I start getting excited for October in April or May and start to lament its impending departure in August or September. It has always been my favorite month, full of my favorite things: caramel apples, piles of leaves, ghost stories, root vegetables, and birthday cake. After the pool-splashing, suntanning, late-night sweaty yearning and fireworks of summer, fall feels like nature's invitation to take a deep breath, get a little quiet, and take stock of all you have to feel grateful for.
This October we flew to Massachusetts to watch a treasured friend of mine from Berkeley tie the knot. As luck would have it, Lizzy & Jordan got married just down the road from Linda and Blase, who are looking forward to nestling in to winter after a long and fruitful orchard season.
We reunited with our closest pottery family at the Frank Gallery in Chapel Hill where Mark Hewitt, Daniel Johnston, Joseph Sands, Matt Jones and Alex had a group show. Mark and his rough-and-tumble gang of former apprentice’s had a chance to sit down together to discuss the ceramic heritage that they share and how they hope to see it grow.
For my birthday, Alex and Zuma surprised me with a trip to Bear Island where we canoed through marshes to our beach campsite. We spent two beautiful, almost sunshiny days fishing, reading, stretching, walking in the sand and doing a whole lot of nothing at all.
For Halloween, I threw together some last minute Sandy Olsen & Danny Zuko costumes. Alex showed his commitment to authenticity by shaving his beard. John dressed as a "French Exchange Student Visiting the States in Hopes of Being Scouted for a Division 2 Basketball Team". He had the whole crowd fooled until he ran into a group of real-life French people who called his bluff.
In between all the fun, we somehow we got a lot of pottery made, too.
Since November rolled around, Alex and John have been pulling late nights in the workshop, hustling to get as many pots made before we load the kiln in two weeks.