new york

With the help of my friends-- Joanna who helped me glaze the remainder of my work, my fab husband who unloaded and reloaded kilns, Sidney who folded and stuffed my new brochure, Sara who packed my work, and Bronwyn who helped me get it to the FedEx-- I managed to get off to New York City without a hitch despite not having much use of my left arm. I have always said that I have the best friends and most amazing people in my life, and in an emergency like I had with my arm and trying to get ready for the New York trade show, it's great to be proven right again.

My arm at this moment is doing so much better. Very little pain and I am quickly regaining movement. I will be in New York for three weeks and I think by the time I get home I will be almost as good as new.

When I stay in New York I live with my dearest and oldest friend, Waleed, who has a great apartment in the Chelsea district, which is also the heart of the New York Gallery district. When I come to New York for the trade show, I usually stay an extra week or two so I have time to visit the galleries and museums, and visit with my circle of friends who live here. I also like to stick around for Fashion Week because Waleed, a clothing designer, always has a show and he also usually needs an Errand Girl (me) in the days leading up to the actual show.

Yesterday I went to the Japan Society to check out their exhibition of some contemporary Japanese potters. It's rare that I have time to check out pottery, and this was a wonderful exhibit to see. There were a few pieces I found especially inspiring, like Yagi Akira's work to the right here. I love to make nested forms, and I love the idea of nested forms that fit inside each other. I can't wait to get back to work and give it a shot! I also saw a set of 22 nested bowls, the smallest one thrown with a needle and a magnifying glass. At first I thought that it would have been a lot easier for the artist to just pinch it out, a tiny little bowl like that. But then I realized that the challenge is to throw each piece on the wheel to maintain the integrity of the set. I'm not as anxious to try throwing with a needle, but I love to think about someone else doing it.