November 14, 2009 - a dark horse running on a dark race course

Due to unseasonably beautiful weather with temps in the upper 60's and plenty of sun, we decided to work INDOORS in the art room. REALLY.

The work date had actually been planned last month and several of the crew had gathered between times to glue more tiles on our dark horse. Our goal today was to grout between the tiles and we got a good portion completed but ran out of black grout. Hands got really dirty and it was messy work but with the help of our fantastic beta's and our normal crew, we had a lot of fun and I dare say I was not the only one completely amazed at how beautiful this piece is going to be once completed.


While most of the students knew each other, there were
several whose names I didn't but I did catch the "love" on one beautiful young woman's arm. Looking over all the photos I took today, this one is truly a favorite. Ms. Eller started us off by reading the instructions on the bag of grout then James used a drill attachment to mix the mess in a big plastic bucket. He then proceeded to clean the mixer attachment as only James can do - spotlessly. We used plastic bags filled with grout and a hole cut in the edge to squeeze the grout between the tiles (think decorating cookies with icing) as well as spackling knives and slapping the grout on with plastic gloves. The horse was soon completely black but as the grout hardened Jessica (aka "Jaz") started wiping across the horse with her hands and we watched with fascination as the color and design started to reappear.

While James ran from the group photo (actually he was taking his own pics with Gracie's camera) everyone gathered to proudly display the transformation of a red fiberglass horse into something uber cool and getting closer to being on display at the Dunbar Memorial Garden - including the darling budding artist and Miss Manners extraordinare, Lily! Be sure to click on the photo to bring up a larger version that gives a nicer view of how "shiny" the dark horse has become.

After we helped clean up the art room several of us meandered out to the garden to prune and clean up. Truthfully, I pruned while Jessica, James and Grace used huge stalks from the cup plant to battle up and down the hillside. Thankfully no one was injured in the brawl and no trees were climbed. *Jab to Gracie*

The battle crew did pull through in the end and help pitch the cuttings down the back forty where we will see next year an old sink hole transform into a native plant haven.

Love to all. Good work was done today.

<3
Jesse's Mom









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