I AM GOING TO NEPAL!!  

 So...here is the story....

My Dad started up a non-profit organization called the Nepalese Village Childrens Education Foundation..check it out ( www.nvcef.org). And I have been helping him do powerpoints and what not to help raise money to provide 2 teacher to the school in Deosa. He is going to Nepal to do the final interviews and secure a payment method with the school and also purchase some school supplies for the kids. He mentioned he was going and asked me if I wanted to come....uh...yea...of course I want to come...Next step was figuring out when to go...he originally planned on going the end of June but they informed him that this is during monsoon season so it would be better if he came in April. School is out the 29th of April and doesn't start back up until May 17th so we decided that would be the perfect time to go.

And now here it is 6 weeks away and I'm in a rush getting my passport renewed, figuring our how to pay for this and what in the world do you wear in Nepal?!?  Not to mention the fact that as many of you know I am not a big Hiker....but this trip will require a 6 hour hike to get to the remote village of Deosa...so I have to start exercising to get in shape for this so I don't die along the way.(My dad is going to see if they can get a horse or a mule for me to ride....I'm THAT pathetic) But have no fear! I am determined! I am so excited for this once in a lifetime experience... I can't WAIT! 

So..the items that are needed by the children are books, educational posters for the school walls,new instruments for the glee club and a treadle sewing machine(because they are very remote and do not have electricity). We will be purchasing these items in Kathmandu so they will be in Nepalese and we can help their local economy. If anyone would be willing to donate..even 5 dollars (it goes a LONG way in Nepal) to the foundation we could make sure we can get all of the things they requested. www.nvcef.org Thank you for your help.

I will bring back a million pictures and a lifetime of memories and I will share them all with you when I get back!

My Inner Hippy

I am a type A personality. I like math, structure and logic. I am a planner and a doer. I DON'T flutter through life on a whim and entertain whimsical thinking. I am NOT a hippy!

Or so I thought.......

I am in school and part of every degree are 'general exploration' classes...so I have to take some art classes. I have a creative side but I wouldn't call myself creative. Scrapbooking gives me anxiety. I have tried my hand at painting, floral arrangements, card making, and quilt sewing. I feel I have done an adequate job but I have never cared to pursue any of these as a hobby.

Last semester I decided to take wheel-throw pottery. I thought it would be fun and since it finished up around Christmas my wares would make great gifts.

The class confirmed my suspicion that #1-You need to be a hippy to do well on the wheel and #2- I am not a hippy. My experience was a mixture of stress, sore muscles and even tears. Not once did Patrick Swayze appear to me and guide my hands...very disappointing. What I took home from that class was a box full of 'special' mugs and a 'vase' or two. While the recipients of my gifts(being family)were full of praise...I knew the truth...the work was crap. So you can understand what I am talking about here is a sampling...the first is a 'coffee mug' you will see that it's really more like an espresso shot glass.

I put a regular coffee mug next to it so you can see its small size.

I tried to improve it with a fancy handle....which turned out to be a finger hole.

Here is another larger mug...with a nice uneven edge.

Our last assignment in the class was the straw that broke the camels back....Large Forms....um...have you seen my mugs...they turned out to be shot glasses..how am I supposed to make a beautiful vase??? well...I didn't..I cried with frustration as time after time my clay flew off the wheel....So I settled on a slightly bigger mug and called it a vase.


I brought all my work home and dispersed it amongst family, content with my inabilities because 'I am not a hippy'!

Or am I????


I had another art requirement and while I didn't do well in pottery it was an easy A (or A- for me). So I signed up to take Handbuilding pottery. I felt I might be better at this since the clay would no longer be a moving target. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine what would happen next.....

Ladies and Gentleman.....I found my inner hippy! I have officially fallen in LOVE with pottery and the best news is...I'm actually GOOD at it. Who knew that the only thing standing in the way of me and clay mastery was that darn WHEEL! Well good riddance to the wheel and hello my new hobby!

Now my 'large forms' are actually LARGE! My vases are actually beautiful vases...
It's a whole new world and I am loving it! I love the freedom of the clay...I never really know what my forms will turn out to be...I just start working and they just appear...I'll get inspired by something and recreate it...or someone will say..'Hey that looks like a pineapple' and I just go with it. It is the most fun and relaxing thing I have ever done.

Here are some of my pieces...

We were making textured forms. I didn't really like how the texture turned out until someone said that it looked like a pineapple....I thought so too so I kept going with it and voila...my pineapple picture...(I made 4 pineapple tumblers to go with it)



Then we went on to teapots...I textured the clay and started building with no end vision in mind and a kid in class said "that reminds me of a waffle, it's making me hungry"....well that was all I needed...I made a waffle lid complete with melting butter and asked my teacher how I could create the look of dripping syrup....




In the studio there are pieces from people at all skill levels and so there are some amazing things to look at. I got inspired by a vase I saw in production. It had a beautiful leaf like detail on it and I wanted to do something like that. I also wanted to have a more girly, beautiful teapot that maybe didn't look like food. So I built another teapot and decorated it with leaves...then for the lid I remembered how I used to make roses out of tissue paper and how you can make a rose out of fondant...so I thought surely I could make one out of clay...so voila...a delicate, girly teapot complete with a rose topped lid. (I made two little teacups to match)





I have informed the talented Mr. Keck that he better MOVE OVER...there is another creative soul in the house now and it wants it's own pottery studio...complete with kiln. I probably have to wait until we finally move into our daybreak house (the one in my dreams) because there is no more room here...but one day...I will have a place to sit and be creative...I can't wait...in the meantime I plan on taking the advanced hand-building courses so I can keep creating. I will keep you all updated on the progress and post some finished projects as soon as we actually finish them. =)...
for now I say...

peace and love man....

The Talented Mr. Keck

So as many of you know...my husband is quite talented. He is a manly man with build and fix skills most men envy. He has single-handedly remodeled our entire house, designed and built our backyard, built a shed with no blueprints and of course his "little" side projects of building furniture. His latest side project has been to build me some log chairs so that I can relax in front of the fireplace in our bedroom. Our bedroom is currently filled with log furniture made by my talented brother-in-law Aaron who happens to own his own furniture company. So these chairs are keeping with the rustic theme. I submit the progress for your awe and wonderment....I am always in awe of John and his talents...Here is the latest...I will keep you updated on the progress and submit the finished products for your viewing pleasure!