Three café /bars held a round robin of performances, music, theater and street mime. Wonderful evening, sitting outside under the canopy of the café, drinking a red wine, coining our favorite phase of the week, “how very Dutch”, not noticing the rain falling, and then walking home without umbrellas.

Time for my blog update, to collect photo’s, resize them and begin to formulate stories. One on culture, Den Bosch and people, another on the journey to Rotterdam, and then process photos of our work in studio 9.

I’ve walked into Den Bosch multiple times, but Saturday evening after making panels all day, we are heading into town as “locals” with Christine. I notice, perhaps not for the first time, name plaques on the building up above the entry doors at the 2nd floor level. I comment upon these. Christine volunteers an explanation. At one time, before Napoleon, buildings in the walled town were named. If you came to the village, you located someone’s home, by inquiring after the home of the trumpeter or baker, etc. These signs still note the home of …. then street numbers and now the reference might be, take the alley near the T-Mobile shop.

June 25th

I am on the airplane returning the east coast for my Dad’s Memorial Service. He died of old age but it still arrived with a jolt. During my time away from .ekwc, Sarah will continue to work the details.

The plane is another sort of meditation practice. As we arrive near Newark, NJ, the women next to me comments that I must travel frequently. She notes my rhythm of reading, journaling, sleeping and computer work. Gentle fluid time for self.

Caught Up - June ReStart

June 19th

We prep for a kiln firing tomorrow. Kiln #1 is the perfect load. A gas kiln because the circulation of the atmosphere is the best for drying the thin slabs. These 3 mm slabs dry so fast that by the day’s end, the 1st slab of the day is bone dry. We’re wondering if the elevator that carries the carts up from the ground floor is too rough a ride for the slabs. I rode down, even persons are verboten – it is dark inside {no problem there} but the jolt at the start and the landing are not too soft. How do we know if the slabs will survive. It think if we put the cart on rubber or a foam float this should work. {there is a sign – “no delicate work” on the outside of the lift.

Then the next kiln is not til 6/27; one week. Hopefully we will have success with this series of slabs. Other ideas would be to mix the dry bone china with 50/50mix of oil and alcohol to replace water as a binder. This could be problematic, if the alcohol evaporates over time?

Experiments today are best covered by photo’s. We’re set for the feel of perfect water ratio – almost too sticky to handle. Then we learned the interfacing in critical to holding the slab vertically when we transfer it to the kiln shelf. One of the Inside slabs fell onto the shelf – crumpled completed in a folded section. Spread it out – to see the effect to “dropping” the slab on the cracking upon exposure to heat.

Now to set up for posting – before dinner the weeks writing and photo journaling. It is glorious sunny evening, but I’ve been working to find time to post the blog – as this is a new rhythm to the days, for the past four or five days.

Nerves of Steel _ Supple Muscles

As a team - it is much easier to make slabs - so many steps to roll out one that is 46cm x 68cm by 3mm thick. Then make a texture using the rhythm of a musical piece and our fingers.

If we slide three layers of the thin foam beneath the slab, there is a sweet resistance, if not – just a hard surface to absorb our presence. Subtle, yet effective in saving muscle energy.

Step One through….

mix Bone China – add .5 % of flax fibers – mix “wet”
age 5 months
drop from waist height to floor 10/12 times – excite it
wedge_ on plaster slab– up til 100 rotations – or until it starts to have smooth feel with resistance
slap out to 25/27 cm in a loaf
skip slap it out to slab of approx 18/20 mm thickness
place on piece of muslin
roll out using plywood on either side slab
46cm by 28 cm – cut straight edges on slab
transfer to slab roller – place on roller to align to stack of stretched canvas, muslin, interfacing –
cover with plastic wrap – thicker/stiff mil sprayed with fine mist of 50/50 oil and denatured alcohol

Roll – only in forward direction – til 3mm thickness
Cut using template for slab – texture - both sides, etc.
Using a chamois – compress the edges of the slab
Then, ”Do your _thing. . .”

NOW is the time to make it delicate – inner - outer expression of context, energy, expression, mystery, nuance, drape and connection.

Finger rhythms require foam below, and well defined fore arms

Draping the slab as if it were fabric, two sets of hands and nerves of steel – direct and firm conviction.

Failure - Means Learning

Slab rolling has a steep learning curve as well. This little bunch of wrapped clay, poising as an innocent present, is the fourth failure to make a slab, despite weighting out 1 kilo more clay than the previous two successes! Proves that trying harder is not always the route to success.

Voila – the issue we happen upon after an hour plus of failure {some how failure seems to absorb more than 8x’s the energy and 3x’s the physical time of FLOW (success) time} the moisture in the clay influences the outcome etc.

As I wedged the first 3-kilo lump, my intuition said, hum – stiff clay. Yet, it took four failures of rolling slabs - and finally this obscure fact rose with my sweat and exhaustion to consciousness.

Now that I write about the day, I realize there is a small device to measure the resistance of the clay {a function of the % of moisture} I played with in January. This too was a detail I did not recall or realize was an important data point collected.

Moments Taken to Capture Beauty

Five kilos of bone china borders my current physical strength to wedge, roll and prepare for a decent slab. At 3 mm thickness the wet slab measures 60 x 80 or close. This maybe the size limitation.

Testing slab four refined technique one. Results after the firing will let me know if it is a useful production technique.

Layers of boards, stretch taut canvas, a veneer of plywood behind this with a muslin layer, interfacing, bone china, interfacing and a canvas top stack like a wedding gown procession. The slab roller is like a big press without heat.

June 16th
First morning I woke knowing I’d slept, jet lag has moved over to Sarah’s side of the room. Later in the day, she is able to tell me dawn arrives at 4:30AM, and the birds are loudest at the start of the morning light. Yes, I say, I know.

Tonight after dinner, we print out the plan of how the panels with layout, 3 high by 5 wide – with two layers – off set by two panels, etc. This means a count of 30 panels (hoping we can make 1/hour – that means around a week for ‘production’)

But onto a more romantic view of our time here, lived in the moment. Looking outside between ripping the edge of paper for our full scale mock up – the light is spectacular – for moments – between opening a window to capture one view – without the glare of glass – and then attempting through the glass for a better composition of the clock tower – the light has faded in brilliance. An invitation to be present for the special movement of time and sensing one’s presence in the moment.

Moved the slab roller into the studio today that meant we moved everything around. The entry zone is for clay – and wet work, middle section for displaying our mock up – and the final and then the end zone near the stairs for our clean desks. Our linen cloth on the work surface is most elegant with freesia and starburst of purple flowers gracing the centerline.