WillowAK Pottery

Memorial Day Weekend is here -- and so is summer, finally. Since I last wrote, I had the pleasure of attending the graduation ceremony of the Beryozova School nearby -- a K-12 school serving about twenty children, most of whom are memers of Russian Old Believer families in our community. Two students graduated, younger students put on skits, and families provided a delicious lunch; the school is very unique. According to what I saw and heard, attendance, academic achievement, and appreciation for this culturally sensitive school are strong. The school calendar takes into consideration Russian Orthodox religious holidays, the girls wear dresses, and both Russian and English are spoken fluently by all students. As we arrived, two girls, dressed in beautiful, satin-like dresses, were climbing onto a four-wheeler in the muddy area outside the front door, headed home for a forgotten hair bow.  I was fascinated and intrigued by Beryozova School; although very much off the beaten trac...

Mid May is here ... so are scattered piles of old snow and a lake full of ice. On the more positive side, there are lots of bird sounds in the morning, the lake ice is looking punky, and Keith announced a mallard on the meadow this morning.  Actually, the "meadow" is more like a swamp and he's busy pumping water from it to other areas of our property to reduce the standing water. Those who have lived in Willow for many years are commenting about the unusually large amount of water in ditches and low spots; guess we should be grateful that there's not been rain and that melting has been a pretty slow process. Hmm...wondering about mosquito crop, though. Pottery report: the kiln is cooling this morning, loaded with porcelain pieces thrown during the past month. After delivering work to The Tangled Skein in Eagle River and to Town Square Art Gallery in Wasilla, I began a new cycle of throwing. Most of the new work is done using English Grolleg clay that is very white a...