pure bronze metal and finished although i just may tarnish him a bit more to make him a bit more sunken treasure-ish. and yes sono-ma he was made to honor my passing swishy fishy of late. i miss him terribly, he was always so glad to see me.

today was my last open studio for metal clay. i learned so much about tools and the how too's of putting metal clay pieces together. now i am welcoming the time to process what i have just learned and put it to good use in the world of miss t. how will i find time for this new layer of my work sitting amongst the already complex layering of materials and ingredients?

ps. i tried yet another recipe from the below mentioned food revolution cookbook. sizzling beef with scallions and black bean sauce was simply divine: ) and i will be adding it to our monthly menu options. jamie oliver rocks!

jamie oliver is my culinary hero. he has always seemed so genuinely passionate about feeding people well and has used his stardom to educate and make changes to people's modern day feeding habits. so good.

the premise of his most recent above pictured cookbook is to help others by learning the recipes inside and then passing them on to others via show and tell. not only is the the book's premise lovely but what is inside is inspiringly delicious, simple, approachable, non fussy and...oh my goodness...a photographic treat. photographs of and quotes from the very real people he has helped to make changes in feeding themselves . i have loved every recipe i have tried especially all the curry pastes and curry recipes. yum.

jamie oliver says that he "wants to be the catalyst for empowering millions to make proper homecooked affordable meals from scratch again", the state of health and cooking so close to his heart in this era of cheap fast food and staggering health statistics.

tonight jamie oliver's new series begins on abc at 8pm and i am so excited to see his determination in action. he is like a culinary supernanny : )

my swishy fishy of the previous week had some trouble in the kiln during firing and did not scinter. it remains more brittle clay than metal. the metal in the clay does not melt in the kiln but the metal particles in the clay fuse together instead, which microscopically would be porous and more matrix-like than solid metal. so swishy fishy's metal particles did not fuse together for what ever reason, mysterious, and his tail piece broke. he is being fired again and i am keeping my fingers crossed that he will scinter and i can find a way to keep his tail as a free moving piece.

in the mean time i am working on the above pictured in copper clay.
the world of miss t : )
will it scinter? will that free moving flower stem piece hold up? larger and hollow pieces tend to be problematic. oh dear....feeling much less free moving and competent with metal clay today.