Ceramics is a lot different than other kinds of art because there are many factors over which the artist has little or no control. There is a lot of juggling of projects. For people who like to tackle projects one at a time, ceramics can be very frustrating. I’ve yet to take a class other than ceramics that does not progress in a linear manner. My jewelry class has a total of seven projects. We’ve finished the first three and are now starting project number four. Now take a look at my ceramics class.

There are also seven projects in my ceramics class. They are: #1 one press molded, footed bowl; #2 make a plaster mold and press 4-6 bowls from the new form; #3 an updated historical project; #4 a full-scale self portrait bust; #5 a glazing technique exploration; #6 a large pot; and #7 a teapot.

There are lots of little steps to each project, and you have to wait between most of those steps for one thing or another. Usually the waiting is for something to dry. Other times the waiting is for things like the firings. We only fire the kiln when it’s full, so having a project ready early is no guarantee that it will be fired before everyone else’s.

The short version of the process so far goes something like this. Day 1. Press #1. Day 2. Foot #1. Create form for #2. Day 3. Finish form for #2 and cast mold. Day 4. Clean up mold. While mold is curing, finish rim of #1. Day 5. Press #2a. Roll slabs for #3. Foot #2a. Press #2b. Day 6. Decorate #1 and set on shelf for bisque firing. Foot #2b. Finish rim of #2a. Set #2a on shelf for bisque firing. Day 7. Press #2c. Measure and cut slabs for #3. Begin assembly of #3. Finish rim of #2b. Set #2b on shelf for bisque firing. Roll more slabs for #3. Retreive #1 from shelf for glazing.

The long version looked much too long and boring (even to me!) so I’ll spare you the details. The point is, I’m ready to begin project #4, but project #1 still isn’t finished. And in a ceramics class, that’s okay. It’s probably no surprise that people with poor time management skills do poorly in this class despite their talents. That means people like me with average talent and decent time management skills do well. Maybe they should include time management in the course description.

My new computer just arrived! Tuesday morning, boys are in school, and I’m home alone with the new computer! Exclamation points everywhere! I have to get the new baby into her new home, so I have no time to blog right now!

Last Sunday, September 19th was International Talk Like A Pirate Day. Don’t believe me? Well, my friend Chris says it was, and well, he just knows stuff like that. As I write this, he has sent me this link. So you can see, it is very official.

Since I missed it, I’ve decided to celebrate it a week late. That is, I will be talking like a pirate tomorrow, Sunday, September 26th in honor of the real Talk Like A Pirate Day which I missed last week. Feel free to join me.

As I mentioned previously, I’ve been making a list of people who make and sell hand-crafted goodies. You’ll notice that my list consists mostly of women who make beaded jewelry like I do. Now, one might think that I would consider these people to be my competitors. But the truth is, I think each of these women has a unique style that is all her own. And I think my style is just as different from each of them as they are different from each other. So I encourage you to look at their sites, and if you find something that strikes your fancy, support their craft! Maybe someday, a hundred years from now, I’ll get myself moving to sell on the web like they do, and then you can see for yourself that my work is unique too. But for now, you’ll just have to take my word for it.

By the way, with the exception of my friend Gloria, I have never corresponded with any of these people. I wouldn’t expect any of them to be unhappy about having their sites advertised here, but you never know. Also, since I haven’t yet purchased anything from any of these people (again, except for Gloria) I can’t speak for the quality of their products. I’ve chosen their sites because their pieces seem to be made with high quality materials and with a lot of attention given to detail.

I’ll keep adding to The List as I find more sites. Feel free to send me some links if you find something you like. For now, it’s short. And with that, I give you The (Short) List.

Lamoon Soaps: Gloria’s soaps “are made with all-vegetable oils and carefully formulated to be mild. Every bar of soap is carefully crafted using quality ingredients and care to ensure a mild, natural soap that treats your skin gently.”

Peggy Li Creations: Peggy’s “designs are completely hand-made using Swarovski crystal, microcord and sterling silver (except where noted). This means each piece contains variations which make your item completely unique.”

Bellaceti: Linda offers “unique jewelry and home goods that are classy with a touch of fun. Everything offered is made by hand with quality material.”

Alicia’s Joy: Alicia’s custom handmade jewelry uses “sterling silver, freshwater cultured pearls, semi-precious gemstones and Swarovski Austrian crystals.”

Tangerine Treehouse: Laura makes “wildly unique jewelry with bright colors and playful accents.”

Superhero Designs: Andrea’s jewelry is made from “mostly vintage glass & vintage lucite beads from all over the world.” She also sells fine art prints.

I’ve been looking around at some of my favorite blogs today, and it hit me as I was reading Nick’s site today. Why don’t I ever comment on some of these sites? I guess I don’t feel I have much to contribute lately. I mean, this blah mood still has me feeling… well, blah. I’ve even stopped responding to comments left on my blog, though I read them all. I think I may have even unintentionally turned some people away from reading my blog by not responding to comments. I also know there are people who read my blog who never comment and who haven’t signed the guestbook. I wonder why we do this. I’ve made it a point to try to leave some more feedback on a few more sites today.

I’m putting together a list of sites of artists and small businesses I support. My friend Gloria makes soap. I like products from some of those soap and lotion places just fine, but I find the idea of handmade soaps to be a really wonderful idea. And now that I’ve tried her soaps, I can say with confidence that her soaps are really wonderful. If you’re interested in checking out her business, it’s called Lamoon Soaps. I will have a list of other sites here later.

With all these sites being redesigned around me, I’m definitely feeling pressure to get to work on mine. Dan redesigned his site when he released the details of The Moxie. Then there’s Janet and Heather both of whom redesigned their sites. Oz is in the process of building her new site to promote her new business. My latest excuse is that I don’t want to work on redesigning my site until I get the new computer. (By the way, I find it very interesting that so many of the blogs I read are run by people who use Macs. Go figure.)

Maybe today will be the day I stop procrastinating and work on getting myself out of this blah mood. Or maybe I’ll just take a nap.

Yesterday, I got a call from not one, but both first grade teachers. The first was Brendan’s teacher.

“Brendan is not completing his work in a timely fashion.”

Yes, I am well aware of this. In fact, I sent a letter on the first day of class explaining that this very thing was a problem for him in kindergarten. Brendan lacks motivation. Okay, he’s lazy.

“What should we do about it?”

We? How about I sit here and keep my fingers crossed all day long and hope that Brendan finds some motivation during the day? I’ve spoken to him. I even took him out of kindergarten for the last 5 weeks of school to try to find ways to motivate him. I hoped that being in a new environment with a new teacher would snap him out of or into whatever it is he needs to be snapped out of… or into. I can talk and talk, but when he is there, and I am here, there is nothing I can do when it happens.

The solution? Brendan’s teacher is making up some sort of sticker chart to reward him for completing his work. I’m not terribly fond of rewarding this way, but at this point, I’m out of ideas.

The second call came from Jacob’s teacher.

“Jacob has been using inappropriate language in the classroom.”

I had gotten a note home the day before explaining that Jacob had used the word “stupid” and received his first warning for it. I had to sign and return the note. Now I, being the terrible mother that I am, included a note of my own. I asked his teacher to clarify the use of the word. Did he call another person stupid, or did he just use it in front of another person? While I don’t exactly encourage such things, I don’t particularly object to the use of the word in certain situations. And I told her so in my letter.

Well, it turns out that the use of the word “stupid” is not allowed under any circumstances. Okay, fine. But, not only had he used the word “stupid” he also used the words “naked” and “butt” on two different days. Part of me thinks I must truly be the world’s worst mother since a) my kid is using inappropriate language at school daily, and b) I don’t find those words to be terribly offensive. I did try to be a good mom, and I asked Jacob to refrain from using inappropriate language at school from now on.

No notes were sent home today.

My complaints about my school aren’t so much complaints about my school as they are complaints about colleges in general. Take books, for example. I’ve yet to meet a college student who thinks the price of textbooks is reasonable, or that the bookstores’ buy back policies are fair.

Another thing I’ve noticed about many of the campuses I’ve visited is that the layout reallly stinks. As Janet pointed out, the buildings are positioned all wrong. Rob’s old campus had buildings on the farthest corners of a field, with nothing in the middle! EMU seems to have the northwestern part of the campus set up for parking. Naturally, my first class is at the southeastern corner of campus.

EMU is known best for its education program. If you are in the education program, you will be treated to a life of luxury. In the winter, the heat will work. In the summer, the air conditioning will work. The lecture halls compete with the nicest, newest theatres. I could go on and on. Now, I understand that there are donations that are made specifically for this type of thing, and I wouldn’t be so envious if it weren’t for the sad condition of the majority of the rest of the buildings. I’ve had professors tell me that the reason they won’t hold classes in the Spring or Summer is because the room gets too hot. I’ve sat through classes in November wearing my gloves and scarf. I’m not kidding. I’ve had classes that were held in “rooms” that used to be storage closets.

My last complaint would be all the hidden costs to attend. EMU likes to tell the students that our tuition is among the lowest in the state at $156.90/credit hour for in-state undergraduate students. However, they do not include the $21/credit hour general fee, $10/credit hour technology fee, and $1.50/credit hour student union fee (which, I am guessing, is going toward the cost of the new student union which is to be built next year.) That brings tuition up to $189.40/credit hour. Add to that my $65 parking hang tag, my $225 program fee which art students always get, and my favorite, the $40 registration fee. I pay $40 to register. And of course, they keep that $40 even if I decide to withdraw from classes before the semester even begins.

I wonder if the reason its allowed to be this way is because most students know they only have to tolerate it for a few years. It bothers them less than those of us on the “for life” plan.

College is a funny thing, isn’t it? Students tolerate miserable parking, outdated buildings, overpriced textbooks, miles of red tape, neglected sidewalks, poorly planned campuses, and in some cases, incompetent professors. Not only are we expected to tolerate it, we are expected to pay for it. Let me tell you about my current school, Eastern Michigan University. Because I’ve attended a few different schools in Michigan, I feel that I can make certain statements about the conditions of EMU with some degree of objectivity. Also, I feel I must explain that the reason I am at EMU, despite all my complaints about it, is that the professors and teaching staff are among the BEST I have ever encountered. All of my complaints are about administrative yuckiness. Yes, yuckiness. Stop laughing and read on.

Probably one of the worst things about my school is the parking. While EMU offers housing, its students are primarily commuters. We pay for parking passes which currently cost $65 per semester. This allows us to park in “commuter lots” around the campus. The parking was so bad a few years ago that the university allowed students to park at the stadium for free, and allowed us to take a bus from the stadium to the campus. The bus was paid for by the university. Apparently, someone decided that the money being used to bus students from the stadium to the main campus would be better spent building a new parking lot. Such genius! My understanding is that this new lot does indeed exist. Somewhere. I’ve yet to find it.

Now, I know full well that parking on any college campus is frustrating at best, but EMU is by far the worst of my experiences. For example, one school I attended had a parking structure which was accessed only with a prepaid magnetic strip card. When the lot was full, it would admit no more cars. EMU has a parking structure and several lots that, like my old school, require the use of the special card (in this case, the magnetic strip on the back of our parking hang tag) to get inside. But unlike my old school, the gate will still admit cars even when the lot is full. To me, that kind of defeats the purpose of the cards. Maybe someday, the same geniuses who build that new lot will be graced with the good sense to program the gated entrances to count cars and forbid entry when the lot is full.

I learned long ago that the time wasted waiting for a spot in the “close” lots to open up is better spent walking from the “far” lot which I know has a spot for my gas-guzzling beast. I timed the walk to my first class the other day, just for you. If I hadn’t timed it myself, I never would have believed it. Now understand, I’m a fairly brisk walker. I’m not a tiny little petite thing that takes tiny little petite steps. I’m a big horse girl who takes big horse steps. I kid you not, the walk from my car to my first class, at my brisk horse-girl pace was 20 minutes. And I was taking the most direct path possible! I’m already dreading that walk in the snow while I transport large, heavy, ugly pottery from my ceramics class.

If you need further proof of just how bad parking is at EMU, I’m sure Amanda can back me up.

I’m sitting here between classes and I’ve come to a realization. You may remember me saying that I’ve been a Fine Art major many times over the course of my college career. This week has reminded me why I keep getting out of Fine Art. I’m really bad at it! I’ve been sitting through my ceramics class thinking to myself, “This bowl stinks. What am I doing here? Please don’t walk this way. Don’t look at my bowl. I have no idea what I’m doing. I’m no artist. What AM I DOING HERE???”

Jewelry class is the one thing that is saving me right now. I’m having fun, I’m learning a lot, and most importantly, I’m not half bad!

Given the choice of being known/remembered as a person who is really smart, very beautiful, or incredibly nice and fun to be around, I always thought I would prefer to be known as the smart one. Having spent a fair amount of time with that woman recently has made me rethink that wish. I’m thinking option C, incredibly nice and fun to be around, suits my needs better. That way, my most annoying qualities won’t be seen as annoying, but as endearing.