Barbara Bell's Noisy Woods

My new desk

2012-01-26T13:09:00.000-08:00

As of the week after Christmas I have a real desk. In the living room. On the table that held our 4-ft. tall Christmas tree this year. It is now My Desk. It has wire shelves on top of it, against the wall, to hold things such as stationery, reference books, and writing tools.

My Desk is awesome. Much work with words goes on there--mostly letter-writing, reading, journaling, and the keeping of authorised loose notes such as grocery, menu, and to-do lists. I often check and update my Events calendar at My Desk. Other things happen there too (such as prayer, small sewing and knitting jobs, and occasionally even a bit of sleeping).

I might not know till next November (well...April, for Script Frenzy) whether any "real" writing will happen at My Desk--anything that doesn't have to do with money, food, the immediate furthering of personal relationships, or the organising of time and priorities--but it is a great place to hang out. I find myself gravitating there and taking a deep, slow breath as I sit down. I am tempted to eat meals at My Desk but have resisted the urge on all but the most appropriate occasions.

I have firmly resisted all efforts on the part of family members to colonise My Desk with their own belongings. It's not that I blame them for catching a glimpse of an empty horizontal surface as they hurtle past on their way to more interesting parts of the house, and thinking it would be a good place to deposit whatever books, papers and tools are burdening them at the moment. I sympathise; I myself often search the house for an empty horizontal surface on which to set something I don't need at the moment. But they may not use My Desk!

This is the first Desk I have ever successfully used for any appreciable length of time, without seeing it become a depository for my own miscellaneous paraphernalia. My first memory of hearing the word "paraphernalia" was, now that I think of it, when I was about 10 years old and a student teacher applied it to the collection of useful or at least interesting items that was stored on top of my fourth-grade classroom desk and left me little room for doing schoolwork, and until now any Desk I have attempted to set up and use has invariably become just another failed storage system rather than a functional working surface. Perhaps I have finally grown up enough to be able to have a Desk. Perhaps something has, finally, changed.

Either way, it's a nice place to be.

2012 is just like 2011, only the numbers are different

2012-01-01T20:26:00.000-08:00

So who was it who decided that it's a big deal when the numbers change to the next year? Today has been pretty much like yesterday so far, except no big party in the evening, and that's OK; one big party per weekend (year) is fairly close to being enough.

The New Year is shaping up to be relatively busy so far. I have some orders for art carried over from 2011 (last week) and am looking toward two art shows in the next couple of months, revising and editing my 2009 and 2011 NaNoWriMo novels into one seamless story, getting my studio sorted and cleaned so it can double as a guest room (possibly as soon as mid-February), and just generally keeping up with things.

Being busy is not, in itself, a bad thing. As long as one takes time to be quiet and reflective and to continue to have conversations with those one loves, being busy is not necessarily the same as being stressed out.

Note to self: remember these things in 2012.

Hand-worked outfit for 18" doll

2011-12-23T12:20:00.000-08:00

The doll is Gotz "Precious Days" Alicia.

The King and Queen Game

2011-11-28T08:46:00.000-08:00

This exciting novel, written (rough draft only) in November 2010 during National Novel Writing Month and edited throughout at least half of 2011, is now available online for your reading pleasure.

The King and Queen Game

Real or staged mess?

2011-11-22T15:24:00.000-08:00

Checking one of my email accounts today, I saw a link to this video. I've had a few children of my own, and have cleaned up some spectacular disasters in my time, so I decided to "waste" several minutes watching the film.

Just for clarification, the story behind the movie is as follows. A young mother, Mary Napoli of some city in Michigan, emerged from the bathroom the other day, having been absent from her two toddlers' immediate presence for no more than 5 minutes (she had not been feeling well) to discover the little boys, aged 1 and 3, happily playing in 5 lb. of flour they had just finishing dumping all over the living room. She filmed the scene of the crime and then posted it on YouTube.

It was intriguing how many people commenting on this video insisted that there was NO way two children as young as this could make this kind of a mess on their own. I'd say the overwhelming majority used the words "fake" or "staged."

A second and slightly smaller contingent, allowing grudgingly that kids could be pretty awful sometimes, chose to let fly at the mother's parenting skills for having failed to prevent them from doing so.

An even smaller group criticised her for not swearing at and then punishing the kids before (or instead of) filming them as they finished gleefully distributing the flour around the room and proceeded to wallow in it. To them, this either proved that the movie was staged (what real-life mother would NOT swear at her children and whale the tar out of them, faced with such an appalling mess?) or gave incriminating evidence that she was an ineffectual parent (see paragraph above.)

Those who took a more moderate view, saying things such as, "I believe it; I can remember my own mother acting exactly like this," or "You wanna hear my story of what MY kids did one day??" were the smallest group of all. My guess is that they could easily be counted on the fingers of one hand. Or, possibly, two. And that probably includes the comments I posted myself.

Summing it up, the conclusion of the majority seems to be that, obviously, the video is a fake; the mother is a publicity-seeking idiot who trashed her own living room and made her
innocent toddlers look like the culprits, in order to get worldwide attention. As one person observed, "i guess these days people will use their kids for almost anything to receive attention or their 15 seconds of fame. Pathatic." (sic)

(The above quote is taken directly from the Yahoo! page. Just for the record: the following "quotes" are not cut and pasted verbatim, but have been combined from a good many comments in the same vein. If you want to read the actual comments, you're welcome to visit the YouTube page: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1noY1NTiF0 or the Yahoo! page: http://ca.shine.yahoo.com/video--boys-dump-flour-all-over-house-in-an-unusually-uniformly-messy-way.html)

The "bad parenting" comments were particularly revealing. According to her admiring public, the occurrence of such a disaster indicates this mom was either too permissive with her kids ("My dad would have beat me black and blue if I'd tried a stunt like this!"--hopefully a severe or perhaps a humorous exaggeration) or criminally negligent ("She's a terrible mother if she left them alone long enough for them to make this kind of a mess!"--translation: "good" moms never use the bathroom during their children's waking hours, even when ill, unless they chain the kids to their high chairs first.) However, if a poll were taken, it would show that most people simply dismiss this video as having been staged by the mother.

Well...whether or not this was "staged"--and I will admit, it could have been staged--I have no problem believing such a thing could also, in fact, actually happen. I've known enough kids over the years to have heard some hair-raisingly similar stories.

To those who said, "Obviously staged--she sounds so phony, just repeating the same phrase in a monotone over and over"--well, she sounds pretty realistic to me. She's not a bad mother, or even a bad actor. To me, she sounds like a woman in shock. Not every woman screams, yells and becomes violent when faced with the kind of mess the nicest kids can get into in those few minutes when your back is turned. Sometimes when it's really horrible you just get really, really quiet......

The flour on the walls and pictures could have drifted there from the way the kids were tossing that bag around. Comments stated that, among other things, there was no way there could have been flour on the picture frames and the molding over the door, from children that small. Here's another criticism: "The flour is so uniformly spread around the room--obviously the mom herself did it just for the video." (In which case the mother is not just publicity-hungry--she's crazy. Have you ever tried to clean up flour that has been rubbed into upholstery?) Followed by, "Hey! Look! She missed the back of the rocking chair! HA!" I can imagine these kids were enchanted by the effect they were getting, and scattered it as far as possible. It's what I--er, I mean, lots of kids--would have done, at that age.

And no, maybe the kids didn't realise right away what big trouble they were in. ("Kids know when they've been bad, and freak out when Mom catches them at it; these kids are perfectly calm.") However, if you listen, you can hear it beginning to register..."What's the matter, Mommy?...What's the matter?..." They were having LOTS of fun before she walked in, but they are beginning to pick up from her reaction that All Is Not Well. Doesn't anyone remember what it was like, being a kid, doing something awful and not realising till it's, well, just a l-i-t-t-l-e bit too late that you have really pulled a bad one?

Others said it was unlikely that any adult would simply walk around filming the mess before punishing the kids and getting it all cleaned up as fast as possible. Try this scenario instead: Mom opened the door, took a few steps, saw what was going on, and realised she had a decision to make:

a) She could scream, yell, confine the kids behind a baby gate in the bedroom or somewhere (maybe at a neighbour's house would be better, now that I think of it―or, let’s see, how far away does Grandma live, and would she keep the little darlings overnight?) and clean everything up, and then have people say to her, "There's no way it could have been that bad. My, you do make up some amazing stories!" All she would have is the memory of that day.

b) Or, being a young mother of the 21st century with access to the latest technology, she could put her emotions on hold for a minute or two longer (hey, the bag is almost empty, the damage has been done...) and then calmly fetch her camcorder or her cell phone, retrace her steps to the bathroom door, push the button and start walking. Showing the world just what SHE saw at that first moment. Carefully going around the whole room filming, leaving out no detail--not the flour splashed on the lampshade, not the sprinkles on the framed pictures, not the kids joyfully making patterns in the flour with their hands or emptying the last of the bag over their heads. I'll bet she wasn't even aware that she was moaning "Oh. My gosh. Oh, my gosh..." over and over again. But somewhere deep inside all that shock, she still had a sense of humour. Already she was laying plans for what she would do AFTER she filmed it all (and then screamed, yelled, confined the kids outside the disaster area--I suggest that depending on her assessment of the level of their accountability, there might also be some disciplinary procedures at this point-- and, finally, cleaned everything up.)

"First I'll show it to Daddy when he gets home. Then, I'll email it to Grandma. After that, I'll post it for everyone else I know on Facebook. And then, fifteen or twenty years from now--the kids probably won't even remember this day!--I'll get it out and share it at their graduations...wait, how about their weddings?"

I wish she lived in my neighbourhood. I'd like to get to know her as she raises those little boys. She has a sense of humour, AND she keeps her temper in desperate circumstances. Modern technology aside, this is just the way many of the best of mothers have behaved through the ages. There is yet hope for the younger generation. You go, girl!

Meanwhile, she has posted the day of her disaster on the Internet so others could get a kick out of it, and everyone is saying "There's no way it could have been that bad. My, you do make up some amazing stories." Ha ha.

Month of the Novel--A new video series

2011-11-13T20:40:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/user/MonthOfTheNovel#p/u/0/LKGfLSt4e4c
This series is based on the National Novel Writing Month challenge.

Background music is by Benjamin Dawson, formerly of the Highlands Youth Ensemble and a very talented young composer. When my novel series (now represented by volume 2, The King and Queen Game, which will eventually be joined by Volume 1, One Perfect Bride, and Volume 3, The Knitting Room) becomes a series of award-winning movies, Benjamin will be asked to write music for them. That is, if he isn't already a famous composer and too busy writing soundtracks for other movies by that time.

Viking doll

2011-11-11T07:55:00.000-08:00

This guy is in California at the moment, making movies.

He's got a papier-mache head and soft stuffed body. His arms and hands are felt (the first time I've ever made hands with articulated fingers; it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be) and the rest of him is fulled wool fabric, remnants from a costumer's stash, which I receive on a regular basis from a friend. The tunic has hand embroidery around the edges. The belt, sword sheath and shoes are polyester suede fabric; the shirt is cotton (another remnant-- a coarse homespun-looking fabric called Osnaburg, I think) and his "chain mail" shirt is crocheted from silver-gray nylon crochet cord. His hair and beard are natural llama wool. This is the first beard I've ever made for a doll. I learned a lot. :o)

The helmet and sword are made from Crayola "Model Magic," similar to the Amaco "Cloud Clay" I used on the Sam Vimes doll last July (see earlier post). They're painted and varnished in acrylics.

He was made for a fund-raiser for the National Novel Writing Month challenge.

Day 11 of National Novel Writing Month

2011-11-11T07:35:00.000-08:00

Someone has figured out that if you start on day 1 and write only 1667 words per day, you can easily make it to 50K in 30 days.

I am a bit behind, having only 5843 words so far, but even so I should be able to finish in a month if I type a mere 2325 words per day from now on.

It isn't too late. Want to join me? There may be a novel in you--and if there is, it is one that no one else in the world can write.

Irish dance dress with new detachable collar

2011-08-06T15:51:00.000-07:00

The Stardust Irish Dancers will be performing at a Celtic festival in a few weeks. This is the dress they will wear. The Celtic-style applique motif on the detachable collar/bib was designed by the teacher; the collar itself was designed by me and I did the sewing. Unnamed Irish dancer models the outfit, which looks OK except you can't tell how hard I worked pressing the whole thing, and the shoulders look much nicer once they were actually basted down instead of just being temporarily secured by hidden safety pins, as here.

Add caption

My non-functioning cell phone

2011-08-03T08:06:00.000-07:00

I have two cell phones. One functions in the usual way--I can make and receive calls with it. The other is non-functioning; it still works for everything except the one purpose for which cell phones are meant to be used. Why do I keep it? Because it makes a great "reminder" calendar, alarm clock or timer! It has up to four different alarms that can be set with all those different ring tones, which not only clue me in to something I don't want to forget, but also (by the use of the different ring tones, which I have mentally assigned to different purposes) tell me what it is I'm trying to remember!

Any "reminder" having to do with husband has one ring tone; things pertaining to each child have their own ring tone (WHO is it I'm supposed to be picking up after play practice this afternoon?) and kitchen-related things such as bread coming out of the oven have a ring tone of their own. I'm an artist/craftsperson, so art-related events have their ring tone as well. You can see this is a very useful cell phone even though I haven't made a real phone call with it in something over three years.

But I lost it last year. I really thought it was gone for good, that I had lost it far from home and would never see my little NFCP ( non-functioning cell phone) again. You see, I couldn't even call my own cell phone to find it...it's non-functioning and doesn't take calls.

Then, many months later, husband was searching under the bed for something of his own he'd lost, and there was my little NFCP hiding in a dark corner. (Shows how often I clean under the bed.) Of course the battery had long since run out of charge, but that was minor--just plug it in, and within a few hours I had charge again, good as ever.

Just to keep this from happening again, I set an "everyday" alarm to ring at a time when I'm usually around the house, 3 pm. As long as it's in the house, no matter where it is, I will find it at that time of day. Even if I'm not searching for my NFCP at that time, the alarm is a convenient reminder that the afternoon is half over. And theoretically, if the cell phone was ever lost somewhere outside the home, someone else might find it at that time of day and I'd have a chance of getting it returned to me.

The main problem with this clever system is that I occasionally, just once in a great while, walk out of the house to do errands with the wrong cell phone, the NFCP, in my pocket. It makes a wonderful clock and alarm/reminder, but it's not all that great at taking urgent calls from loved ones at home.

Novel, The King and Queen Game, is almost finished

2011-07-26T16:46:00.000-07:00

This is my 2010 NaNoWriMo novel, and I have "finished" (if such a verb is anything but ludicrous in this context) the major rewrite I've been working on since the end of May. I am considering posting the book in its entirety as a PDF file on this here blog, once I'm relatively satisfied with it (or at least tired of looking at it). I might do it even if no one writes back to beg me to do so, but any begging emails will definitely help lead me in that direction. You never know--your positive criticisms might make the difference between a splendid, inspiring novel and one that is merely mediocre!

Sam Vimes is travelling to Wisconsin

2011-07-06T14:52:00.000-07:00

There's a Discworld convention in Wisconsin this week, and Sam Vimes is attending from east Tennessee--or at least, a doll representing him will be. Actually, there will probably be quite a few individuals representing Sam Vimes at this convention, but I am guessing this doll could be the smallest.

He's got a papier-mache head, like the Chris Baty doll, but he's dressed in quasi-medieval clothing and armour from the fictional Discworld. I tried something a little different with him, something I've never done before: I made his armour and a few other accoutrements from Cloud Clay, an air-drying modeling substance that resembles marshmallows more than anything else I've ever handled, before it dries. When that happens, it becomes firm, yet flexible and very light, like those sheets of coloured craft foam kids make things from in VBS. It doesn't stick to anything but itself, so I modeled Sam's helmet and armour directly on his head and body and they fit nicely. When I painted them with metallic-coloured acrylic craft paints, they look quite realistic, and my fingerprints and wavy edges just look like really, really battered armour...

My Script

2011-04-24T19:32:00.000-07:00

According to Script Frenzy's validator machine thing, I have written 136 pages of a script. For some reason, this blog won't currently let me add my winner's icon as a Gadget, so here it is as a graphic:

2011-02-12T16:52:00.000-08:00

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=498330412049&comments

2011-02-09T06:09:00.000-08:00

This was among my favourites of Chris Baty's pep talks. It's poorly filmed but the message is quite easy to hear and understand.

Which Austen heroine are you?

2010-12-28T16:49:00.000-08:00

Take the Quiz here!

Apparently, I most resemble Elizabeth Bennett. "This is flattery indeed," but I think there was something wrong with the test...

Bongo's sweater vest

2010-12-28T15:58:00.000-08:00

In wool and nylon sock yarn--possibly the smallest project I have ever knitted.

John Lynch on "When You Get Tired Enough"

2010-12-13T19:21:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7azfoonNqpc&feature=player_detailpage

2010-11-22T05:00:00.000-08:00

It's National Novel Writing Month again, and once again, not satisfied with trying to whip out 50,000 words in 30 days, oversee our two homeschooling teenagers' education, keep up with other responsibilities (let us not say those bad words launder, clean, cook) and get a reasonable amount of sleep, I've decided to add making another Chris Baty doll to the list of things being finished this month.

Chris Baty, as you probably know, is the founder of National Novel Writing Month. Last year I designed a doll that (sort of) looked like him and sent it to NaNoWriMo's home office, thinking they might raffle it off or in some other way use it to raise money for the cause. The doll ended up putting in an appearance at NaNoWriMo's annual "Night of Writing Dangerously"--a six-hour-long writing marathon held in San Francisco, NaNoWriMo's home base, where I have since learned it was a big hit.

Nothing like a little recognition to get an artist going to ridiculous lengths to repeat such a success! When I was told, two or three weeks ago, that the doll had been referred to by Chris Baty himself as "topping [his] list of all-time surreal NaNoWriMo moments" (and I checked it out--these are almost his exact words: http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/history#yeareleven leven) I immediately started work on the next edition of the Chris Baty Look-Alike Doll. Fortunately, I had saved the plaster cast I made of the original sculpture, so coming up with another one was just a bit simpler than the first time around. Unfortunately, my resculpting/painting skills being what they are, this one doesn't look quite like last year's edition. I gritted my teeth and finished him anyway, because, after all, last year's edition didn't look exactly like the real person either...

Because I started so late, this guy didn't get finished in time to make it to this year's Night of Writing Dangerously, which took place yesterday (21 November) but I was able to send pictures before the event to Lindsey Grant, NaNoWriMo's Program Director. "Little Chris" will probably be making the trip to San Francisco sometime this week, where, we hope, he'll be put to some use in helping to make the world more interesting for would-be novelists.

Portrait of the author as a potter

2010-10-09T10:10:00.000-07:00

Here's me at the wheel in the pottery studio at One of a Kind Gallery in Bristol TN. See earlier posts for more details.

National Novel Writing Month is just around the corner

2010-10-08T07:43:00.000-07:00

National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo as it has come to be known, is a 30-day online challenge taking place every year in November. The goal? To write at least 50,000 words within the span of those 30 days--and to get them successfully counted and registered on the NaNoWriMo website before midnight on November 30.

Are you ready for this challenge? It will--I repeat, it will change your life. As a three-time participant and two-time winner in this great yearly event, I'd like to invite you to consider giving a mere hour or two every day this November toward cranking out 50K words of whatever you consider to be a novel (the definition of "novel" here is quite loose--see the NaNoWriMo website for more details, and the official "rules"). Though what you will end up with is not, strictly speaking, a "novel" by most normal standards, what you will have to show for all those hours of blood, sweat and tears will be a spectacular 50,000-word writing exercise. And rumour has it that some participants do, in fact, go on to edit and publish the "novels" so created. I've never done it myself, but supposedly some people have.

Highly recommended is the NaNoWriMo "handbook," No Plot? No Problem!, available through Amazon.com and on the NaNoWriMo website. I got mine secondhand and saved a few bucks--and as you can see from the photograph at the beginning of this post, it has been well-read and much used.

NaNoWriMo runs on donations. You can get a miniature halo around your username whenever it shows up on their website, by contributing as little as $10 to the cause. Some of us contribute things other than money. In this motivational short video from last year's event, a papier-mache doll looking somewhat like founder Chris Baty wearing his signature Viking helmet appears to contribute its two cents' worth (in speech balloons) to the discussion on how to beef up one's lagging word count towards the end of the month. You'll have to guess who contributed the handmade doll, which later on was featured in a NaNoWriMo silent auction fundraiser attended by hundreds of enthusiastic participants from around the world.

Watch this potter at work!

2010-09-10T10:35:00.001-07:00

This is the same Yorkshire potter who did the centering demo on the YouTube link in my previous blog post. In this one he demonstrates how fast he can whip out seven small bowls without stopping. The William Tell Overture played in the background adds a special touch.

The light touch

2010-09-03T05:00:00.000-07:00

During the following week, I toyed with the idea of never going back to another pottery lesson.

Perhaps I'm just not cut out to be a potter; I just don't have whatever knack is needed. Perhaps, in my case, it's like juggling, which I've been trying to learn, on and off, for the past eight or ten years. Perhaps I don't need to add another skill to my handcraft repertoire. And besides (and this was definitely a mere side issue) it's embarrassing trying to do something and failing, miserably and in public.

On the other hand, Ed had said he thought I just needed to lighten up a bit. Perhaps it was worth ONE more effort.

So the next Tuesday found me heading to Bristol once again. Ed greeted me in his usual cordial way, then pointed to a different wheel than the one I'd used before.

"That's a much more expensive and better one. Try it," he suggested. I found an apron, filled a bucket of fresh water, chose several of the more essential tools from a large bin, picked up a cube of clay that Ed had sawed from the main block with a piece of wire, and settled in for another couple of what I hoped would not be frustrating hours.

Press hard to center it. With the wheel spinning, I dipped my hands in the water bucket and pressed down hard on my clay. The irregular contours tossed me back and forth as the clay revolved, resisting my efforts to get it all lined up in the exact center of the wheel. Press harder. Bits of slippery, wet clay sheared off from the lump and worked their way in between my fingers. I shook them off into the scrap bucket. Anchor your arms on the edge of the wheel frame. I bent in and tightened my grip.

It will fight you, but you're gonna win in the end. The words of my first pottery teacher, demonstrating the use of the wheel for the class at the seniors' center, came back to me. Hmmm. Is this what the prophet Jeremiah was talking about?

From across the room, over the chatter of the other students, my second pottery teacher addressed me.

"Looking good over there, Barbara."

"Um, I think it's still a bit off-center," I replied, staring at the cone-shaped object going around and around in front of me. I thought I could detect the merest hint of a visual "wobble." How near perfection is "good enough"?

"Once it's off the wheel," he said, "no one will ever know." Really? That's an interesting thought. I bent over the wheel and stuck my thumbs into the middle of the now-well-enough-centered lump of clay, "opening" it as I pressed down and outward to create a hole.

Remember, light touch. Gently, I drew the hollowed object upward, then eased it outward, enlarging it. I dipped my hands in water again and again to smooth the clay's surface. Water ran down and pooled in the bottom of the pot. Don't let water remain in the bottom of the pot. The clay will absorb too much and then crack during the drying period. I soaked up the puddle with a sponge, then dipped my hands in the water bucket again. The lump of clay was beginning to look like a bowl.

By the end of that class, there were three newly-turned objects on the shelf with my initials scratched on the bottom.

Here's a YouTube video of a Yorkshire potter showing (repeatedly) how to center the clay on the potter's wheel. When I watched this video, I re-learned something my first teacher had taught us but which I'd forgotten: Always take your hands slowly off the clay. Moving quickly can throw it off-center and you'll have to do the whole thing over again.

The potter's wheel

2010-09-01T06:49:00.000-07:00

Recently I was able to start taking some "throwing" lessons in a potter's studio, One of a Kind Gallery of Bristol, Tennessee.

I'd been able to play around a bit with a potter's wheel in a community seniors' centre class in Kingsport, a couple of years ago, but (even with basic instruction and a demo from the Clay Class teacher) had never really produced anything much more than a few lumps of soggy clay--all of which, after half an hour or so of being pounded and smoothed with wet hands, were considerably smaller, though not noticeably shapelier, than they had been before I began working with them. This was disappointing. I'm an artist, right? I should be able to conquer the potter's wheel! Besides, think of all the gifts I could make for friends and family! And--stranger things have happened--I might even be able to sell my work someday!

I mulled over my failure to learn pot-throwing quickly and easily, while the huge block of raw clay I'd paid for at the Seniors' Centre sat quietly and unused on its shelf in the Clay Room for so long that they finally moved it to a permanent storage spot in the closet.

Then I met One of a Kind Gallery shop owner/potter Ed Lockett at a craftsmen's fair last Christmas. Admiring his hand-thrown coffee mugs, I asked casually whether he ever gave pottery lessons. Yes, he did. He had a classroom setup in the back of his shop, where he could accommodate six or seven students at a time. He gave me schedules and prices. It didn't sound too impossible, though I'd probably have to wait a few months till I'd sold a few more portraits and dolls.

Ever since, I've been nourishing this secret hope that a few "real" (structured) classes in this art would make a potter of me, or at least a slightly more advanced student-practitioner.

This fall, it looked as though my secret hope might be fulfilled. When I called Ed to ask about when the current season's classes would be starting, I learned that he had one slot left in the Tuesday evening group. The class had already had the first of five lessons in the series, but it appeared that one of the pre-registered students wasn't going to be able to make it. This meant there was one wheel just sitting there, unused. I could come for the last four classes and then make up the one I'd missed when the next series started. Did I want to come just to observe and see if it was something I'd like to be part of? Did I!

Circumstances intervened; I showed up for the next week's class an hour late, wondering if this was going to work after all. However, within minutes I found myself wrapped in a clay-stained apron, seated in front of a wheel, one foot on a speed-control power pedal, the other propped on a brick, as I tried to center a lump of clay on the spinning surface before me.

I produced a small bowl during that first half-lesson, although since I had neglected to mark it and didn't remember exactly what it looked like, we weren't able to locate it later on. The next week I came back ready to try again. This time, I failed to produce a single pot, cup, bowl or plate, or, in fact, any recognizable object whatsoever. All that was left of two hours of unceasing effort was a pile of damp clay scraps, a bucket of muddy water, and enough clay splashed on my face and arms to give evidence of my activities that evening.

"I'm just not getting this," I told Ed, throwing my clay-caked apron in the studio's laundry bin as I prepared to leave. "I don't know why it's so hard. I've worked with clay before, you know."

"I was watching you," he told me unexpectedly, "and I think you're pushing too hard. The only time you need to use strength is when you're actually centering the clay on the wheel. After that, only a very light touch is needed."

more later...

2010-03-19T15:40:00.000-07:00

This is what my "craft room" looks like at this very moment.

Sunday Gardener papier-mache doll

2009-07-23T13:27:00.000-07:00

Just posting a picture of this one because I think she's pretty. She displays a lot of handwork: hand-crocheted lace and hand-worked beading on her blouse, for example, not to mention her sculpted paper-mache head. Her hair is natural golden brown llama wool. Her arms are painted cloth.

All the fabric used in this doll is recycled.

You can see a few more images of this doll at my Etsy shop (see link, above right).

Rag Mop

2009-07-21T18:50:00.001-07:00

Picture #1: This is a close-up of a rag mop I made using the leftover button and buttonhole plackets, collars, collarbands, yokes and cuffs from the garments I cut up to recycle the fabric for my handmade dolls. Until now I've been throwing many of these cut-off pieces away; they're too small to be worth taking apart properly in order to use the pieces. I felt bad about wasting them, but they were also too small to be used as rags. UNTIL I thought of using them as the rag strips in a wet-mop.

Husband Peter went shopping for me and found a mop handle with a clamp at the end instead of a mop. Though one can also buy the replaceable mop heads, we decided to create our own, using these long, narrow rag strips.

I chose only cotton fabrics, for absorbency, and decided to use two cuffs as the top and bottom that would hold the other strips together (see picture #3--I canNOT get these pictures to appear in the order I want them) as they were just twice the length of the clamp. Having done some minor Internet research on making one's own rag mops, I discovered that 12" is a fairly good length for mop "strings," so I laid a double row of my narrow rag strips along one of the cuffs, making sure they crossed the cuff where they would be sewed on, and stuck out about 12" on either side of the cuff. I didn't want to make this part too thick, since even my strong sewing machine does have its limits--it can handle up to 9 layers of denim, but with some of these rags there were close to that many layers in the seam allowances. Then I laid another cuff piece over the strips and sewed several times down the middle to hold everything together.

Folding the newly-created mop head in half, I inserted it into the opened clamp and screwed it shut. Behold, a rag mop!

Then I decided to go back and loosen the clamp so I could wrap a few extra cuff pieces around the exposed part of the clamp (picture #2). I hate it when the hard part of a mop scrapes the floor while I'm mopping, don't you?

I believe two of these "mop heads" could be used together in the clamp at the same time for a thicker mop, but I haven't tried it yet. The advantage of a mop like this is that you can remove the head and throw it in the washing machine when it is dirty, thus avoiding the perpetually wet, smelly, mildewy and eventually rotting-out problems that can happen with non-removable mop heads. One could also rotate several heads, thus always having a clean one to use--or even designate different mop heads for different parts of the house (one for the kitchen, one for the bathroom, etc.) One could go farther and colour-code the heads (kitchen is warm colours; bathroom is cool colours...) but some might think this is carrying it a bit too far. I'm all for it, myself, and may use colour-coding for my next series of mop heads.

Haven't tried it out yet...but I wanted to get photos of it while it was still new and clean. Kind of like taking pictures of the kids in their fancy clothes BEFORE the pizza party.

Another bluegrass trio picture

2009-07-21T18:45:00.000-07:00

I like this one better. It was done with aquarelle (water-colour) crayons and permanent fine-tip marker for the black outlines. By the way--I have prints of this one for sale!

Bluegrass musicians in coloured pencil

2009-05-02T16:37:00.000-07:00

This is a drawing I finished--if any original artwork can ever be called "finished"--a couple of weeks ago during a drop-in artists' get-together I sometimes participate in. The musicians in this picture played at our Farmers' Market a couple of summers ago; they were "busking," or collecting donations in the violin case on the ground in front of them. I gave them a dollar and asked them to play me a tune, which they did. They told me they were booked to play at a wedding later that day. We haven't seen them at the Market since, but everyone wishes they would come back. I was, however, able to take some photographs, with their permission, and this is one of the results.

Farmer's Market, Spring 2009

2009-05-02T16:22:00.001-07:00

The Farmers' Market is now open, and you are all cordially invited to come down, look around, enjoy the ambiance of an open-air market where just about everything sold is either grown or made by those selling, and buy something--you'll almost certainly find at least one item you either want or need.

Be sure you check out Jerry and Shirley Witt's home-canned vegetables, preserves and relishes. Their chow-chow (available in several "hotnesses") is delicious on a peanut-butter sandwich, though they gave me a rather strange look when I told them so. Here you see Shirley arranging her display under the interested eyes of several potential customers.

Cold, snowy eastern Tennessee

2009-02-05T07:19:00.001-08:00

We've had more snow this winter than in the previous three winters combined. We're enjoying it, though of course things like schools and churches tend to shut down sooner here than in northern Canada where we used to live. There was a time when I considered this laughable, but after hitting the ditch myself a couple of times on invisible ice--and remember, we have LOTS of steep slopes around here--I have become a bit more understanding.

Husband gave me a tip recently on the best way to safely navigate a very steep and twisting driveway in slippery winter conditions: put the car in neutral, then use the brakes to "inch" to the bottom of the hill. He explained that this way, the car will roll more gently and come to a stop faster than if it is in gear. Otherwise, even in low gear, the car will fishtail every time you apply the brakes, which can be disconcerting at best and disastrous at worst if the driveway is both very narrow AND located on the edge of a sheer dropoff, as many driveways are around here. Husband claims he learned this from my father (who never taught it to me, because I didn't learn to drive until long after I left home.)

Try this and see if it helps--I plan to, the next time!

Araina has been sold!

2008-09-30T18:50:00.000-07:00

So now just Paul is available!

Paul & Araina--handmade dolls, recycled fabrics

2008-09-20T14:09:00.000-07:00

These dolls (named Paul and Araina only for purposes of identification) are of original design, handmade by me, and for sale in my Etsy shop, http://www.bybarbarabell.etsy.com/. I have pictures of some other dolls that aren't for sale that I wanted to post here, but they're not quite on the computer yet, so till then, you're welcome to look at these--and the others in my shop.Paul and Araina are soft stuffed dolls made of all recycled fabrics--body and clothes. Even their hair is cotton knit fabric (old T-shirts) cut in narrow strips and wrapped or twisted to make wigs. I especially like Araina's cornrows, trimmed with multicoloured heart-shaped beads! Their shoes and stockings are integral (non-removable) but their outer clothes are on-and-off, with elastic instead of buttons or other fasteners. Their faces are hand-embroidered but most of the other sewing on these dolls is by machine, as they're intended to be used in creative play by children. I'd say "small children" but because of Araina's bead-trimmed cornrows they probably should be kept for those over the age of three...unless you wanted to remove the beads and just tie a knot to keep the twists from unraveling.

"Rhythm & Roots" festival, Bristol TN

2008-09-20T13:26:00.000-07:00

Daughter(12) and I just came back from a pleasant morning in Bristol TN at the annual "Rhythm & Roots" festival held in celebration of country music. Her choir, the East TN Children's Choir, sang at 9:30 am, and after they were finished she and I traipsed up and down State Street looking into all the little booths selling musical instruments, jewelry, handbags, toys, clothing, food and other goods. (Well, we tried to stay away from the food as much as we could, and concentrate on the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches we had brought with us; but in the end we did buy a stick of teriyaki chicken from an Asian vendor.)

Did you know that State Street in Bristol goes right down the state line between Virginia and Tennessee? We had been to Bristol, and on State Street, any number of times, but because we were driving and not walking, we had never noticed the little stamped metal plates fixed along the double yellow line every few yards designating "VIRGINIA/TENNESSEE" so you knew which state you were in at that moment. Since State Street was closed to motorized traffic for the festival, we--and several thousand other people--could stroll right down the line if we chose, saying, "Now I'm in Virginia and you're a whole state away from me..."

We got to play some beautiful handmade mandolins manufactured by a company called Eastman. There was one similar to mine that I thought I could live with and enjoy playing, if it were mine. I wrote down the model and serial number just in case I ever have that much $$ on hand, and nowhere else to spend it. (And it wasn't even one of the more expensive ones!)

We also admired, and played with, wooden puzzle boxes at another booth, and in another place we talked to an artist who creates handmade one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces from recycled vintage fabrics and papers. You can see the work of this artist, Betsy Carr, at her Etsy store, http://www.foundling.etsy.com/. It was delightful to talk to someone else who agrees with me about the unique pleasure of creating original art from old or previously used materials.

Speaking of Etsy...you can view MY shop, too! Here's where: http://www.bybarbarabell.etsy.com/.

My current sprouted-grain bread recipe

2008-06-18T14:04:00.000-07:00

I start with 8 cups of wheat, measured BEFORE sprouting. It makes about a gallon, sprouted. This amount makes 3 batches of bread, each batch consisting of 3 to 4 loaves depending on the size of the pans, so if you just want to make one batch, I guess you would use about 1/3 this amount, say 2 1/2 to 3 cups.

Put the wheat in a jar and cover it with fresh cool water. Fasten a piece of coarse cloth over it (cheesecloth, a piece cut from an old sheer curtain, a piece of nylon window screen, etc.--or just use a new J-cloth, which will work in a pinch) with a rubber band. If you are making just a small batch, like 2 cups, you can use a quart canning jar and use the "band" part of the lid screwed on over the cloth.

Soak the wheat for 12 hours. After the 12 hours is up, drain the water off through the cloth top, refill with fresh water, swish around and pour off. Leave the jar on its side in a fairly warm spot on the kitchen counter. Do this about 3 times a day or until you see tiny white sprouts on the wheat, 1/16 to 1/8 inch long. When the sprouts get to this stage, it's time to make bread!

NOTE: Timing is very important, especially in warm summer weather when everything grows fast! If wheat sprouts get too long--say, half as long as the grains themselves, or longer-- there is an enzyme change that happens and the texture of the bread dough will be soggy and gummy no matter how much flour you try to work into it. If this should happen to your sprouts, they are still perfectly edible and delicious in salads, etc., but won't make good bread. So, if you don't have time to make bread from start to finish when your sprouts are ready, you can grind the sprouts and then put them in a covered container in the fridge, where they will keep for a day or two till you have time to finish making your bread.

Grind the sprouted wheat using a regular electric grinder (such as is used for meat or vegetables), a hand-operated food grinder, or a food processor or blender. You don't need a "grain mill" for this as the soaked, sprouted wheat is quite tender.

I divide my 8-cup batch of ground-up wheat sprouts into 3 more or less equal portions. You can weigh the portions if you're particular about measurements.

For 2 lb, of wheat sprouts, add 2 c. of warm water and the ingredients listed below.

For 1 1/2 lb. of wheat sprouts, add 2 1/4 c. of warm water and the ingredients listed below.

BREAD RECIPE

Ground-up wheat sprouts and warm water (see above for quantities)
2 T. yeast
1 t. sugar

Put these ingredients into bowl together and allow to set until the yeast dissolves and begins to bubble. Mix well to combine. (I use my KitchenAid mixer, but you can do all of this by hand.)

Add:

white flour (about 3 - 4 cups? I didn't measure)
1/2 c. rolled oats (optional)
1/4 c. flaxseed, or flaxseed meal (optional)
1/4 c. gluten (optional--if you use it, mix it in with the other dry ingredients before adding)
1/3 c. sugar
1/3 c. oil
4 t. salt (about 1 1/3 T.)
1 egg

Mix well until a thick batter is formed. Then add flour a cup or so at a time and mix by machine, using a dough hook, until dough clears the bowl--just the way you would usually make bread. Or knead by hand until dough is smooth and even in consistency. Don't put in too much flour. You should JUST be able to handle it without it being too sticky.

You can use whole-wheat flour instead of part or all of the white flour. Your bread will be a little denser and heavier, but of course it will be much better bread. I usually have just white flour on hand these days, so I give you my current recipe in case you want it pretty much like mine.

If you want to experiment with using more sprouted wheat per batch, go ahead--bread can be made with 100% sprouted wheat and no flour at all if you prefer. The loaves will be denser and heavier but will taste heavenly, and will make the best, crunchiest toast you have ever had in your life. Sprouted grain bread is naturally lower-carb than bread made with flour--the sprouting process turns part of the carbs in the grain into protein. When I make all-sprouted-grain bread, I use the whole 8 cups of sprouts to make a single batch of three or four loaves of bread, along with the other ingredients (but no added water or flour.)

You can add other things like 1/4 c. toasted wheat germ or whole or crushed sunflower seeds. Also, small amounts (like a cup or two) of other kinds of flour, like rye, can be used in place of part of the white flour. You can also replace one tablespoon of regular flour with one tablespoon of soy flour for each cup of flour in the recipe, to make a higher-protein bread. You can also add small amounts (half a cup or so) of whole-grain or multi-grain cooked cereals (I used to use a lot of Wheatena when I couldn't find whole-wheat flour in the grocery store; it gave plain white bread a nice toasty wheat appearance and texture.)

You can use other kinds of shortening, such as lard, butter, margarine, or even freshly rendered chicken or turkey fat, which can make very nice bread.

Let the bread rise once in the bowl till it is doubled. Punch down and shape into loaves. For a 9 x 5 inch pan I use about 1 5/8 lb. of dough; 1 3/8 lb. for an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch pan. Small leftover bits (or the whole batch if you prefer) can be made into buns, cinnamon rolls, bread sticks, individual pizza crusts, etc. etc., or if there are any children around give them each a piece and let them make whatever they like, including shapes using cookie cutters. Kids often enjoy making their own cinnamon rolls, or even better, individual pizzas--use leftover pasta sauce and any other pizza toppings you have on hand: chopped cooked meat, onion, peppers, any kind of cheese, etc....mine began playing with dough as soon as they could stand on a chair at the kitchen counter more or less safely, and at 10 and 12 years old they are still doing it occasionally.

Let the bread rise in the pans till it is well rounded above the edge of the pans (about double) and then bake at 375 degrees F. till nicely browned and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom with your fingers. My oven usually takes about 25 to 29 minutes to accomplish this. If the bottoms of the loaves aren't quite as brown as the tops, I pop the bread out of the pans and bake it without the pans for a few minutes longer and that gives them a nice brown bottom crust too.

You can brush the tops of the loaves lightly with oil or butter just after they come out of the oven, if you prefer a softer top crust.

Cool loaves on a wire rack or a clean kitchen towel. If you don't have a rack or a towel, perch the loaf crosswise on the empty pan so air can circulate underneath it. If the crust is done enough it won't sag too much between the sides of the pan.

Don't bag the bread until it is cool or it will sweat inside the plastic bags.

Freeze bread to keep it fresh after the first day or two. If you slice it before freezing it will be easier to thaw when you need it.

Hope you have fun with this recipe!

If you have any questions or comments, please contact me at barahobbit@gmail.com.

School all year round

2008-06-04T16:54:00.001-07:00

Our two homeschoolers, now 10 1/2 and 12 1/2, are officially "out" for the year (they have been attending a university-model school two partial days a week and it's finished till next fall.) But my jokes (which they take as threats) about "year-round schooling" are turning out to have some truth in them, as the best jokes often do.

It's summer here in the heart of the Appalachians, and things have slowed down a bit. Sitting around in the evenings reading or making things, going for walks to the bank or the library, or riding in the car, we talk. Sometimes I find myself pontificating--a useful work meaning, I think, "to act like a pontiff" (the Pope being a well-known pontiff), one who feels himself called upon to make a pronouncement upon everything. When I catch myself doing this, I usually attempt to bring an end to my official pronouncement as soon as possible, knowing that most people, including children, don't like to be lectured. But husband and I and the children often share information back and forth. If, for example, I want to know about a certain kind of a dinosaur, or the details of a forgotten Greek myth, I ask one of my children, as they know much more than I do. On matters of language, history, science, manners and morals, however, husband and I are usually the ones who offer our superior wisdom.

Today I was resting/thinking/talking to husband in our bedroom/office, and youngest son was sculpting at the kitchen table in the next room. He heard me mentioning a review I had read for a book we'd just heard about. I heard him ask his father what the difference was between a preview and a review. Then, suddenly, son began to laugh uproariously.

"I get it!" he exclaimed. "'Pre-' means 'before,' and 'view' means 'see,' so a 'preview' is 'something you see beforehand.' And 're-' means 'again,' so a 'review' is, um, a 'review' is...'something you see again.'" Congratulating him on his discovery, I remarked that this was why a working knowledge of the Latin roots could be so useful. Then I began wondering how he had come to have this knowledge. We haven't given our children Latin lessons, nor have they had more than a cursory introduction to the language in any of their "formal" classes; yet son had apparently picked up a bit here and a bit there, possibly from his own reading, possibly in one or more of our ongoing discussions about language; enough to draw a conclusion for himself.

Later on, husband was telling me about a church small-group meeting he had attended the previous evening. I hadn't been there due to another engagement, so he related how one of the young people at the meeting had brought up a question which I immediately realized I would have had a hard time answering myself, if I had been there. (So much for lengthy pontificating.)

So, what answer was given? This was the kind of meeting where anyone could put in 2 cents worth; the leader would sometimes tie everything together or explain further if it was needed.

"It was daughter [12 1/2] who had the answer," said husband.

"Really?"

The answer she gave referred back to a topic she and I had been talking about several days previously, and she had applied one of the concepts from that conversation, neatly and accurately, to the current discussion. So! She HAD been listening all that time! She'd remembered the illustration I'd used--but how had she come up with it, at just the right time, in a different situation?

The beautiful spring in eastern TN

2008-05-05T11:07:00.001-07:00

Husband and I finally realized (or decided) that the "Bird Sanctuary" signs posted at the city limits around this town refer, in fact, to the entire town. That's why there are so many birds singing up a storm during all hours of the day and night in our neighbourhood. It's like paradise. We recognize robins, jays, cardinals and mockingbirds, but some I don't know. I especially enjoy the mockingbirds because they're so multi-talented, even if they do pester our cat when she ventures outside. To my knowledge she has never made a single move in the direction of their nests this year or last year, yet they feel they must harass her on sight.

Sitting on our big Southern front porch in the early hours of the day, drinking tea, reading, praying and looking around at our colourful neighbourhood is made even more enjoyable by the presence of these noisy birds. I'm reminded of Thomas Alva Edison, who was almost completely deaf as a result of an accident in childhood. He used to tell people that he didn't mind being deaf; he said the silence helped him think better. Later in life, however, he wrote, "I haven't heard a bird sing in forty years." Well, the sound of birds singing may be background noise to some people, but when I think of Mr. Edison I appreciate the birds, and my hearing, even more.

"Work" -- a poem by Henry van Dyke

2008-04-15T07:48:00.000-07:00

Let me but do my work from day to day,
In field or forest, at the desk or loom;
In roaring marketplace or tranquil room,
Let me but find it in my heart to say
When vagrant wishes beckon me astray:
"This is my work; my blessing, not my doom.
Of all who live, I am the one by whom
This work can best be done in the right way."

Then shall I see it not too great, nor small,
To suit my spirit and to prove my powers;
Then shall I cheerful greet the laboring hours,
And cheerful turn, when the long shadows fall
At eventide, to play and love and rest;
Because I know for me my work is best.

Why are the woods so noisy around here?

2008-04-15T07:31:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! The title of my blog is based on a favourite quote from Henry van Dyke:

"Use the talents you possess, for the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except the best."

Excellence in any craft is something we, perhaps, should strive for. I'd like to suggest, however, that a damaging perfectionism is sometimes substituted for the desire for excellence, in some of our lives and at least part of the time--to the point that we often refuse to even try things that are outside our comfort zone, lest we not do them well.