this morning's rabbit hole
I usually start my mornings with a large mug of strong black tea with a few drops of stevia, a munch of something for brekkie and a, hopefully, brief perusal on-line for email and blogs ... the brief part is the challenge. This morning finds me following links from one end of the spectrum to the other, winding my way down a rabbit hole of assorted inspiration.
First an email from Phuni at Tibetan Karma in MA about a fund raising effort for Machik -" Machik works to develop new opportunities for education and training on the Tibetan plateau and supports initiatives that advance innovative, solutions-oriented approaches to the challenges of community revitalization and sustainability". Over the last few years, Phuni and I have developed a great rapport and she's been a great supporter of my work. She is Tibetan and a big part of her life and business is her commitment to supporting sustainable products and social justice. I'm always on the lookout for good causes to support, so for the month of December I'll be donating 10% of my gross sales to Machik.
Next on my morning cruise, I was checking in on new blog posts. I started with Tumbleword, followed her link to Lucid Cafe and started looking at the artist biographies which lead to one on Robert Motherwell which lead me to remember that a favorite video was due to be released on DVD, Storming the Citadel, a really excellent film on the New York School of abstract expressionists - really excellent film, now on my wishlist.
Thinking about favorite films that we owned on VHS and no longer have and miss terribly, lead me to look for an all time favorite, a National Geographic special, The Living Treasures of Japan. It's an hour of some of the most inspiring artists and work I've ever encountered ... a traditional potter, his enormous anagama kiln and exquisite pots, the very essence of wabi-sabi; the sweet smiling and ancient face of a weaver of hemp and dyer of indigo; music and theatre and paper and, well, it's just an amazing collection of artists. Turns out their DVD's are 40% off right now. Needless to say, this one is coming home to Kathy.
One rabbit hole I'm reluctant to do down is Tumblr. I see it everywhere, love the look of it - I especially love the archive at Abundance - but that's one hole I need to resist ... for now anyways.
So the tumbler I really use, that would be the rotary one with stainless steel shot, should be about ready. Ah, but one more update on my adventures in glass. My mondo box from Rio Grande was deposited on my doorstep sometime last evening, one side split. I opened it right before bed only to find the contents inadequately packaged. The 10 8oz. jars of crushed glass in one oversized zip-loc bag, one of the jars halfway open, the other nine jars swimming in 4 ounces of bronze frit. Not happy about that. A mess and an unsafe mess at that. I'll be calling Rio here shortly to fill them in and suggest some packaging improvements.
Well now, if I haven't been playing hooky just way too long. So on a gorgeous fall day, this will be me off to empty the tumbler and get back to work. Here's another favorite Nick Drake cut ...
blessings - kvk
First an email from Phuni at Tibetan Karma in MA about a fund raising effort for Machik -" Machik works to develop new opportunities for education and training on the Tibetan plateau and supports initiatives that advance innovative, solutions-oriented approaches to the challenges of community revitalization and sustainability". Over the last few years, Phuni and I have developed a great rapport and she's been a great supporter of my work. She is Tibetan and a big part of her life and business is her commitment to supporting sustainable products and social justice. I'm always on the lookout for good causes to support, so for the month of December I'll be donating 10% of my gross sales to Machik.
Next on my morning cruise, I was checking in on new blog posts. I started with Tumbleword, followed her link to Lucid Cafe and started looking at the artist biographies which lead to one on Robert Motherwell which lead me to remember that a favorite video was due to be released on DVD, Storming the Citadel, a really excellent film on the New York School of abstract expressionists - really excellent film, now on my wishlist.
Thinking about favorite films that we owned on VHS and no longer have and miss terribly, lead me to look for an all time favorite, a National Geographic special, The Living Treasures of Japan. It's an hour of some of the most inspiring artists and work I've ever encountered ... a traditional potter, his enormous anagama kiln and exquisite pots, the very essence of wabi-sabi; the sweet smiling and ancient face of a weaver of hemp and dyer of indigo; music and theatre and paper and, well, it's just an amazing collection of artists. Turns out their DVD's are 40% off right now. Needless to say, this one is coming home to Kathy.
One rabbit hole I'm reluctant to do down is Tumblr. I see it everywhere, love the look of it - I especially love the archive at Abundance - but that's one hole I need to resist ... for now anyways.
So the tumbler I really use, that would be the rotary one with stainless steel shot, should be about ready. Ah, but one more update on my adventures in glass. My mondo box from Rio Grande was deposited on my doorstep sometime last evening, one side split. I opened it right before bed only to find the contents inadequately packaged. The 10 8oz. jars of crushed glass in one oversized zip-loc bag, one of the jars halfway open, the other nine jars swimming in 4 ounces of bronze frit. Not happy about that. A mess and an unsafe mess at that. I'll be calling Rio here shortly to fill them in and suggest some packaging improvements.
Well now, if I haven't been playing hooky just way too long. So on a gorgeous fall day, this will be me off to empty the tumbler and get back to work. Here's another favorite Nick Drake cut ...