It aren't easy to get 'work' done!!

I woke up tired from a rough night which included sponging my baby girl and administering medicine to her. She woke up in the middle of the night with a temperature. I had planned to produce pottery but I felt more like crawling back into bed. I had to take the baby to her daycare since she was in great spirits cause keeping her home would mean that I would get no work done. I had to take my older daughter and the french exchange student who is visiting us, to the Alliance Francais for their summer program. A friend called to say he needed me to transport him to The Marriott Hotel at Frigate Bay, where we sell our crafts. I told him I wasn't sure I could do that since I wanted to leave home early. I had planned to pick up Steve, my ex living partner and the father of my baby. He and I had discussed him coming back to work with me so that we could produce pieces. And today was the day to start. After all, I had taught him quite alot and he knew my routine plus he had also taken part in a thirteen week pottery course which was held locally at The Crafthouse here in St. Kitts. We had had quite a lot of personal drama over the past months but I was willing to put it aside now so that we could 'work together'.

As I set out from The Potter's House with my children and the young french boy, I heard a strange sound. Lo and behold, I had a flat tire. I looked at it. I looked around. There was no help insight and sorry to say, maybe I do know, somewhere in my head, how to change a tire, but there was no way I was going to attempt that. I decided instead, to drive slowly up to a mechanic's shop, a short drive up the street. As I endured the sound of the flapping tire I wondered if I was doing more harm than good to it. At the top of the road, I stopped and walked the rest of the way to the shop. The mechanic, a friendly rastaman with the same make of jeep as mine but very well taken care of and nicely sprayed a hot shade of red with Lions and Haile Selassie and other artwork tastefully done on it, was there. I scolded him for the fact that he didn't answer his cell. Yes, I did try calling him before I dragged my vehicle up the hill. Anyway, no problem, he had forgotten his cell in his jeep, he said as he picked up the necessary tools to assist me. We walked to my vehicle, which was parked on the main road and he quickly changed my tire for me. He took the flat one off to fix it. During the changing of the tires, a girlfriend on her way into Basseterre, took my daughter and the boy to their destination. I no longer had that stop to make. I quickly called my friend and asked him if he still needed my assistance and he said yes. In the meantime, Steve is texting to find out why am I taking so long and I let him know I am dealing with a flat but I will be there soon. I tried to calculate my time, because I was losing time. Doing pottery today, doesn't include driving around. I drop off the baby, then I pickup my friend...it's a long drive to the hotel, well at least ten minutes both ways but that seems too long. On my way back, I notice my radiator is overheating...What a day!!! I know I put in water before I left home but this old buggy just can't take long drives and fast driving I slow down a bit. I get to Conaree, the village where Steve lives. He is sitting peacefully under a huge Flamboyant tree with his bag of tools slung over his shoulder. I tell him that the radiator is overheating so we'll need to wait a while before we head to The Potter's House. After a few minutes, he decides to remove the radiator cap to release the pressure. Later he adds water, while the jeep is idling. I make a mental note to ask him later if this is the best way to add water to the radiator, since I normally do it early in the morning. Later, I do get to ask him and he explained that I must only add water with the jeep idling when the radiator is hot. Finally, we head to the house to work. I don't want to tell you what my head feels like, it is about to burst and sleep would be my best friend right now.

This is the reason why working with someone is so important to getting work done. When you work where you live, your bed is nearby and so the temptation to go into it is very real. Of course there are also many other distractions but today, I want to sleep and I want to work and one of the two has to win. This day has had enough distractions already and I am running way behind the time I had hoped to begin work. But it's all good... We are here and ready finally to work...I think.

I take my time over a bowl of cereal, while Steve cleans his work station. He normally works in an area in the gallery, behind one of the shelving units which he constructed a few years ago, for the gallery. He grumbles under his breath about the mess I have created at his table. I ignore him, after all it's been a while since he was last there, and I had been using there to work. I take a walk out to my studio and decide to prepare some clay for us to use. I place some soft clay on the wedging board. It is too soft to work with so I leave it to air out, and instead I focus on wedging (kneading the clay into an airless ball) clay which was just the right consistency and was ready to be used. As I wedge a five pound ball of clay I decided to start by producing some items which would not be to taxing on me given my sleep deprived state. I return to the house and I search for one of my plaster of paris press mould. I succeeded in pressing about four dozen small pieces. These will be used later, after they are fired and glazed to make wind chimes. Of course, I didn't sit there and press them in one sitting. I chatted with Steve now and again, I ate a couple times. Steve produced some clay coasters and made some picture frames. He uses a slower and more time-consuming process for the production of his pieces - The slab method. I think the day was successful, but I did hope to make some pieces on the potter's wheel before I picked up the children but it wasn't to be. The clay was still too soft. Tomorrow we will continue. Now, to get some sleep please!!!