Countdowns abound

The ongoing demands of travel and work have been hard, especially on health and making. Nothing is in dire condition, but I would benefit from more sleep, less stress, and Much More Making. I began this one on a night when my hands really needed to get back to the latter.

All cords had been onion skin dyed, and the blue ones later overdyed with indigo.

I finished on a Saturday afternoon in time for a coat of methylcellulose. I don't bother cleaning the windowsills because I live in a high traffic area and pretend I'm not breathing all the pollution (though I guess that's the benefit of being away from home!).

The dried bird (who does more yoga than me), ready for new adventures. I can't deny that this jiseung practice has been incredibly taxing on my body, so I returned to my physical therapist for advice. The verdict: more rest, more stretching!

I didn't get to unwind completely after Michigan travel because of two engagements at the Cleveland Museum of Art. The demo last week went well, and convinced me that I'd need an assistant for my class on the weekend. Thankfully, my faithful past apprentice was able to help. I'm also fortunate to have a friend with ready tools—Bill loaned me the drill in the background to dismantle the crate for this lovely new Aardvark Press. The crate parts went back to him to rip for use as press boards, though I have a feeling I'll need more.

I was 15 minutes early for setup and unloaded equipment for class at the curb. The remaining equipment did not appear on time, which made me wish I slept in for an extra hour, or taken the time to have a proper breakfast.

About 45 minutes later, I moved my equipment closer to the outdoor class site. Eventually, all the other stuff arrived, most importantly, the hose!

We couldn't have asked for better weather—a mix of sun and clouds, never too hot, and a bit of wind (I ran after a couple sheets that dried and flew away). The fiber I cooked came down nicely and we had six vats after all the beating. It was so nice to move the tents to the lawn for papermaking on the lawn.

One of my students traveled all the way from Puerto Rico, after having decided to write about hanji for her thesis, inspired by a year of living in Korea and visiting my teacher. I was so glad she was able to come because my Michigan class had to turn away everyone on the waitlist.

I couldn't put out my usual spread of hanji artwork outdoors so I did show and tell after we boarded the sheets and were waiting for them to dry. Everyone went home with batches of dry and damp sheets, pretty good work for one day. With Charity's help, my car was loaded (with the 250-lb press!) and ready to go faster than the tents were bagged. And more good fortunate: the elevator at home that had been broken for almost a year had just been fixed days before.

I had started the head of this one right after I finished the blue duck, but paused to teach and recover. Yesterday I cleaned up the rest of my equipment and supplies so I could have a day to make before I move again next week. Today was my first free morning in recent memory, so this one is drying now. Someday I'll live in a place with cleaner windowsills.