I'm Back from Brazil

I want to tell you up front, I / we did not starve. This is breakfast. My favorite meal. Look at all that fresh fruit. We ate 3 times a day. The sun rose at 6am (7am-breakfast) & it set at 6pm (6pm-dinner) and lunch was midday. But it's what we got to do in between the feasting that's really amazing.

FYI - I'm going through fresh fruit withdrawls. Because now I have to prepare it myself, I'm not eating it.

This is from the first village we visited after picking up several people in Parantins (pronounced: Pair - un - cheens). They held their 4th Anniversary Church celebration until we got there. The church I went with on this trip, BTBF Bent Tree Bible Fellowship, has adopted this river - Manuru & travels to the villages each trip. They helpped start this church. So we attended their celebration. Pastor Levi (la-VEE) in the left green shirt spoke & several people sang. Food prep & serving on a large scale.

Soccer, volleyball & waterballoons were played by all. With the last of the waterballoons, a target was pointed out. He was hit good.

Other Things I'm Passionate About

Ok, so you know I love clay. That one's pretty obvious. Well, I also love serving the Lord. He's given me many things. Mainly the gift of serving others.

Soon, next Friday, I'm going down to the Amazon in Brazil on a mission trip through Amazon Outreach. It's mainly a medical mission other than sharing the gospel. But since I don't have medical knowledge (other than my opionion), I go and help with the kids & Women's ministry. Not so much running with the kids anymore, but more so with the ladies. This will be my 5th trip. We travel by boat on the river. We are one of the biggest boats on the smaller parts of the river.

This Saturday, we're getting together to pack our checked bags to fill with the donations we've collected. All our personal stuff will be in our carry on. I'm excited about leaving next Friday. It's a 10 day short term mission trip.

Large Piece Workshop at LMRA

On Saturday July 26th, I took a workshop on how to throw large pieces. The pictures shown are: throwing one big lump of clay, putting 2 or more thrown peices together & the coil method. I tried it after the workshop - the large lump of clay. The two times I tried, it didn't work out to my satisfaction. But I'll try it again the next time I'm in the studio.

I'll get Paul's last name & post it when I remember what it is. This was an all day event. The goal of the workshop was not to throw as large as Paul did. But to encourage us to throw larger than we have in the past.

Saturday Events

I got some more clay. So I'm off to the studio to make more stuff.

Come Play with Me

Come join me at the studio I play at - LMRA Lockheed Martin Rec Area in Ft. Worth. It's a great facility. There are 10 electric wheels, a slab roller, 2 extruders, a pug mill, 3 electric kilns, a gas kiln, 2 raku kilns & glazes for cone 6, 10 & raku. You only need to supply the clay. This is where I am on the weekends.

These are the ones that sold at the show (I've sold a couple since then). All sales are going toward my mission trip to the Amazon. Check out the trip at www.amazonoutreach.com.

Barbara got these 2 - lg & sm Daisy bowls.

Beth picked up this one. Along with many pieces from other artists.
The tall vase on the left is the one that Jenn bought.
Adrienne got this one to match another bowl that's slightly bigger & same color glaze.

Pottery Show/Sale Results

Here are most of the pieces I had at the show. We had a great crowd on Friday night. There were 2 other gallery receptions & a theatre production that brought in the people.

Pottery Sale

Today & Saturday is my pottery sale at Ft. Worth Community Art Center. I'll use the sales from this show for my Amazon mission trip in Aug.