Dannon Rhudy on wed 26 aug 98
This is longish.
Just got back from British Columbia. The license plates there
say "Beautiful British Columbia". It is.
I have seen a lot of beautiful places, but this has got to rank
among the richest scenery I have EVER seen. Tree covered
mountains floating in the sea, the sea itself clear as crystal,
mist rising and falling to make a hundred views of every one,
a warm and gentle sun, a brief shower or two. I stayed in the
Shelford's guest house, with a view to the west across the
valley and bay to the mountains beyond. Thetis island is reached
by ferry or other boat, or light plane - LOTS of those plying the
skies there. Veronica chauffered me about, let me use her
studio to get ready for the workshop, fed me, stood patiently
while I picked blackberries. They grew EVERYWHERE, people
there seem to see them as a weed, but delicious, delicious,
delicious. Veronica had to be very patient, as I like blackberries,
seldom get to indulge myself in that way.
It seemed to always be about 75F. A bit cooler, nights. I actually
had to wear a sweatshirt a few times. Sigh. Arrived back in Texas
to 96 unpleasant degrees. Ah, well.
Beautiful as it was, the people there were more so. Their kindness and
generosity of spirit were simply remarkable. They took such good
care of me that it is impossible to thank them enough. They
gave me flowers from their incredible gardens, and pots, and food,
and a Tozan teeshirt that had been written all over by Yukio; there
was a particularly personal gift that I cannot mention because in general
one is not permitted to have eagle feathers in the U.S.; and,
more important than any of those, they gave me their attention
and their kind and thoughtful regard.
The workshop was a lot of fun, with only the usual number of small
disasters, which were easily circumvented/overcome.
One of the highlights of being there, for me, was the opening of the
Tozan kiln on Saturday morning. There was some great work in there,
though there had been some problems with the firing . The EPA (or
Canadian equivalent) required after-burner in the tozan chimney was so
hot (1,200,000 btu's) that it melted a big chunk out of the chimney, making
magma of the brick and castable, before the last chamber got anywhere
near temp. The first chambers were good, though. They'll have to make
some changes in the direction of the flame. There's always something...
If you get a chance to go to BC, DO IT!! It's terrific.
People up there do have funny accents though, eh?
I loved it. Thanks, y'all.
Dannon Rhudy
potter@koyote.com
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