June at the Lake, and making pendants

June!  I finally made my out to the lake for annual pilgrimmage!  As always, there is that moment driving down the road from the highway, when I roll down the window and breathe in the air, with its blend of memory inducing power.   Could I use the word, "fecund?" (it is a word I remember learning from Arta). Such a mixture of things growing up from the earth in a tangle, and returning back to it in the same measure.  Doral and Anita's handprint from their earlier spring visit was visible in all the work stewarding the lawn and garden.  such a treat to walk around the porch, listening to the burble of the stream, and the red-eyed vireo (i think) chattering away in the trees.

As soon as I was unpacked, my mind was skipping ahead to Janet's pottery studio, and I start planning the summer work.  First things first, pendants!  And so, I wandered around, visiting trees and bushes around the property, to gather some leaves and branches.

cedar and spruce by the road

ferns and thimbleberry

bracken ferns

And then, for some quiet time at Janet's with slab roller, scissors, and a view.  So, here is the 'photo essay' of the first pendants of the year, from start to finish. 

getting things prepared

cedar pressed into clay

fern, hops, boxwood

finding their shapes

getting ready to add holes

oops. waited too long. now it's hard!

through the bisque fire

adding wax resist and glaze while admiring view

into a second firing

...and finished!