Pottery class creations

Mama and I sculpted these lovely clay vessels at a pottery class we took last month. The studio fired and glazed them turquoise, which we thought was an excellent choice. We handbuilt the taller cups and stamped the patterns into the clay, while the little ones we made on the wheel. Since we’ve only just…

Artist demonstration

Our favorite local art supplies store held a free Pen and Ink Demonstration this morning, led by artist Tony Guaraldi-Brown. Mama and I enjoyed learning about the various techniques and materials used in his incredibly detailed illustrations. Our small class was lively and full of thoughtful questions. We appreciated Tony’s approach to making art, and…

Playing with clay

A new pottery studio recently opened in Sebastopol, about a 10-minute drive from our home. Mama and I could not pass up an opportunity to throw clay on a wheel and signed up for an introductory class tonight. We’ve been looking forward to it for weeks! We were about 15 students in total and each…

My cutting machine hero

I ran out of my custom planner stickers, which help keep me organized, so I decided to try using my Cricut cutting machine to achieve a precise size and cut on the next batch. Unfortunately, I had error after error, and none of my sheets of stickers turned out well. After struggling for too long…

The fun part of unpacking

We returned from Venice several days ago and jet lag hit us hard, so we’ve been slow to unpack. Today Mama and I finally unearthed a few of our Venetian treasures. Despite a broken suitcase, we were thrilled to find the bottle of Moscato D’Asti that we brought home intact, as well as our tiny glass…

A rainy rest day with some laughs

Having walked our feet off all over Venice, plus the islands of Burano and Murano in the last few days, Mama and I didn’t mind that it poured rain all day today. We knew we’d need a day of rest; I even went to the grocery store yesterday in preparation. Mama spent the day working on another…

Appreciating artistry and serendipity

Mama and I got to see interesting, live demonstrations of fine European craftsmanship today. We attended a collection of free art exhibits called “Homo Faber: Crafting a More Human Future,” spread across the Venetian island of San Giorgio. Our absolute favorite artisan was from the “fanmaker to the queens since the 19th century,” Duvelleroy, with…