She’s got a chisel in her hand and a mallet, the kind all covered in white rubber to dull the blow. She’s editing her student’s papers, or rather what’s left of their glazes that have dripped onto the half moon kiln shelves. If the kiln-wash, a watery mixture of clay painted onto the shelves before firing, isn’t thick enough then the beads of dripped glaze weld themselves to the shelf and require forcefully edged extraction.

I helped a little with the kiln last night, removing and putting in new pots for firing. Metaphorically I am currently thinking of the device as a giant bread machine that doesn’t agitate before it bakes. The two machines, bread and kiln, use almost the same control pad and participate in Ron Popeil’s “set it and forget it” eidos.

I am still not done with end of term projects and now there is a new hassle with my enrollment status. More on that after I resolve it as bureaucracy can make the blood boil. Anyway, just letting you I am both still alive and still living.