Two Weeks - Really?

It is hard to believe we have only been in Tucson for two weeks, considering all that we have done.

Last weekend I (Mari) attended a workshop to learn about micro-mosaic jewelry. Here is a photo of the rectangular pendant that I made:
Precision Mosaic Jewelry with Margo Anton

I took the workshop in Tucson at DiMosaico, which is a wonderful little shop that sells all things mosaic. 

On our second day here, Ron and I signed up for the Desert Trails Clay Club. So, the following day, we got an introduction to hand-building with clay from Gwen, the organizer of the group. Ron started a little house and I started a turtle. I was able to complete my turtle during that week. It is on its way to the kiln now. Before I finished the turtle, I began working on an owl, which, like the turtle, is made using the pinch pot method. It is slightly more advanced, though, because you put two pinch pots together to form an "egg", then you proceed with adding eyes and wings, etc. 

Here is a photo:
Clay owl in progress

Almost every day we have been able to ride our bikes on the desert trails adjacent to our RV Park. We usually ride for about an hour. 

Last week we joined the Tucson Mandolin Orchestra in rehearsal for an upcoming concert here at our RV Park, which I arranged with the park's owner. We will perform in January. A lot of the music is different from what we play with our Bloomington group, so it is a new challenge, but also fun to see what a different group plays.

We made a field trip to the HF Coors Dinnerware Company with our Photography Club. After learning what I have about clay and ceramics, I truly appreciated the steps in the process and how they do it on a large scale. Their gas-fired kiln is 200 feet long! The pieces go through the kiln for 8 hours on a moving line on special carts. Not all of the pieces are hand painted, but many are. There were hands-on in many of the steps along the way, but also machine-aided steps, too. 


We were welcomed back to Desert Trails RV Park by our neighbors, whom we have known and been neighbors to for going-on three years now. We have also relished seeing other friends from previous years. There have been changes, too, mainly with people have bought houses and are no longer wintering in their RVs. 

So far the weather has been mostly beautiful and sunny, with only one day of  clouds and rain since we arrived. As I complete this post, there is a golden glow on the western horizon, a cloudless sky, and a single planet hovering. 

---Mari


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