Dusk

I call this one The Watcher.

Sculpture mix; nutmeg and brown glazing.

Tonight felt right for pulling him out and taking a few potshots.

Dusky, dusky mood.

My mother would have been 76 today.

From my earliest days, she fostered my devotion to stories and magic.

Real magic: the sort you can find in the webbing of a frog's foot, in the whiskers of a ginger cat, in the earth around a tomato plant's roots, and in the sand, rock, and salt of the seashore. Driftwood, windfall, found coin. I am the son of a witch, as she always claimed, for which I am so grateful.

I wish you'd found the time and space to learn the piano, Mom. When I realize that I've been putting something -- some possible joy, however arduous or demanding -- off for too too long, I think of that wish of yours.

Bull-Headed

Brecca: stoneware; blue glazing.

Hrothgar's Pawn: sculpture mix; deep green glazing.

Talismans of stubbornness? Head-pieces for hardiness and holding ground?

Sofia's Bottom; Or, A View I've Been Missing

That's the keel of my kayak, Sofia, as seen from below, from the basic free diving perspective, and that's one view I've sorely missed.

There's a cheeriness about sighting Sofia's bottom as I rise up from below, even if I'm not planning to clamber back aboard anytime soon.

The yellow is quite obviously a jaunty color, but her presence is more than a mere color or look. When I see her where I expect to, I know I haven't been pulled off track by any unnoticed currents. If I want to climb out, there she is, whether I just want to warm up, to grab a piece of gear, or to paddle off to a new divespot. If I am weary from all the hard swimming and held breaths, she offers a platform to rest upon. If I am getting spooked from sharky thoughts, well, there's eleven or so feet of plastic sanctuary.

Mostly, Sofia has been my companion up and down the coast, as far south as Morro Bay and as far north, so far, as Mendocino. I haven't been diving, or even swimming, due to work demands and too many illnesses strung one after another, cold to flu to sore throat to whatever bug is going around. So, looking at any shot of my kayak, even this one from beneath, especially this one from beneath, is both heartening and tantalizing.

I need to take Sofia out soon. She deserves it. We deserve it.

Okay, maybe I'll take some Sudafed and try a light workout later today. First step towards some kind of fitness. I've been missing the pool so much also.

Rex

King's Head: sculpture mix; shiny black and shino glazing.

(Marred from the black glaze running further than expected.)

Portrait of the Artist as a Gemini

Caption Contest?

Sea Urchins

Mendocino waters: July 2011.

(Maybe in January I'll slip into these waters again.)

Actually, these shots are for my English 1A students this term. Tom Kendrick could tell us so much about these creatures, starting with whether they'd be legal catches or not.

Have a great break!

(That is, MWF Class, have a great break beginning after our final this morning.)