Karen Sullivan on tue 25 jul 06
Teaching ....
I think of things that I will never forget....
It seems to be the combination of visual info and
metaphors that eloquently explain things...
In a glaze dr. session at NCECA, Pete
Pinnell explained that heavy reduction was
Not effective....he said it was like trying
To push a basketball through a window screen....
Someone else said that it was an increasingly
Shrinking window screen....
So the combination of a little technical
Information, as in the understanding of
Vitrification in clay....and the porosity
In clay shrinking with the increase in
temperature....with a stunning
Visual metaphor...and I will always remember
The concept/reasons for reduction....
I was lucky to have a teacher who constructed
A conceptual tree...and when I needed to
Attach/explain elements...they fit within the branches
Of information....
I try to pass on as much information to my students....
But who knows who gets it....I wonder.....
So...now I digress....
I am coming off a three day ordeal with no
Electricity....in blazing heat....with
Summers much hotter in So. Calif than I remember....
It is explained in part because the buildings,
Roads, urban development
Retain heat....what used to be here was open
Chaparral that dissipated the heat overnight...
So now we begin the day with retained heat as
Much a 5 degrees extra heat in the morning,
So it's much hotter.....
It was 114 here Saturday...the night my power
Went....what was amazing was watching the repair...
3 am and the Edison repair hero used a giant tool, like a
Measuring tape to unhook the fuse at the power line,
While standing at ground level...
The new fuse he hooked and swung back and forth until
It swung up and connected to the line into the
Transformer with the dance of motion from below....
Sparks flew....and it was like a stage set with
My timed lights flashing on in the garden and
I was returned to civilization in an instant....
Drama and gratitude in one moment....
If you have not yet seen Al Gore's movie....
Please do...I think it is a very important
Experience for all of us....
It's nice to be back...
Bamboo karen
And yes....still making brushes
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