Life has a way of throwing curve balls, doesn’t it?

It has been a while since I last shared through my blog. As the title indicates, life has been happening in the meantime. I won’t go into details but just wanted to take a minute to remind us all to be grateful for what we have, to remember to tell people how much we care, and to always believe in possibilities.  

I recently taught a ‘broomstick and other natural materials’ casting class at Dallas Makerspace in which we used not only broom straw but pasta, beans, peas, and - can you believe it, watermelon - to cast ancient bronze pieces. It was a great learning experience and a fun time. We collectively learned a lot about the qualities of metal (and I realized that I do not like working with antique bronze) and about the value of patience in the creative process. 

The thing about the class, however, was everything that could go wrong (other than the wonderful individuals enrolled in the class), did. First, the valves on my torch wouldn’t cooperate, then my five pounds of antique bronze casting grain did a disappearing act on me, then I began to develop a migraine....  Ultimately, however, our collective interest in the challenge, our willingness to deal with ambiguity, our creative problem solving, and the restorative power of the creative process meant that we walked away with a positive learning experience. Life does have a way of throwing you curve balls but it is how you react to them that determine whether you strike out or get a home run.  

Here’s hoping you all get home runs every time you hit your curve balls!  Until next time, stay healthy, stay sane, keep laughing, seize the opportunity offered by those curve balls.