whole lotta love.....

(me and Missus Hawtness, 1992)
OK, can you believe it, met the missus 20 years ago today, last day of November 1989. Famously, of course, we knew each over 3 years before we even had a date in 1992, after which we quickly got married December 24, 1992. This pic is from July of 1992.

I currently teach pottery classes at Cornell and work in the Pot Shop. It was the same 20 years ago at University of Illinois at Chicago. Both Cornell and Illinois have open studios for anybody to use and there were non-credit pottery classes people could take, and Illinois had 2 studios. I had moved with my art degree to Chicago to get a graduate degree in special education. Just so happens my future wife was the director of one of the 2 studios at Illinois, but I worked at the other.
You must keep in mind that I am super shy, almost crippled by shyness sometimes.
In late fall 1989 Maude had decided to run a made in the 2 craft shops exhibit for Christmastime. I needed to take my teaset and pitcher to the second studio and exhibition space which I had never visited, and there was a very pretty woman at the desk. I could not meet her eye but just ran in and said "here is my entry" and ran out. Soon thereafter I moved my workspace and started working at her studio, teaching pottery classes there, and was artist in residence for awhile too. In fall of 1991 I was breaking up with the person I was with, and mentioned this to Maude who said she would help me move my stuff. I thanked her and said I didn't need help, but it is always a special friend who offers to help you move. A few months later, the end of January 1992 I had a party and gave her the first kiss, and well, that was it, we were TOGETHER.