As I gather news of all my potter-blogger buddies it seems like everyone is finished with the parties and celebrations and is setting back to the work of making pottery. As much as I'd like to be stepping up to the Shimpo to make new pots, I am preoccupied with all of the tasks leftover from 2009.
The kids loft bed, stepping stool, and book shelf that I put together for them for Christmas sit in the studio ready for paint. My pile of logs still need to be split and added to our dwindling supply of firewood for the two wood stoves. Everything is frozen solid out side, including slips and glazes that were left in the tool shed. (I've gotten out of the habit of preparing for Winter since I moved here to NC from the unrelenting winters in Massachusetts. We hardly have more than 3 or 4 inches of snow that lasts for a day or two, much less 15" and highs in the 20's.) I need to dig more red dirt!
It seems that, for me, the return to the studio work is a little like a plane waiting for permission to land, circling high above. I always have to clear the runway and tie up loose ends before I can think about getting the clay to spinnin'.
Today was a sawdust day. I cut cord wood all afternoon and split a fair amount. Besides the cord wood, there is a massive pile of edgings to cut for the winter and spring firings. The snow needs to melt before I can. The chain on the saw needs replacing. (This post is a looking like a big to-do list!)
Hopefully by next Monday I can get to the dirt, but for this week it looks like a lot of sawdust!
