Missed Opportunity

“There was another life that I might have had, but I am having this one.”  
― Kazuo Ishiguro

Gathering basket by Lidi Stroud.  White metal colander by Yukio Kawai.  Green Italian soapstone board by Thomas Saunders.  Ceramic plate by Elisabeth Causeret.  Food, chopsticks and zebra wood board by me.

Ahh, another bump in the mini road.  I intended to apply for Fellow membership with the IGMA this year but unfortunately did not meet the deadline to submit my work.  The shrimp plate was incomplete; had there been another day to finish, all would have been well.  However, the IGMA does allow handcrafted pieces made up to two years prior to an Artisan's application.  I took advantage of that allowance for one piece, but insisted on submitting my latest work for the other four; wrong move when time is of the essence.  So I have no excuses.  Of course, there were events that contributed towards this missed opportunity.  But the bottom line is that I didn't manage the project well and failed.
YET, there was a very bright spot in the midst of darkness!  Lidi Stroud, IGMA Artisan and miniaturist extraordinaire, accepted my commission for the beautiful gathering basket and shopping tote shown below.  She then sent BOTH AS A GIFT with her best wishes for a successful Fellow application!!  Such a kind and generous gesture that I will never forget.  Lidi, if you're reading this, I am chagrined at missing this year's application but will be using the gathering basket next year and promise not to disappoint!



Both baskets were the same color.  I added the dark brown stain to the gathering basket.

I've since gotten over my pouting session and am looking forward to the 2015 Fellow application.  Will begin work on those submissions shortly :^D

Thanks for reading...wishing all a great week!