All Cylinders Firing

It seems as though I am always working on art projects while watching Le Tour de France.  I remember working on a set of Bead Artist Trading Cards while watching Lance crest mountains.  I remember working on the wooden under body of "Rocking Horse Dreams" while Lance fought again for dominance.  And yesterday I spent my morning in front of the office TV refining my charms and readying them for firing.  I left an interesting brown/copper dust smudge on my carpet, but it's the office - what goes on in the back room doesn't really make much difference.  In fact, it was rather amusing to see the small dune that my sanding had caused.  Last night I buried the first group in charcoal and began firing them.  I need to wait until the temp is down to 200 before I remove them, and the kiln was only down to 425 when I awoke this morning, so instead of being able to sandwich in one more fire this morning, I have to wait until tonight before I can do the nest batch.  I packed 16 into the first firing.  At that rate it will take three firings before all of them are ready for the next step.  And I'm really curious about how well they took and how much shrinkage I got.  I still have work to do on these charms. 

My Paragon SC2 kiln

The well in the gulf is finally capped and oil is no longer gushing out into the water.  There is so much that went wrong with this oil well, it is impossible to list all of the individual problems.  But what concerns me is the environmental impact of this spill - something that will last for many years to come.  I suspect that even into several more generations, this disaster will still be affecting the Gulf environment - the birds, fish and other wonderful critters and the ocean.  I see the impact of ocean pollution daily.  Shells that I used to be able to purchase and sell are no longer available because of decreased populations due to pollution, and those that I can get have their prices much higher.  I can't blame all of the price increases on the crappy economy that we are also living with right now. 

Children coloring.  When was the last time you spent time
with a box of crayons and some paper?

But in all of this negativity, there have to be some positive strokes, after all, I am basically a very positive person.  That can come from art and personal expression.  I firmly believe that everyone has a talent that will make them happy.  It could be craft/art in nature - painting, drawing, sculpting, throwing a pot, quilting a blanket, or beading a necklace.  It could be more practical in nature - inventing a new recipie or arranging plants in a garden to maximum visual benefit.  It could be interpersonal - adroitly causing people with diametric views to come together and work for a common goal, finding common ground and possible friendships in the journey.  Find your talent, express it and work with it to allow your wings to furl and yourself to fly.  Have a creative day!