Hand-built clay sculpture, Yemana, by Tammy Vitale of Tam’s Originals
I had a wonderful time at UMBC (University of Maryland, Baltimore Campus) Women’s Center yesterday. I gave a one hour talk that ranged from start to present in my clay journey and looked at my theme – the divine feminine and its influences.
I was pleased to chill bumps to learn that the board of directors of the center was so inspired by my masks that they had a work session where they began their own masks (not in clay – but there are all kinds of masks) which lay on the floor awaiting a finishing session and hanging around the bright, airy space.
It is always my hope that the work for which I provide a conduit into the world will join a larger story and continue its own energy long after it has moved from my hands to someone else’s home. I couldn’t have gotten better news! Except the news that I am invited back to hang another show at the center – we will work out the details later. I love the energy of that space!
Husband joined me to chauffeur, take care of parking and help packing after the show. That always takes a load off me mentally and I am always grateful so we stopped for a celebratory lunch at Ledo’s Pizza in Annapolis on the way home. And then sat in a backup for an hour on Route 4 from an accident that required closing of southbound lanes and making north bound one way each way. Living on a peninsula with only one road that goes all the way down has its drawbacks some days, but I’d rather see that then see them pave the whole county. One day’s sitting is not worth that destruction. So we sat and chatted and inched along and the sky was blue and the temperature was about as perfect as it gets around here and eventually we made it home.
Today I have one person from clay class picking up tiles that couldn’t make it Saturday and then I plan to make some new masks.
thought for the day: But a teacher does not teach to receive presents. That is the work of a teacher, not to get caught in the likes or dislikes of a student, but to come forth always with the deepest teachings. Often the student does not like this, thinks the teacher is mean, unfeeling, but a good teacher knows that if he or she plants a real seed, someday, maybe years later, even in the most ignorant of students the seed may sprout. So the teacher’s job is to close the gap between the student’s ignorance and the teachings, but often the student does not understand any of this. That is why the student is a student. Natalie Goldberg, Long Quiet Highway: Waking Up In America
