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it’s been a long while since my last post. i’ve been having programming delirium tremens for about two weeks or so. once you start programming it’s much like a drug. you develop a compulsion to go further and further, pushing your mind and body to the limits, at least i do anyway. once you stuff a few hundred variables in your mind, you don’t want to stop and switch gears, trust me. so you feel like you must just push on until the problem or loop comes to a conclusion. it’s frustrating and maddening but when you see the outcome it usually seems worth the pain.

so after burning the candle too long i needed a little rest and relaxation. jiyeon’s best friend yeonji (look at the spellings, must be something karmic there) offered to give nancy and i a private korean tea ceremony and then take us over to her pottery studio. the tea ceremony was very formal and my heart was beating fast the first time i participated, but i loved it! we tried video taping it and my intent was to post it here, but the video didn’t turn out so good so it’s an excuse to do it all again… crafty, no? we recorded the ceremony twice trying to get it right and the second time through was much more relaxing and meditative. the formality becomes like a game you and the server both play. yeonji’s exacting motions were soothing somehow on my mind, and by the time she got to the point of serving me the bowl of tea, i felt very relaxed and clear. and besides, tea and coffee are two of my favorite things, so what could have been better? i am looking forward to going again and can’t wait to post some “good” video here.

after the tea ceremony we headed over to her pottery studio called mudfire. she gave us a tour and it felt good to be in a studio again. memories of art school came back in a flood. i felt at home again. after the tour she picked up some porcelain clay and she cut two big slabs for nancy and i to play with and then headed off to the throwing wheel. i sat and just played with the clay. after the relaxation of the ceremony, this topped everything off. my stress was all releasing and it felt so sensual and grounding at the same time. i first made a little devil head sculpture but yeonji came over and informed me it was too thick for the kiln. or maybe she just didn’t like my little devil? hee hee. so in the end i made two items, a cup and a little bowl with a spout of sorts, both a little deformed of course. nancy and i both just formed the clay by hand and didn’t attempt the throwing wheel. i snapped some pictures of yeonji working on some tea bowls, she made three that day.