December 16, 2011

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 11:04:50 -0800

I finished my third quarter of Spanish at Tacoma Community College. I realize how little Spanish I can easily access. So going back to Mexico City in March for 6 weeks of immersion & living with a family is the next step. This lingual journey is still a mystery to me, but learning the language & more about the cultures of Mexico, Central and South America is opening my heart. In January I am going to Australia to visit my daughter Shady, Scotty & two year old Seattle. I will carry the tiles with me to complete the mural I started in April 2009. I am taking my computer & will write & put up photos. Then I am home for the month of February making tiles for the May open house 5&6 and 12&13. I will return from Mexico at the end of April.
2011 has been a learning year. Somedays I feel like I was just born. The older I get the less I know. My hardest lessons have been about letting go of my son so he can make his own way, letting go of a lover who put his dependence on drugs first and along the way finding myself. Now I am falling in love with the crazy little tile making maverick that I am & knowing I am enough just as I am. Happy Solstice!

Back to school

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 13:19:26 -0700

I returned from Mexico City 8/22 and spent last month involved in intense spiritual and emotional house cleaning. Now back to school as I continue my climb up the steep learning curve. I am repeating Spanish 2 and diving into Spanish 3. Mexico was humbling. I left Seattle confident with my two quarters of Spanish, ready to communicate & was intimidated by the speed and strangeness of everything. My major accomplishments were being able to order street food and know what I’d get and figure out the cost of what was necessary for my survival. I rode subways, walked in the shadow of the 3rd largest pyramid, saw 100’s of Diego Rivera’s murals, ate lunch in Frida’s house, saw where Trotsky died and was buried, and much, much more. Now school in the morning and tiles in the afternoon. The new world is truly new to me, it will be honored in tile. Keep posted. I am looking for a place to live in Mexico City in the Spring of 2012 while I attend UNAM for Spanish Intensive for foreigners, a 6 week course of study. This new use of my mind has inspired the tiles. The studio beckons and I have a renewed love and respect for the creative journey. mindfully yours, Irene

The conversation stairs

Fri, 24 Jun 2011 10:52:13 -0700

I began making these faces last winter, a project I did not understand. Where did these faces come from? Only when I saw them all together did I realize they were about intimate communication. My biggest mistakes have occurred without honest dialog. So now every time I walk into my house I get to see all these conversations. Now I know compassion, honesty, kindness, and love are all expressed face to face with the people we love.

Almost the solstice

Fri, 17 Jun 2011 11:35:19 -0700

Mallory my website guide has been helping me relearn my web skills. New entry is coming soon. Updates, summer plans and more. Please watch this blog. Irene

Summer ahead

Fri, 3 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

After a long, wet, cold spring, I needed to buy a down sweater in May, today is sunny and promises to break 70 degrees for the second time this year! The last day of Spanish classes is Monday with my final on June 9. 5 months of commuting to Tacoma Community College for three hours a day M-F. I plan to practice this summer in Mexico for a few weeks after Strawberry Fest. Any ideas anyone? School took lots of time & energy. During Feb. & Mar. my friend Steve & I tiled the entire living area floor, almost 900 sq. ft. It is a joy to live on. The Spring tour was a success. With school & tour behind me I am ready to read the paper & snoodle small dogs until it is time to get ready for Strawberry Fest. more soon! Irene