vika's art

The Latest Porcelain Buttons

2011-12-14T13:22:00.001-08:00

The Latest
Originally uploaded by la_v_i_k_a

It's not a bad return when 20, out of a freely experimental load of 100, come back worthy of production.

With this kiln load, the ratio was nearly reversed...and I am very happy.

Expect more pictures.

Porcelain Fibula

2011-12-10T11:18:00.001-08:00

Porcelain Fibula
Originally uploaded by la_v_i_k_a
Another piece of my work that recently went out the door. I'll confess, I said goodbye with a twinge!

Now in the hands of a maker of handspun yarns, I would love to see the knits that this will adorn.

http://www.etsy.com/transaction/64142017

Honey Bee Pendant

2011-12-08T17:20:00.001-08:00

Honey Bee Pendant
Originally uploaded by la_v_i_k_a
Very pleased to say this has gone out the door, on a silk cord, in a nice box, this past week...to a good home! Among glazes, a "good yellow" is hard to find, let alone one that pays respect to honey & honeycombs!

One last look:
http://www.etsy.com/transaction/65294881

Who Owns Your President? Who Owns Your University? Who Owns YOU?

2011-11-20T08:01:00.001-08:00

Globally, it is more than likely that organized crime is buying elections, police, and university administrations via the banks.*

Organized crime now has the capacity to do this because we began to deregulate banking with the Tax Reform Act of 1986 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savings_and_loan_crisis#Tax_Reform_Act_of_1986), followed by the Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act of 1999 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gramm–Leach–Bliley_Act).

The result was to make banking insanely profitable for globally operating organized crime groups--groups which are in turn, highly liquid, making them very attractive to the banking system.

Here is proof that it is of global concern:
The US Declares War On The Yakuza (July 27, 2011)
http://www.japansubculture.com/2011/07/president-obama-declares-war-on-the-yakuza-go-get-them-barry/

And, more proof:
How a big US bank laundered billions from Mexico's murderous drug gangs (Saturday 2 April 2011)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/03/us-bank-mexico-drug-gangs

Consider also: the independent professional military organizations, such as Blackwater (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xe_Services), with deep connections to national militaries around the world, that are now for hire.

If we do NOT re-regulate the banks, we will never get out of this mess.

We are in more danger than we realize of losing our democracies, and control of civil society.

*(http://www.jpmorganchase.com/corporate/Home/article/ny-13.htm)

Dear Cupcakes...

2011-09-28T17:22:00.000-07:00

Berkeley Republican students yesterday sold cupcakes priced according to the buyers' ethnic identity and gender. "White cupcakes" very expensive; "others" very inexpensive.

It was meant to highlight what the Republican students see as inequalities in proposed admissions legislation that would allow the UC's to take a person's ethnicity and gender into account for purposes of admission--an important public issue that deserves intelligent debate.

Therefore, I'd like to know how much the students involved are paying for their education. For men and women benefiting from one of the highest quality educations in the nation, and the world, the analogy they made was remarkably unsophisticated, brute, and empty of real content.

I don't think their parents are getting their money's worth.

Long Term Considerations in Ceramic: COE

2011-09-09T22:20:00.000-07:00

I've seen more and more people putting crushed soda lime and other glass on ceramic. I've been hesitant to do so. My reasons follow.

Ceramic glazes are also "glass on ceramic." They are carefully calculated, so that they expand and contract at the same rate as the ceramic on which they are used. This is to make sure that they adhere to the clay surface over the life of the object, and don't come off. Glass can expand and contract with changes in the weather & the immediate environment (such as a warm body, pool, shower, jacuzzi, winter).

The COE (coefficient of expansion) of soda lime glass (bottle glass) is 9. The average COE of common commercial high fire clays is in the neighborhood of 7. Porcelain drops down around 4. Both bottle glass and ceramic will expand and contract over their lifetimes--but at very different rates when the COE's are disparate.

A somewhat poorly matched glaze will craze--the "crackle" effect. However, increases in mismatching between glaze and ceramic can actually result in the glaze coming off of the ceramic. This may not happen immediately; it can occur up to several years after firing, when the two materials have gone through numerous cycles of mismatched expansion and contraction. This knowledge makes me reluctant to risk using commercial glass as a glaze on ceramic pieces.

Dirty Mouth?

2011-07-09T12:53:00.000-07:00

That famous tag line from Orbit Gum commercials.

Now, there's Orbit Mist, a hydrating gum.

Do they market it in Germany? Would they leave out an entire market?

Why am I asking?

Mist means manure (really, the four-letter manure).

Dirty mouth?

Square Red & Black Porcelain Button

2011-07-02T06:44:00.001-07:00

Square Red & Black Porcelain Button
Originally uploaded by la_v_i_k_a
Square buttons...a rarity, and often a collector's item. That's something new, that I just learned, lately. I thought it was interesting and then thought you might be interested in learning something new about bright red glazes.

In the past, red was a dangerous color: cadmium is poisonous. Its glazes could also be finicky and disappointing, burning out at the slightest overheating or affected by copper glazes fuming nearby during the firing, both resulting in a bland unattractive gray. Your work was ruined.

Now, cadmium is encapsulated in zircon (a silicate & a word we get from the Middle East) before being added to glazes. Structurally trapped within zircon and used as a stain, in suspension, rather than as a soluble oxide, it cannot leach (and soak into your dinner salad, in other words!). The result is that you can eat off of bright red dishes, as never before.*

This button combines a metal saturate glaze, on the left (most likely some combination of copper & iron, along with cobalt--It shows a bit blue when thinly applied), with a bright cadmium red. An impossible combination, just a short time ago.

*Just be careful: if you bought that bright red decorated dish abroad, in an unregulated market, it may still be unsafe.

Button Swap? It's a Snap!

2011-06-25T17:49:00.001-07:00

I'm always on the lookout for clothing items that have large buttons, so that I can take them right off!
This short-sleeved knit vest originally had a plain, large plastic button for closure, at the neckline.

I removed that button and replaced it with the female half of a large snap. (I now know where to find the same size snaps in black, but fortunately for this posting, these are silver and easy to see against the black knit.)
Having whip stitched the buttonhole closed, I sewed a male snap part to the middle of the backside of the closed buttonhole. At that point, the vest could be snapped together, but had a blank, buttonless front.

Next, I sewed another female snap onto the outside, over the sealed buttonhole.
The last step was to sew a male snap part onto the back of my Dancer button and snap it onto my garment.

Now, by simply adding a male snap part to any of my buttons, I can change outfits at will!

Bread Art & 2 Recipes

2011-06-12T14:42:00.000-07:00

This blog never has been conventional & this won't help ;)

I got a bread machine at the second hand store earlier this year. Long years of no time for handmade bread (I get called away for taxi duties just about the time I should be kneading or right before the end of baking!) and I'd heard less than rave reviews regarding machine fare. However, knowing time had probably led to improvements and after reading some encouraging stories, I got one (second hand store, but first hand machine: never used!).

It took a little while to get used to. Liquids are the controlling substance for handmade loaves; you can always adjust flour. However, pan limitations make dry ingredients the limiting factor for machine-made loaves; it's the liquids that must be adjusted!

Enough talk. Here's two base recipes, one for rye and the other for wheat. They are easy to modify...add things you like!

Rye Bread

This recipe is for a 2lb loaf. I like to put the first three ingredients into a 4 cup measuring cup, because that's perfect.

1 C Dark Rye Flour

3 C Unbleached White Flour or Bread Flour

3 TBS Gluten Flour --this makes chewy Euro (German) style bread.

Add to bread maker pan:

2 strict tsp salt (or 10g)
1 TBS Demerara Sugar (I like it, less processed...it's only to feed the yeast)
2 TBS Oil
1-1/2 Cup Warm Water

-Dump 4 Cup mixture into bread maker pan, on top of liquids.
-Make a small well on top and add 1 TBS yeast (or 1 packet regular, NOT quick acting) (or 9g)

White Bread bake setting

2lb Loaf Whole Wheat Bread

In a 4 Cup Measure:

3 Cups Unbleached Flour

1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour (Put it in on top of white flour. Should go into pan first, & soak)

3 TBS Gluten Flour

Into Bread Pan:

3 TBS Oil
1-1/2 Cups + 3TBS Warm Water
2 tsps salt (complete tsps this time)
1 TBS Demerara Sugar

If you increase Whole Wheat, you'll need to increase water.
For both WW and Rye, you could go up to 1/3 ratio. 1.33 C/ 2.66 C White

1 TBS extra water if you increase Whole Wheat to 1.33 Cups

-Dump 4 Cup mixture into bread maker pan, on top of liquids.
-Make a small well on top and add 1 TBS yeast (or 1 packet regular, NOT quick acting) (or 9g)

Whole Wheat bake setting

Old Car in an Auction Lot, Fresno

2011-05-10T16:26:00.001-07:00

Old Car in an Auction Lot, Fresno
Originally uploaded by la_v_i_k_a

My cousin's property around their home was "shaved" into a nice lawn, beyond which the remainder was left to grow. Just over the line, side by side, sat two old Chevy's-- full of dust, cobwebs and a variety of spiders. Despite my fear, I would climb into the cars. The enticement to go on long imaginary drives with my cousin Bonnie was way too hard to resist.

She drove. I kept an eye on the spiders.

The Doors of Tripoli Series

2011-04-16T12:13:00.001-07:00

The Doors of Tripoli Series
Originally uploaded by la_v_i_k_a
Fired last night, kiln opening this morning. They are in the same positions as in the last two photos, when they were green, unfired. There are three additional buttons here: the influence got into my other work.

These were inspired by Hibo's photos of the Old Doors of Tripoli, on FaceBook.

As Sue Michael reminded me, buttons are like doors. Another friend responded by acknowledging their role, for women, as a fastener of clothing, a keeper of person: our safety.

I had a hard time finishing these. I cried many times thinking of the women and children, waiting behind doors in Tripoli.

The Old Doors of Tripoli: Glazed & Signed

2011-04-06T15:53:00.001-07:00

The Old Doors of Tripoli: Glazed & Signed
Originally uploaded by la_v_i_k_a

This set is now ready to be fired. Many risks here: I can guess about how some glazes will behave together, but I cannot know for certain. And, here I'm using many of them over translucent porcelain, for the first time.

During firing, porcelain becomes a ceramic that is nearly glass; its surface vitrifies and almost self-glazes. That changes the behavior of the underglazes and glazes that sit on it.

Yes, for those who might have noticed: I glazed on greenware and will fire once to maturity. I single-fire.

The Old Doors of Tripoli: Underglazing

2011-04-04T11:51:00.000-07:00

In the photo that accompanies my previous post below, the porcelain clay has been patterned, cropped, drilled, trimmed, beveled and sponged.

Several hours of work later, each button now has layers of underglazes, glazes and stains, in the hope of patinas and combinations that will reference Hibo's photographs of Tripoli's old doors.

I fall back on skills learned in theater technical classes, where I learned to make common materials look like anything from cloth, rich wood, cinder block... to fine alabaster.

There is still more work to be done before they are ready to fire.

The Old Doors of Tripoli

2011-04-03T12:07:00.001-07:00

Doors of Tripoli
Originally uploaded by la_v_i_k_a

Having lost contact with women--net friends-- in Tripoli, how to express what it means?

Eman el Obeidi giving voice.

Admiring for quite a while now, I chose Hibo's photographs of the Old Doors of Tripoli, here as inspiration and reference for these buttons, which are still green--unfired.

Doors...for so many reasons.

I have trepidation. Is it trivial to reference so much in buttons? What happens when I sell my buttons? Probably, artists who have long known they are artists have already answered such questions for themselves. I'm not sure I have .

I want people, I want other women, to care. To take it upon their clothing.

And if they don't know and they don't care?

Maybe some satisfaction in knowing they have unwittingly been made to bear witness.

The Real Meaning of Embedded Journalists

2010-12-05T11:38:00.000-08:00

Government approved journalists are embedded.

Unapproved journalists are chased by Interpol for getting into bed.

See your First Amendment for clarification.

Where do you draw your inspiration for the designs from?

2010-11-07T12:13:00.001-08:00

Sun Flower
Originally uploaded by la_v_i_k_a

I have a flickr friend to thank for this question. It's something I should probably address more frequently.

Where do I get my inspiration?

I do a lot of reading with my eyes, the text is secondary.

Within this photo are designs inspired by: bricklayers' paving patterns, the repetition of Talavera tile designs, Asian family crests, Islamic iron screens, and Japanese etegami.

I chose a palette from Central Asia, from Islamic tile work, almost twenty years ago, after visiting Kazakhstan. I stray from it in places, but those colors are still at the core of my work, appearing again and again. Carpets from the region also influenced me. When I struggle with reds, I am always thinking of the wrestling with materials that faced the region's carpet-makers, who arrived at deep to fading watermelon, and reds that leaned toward violet, using madder and various insect products. Now, we both struggle with modern reds so potent they are unnatural.

Considering more recent events, I'll admit it's curious that my inspiration comes primarily from this region. But, I grew up near Saratoga Race Track, a land of horses. An elementary school infatuation with dinosaurs, combined with the presence of horses, led to an interest in Mongolia, home to some of the earliest horses. My interest in the region took off from there, and has never left me.

So, at root, maybe my biggest inspiration is having an elementary school girl's curiosity.

Art

2010-11-04T20:56:00.001-07:00

Art
Originally uploaded by la_v_i_k_a

I've made some lovely art over the years, but none so lovely as that given to me.

----------------

Playing With a Full Deck

2010-10-17T11:37:00.001-07:00

Full Deck
Originally uploaded by la_v_i_k_a

I don't often photograph my buttons on their cards, all together, but time and delivery constraints left me with precious little time to photograph my work this last week:

My first Trunk Show!

Over 150 buttons, along with brooches and fibulae delivered to Janna's Needle Art -- the shop is a focal point for local knitters and embroiderers.

The cards are just as much art as the buttons they hold. With patterns like fabrics and fiber, I try to pick matches that will challenge and inspire those who might go for simpler combinations in their work. Each button has a lot of potential!
--------

Fall 2010 New Buttons

2010-09-13T15:17:00.001-07:00

Fall 2010 New Buttons
Originally uploaded by la_v_i_k_a

A small portion of the latest kiln load, one that included pendants, fibulae and tiles, as well as these new button designs.

You might notice the glaze on the button on the lower right that appears to have some blue in it. In reality, there is no blue there, at all.

The color you see is a function of the refractory properties of rutile, or titanium oxide.

The same ore of titanium causes the effects seen in natural stones: the cat's eye and the asterisms, or stars, found in sapphires and rubies.

And, yes, if you know stones, it is also the source of the golden needles seen in rutilated quartz.

Not Trader Joe's?

2010-09-04T17:26:00.000-07:00

I was shocked and sobered to read about Trader Joe's lack of response to the opportunities outlined in this article.

As a result, I went to their contact page and submitted a letter, beginning with the paragraph, above, and continuing with what follows:

As a counselor for one of the largest hospitals in this area during the late eighties, I personally witnessed the effects of poor labor practices, lack of protections and inadequate wages on agricultural workers and their families. Their lack of legal and labor status is mentally, physically and socially debilitating.

You do have the power to make a change, and so do I. I didn't realize the good prices were being had on my neighbors' backs. I can't in good conscience continue to shop at Trader Joe's and won't until this changes. I've passed the article along to friends on twitter, FaceBook and my blog; I know it will matter to them, too.

Our children go to school together and we all live together. It does matter; it's a good decision. I hope Trader Joe's will see it that way and make its own good decision, quickly.

Best Regards,

Victoria Cochran

From Germans to Muslims

2010-08-29T17:44:00.000-07:00

During WWII, when my father was of late elementary age, his New York home was raided and family belongings were confiscated. Because his mom and grandmother were Americans of German origin, he and his family were treated as if they were Nazis and denied their rights under the Constitution. Meanwhile, in Germany, other family members were being arrested, tattooed & incarcerated by the actual Nazis. Never mind that his father was a "real American" whose paternal family's boat ride predated the Revolution; due to ignorance and fear, not even marriage entitled them to their rights as Americans, under the Constitution.

We have a bad problem. We are a country of immigrants that repeatedly treats its own as enemies during times of conflict. We become un-American and deny constitutional rights and protections to our fellow citizens.

It is a matter of record: this has never resulted in national protection, only in alienation and the ruin of families and childhoods.

It is not enough to admit we were wrong after the fact. What is reparation, if we continue to take the same path in the present? Repeating the wrong makes any reparation hollow. And, acknowledging the wrong while nevertheless repeating it also suggests we are not making a mistake, but willfully following a plan, and then paying for the privilege.

We have penalties for hate crimes. What we need now are increased penalties for the violation of citizens' constitutional rights during external conflicts--starting with incitement to commit the crime.

That would change some campaign speeches in a hot minute.
______________________

Soap

2010-08-18T10:05:00.001-07:00

Soap
Originally uploaded by la_v_i_k_a

These caps have fascinated me since childhood. My grandmother always used Palmolive. I had no idea it was two words spliced together.

I would stand on a chair and help my great grandmother wash the dishes after a Sunday meal. Everyone said I would fall off, she said otherwise.

I fell off.

My lip split!

The doctor was called and we went to his office, in his home!

They were not anesthesia friendly in those days, even less child friendly. I stood at his knee while he stitched my lip. I felt the needle go in and out, and it hurt very much. I still have the scar, though not really visible unless I tuck my tongue there, pushing out so you can see the silver line.

Omi was appalled to have let me fall. She fed me lots of jello and milkshakes for several days. I was very happy.

It was worth it.

I love dish soap...and their special caps.
____________

Morning Coffee & 1/2" Water Curb

2010-08-03T09:03:00.001-07:00

Morning Coffee & 1/2" Water Curb
Originally uploaded by la_v_i_k_a

They go together when it's time for clay.

The drywall is an excellent work surface, smooth and slightly absorbent.

I like working on the floor, and always have. On my knees, I can use my full weight to roll out slabs-- and things don't fall so far when I drop them.

Owl's Box

2010-07-26T21:25:00.001-07:00

Owl's Box
Originally uploaded by la_v_i_k_a

Kraft box, with torn paper and metal leaf abstract of what lies within.

Each necklace I create comes in its own original box.

This one made for the Owl Necklace below!

See more?

www.lavika.com
@lavika

Porcelain Owl

2010-07-26T21:21:00.001-07:00

Owl
Originally uploaded by la_v_i_k_a

Unplanned piece of whimsy that turned into a delightful pendant, and finally, into a lovely necklace.

The pendant is approximately 1-1/2" in diameter, translucent porcelain. Swirled bail handmade, of pure copper.

Its custom made box follows!

Heroes

2010-05-21T19:37:00.001-07:00

SPIDERman
Originally uploaded by la_v_i_k_a

After two weeks which included eight 12-hour days with middle school students of all sorts, poetry? Yes, poetry.

Latest to Emerge from the Fire

2010-05-10T19:10:00.001-07:00

Latest to Emerge from the Fire
Originally uploaded by la_v_i_k_a

I do many production firings. Periodically, I invest in experimental firings, usually of at least 100 buttons, in new designs. In the case of glaze combinations, that means numbering the buttons on the reverse and then recording the glaze process and any other pertinent info (such as where they were fired in the kiln). Afterward, it's very educational to match up the recorded process with the finished results!

In this case, it was a very successful load...many successes from which many new buttons and pendants will spring.

more examples can be found: http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_vika/

Nuns Don't Watch Oprah

2010-03-24T18:22:00.000-07:00

As of today, I've read one too many articles citing the Catholic Church's claim to naivete-- 30 years ago we didn't know what we do now about pedophiles, so, in ignorance, we moved them and prayed. I don't hear anyone, not even some of the best, challenging this assertion. Oprah has been covering the subject publicly for almost thirty years. Large swathes of the general public (especially those concerned for children) have been informed for at least that long and, contrary to their assertion, so has the Catholic Church--and probably far longer than Oprah.

How do I know?

The Catholic Church has given birth to and nurtures some of the best universities in the world-- managed and staffed by clergy as well as lay professionals. Notre Dame initiated its psychology department in the mid-1960's. Their counseling program "has been continuously accredited by the American Psychological Association since 1972." That means they've been current on contemporary counseling issues for over 35 years.

In 1984, I began a masters in counseling at a very small protestant seminary in California. At the time of my studies, modern information about pedophilia was already available. It was not presented as something that could be cured by repentance and pastoral reassignment. After my studies, considering chaplaincy, I did an internship in a closed psychiatric unit, with children. The professionals I worked with reiterated what we'd learned in the classroom. Because chaplaincy occurs within secondary institutions (the military, hospitals, etc.), interns come from a variety of denominations. One of my fellow interns was an employee of a Catholic diocese in south Germany.

The Catholic Church has a long history of involvement in hospital care, social work (including clinical psychology) and chaplaincy. They run adoption agencies. It is inconceivable that information about the nature of pedophiles would not have been available to nuns and priests in their work, as a part of their licensing requirements and in the course of their continuing professional development, in these fields, more than 25 years ago.

Every public decision has the potential to affect the way the Church does business. Catholic adoption agencies in D.C. shut down when the law was changed, allowing gay couples to marry. Senators hear from bishops and nuns when legislation will affect what matters to them. The church, and its leaders, are not cloistered; they are actively engaged and educated about all matters that pertain to them. Over 25 years ago, California made teachers and counselors (among others) mandated reporters of suspected child abuse. This change would have affected every Catholic diocese with a school, adoption agencies, teaching credential programs at Catholic colleges, as well as licensed Catholic counselors and clinical social workers. As they considered the requirements for reporting and the signs of abuse they were required to recognize, it's impossible to think there were no discussions of pedophiles framed in modern professional terms.

Thirty years ago they were naive, so they moved priests and prayed? No. The Church has provided professional psychological education to its own leaders for over 35 years. Within the same time frame, its agencies--which include the nuns and priests working within them--have been subject to both professional and legal requirements mandating that they have a thorough understanding of pedophilia and its victims.

Because our upbringings have instilled in many of us a deference to persons and things of God, we are vulnerable to the promotion of nuns and priests as naive and cloistered, in spite of all that we know. The Church, however, is a veritable powerhouse of human knowledge -- and it knows us, often intimately.

Let it claim to be naive, in spite of the evidence. We, however, dare not be.

.

Open Letter to UC Faculty Upon UC Walkout

2009-09-27T13:12:00.000-07:00

Dear UC Faculty,

Although I can be polite and diplomatic, I haven't the time or energy. I'm a single parent and a laid off public school teacher. I have a sophomore on one of your campuses and I'm under tremendous stress, so I'm just going to speak plainly.

The UC Walkout? I love the newly discovered (rediscovered?) sense of altruism among you. I hope it's real and that your sudden solidarity with public school teachers under the brunt of Prop 13 is not simply a conveniently played "empathy card."

It's been over 20 years since Prop 13. The universities and colleges of California, and the nation, have been complaining about the decline in skills among the students we send up to you, but you haven't lifted a finger of solidarity on behalf of the public school educators below you, until now, when you face what we've been dealing with for the last 20 to 30 years. As in historical dictatorships, you watched us "carted off" and failed to raise your voices in our support, and now you face the same.

You failed to address the undermining of public school education nationwide in the aftermath of post sixties' social and educational enfranchisement for the poor and those of color. Did it never occur to you that the threat of enfranchisement, to established power at the top, was responded to by undermining the bottom? No longer facing barred doors at the top, the students are now, instead, crippled at the bottom of the staircase. We have been rendered incapable of sending you the quality of students you need.

If you provide universally low education at the public school level, not everyone suffers. Families that already have power and means can make up the difference by providing enrichment experiences (travel, music, sports teams) and tutoring to their children. The poor (and now the middle class) are stuck with what they get in public school. That means the number of income disenfranchised and children of color capable of applying to your universities has been diminished year by year. It also means that those who do manage to arrive are more disadvantaged than their peers of means from the same school. That is a lifetime deficit for which a university experience doesn't always provide remedy. After 30 years, a generation, it is not just our public school students who are undereducated, but now, many of our colleagues, as well. Today, we have a multi-generational culture of low education. This is the new way that power maintains exclusivity in the face of Affirmative Action.

I know you must have discussed the various systemic problems plaguing public school education. But, I want to scream that, over the thirty years of its development, you never seriously addressed this, never set your students on it as a primary research project, never worked at creating the statistical and political means of changing it. What blinded you? Why weren't you curious?

We are your colleagues in education. There is a lot you could have done for us that would have prevented the situation in which you now find yourselves. We needed you to study and report on the hidden "furloughs" we face. We needed you to study teacher turnover and the number of teachers who don't stay beyond their first years, and why. We needed you to survey our health: the level of obesity and prescription drug use amongst us, our rate of counseling use and family problems, our divorce rates, and how these things have climbed. We needed you to document the dwindling amount of time we spend with our families during the school year and how that affects all the facets of our lives. We needed you to assess the amount of money we spend out of pocket, annually, on goods our districts don't cover, but our students need, and what that means. We needed you to go beyond asking what happens to children in overcrowded classrooms and ask what happens to us, their teachers. As colleagues, we needed you, not our unions or faculty senates under their own pressures of self-preservation, to have our backs.

We matter as much as the students; we were students once. And now, we are you.

One Book a Year / #OneBookaYear

2009-09-26T22:39:00.000-07:00

It'd be great to leave a bequest or fund a scholarship at the high school from which each of us graduated, but most of us don't have the means.

However, we can send one book a year to the library at the high school from which we graduated. It doesn't take too many participants, from just a handful of graduating classes, to enrich the offerings of their former high school, on a yearly basis.

Multiplied by ten or twenty years, it becomes a profound contribution.

It's a way to share a piece of yourself with students like you, where you started out. Who knows what windows you may open with just one book?

October is International School Libraries Month. It's the month to send the book.

If you're on Twitter, tweet your book's name and the high school you sent it to, with the hashtag #OneBookaYear. Use the hashtag to look up what's being sent and get some ideas, if you need them.

I've also started a FaceBook group: One Book a Year. Join us, and then post the name of the book you sent, along with your high school's name. Not sure what book to send? Get some ideas there...and go for it!

Handmade Porcelain Buttons

2009-08-24T10:17:00.001-07:00

Handmade Porcelain Buttons
Originally uploaded by la_v_i_k_a

On the way to 100 views in my flickr account, these seem to be a hit!

1-1/4" porcelain buttons with a variety of ceramic decal work. Unlike most work of this kind, which is fired thrice, these buttons were single fired to maturity and then refired once to apply the designs.

They are more well-traveled than their maker, having already been to Portland this summer for the Sock Summit...who knows where next. Maybe your home? :)

Several are still availabe. I'm easily contacted through etsy:

vika.etsy.com
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Arrested for Irate Speech, at Home (while being Black)

2009-07-20T21:01:00.000-07:00

Black scholar's arrest raises profiling questions - Yahoo! News

Let's put this into perspective.

First, somebody better explain to me how you get arrested for being irate. If Professor Gates did not hit the officer, threaten to hit him, or cuss at him, where is the cause for arrest? Being aggravated? Talking loudly? Being irate?

Protesters are irate and vocally assert their rights, in public. They even shake their fists and wave their arms. They are not arrested. This man was irate over his rights, in his own home, for good reason, and, if the accounts are accurate, he apparently expressed himself on the subject.

When I realize I've made a mistake, I apologize and attempt to make it right. As a public servant, that's what the officer should have done, immediately. The fact that he did something other than the right thing, puts the whole thing into perspective.

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Getting a Teaching Credential in the 21st Century

2009-06-28T14:23:00.000-07:00

.
Don't believe the newspapers. There is no teacher shortage in California. In fact, California has a teacher GLUT and has had a glut since at least 2000. The turnover in teaching would make businesses blanch; comparatively few new teachers stay beyond their third year. Veteran teachers are starting their own businesses, if they can, and leaving, too. Those unique stories of professionals who leave their careers for teaching, getting credit for their professional & life experience, and then immediate wonder-jobs? They are just that--unique.My story starts in the middle. I don't know how long it will take to write. There is so much.

By early spring of 2000, I had finally discovered the process for acquiring a teaching credential in the state of California and made the decision to attend the graduate school associated with the same university from which I’d acquired my BA in 1984. Although it was more expensive than the local state university, I hoped, as the newspapers and many others had claimed, that I would get credit, both for my years of work experience outside of public school teaching, here and abroad, and for work done in the course of completing a masters in counseling. I had previously consulted, for over an hour, with someone in charge of the credential program at the state university. He had carefully and circuitously promised everything and nothing. In speaking with their program’s graduates, both bachelors and masters level, no one praised the program. Virtually all of them said the program was in chaos; they were angry and frustrated. These weren’t naturally angry and frustrated people but all upbeat, energetic and hopeful—the kind with whom I like to work. Still, everyone told me to take the other option, if at all possible. They regretted their choice.

As I went through the process of enrollment, the director, and others, repeatedly told me about the vast number of teaching jobs available in our area and how easily I would be hired upon completion, especially as a multilingual with extensive cross cultural experience. She encouraged me to apply for the Governor’s Teaching Fellowship, a competitive $20,000 award grant that would be forgiven in return for five years post-credential work in a needy school, one that registered a 5 or below on the state’s API scale (a reflection of competence, as determined by testing keyed to NCLB/No Child Left Behind). There was little time left before the application deadline and I scrambled to gather transcripts, written recommendations, and other records for submission. It was particularly difficult to acquire pertinent recommendations, since my undergrad student days were over 15 years past and the materials assumed a recent graduation date. However, in the end, I had everything I needed, except a written recommendation from the program director who had encouraged me to apply. She first composed an unacceptable off the cuff version, without looking at the reward requirements, and then missed the deadline completely, despite my repeated reminders and pleas. I was devastated and had missed other opportunities in the meantime. Had it not been for the Governor’s Teaching Fellowship extending the deadline, I would have been in a real bind. She made the second deadline.

In the meantime, I visited the Registrar to determine which of my previous courses and experiences would be accepted. She offered me nothing! I was in shock. Part of my decision to pursue the credential had been based on newspaper reports regarding the credits available to people with prior work experience and education in other fields. Everyone had been saying how much my bilingual and cross-cultural experience would be worth. I had a masters in counseling that included post graduate level work in child development! I argued and finally she agreed that I could get credit for my master’s level Human Development coursework (my masters work in Cross Cultural Counseling was denied). She failed to inform me that I would have to request this information from the school just outside her office window. When I subsequently discovered the credit had not been granted, she finally informed me but told me that she would ONLY grant credit if the school could provide the original syllabus (from 15 years ago!). Luckily, they did, and she grudgingly awarded me 3 units and cleared my child development requirement. That was all I got.

Three years ago, a district administrator asked me why I had acquired a multiple subject credential, instead of a pupil personnel credential (high school guidance counselor qualification), given my background in counseling. Despite the extended conversation with the credential program Registrar about my counseling background, I was never advised that my counseling degree might qualify me for any other educational position.

Nineteen months later, in fall 2002, just after I completed all of the requirements for my credential and was looking desperately for employment, the program director boldly stated in a newspaper interview that prospects for new credential holders in our area were dismal and that they had been aware of this for quite a while. In a geographically isolated city of approximately 500,000, there are three teacher credential programs turning out new teachers every year under the banner of a local “teacher shortage.” The same article (Fresno Bee, September 2002), reported that Fresno Unified, the area’s largest school district, which had just delivered 300 pink slips, had 2800 applicants registered for 300 available jobs. Credential candidates from the state university had been informed of the situation at completion. Although our own director had long known of the local glut, we were repeatedly told that older teachers were retiring and excellent employment conditions awaited us.

I would soon discover that The Governor’s Teaching Fellowship was a noose around my neck and its conduct no more encouraging.
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Before leaping...

2009-06-19T09:54:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd leave a note.

End of semester has come and gone, and I begin to feel refreshed, a brief window before the summer session begins and I am once again at the beck and call of students with mud on their hands.

I've joined a writer's circle, invited, for which I'm grateful. It's been a long time coming, having always been told, "You should write!" What people would do, if they were me...

I couldn't write a word in the two month lead up, anxious not about writing or about critique, both of which I love, but about finally doing so in a formal, and public sense. Oh my. Finally, compelled to write about the block itself, the day of the circle's meeting, I produced. This rendering having benefited from the circle's input, it still feels a little incomplete. Still, not a poor first outing, a good start to whatever may come.

Before Leaping

On the edge

Very Close

At the vertex

where this horizontal plane
vanishes suddenly into perpendicular
absolutism.

Nauseated

Sweating

Vertigo causing me to wonder if
I am thinking from somewhere around
my ankles or from my head
While I struggle to know whether head
can still be located on shoulders
or has been removed to
survey this situation from a safe
but strangling embrace in the fierce crook
of my protective arm

Orientation dissolving

My palms press hard and flat behind me against
the reassurance of granite
while the grit of its disintegration digs into my flesh
and my thoughts
grimy but familiar
providing the distraction that still serves to spare me decision
and anything more than brief,
terrified glances over the precipice.
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Evolution...really??

2009-05-17T08:37:00.000-07:00

Another migration from the old site. The end of the semester approaches; soon, I'll have real energy for something new. Until then, vintage.

If Bugs Can't Get It Right, Will We Ever?

After a gazillion years of evolution rapider than our own, why are bugs dumb enough to crawl on us? We're almost 100F in temperature, usually either a good deal warmer or a good deal cooler than our environment (due to a love of snow sports and the idea that tropical heat is a "vacation"--it's ok, we evolve much more slowly) and you'd think they'd notice? Isn't that differential the way mosquitoes find us, in the dark, while we're sleeping? OK, so mosquitoes do crawl on us and die, but at least the risk is worth it: they're propagating the species.

Most of the bugs that walk on us aren't. They can't kill us, they can't even get a decent mouth full, nor do they scavenge shed skin or any other biproduct. Are we the neighborhood shortcut? What's on the other side? Something worth dying for? I look on both sides of my mattress, both sides of any place I'm sitting, and they look the same. Why risk it?

Do bugs have rights of passage? "OK, now you have come of age and must find a human to cross. If you live, you will be a man-bug, a soldier ant, a worker and no longer a lowly white, soft useless..." Or maybe bugs have thug rituals. "You wanna join our gang? You wanna join OUR gang!??? OK, then you see that human over there..."

Then again, maybe they get a buzz off that spilled soda on the counter and start one upping each other. "I dare ya to walk on that vika's arm, go ahead I dare ya, you scaredy-cat, chicken-livered..." It's depressing. Not only do they outnumber us, they get a million generations to get it right in the span of just one of ours--and they still have no more common sense than the average toddler.

If bugs rule the world and they can't get it right, do we even have a chance?

Alarm Bell

2009-04-14T16:10:00.001-07:00

Alarm Bell
Originally uploaded by la_v_i_k_a

It's been a long time since I nailed a really good one, or even tried.

If people could get what they want, would alarm bells ring?

Moving Along, and the Problem With Heirs

2009-03-07T10:13:00.000-08:00

Well, moving along. For several years I had my postings elsewhere and by now I'm satisfied that this is "home." I'd like to work toward cleaning up and closing down the old place but really didn't want to lose some of the writing, so I thought I'd move it over here bit by bit, on occasion.

That said, what follows is certainly apropos to this month, with St. Patrick's Day barreling down upon us. My family was quite a mixture and it made for interesting interpretations and events during childhood...

The Problem With Heirs

Aside from us children (a million cousins) who were all born here, my family was full of people who came, recently, from somewhere else. I was not confused about who we were; we were just us. But, at times, those adults in the leading generation could definitely do and say some interesting and confusing things.

On my father's side, we borrowed words from German and French to talk about things which, in polite conversation, are not normally mentioned. English euphemisms were not good enough; they had no feel, no real grip. It was difficult to wield them.

And so for example, our bottoms, when mentioned, were not bums, or tusches or rear ends (that one made eyes roll). No, our bottoms were popos or derrieres. Which was just fine; we knew which end was up.

Even though both were equally foreign, the two sides of my family were quite different. Mom's side drank beer, my father's side regularly drank wine. Their side sang regularly, my father couldn't carry a tune in a bucket.

It was singing, as it crossed paths with bottoms, that caused me the greatest confusion. Being Irish, Danny Boy was a great favorite with my mother's side and, being intent upon preserving culture, the adults NEVER failed to inform me that the name for the tune was "The Londonderry Aire," each and every time we sang it. And, each time I heard this, I would feel particularly appalled and look around surreptitiously at each adult to see how they were reacting. And, there was never any reaction, they just named the tune and then sang it.

I, however, always sat there totally mystified, trying to fathom the connection between old Danny and my family's earnest appreciation for London's claim to a song-worthy bottom.

And that, is the problem with heirs.

Buttons at Stitches West 2009

2009-03-02T16:41:00.001-08:00

booth pics 047
Originally uploaded by Anzula

Quick post here! My buttons this last week/weekend at Stitches West, in Santa Clara, California. Sabrina, of Anzula, does the yarn and fibers...and hosted my buttons!

Go ahead and click on the image--the larger version ("All Sizes" option on Flickr) is great!

Busy week for me--I hope to have buttons up on Etsy by Friday, if not sooner. I've recently added three necklaces...more jewelry coming soon.

vika.etsy.com

My Buttons are in Stitches!

2009-02-08T22:44:00.001-08:00

Unloading
Originally uploaded by la_v_i_k_a

These buttons (and others!) are headed up to the SF Bay Area with Sabrina Famellos-Schmidt, at the end of this month, for:

STITCHES West 2009
at the Santa Clara Convention Center
February 26th through March 1

You can find them on the Market Floor here:
Anzula
Booth 1037

I've blogged recently about a visit to Sabrina's house while she and friends were dyeing. That same day, she agreed to take my buttons with her to Stitches. Ever since then, I've been working my buttons off...

Pics below of her yarns, or visit her blog, too:
http://anzula.blogspot.com/

100 Green Buttons

2009-02-06T11:10:00.001-08:00

100 Green Buttons
Originally uploaded by la_v_i_k_a

100 Porcelain buttons in the green state.

I started handbuilding with clay years ago and enjoy photography, very much. The processes from both have influenced how I make buttons.

I don't have button molds.

Instead, I roll and texture entire slabs with themes that interest me, then crop small vignettes. Each button is the "same," and yet just a little bit different. They go together without looking like they rolled out of a factory. Each one is unique.

These have already been cut, hand smoothed, drilled, and all edges beveled (including the holes, front and back!). I'm careful to work when the clay is leather hard, not completely dry; it cuts down on dust.

Next? I'll be signing the backs with a paintbrush, glazing, kiln loading, and firing.

I only fire once. It conserves energy.

There are 200 more buttons out of camera range!

A Yard-full of Skeins

2009-01-16T11:37:00.001-08:00

A Yard-full of Skeins
Originally uploaded by la_v_i_k_a

I met Sabrina Famellos-Schmidt several weeks ago, after making a presentation during a local Pecha Kucha evening sponsored by Arc Hop.

My pendant necklaces are based on spindle whorls and Sabrina spins!

She was kind enough to invite me to her home when she and two friends, Sue and Diane, were dyeing finished skeins. It was amazing to walk into the backyard and see this feast...even more amazing to walk into the garage and view the work that had already been dryed and re-skeined, ready for sale! Eye-popping and jaw-dropping all at the same time.

Large Porcelain Buttons

2009-01-13T20:36:00.001-08:00

Large Porcelain Buttons
Originally uploaded by la_v_i_k_a

First batch out of new (new to me) porcelain kiln. The kiln interior is 6"x6" and came with no furniture (shelves).

I made my own out of high fire sculpture clay (lots of grog/resistant to shock and warping). They survived nicely and that saved me quite a bit of money. Plus, they are thinner than commercial shelves, so...I can fit more in the kiln!

These buttons are approximately 1-1/4" diameter. All but the bottom button are approximately 1/8" thickness. The bottom button is more suitable as a toggle, or for use on heavy material; it is approximately 1/4" thickness.

The left and top button were pressed in molds made of cast-off machinery parts.

Flowered Bottle

2009-01-07T23:01:00.001-08:00

Flowered Bottle
Originally uploaded by la_v_i_k_a

Flowered Bottle

Spontaneous and unplanned; I think it made itself.

Handmade porcelain tile and kiln polished glass cabochons laid out for setting on glass bottle with inset circle. Look for lively green grouting on this mosaic later!

Blues Portal in Progress

2008-12-31T10:15:00.001-08:00

Another Portal
Originally uploaded by la_v_i_k_a

I make these mosaic works using my own handmade porcelain tiles, glass shards that have been remelted in the kiln, dish fragments and repurposed microwave turntables.

I usually decide what my border will be, set it, and the design takes off from there. I don't have a plan. However, I'm influenced--I love Central Asian tile work patterns and colors.

I like creating them in microwave turntable plates because it allows the light to shine through the glass tiles, plus, I like knowing the old turntables haven't become trash but something valuable again. I also fire the majority of my tiles only once, to conserve energy.

These are lovely for display, or as insets for a tiled wall, portal, or table.

This one is in process, partially set and still ungrouted.

15" Diameter

San Francisco from Berkeley, Panorama

2008-11-30T21:07:00.001-08:00

San Francisco from Berkeley, Panorama
Originally uploaded by la_v_i_k_a

I took this from a seventh floor window, on Thanksgiving Day. Well, not just this one...I took many as I stood there watching the clouds move and light change, as the sun sank lower. It was an amazing spectacle...hard to describe, only for the eyes and not words.

Keeping the Power in Few Hands

2008-11-13T14:50:00.000-08:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/13/opinion/13kristof.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

I'm going to come back to work on this piece, believe me. What's got me provoked is the idea that the nation's education problem can be fixed by investing resources (excellent teachers, money), in our lowest schools.

I agree that this would be the remedy.

However, I don't think we can get there from here. There needs to be an intermediary step, and that step needs to be a recognition of why we are invested in poor education in the first place. We can say we want it to improve, but our actions, as evaluated by our persistant results, reflect a much stronger will to keep it low. Somewhere, there's an incentive to maintain poor education, otherwise, we'd have continued the upward march.

In counseling, when you meet someone who knows what "the answer" is, yet doesn't pursue it as a solution to their dilemma, you start asking what function "the wrong answer" has in their personal system---what are the incentives, and most times the very real needs, being realized through a less than adequate, and often destructive, course of action? This makes me ask what the hidden incentive is in maintaining poor results in the area of education.

The conclusion I come to is that if you educate everyone rather poorly, the only people who can make up the difference, through tutoring, parental involvement, and enrichment activities --are those who already have means. Everyone else is stuck with what the public schools offer, nothing more.

This guarantees that those in power stay in power, and that those who do not have the means but are nevertheless able to vault into power, will be very few and probably not well-equipped enough to compete over the long haul. Poor education is about guaranteeing the place of the haves, and making sure the have-nots do not get a voice.

Take a look at the places where poor education rules and then take a look at the history of power in those places. I think you'll find an enduring history of high disparity between haves and have nots and maybe some history of conquest, as well--an enduring gap between the wealthy/powerful and the poor/not powerful that is almost impervious to narrowing, without the contribution of a quality education.

Crossing paths with yourself

2008-10-20T18:56:00.000-07:00

Sometime within the last year I lamented to a friend that my interests were so disparate that there was probably no chance I'd ever have an occupation that would integrate them and, by extension, really satisfy me. Two of the most disparate interests have been art and technology. Yes, I know it's easy to assume, "Oh that's easy: graphic arts!" But, graphic arts doesn't grab me, even though I do a lot of it. What grabs me is ceramic. And, I was marching right along with computer app's, programming and database fun (yes, I mean fun...I thought programming was a riot).

Last year, my "real job" disappeared with the state budge crisis and it did not come back this year. By summer, I came to the conclusion I might be better off looking in other directions. I've been freelancing since. And, three weeks ago, someone called and offered me work in the art department at the local community college. This ended up being a half time job, as a tech, in ceramic. But the big surprise? They had a huge brand new gas shuttle kiln with microprocessor controls for temperature and oxygen. And, nobody knew how to run it.

I programmed it and we fired it successfully this last Thursday and Friday. This morning, we unloaded a treasure trove of student work.

I couldn't have found this job if I'd have tried. I'm not sure when they would have found someone who understood the kiln.

That's the art of getting there.

Now, where are the central asian history, and the languages, going to appear? ;P

McCain, War, and Paint

2008-09-27T08:16:00.000-07:00

ok, so this is supposed to be my art blog and I've not written tiddly. On top of that, like other artists, I want to write about what's happening here in the US, but wonder: if I don't agree with my art fans/followers/buyers, will they still love my work? Can I write an opinion without alienating those who disagree? It makes me feel bad to even ask such a question, to hesitate, because I'm reminded of "state artists" in oppressive regimes who only make "nice art" and keep their mouths shut, in order to preserve their livelihoods and profession. I hope I still live in a democracy where civil debate holds an edge over punitive disagreement.

So, why write about anything but art? Besides being an artist, I'm a few other things. It's the few other things that go into my work and make it what it is. I've been a central asian history buff since childhood, odd but true. Actually, fascinating and true. So, unlike many, I haven't been "learning geography via invasion" and I've had a ton to think about (and say) since we went into the area.

Only one thing stands out to me from last night's debate, and I cannot shake it. McCain focused on our "success" in Iraq and implied we'll do just as well in Afghanistan. I was blindsided to hear that from him. He sounds like Viet Nam era politicians who supported the war. He sounds like the voice of regimes we disrespect--those that have voiced victory as their wars, and countries, swirled down the drain. Earlier, I respected him and considered him a serious contender for my vote. When he picked Palin, he lost my vote. However, with these comments, he's lost my confidence and a good portion of my respect for his honesty and integrity, as well. I'm shocked at what he said, to be honest.

I'll bullet my points:

--At this point, "success" in Iraq or Afghanistan is propaganda. There are no facts to support it.

--His proposal to get Waziristan to behave is jaw-droppingly ignorant. If you know the history, you know why. If you don't, you must before you take his comments into consideration. (I'm not sure Obama did any better on this point. However, there's certainly more point to, and more chance of, arm wrestling Pakistan into more cooperation than there is of taming Waziristan-- and there is a point to putting Pakistan "on notice" before he potentially steps into office. Good strategy to plant that concern in the minds of Pakistan's leadership in advance? However, I question whether we even have the resources to follow through on engaging Pakistan, at this point.)

--We are overextended both financially & logistically (manpower & equipment)

--Financial and military overextension in Afghanistan, and economic disarray, preceded the disintegration of Russia's standing as a world power. They didn't call it Perestroika (restructuring) for nothing.

--Because of our strategic weakness, Russia is no longer in check, is moving aggressively, and is not likely to respond to any of our threats. Remember: they invaded the Baltics when we started the first Gulf War. Sabre rattling at Russia, on our part, is a joke: we would ruin ourselves if we committed resources in any third arena, at this point, and they know it.

--Historically, this is the point ("we're winning because we BELIEVE we're winning and anyone who says otherwise is an antipatriot") where adolescents are tapped for war. We're already tapping emotional adolescents (criminals, mentally unfit) ; where do we go from here? More seriously impaired recruits? Heavier recruitment among female students? Older soldiers? Move the age limit down to 17 or 16? Heavier use of the National Guard? (Is anyone thinking about the thinness of our National Guard?)

--"We are winning" is the same line that got us in past the point of redemption in Viet Nam and it is grievous to hear McCain, in particular, chanting this slogan. The cure for the shame of Viet Nam is not another Viet Nam.

What do I want, instead?

I want to hear someone provide a balanced truthful assessment and propose a thoughtful believable course of remedial action.

Inaugural Posts

2008-08-16T10:49:00.001-07:00

are like the first dent in a new auto. Once you've done it, there's no worry you could ruin a perfectly new car--just drive and enjoy the ride.

And maybe roll down the windows and whoop a bit.