Melinda Chan

Took a little break from pottery while I was preparing for my trip, but now that I'm back and rested, I'm trying to get back onto the wheel.

These pieces were done before my trip. The one of the left still needs to be glazed and fired one more time. I had forgotten about it and it was only after I spotted it on the "last chance" shelf that I found it. Thank goodness it looked distinct enough for me to see it. That's one of the benefits of creating pieces that are easily recognizable. Handbuilt pieces are usually easier to spot than wheel thrown pieces, but I haven't done handbuilding in a while.

The bowl in the middle turned out fine. It has a simple shaped, so I balanced it out with a bold patter on the outside. I'm still experimenting, but I think I tend to enjoy using underglazes to paint on designs.

Recently returned from a trip to Europe, specifically Tallinn, Helsinki, St. Petersburg and Copenhagen.

Each time I travel, I complain about the effort it takes to prepare for a trip as well as the stress of coming back to an overflowing email inbox at work. I still feel that way and travel is not easy for me, but I still do it because it broadens my perspective and keeps from being stuck in a rut.

Some random notes:

1) Learned from our tour guide that many Russians don't smile because they consider smiling as wanting something from the other person. Not smiling is considered a sign of respect. We only visited St. Petersburg and I found that most people smiled.

2) The weather was perfect during the tour, but turned dreary toward the end while we were in Copenhagen.

3) The public bathroom in Nyhavn in Copenhagen was amazingly clean considering it's located in a very popular tourist area.

4) There are lots of Chinese tourists at the Catherine Palace in St. Petersburg.

5) Georgian cuisine is yummy. Lots of spices and new flavors.

6) Tried out a free 3 hour walking tour in Copenhagen (okay, not really free, more like pay what you think it's worth). I think that was a good idea because it gave us a good orientation to the city. Will probably do this in other cities in the future.