"I ain't ded" - Granny

Yes we are still here. And yes we are well, but too preoccupied with ordinary activities to write anything interesting here.
And Studyboy has monopolized the computer area with paper writing and is only now emerging from lock down in the lair.
Last weekend I attended a workshop on tile making and decorating given by visiting artists Deb Kuzyk and Ray Mackie from Lucky Rabbit Pottery in Annapolis Royal. They had a new show opening at the Craft Council Art Gallery called the Relationship of Bees to Flowers and graciously consented to do an afternoon workshop and a talk on their work. You can see some of their beautiful stuff at their website.
Attending a workshop like this is a bit like watching the Brier on TV. You can see how it is done. You pick up some really good tips. It totally jazzes you up to try it out. And then you get depressed when skill doesn't match understanding. Like I used to tell my students "Knowing is not the same as doing."
Deb introduced us to some underglaze techniques that when she demonstrated them, looked so effortless. And she left behind some small samples of underglaze for us to try out. I had the privilege to play with them on Wednesday morning, and quickly realized that no matter how forgiving the media is for a pro, the results of my trials still looked blobby and childish.
This weekend, despite my blobby and childish efforts I have been asked to demonstrate pottery making techniques at the Multicultural Fair for the studio. Lately I have been mad for a type of hand building called coiling. The whole point of which is to make it look blobby in a three dimensional sense, like this teapot.
(If you can't beat it, perfect it.) And in case you are wondering, yes it does hold water and pours quite nicely too.