The smell of a bbq

Nothing brings people together like a backyard bbq, and in tonight's case, a kilnyard bbq. We kicked off the end of the first week of the summer residency here at Medalta with a potluck, and the smell of the grill lured everyone out of their studio spaces. Robin and Candace cooked up some homemade burgers and the rest of the group pitched in with scrumptious salads and desserts. There was even wine and beer. Robin and I kept looking over our shoulders wondering when the liquor police would arrive, I suppose we've been in Utah too long. 

Tonight was a great opportunity to dine and visit with the other residents, especially for me since the kids had the run of the fenced in courtyard - equipped with ride on mowers and forklifts - they were as happy as could be. 

The bbq led right into the opening of the resident's work at the gallery onsite. I managed a quick tour through the space to check out the work before we made a quick exit and home for the bedtime routine. Tomorrow we're off to a festival.   

If you're happy and you know it...

Who else is clapping out there? I'm not trying to jinx myself by posting about a sudden change in my children, but wow they seem happy these days. 

We've been spending our time thus far exploring the Medalta site, on the bike trails in search of playgrounds and cruising the grocery aisles of Superstore to fill our bare cupboards. With no tv in the little house we have, and only themselves for playmates, I was a bit nervous as to how they'd adjust after several weeks of moving around and being overstimulated. 

But since we arrived in the Hat they've been like two little kittens, playing and purring and full of sunshiny smiles. I have a couple of guesses as to why this is, one being that that I've been able to get them BOTH to nap each day since we arrived, second that they are just as excited as we are about this new adventure, but most importantly I think their sudden change in demeanor is because they once again have my undivided attention. 

Let's hope the clapping continues. 

Living history

Yesterday was orientation day at Medalta for the 14 summer resident artists, this morning the clay arrived from Plainsman across the street and by this afternoon pots were already beginning to pop up on ware racks. 

It's just beginning to sink in, where we DuPonts have landed for the month. The Medalta Historic Clay District was once home to some of Canada's most important clay factories and at the turn of the last century the city of Medicine Hat was considered the largest manufacturing centre in the west thanks to the production of pottery! With geology in its favour, the clay products industry here benefitted from an abundant supply of clay, not to mention the abundant source of natural gas in the area used to fire the kilns. The history of this place has been preserved with the Medalta Potteries National Historic site through a living, working museum, and now through the Medalta International Artists in Residence program, of which Robin is the featured artist, it is a place for contemporary ceramics to flourish. 

We were all invited to a welcome potluck last night where I had the chance to meet most of the summer participants. This summer residency is the largest one that Medalta offers, and as I toured the studios this afternoon with the Artistic Director Aaron Nelson, even I, the non-potter,  was filled with excitement about the brand new 12, 000 sq ft studio space. Even more thrilling for me though was a spin through the new interpretive exhibit space. Medalta seems like a marriage of both Robin and my keenest interests - clay world meets museum world! It's just so cool that we're here.

And now that the kids have a had a couple days to get acquainted with their new surroundings, they seem pretty happy, perhaps feeding off the vibe Robin and I are giving off. I am equally as excited for them to explore the site and make regular appearances in the studios this month. The residents are a good cross section of folks from all over, a diverse group with many diverse experiences in the field of ceramics and most importantly seemingly content to have a couple of kids hanging around.  

 

 

 

Dry Spell

Sorry folks, I know it's been awhile since my last post, two and a half weeks - the longest dry spell I've had since starting this blog back in 2008. And it's not as though I didn't have anything to blog about, rather it's more the opposite with too many things going on and not a moment to even put my thoughts together. 

Since we arrived back in Canada on my birthday in early May, our days have been filled with reconnecting with friends and ramping up for my big brother's wedding with several pre-nuptual preparations and events. The actual wedding was this past weekend and I am still riding the emotional high of witnessing my brother and his beautiful bride Sarah walk arm and arm down the aisle. It was a magnificent day, despite the unseasonal snowstorm in Calgary. Sarah was a most stunning bride and will be a gem of a sister-in-law, and witnessing Chris so in love and surrounded by his most cherished friends and family will always be imprinted in my memory. I am so happy for both of them. 

Around the same time today that the newlyweds left town on a jet plane headed for a honeymoon in Ireland, we DuPonts headed out of town as well on yet another adventure. Packed to gills with clothes, toys, bikes and pots we made the three hour trip southeast of Calgary to Medicine Hat. Robin begins a month long artist in residency here at Medalta Potteries tomorrow morning. 

The kids and I are happy to be along for the experience and we've spent the evening settling into our 70's style bungalow adjacent to the studios - mustard coloured shag carpets and all! I'm most looking forward to the next month of staying put. As exciting and eventful as the last few weeks have been, I've found it difficult to stay grounded, moving about so much and sleeping in several different places. The kids have also felt the effects and are not entirely themselves. I think it will do us all some good to have a place we can call 'home', even if just for a little while. 

I've been unpacking our things this evening and can already feel some restlessness easing. Even the urge to write has returned, so stay tuned for more regular posts this month!

 

Official start

On your mark, get set, GO!

We've officially begun our summer, despite leaving Logan with yet another snowstorm at our heels. We caught this Mother's Day photo with our tulips in full bloom, moments before we pulled out of the driveway to make the 14 hour trip north, home to Canada. Instead of taking our usual route north through Montana we decided to mix things up a bit and headed east towards Boise instead. This route tacked on a couple hours to the drive, but was well worth it for the scenic value - and besides, it's summer! 

The most interesting part of the drive began north of Boise which took us through a series of winding canyons and a whitewater kayaker's playground to Lewiston, Idaho. Our friends and neighbors had told us about this area and deemed the Payette river as one of the greatest they'd ever paddled. Besides enjoying the gorgeous cliffside views, we chose this route because it took us through Lewiston where Robin had sourced out his summer's supply of clay and had arranged to pick up. And even with 500 plus pounds of clay on board, he still had space to dig a little sample of raw clay out of a pullout cliffside. 

Tuesday was full of surprises to commemorate my birthday when we arrived in Nelson late that evening. My mom had made the trip to the Kootenays to be part of the welcome wagon and share a little birthday brownie with me. And yesterday was dedicated to making phone calls, booking appointments and grocery shopping. Whew!

Although we've landed, I'm still not feeling at all grounded. It may take a few days to shift into Kootenay time and transition back into the Canadian life! I'll keep you posted. 

 

Wind caves

With Robin being finished up more or less in the studio, I've been the grateful recipient of some 'mommy time'. Yesterday I gleefully hiked up a local favorite trail called Wind Caves, just east of Logan up the canyon about 15 minutes. The trail is short, but steep and winds itself up a series of switchbacks and ends up at some pretty cool caves. Round trip takes a little over an hour to hike, and I was delighted to spend the morning with my friend Sandra. Sandra and her family are moving to Connecticut next week, so the hike was a chance to hang out together before she takes off. 

The hiking and backcountry around Logan is terrific, but by far the best part of living in Logan has been getting to know some really great people. There are many folks that will be sad to see Sandra, Mike and their daughter Anna leave town, as they've left a lasting impression on so many of us. But they've got plenty of exciting times ahead; new jobs, being closer to family and a dream home building project. Tomorrow night we're getting together with a big group of friends to wish them farewell and have a last drink or two together. 

Full Plates

Second year of grad school - CHECK!

Robin finished up the semester last night with his final critique after a marathon couple weeks of back to back firings and late nights in the studio. He's been making plates. Lots of plates, with the odd mug and pitcher thrown in to fill spaces in the kiln. He's been doing plenty of research, looking at plates and various forms in books and on the net and even spent time poking through other people's kitchen cupboards to check out their dinnerware collections. He finished unloading the soda kiln yesterday morning, giving himself a short window of time to mull over the results himself before laying them all out on the table for discussion.

Last night after the critique was over he came home and we stayed up late talking about the feedback and critical dialogue that occurred with his peers and professors about his most recent work and ideas. He said it was a really good crit, got everyone talking and seemingly engaged and there was definitely some food for thought to take away. His only regret is not being able to squeeze in one more firing before we head north next week for the summer. 

 

Unfortunately, or should I say fortunately, all that we have time left for this week is to do a little socializing and packing up. Got a lot on our plate this summer and it seems the time has arrived to dive into it.