Thursday After Waldorf Wednesday

Rapidly cooling coffee in the Austin skyline mug, happy chugging furnace sounds for music. Yesterday I completely missed posting as I headed off to the Waldorf School at 7:30 am for another fun-filled morning of ornament-making with the 7th graders. The pictures are from their visit to the studio a week ago though, as I remembered my camera, but forgot to take any pictures at school yesterday!

I am so energized and renewed by the experience of seeing what vastly different and wildly creative pieces 24 people can produce with access to the same raw materials and canvas size. It is such a privilege to share knowledge with an enthusiastic group and it makes me wonder again why I don't teach more. I have one more Wednesday at Waldorf before the Holiday Fair in mid November, and I'm already looking forward to working with the 7th grade on their auction project for the spring--and maybe some individual projects. I may have to think about opening up studio time in the afternoons for students who wish to pursue work in glass... Maybe next year I should think about branching out and offering classes to students at the Waldorf High School.

In the meantime, I have another teaching/sharing opportunity coming up with my ikebana group. I am in the second instructor course now and one of my assignments was to do arrangements in personally designed containers. I took two vases to class that I made when I was researching projects for the book, and the rest of the group was so excited by them (and by the fact that they are the most basic of beginner projects) that they asked if I would teach a container-making session in the studio for them. Need to get that on the calendar for some time in November or December too.

The studio calendar is still beautifully clear after next week. I continue to slog through the first batch of sample sets, and today I begin the last two orders of the year, then... nothing concrete planned! Dave is working 70 hours between now and Wednesday morning and then he, too, is staring down the barrel of nothing but documentation and writing a few tests for the rest of the year. I almost wish we were going somewhere, but I hate to travel around the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Besides, I think the spouse is going to be tired and brain-dead himself and need a little time just to be around home.

Becky's last day as studio assistant is tomorrow and then Dee takes over--though with my upcoming schedule I can't see needing any help until after the first of the year. Guess we can always play with the vitrigraph! Oh and she's doing the Holiday Fair with Jessie and me in November. And speaking of the J, she is so worn out doing projects and playing with Gramma every afternoon that she crashed in the car yesterday after running to Target to get her vampire teeth for her Halloween costume. (Like the stylin' rainboots?) Even after we got home and I opened the car door she still slept on, little dulcet snores emanating from the backseat.

Gramma is going to make her a cape today out of blue-satin-lined black polar fleece for the rest of her costume.

Now I suppose I had better stop chatting and get to the studio. I don't know why I am so disliking making the the sample sets--it's just like making actual pieces. Maybe it's having to do every single blessed colorway... Good-bye lunch for Becky today. Need to see if Stacy can join us (I never took her to lunch for assisting so boy is it time!)