This summer, I was blessed with the opportunity to spend two weeks in Deer Isle, Maine at the notable Haystack Mountain School of Crafts. Working alongside a special group of artists, I found the experience humbling and invigorating. Lydia Johnson is an incredible teacher and her work is playful, sensitive, delicate, bold, and simple. I am in awe of her and the beauty of her process. The workshop focused on surface techniques for slab construction. I feel like I have tapped a brand new well of creative material that I look forward to drawing on for years to come. The process of designing stencils and patterns to use with stained slips allows me to play with imagery and color in a way that blends my inclination toward illustration with my sensibility for 3-D forms. Not only is Deer Isle a dreamy place to spend your days working with clay and color, but the opportunity to be a student again was such a gift. I am still so grateful for the uninterrupted studio time. I realized how rare it is, in my life as a teacher, to have long stretches of time to work on one thing; to follow an idea and let it grow, evolve, mature.