"There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in." -Leonard Cohen

It's a hard life, having fresh flowers in the studio every day. Looking sharp in one of my new bottles.

Just whipping up a few small batches of fresh clay.

I'm trying something new- ceramic pendants, made from a clay that fires a rich, metallic dark brown that is almost black. I'm very much in love with this minimal, beautifully imperfect aesthetic.

The students, loading their recent, and first, glaze kiln, with the help of the ever strong A. Iber. The excitement, the excitement! 

And then, like magic, unloading it and examining the results, while Debbie looks on.

And in closing, delicious, delicious South Indian breakfast. How will I survive without idly?

After the sun goes down, Pondicherry comes out to take the air.

Bay of Bengal

Every evening, the ocean promenade is full of people, old and young, families with young children and courting couples, taking their constitutionals and catching up with their friends and neighbors. 

The only thing that disrupts the picturesque beauty is the trash between the rocks.

Gandhi Statue- A stately monument that children love to climb.

A balloon salesman's wares glow like jewels in the dark blue sky.

Carts selling food, jewelry, cd's, cell phone cases, flowers, and more.

The evening deepens to darkness.

Some pieces, or perhaps a single piece, out of the kiln. 

I wasn't that excited about these guys when they first came out of the kiln. But when I arranged them on this rock, which seemed to be made for them, I began to see them in a new way.

The texture and surface of the squares make a very interesting contrast with the texture of the granite slab.

The way the natural light reflects off the surfaces of each square reminds me of mirages on a hot summer road. 

As a child, riding in the car, I was fascinated by mirages. How could something be so clear from a distance, and then disappear completely when you got close?

These reflective, elusive surfaces suggest things that are there and not there.

Piles of freshly delivered wood, so that we can fire many kilns!

I was amazed by how quickly the staff at the pottery got it all neatly stacked up.

I really like the different roof structures at GBP.

Delicious egg dosa and a yummy idly for breakfast on a kiln firing morning!

And a fairly typical lunch- parathas, cauliflower, and curd. Yum!

Golden Bridge Pottery is full of everyday things that are beautiful and inspiring. These are just a few of them.

I'm very intrigued by the line created where these two walls meet. 

This bamboo ladder is amazingly beautiful. 

Inside the anagama. Baskets like this one are used to store fired pots.

Here are a few things from my first firing at GBP. Some pots, some other things.

A modular wall piece in the works.

Some wall pieces with some drips- looking through a rainy window on a dark night.

A favorite.

And another.

Whiskey cup, not too big.

And now, to reflect on these results, and decide where to go from here...

Ready to load!

Glazed pots, ready to go in the kiln!

And the firing has begun! Early stages yet in this photo. Things get much sweatier later in the day

Ranjita, Ray's assistant and my partner in crime, snapped a few shots of me during the firing. It is really shocking how sweaty I was by the end. Firing a wood kiln in 100+ degree weather is no joke!

Stay tuned for results from the kiln! Coming soon...

It has been a busy week of glazing here at GBP- I hope to have some interesting information from the kiln very soon.

Here are some new, better resolution pictures of Lakshmi, the elephant who stands outside the temple near my flat. I think of her as the nighttime elephant, because i have only seen her at night, and because there is something magical about elephants in the nighttime.

Debbie gave me this fresh mango, from their property in nearby Kodaikanal. A fresh mango and fresh South Indian coffee- can life get any better?

And in closing, another beautiful flower offering. The divine in me honors the divine in you.

I have been absent from my blog of late, but I'm back, with many exciting things to talk about- these beautiful flowers are just the start! Bowls of flowers like this are a daily offering in the studio and many other places; they are a celebration of the fleeting nature of beauty, and of life itself.

I could write a whole blog about things being transported on bikes in India. Egg delivery bikes like this one are particularly spectacular, and a regular sight on my morning commute. This seemingly effortless balance of fragility in the midst of the chaotic flow of traffic (and life) is fascinating and poignant. In a way, it is as much a celebration of delicate beauty and ephemerality as the offerings of flowers are.

Now for some things in the studio. It has been a productive week. Here are some new vase forms I've been trying. I am attempting to find marks that embody the arresting beauty and transient repetition I find in things like stacks of eggs on motorbikes. 

I am working on a lot of new ideas- or perhaps new versions of old ideas. I've been doing a lot of coil building, both vessels and wall pieces, and I feel that a few ideas are starting to come together. Here are a few "previews".

In this work, I have been thinking a lot about things that are kept inside or concealed. Though we try to hide the things we think are ugly or imperfect, these things have a way of remaining visible. It is the beauty in these hidden things that I am pursuing and contemplating.