I got back home just in time to make it to my monthly art class and this one was an unusual activity, one that I have never done before - making paper. It all started with a big tub of pulp that was made by Genevieve for the class. Bits of shredded paper from her recycle bin was kept in a bucket full of water overnight, then she ran it through a blender. The process started with a rectangle shaped form with screens that was dipped into the bucket of pulp so the screen ended up with a thick layer of soggy, wet paper pulp. We then added interesting dried flower petals and leaves, sparkles, silk and mohair threads, and even some flower seeds (the paper can be put on the dirt so the seeds can sprout) to the wet pulp on the screen, covered it with a cloth and blotted it with sponges to remove the excess water - leaving a thick layer of textured paper that was then peeled from the screen and dried with a heat gun. We each made 4-5 sheets of paper. Here are mine - I’m not sure what I will do with them, but will find some use.
Genevieve also brought us the clay birds that we made in the last class. She took them to her studio and fired them in the kiln, then mounted them on a piece of log. Here’s mine - I think he turned out really cute.
Her classes are enjoyable and I find it fun and interesting to learn new things - not like I need a bunch of trinkets sitting around, nor do I have a lot of room for trinkets, but I do keep them around for a while - some are useful.
Tonight, we had our first Dog Obedience class and boy do I feel proud of Joey - I think he earned an A+. He was well behaved and picked right up on all of the exercises that they had us do in class. Maybe some of our book learning and practice at home prior to the class has helped with that - and the fact that he is definitely treat driven also helps. We have lots of work to do and a few handouts to read before class next week, but I feel we are definitely making some progress. He also seems to be a lot more relaxed - maybe he was thinking that his job was be a little ‘pain in the neck’ and to keep me entertained. We will keep it up and one day I hope to have a well behaved little guy that I can take with me when travel and visit with family and friends. I may just want to get back into taking road trips.
We had more snow, about 4.5” last week, but it was wet, heavy stuff that didn’t stick to the roads but piled up and what we already have. They are saying that this is the 12th snowiest winter in history and that we had over 70” since December. More is predicted later this week. Do I need to say that I’m getting real tired of it? I’m just trying to take it in stride and not to let it bother me.
