A Small Loan - Maria Robinson

Vera's pottery studio had begun with a small loan from her then-husband Ted. A small crew had built the cinderblock shed in their Berkeley backyard and a professional kiln was installed. Ted, a Berkeley prof had moved them from Chicago and Vera had not established an office for her immigration law practice, yet alone taken the California Bar.

Despite being a dyed in the wool feminist, she was being "kept" and felt miserable about it. She never fit into the faculty wives club. She was always covered in an apron splashed with clay, with dust filled fingernails. Yet, she'd met her mentor in Berkeley, a Japanese ceramicist, Matsu Oribe, who had guided her hand into the world of earth and fire, clay and ash, and the study how to transform mud into glass.