July Garden

The garden has gone nuts! All the rain, the heat, the sun!
Compare this photo of the red flower sculpture with the photo in the post on 4/6.

A vivid orange gerbera has done well in this pot.

The rose glazed flower has some plant companions that are polite and not too pushy.

Can you see the clay pots in this mass of herbs in my kitchen garden? They are working pots, modestly bearing concealment for the sake of gourmet cooking.

Haystack Part III: Being There

Discussion outside the clay studio

Swimming beach 

 There was more to get out of the Haystack experience than working in the studio. There was the beautiful rocky coastline with islands in the distance. Walk down the trail through the woods and there was a sandy spot perfect for swimming. It was hot enough that the water was a bit warmer than usual and I was able to dunk in and actually swim a few strokes.

I was told even before I arrived that the food was good at Haystack and it was. Three times a day the clanging bell in the bell tower summoned us hungry or not to a buffet (breakfast and lunch) or to a sit down dinner - always delicous and always some cookies at lunch and a dessert at dinner. On Saturday night I ordered two lobsters and with a glass of riesling ate them outdoors where the kitchen staff had spread out the picnic.


Deer Isle has some worthwhile sights to see. Nervous Nellie's Jams and Jellies has a shop on Sunshine Road and also a sculpture garden with junk sculptures by Peter Beerits. It would be an amazing place to bring a child, and I liked it too. My roommate thought it was creepy though.

On fourth of July, Deer Isle Village had a parade that the
whole island seemed to turn out for, with antique cars, homemade floats, people in lobster hats, decked out bikes and a contingent of children in the chess club carrying trophies.




I stopped one day at the Dowstudio and the Haystack Gallery. There were quite a few galleries in the village and island that I didn't get to. The Dowstudio had a craft show, mostly clay that was very exciting to all of us students working in the media. Since the prices were less than what we would pay elsewhere, i.e. the NYC area, many of us could not resist buying. I bought a sweet bowl by Florida artist Catherine Boswell although choosing one from the array of artists was tough. It seemed I loved everything they had there.

Inside the salt kiln

Just waking up in the morning on the Maine coast, seeing the fog in the evergreens or on fine days to see the rocks and islands with lobster boats on the water was a pleasure. Or if the kilns were loaded and there was nothing to do but wait, taking a walk to "The Meadow" near the school and smelling the wildflower and pine scents... it was a good place to be.

Haystack Part II: The Studio

Jamie's cups

The 2nd session clay studio at Haystack was led by University of Washington professor Jaimie Walker.  Three teacher's assistants kept us supplied with clay, mixed glazes, loaded and unloaded the kilns and in the time they had left also worked in clay and took part in critiques with the rest of us. Jamie worked on the one kick wheel making cups and bowls that he glazed with striking colors.

Inside the clay studio

Some students established themselves at desks along the windows with a view down the wooded hillside toward the sea, some settled at the electric wheels and wooden shelves in the middle of the studio. I ended up working at the end of one of the big work tables where I had a lot of room to spread out, but sometimes found myself sharing it with others taking a break from the wheel to do hand building.

My work area

The studios were open all hours and many of us took advantage of it. There were times I woke up at dawn or earlier, and finding myself awake and thinking about my projects, slipped out to the studio to start work for the day, trying not to wake my roommate. I wasn't always the first there though. And I definitely was not the last to leave. I stayed as late as 11:00 one night which if you're up early feels pretty late. I heard that others stayed until 3:00 a.m.

View of other studio buildings

Haystack Part I: What I Made

It was a productive session for me at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts June 23 - July 5.

I brought back three bird baths. I've seen a catbird cooling off in the one I placed in my garden yesterday, so it works. All three were made in two pieces: bowl and stand. They were larger than any other clay work made by anyone during the 12 day session, and stylistically they didn't resemble others either. That's not to say they are good.

When they came out of the kiln I felt almost shocked. They were unfamiliar - transformed by the glaze and the salt firing. I couldn't look at them. They seemed to me like weird, gothic furniture, contorted forms dripping with glaze. Some pieces had definite problems with glaze that I hope to fix at home. One bowl had a crack near the rim.

Bird baths, cups & Twisted sculpture

The cups in the photo were an early exercise before we started working on our own ideas.

I also made some sculpture based on the theme I chose for myself: "Twisted." One was a wobbly-looking coiled tower, one a crooked extruded cylinder with a tiny supporting limb, and the last to be made, a crushed and twisted cylinder made to look like a pop-top soda can. I painted the can with underglazes giving it an invented brand name and lots of lettering and images.

These last three pieces were the most well received by the class and by me. Because it seemed so popular with everyone, I ended up donating the soda can to the auction that took place on the last night of the session. It raised the grand sum of $50 for the school.

"El's Diet Weasel"