Coming and Going

Tonight we had a potluck at our place for all the ceramic folk and friends. It was a great night, with fantastic food, plenty of laughs and well behaved children. As is tradition in the ceramics world, potlucks and communal gatherings to eat and celebrate together is a common occurrence. We were happy to host and celebrate together for a variety of reasons. 

The usual crowd of 30 or so people was pared down to around 20, being that it is mid summer and some folks have left town, and some have yet to arrive. It got me thinking about the comings and goings of those that make up the clay community here at USU. Each year, new graduate and undergraduate students enroll and in turn there are those that complete their programs to move on to new opportunities and locations. But for a brief time in all of their lives, the USU clay department becomes their identity and their home. 

And thank god for the constants, John and Dan and their families, that are tasked with welcoming the incoming and encouraging the outgoing. I would think it might be difficult at times to foster and create a community with this revolving door type tendency, yet they make us all feel like family  - even us on the outskirts.  

This year we've already said goodbye to Tony, our fellow canuck that moved back to eastern Canada to make pots and be merry. Denny and Heidi are contemplating jobs and opportunities elsewhere, Trevor is possibly sticking around to do some tech work at the school, and Joe is off to Ohio to start a teaching position very near to where he grew up, and to be closer to family.  

We wish them all the best of luck and hope to stay connected. 

We'll be heading north for a six week stint in the Kootenays at the end of this month, and when we return we'll settle back in again with a slightly changed dynamic of people in the clay dept., and another two years of Logan living, and before we know it, we'll be the outgoing contingent. But I'm not quite ready to wish it all pass too soon, there is still much to do and for us to experience here in Utah with our Logan family.