Pottery

I've been taking another ceramics class over the last 4 weeks. My work seems to be progressing in small increments.  It has helped having a wheel at home but it still seems awkward at times. I've been trying to make things for Christmas gifts. This too has been an aggravation. Not having a kiln at home and having to rely on someone else (who isn't always careful with your stuff) is truly irritating. The above pots have been bisque fired and were glazed today.

Glazing in a bizaar thing. You paint on these matte shades of red, green or some ash variation. Once they are fired they have these lustrious colors and can really change something you had doubts about into something gift worthy.

Blue rutile with a chowder glaze.

Oddly, I can't remember how this color was described on the bottle.

Midnight blue over blue rutile.

Bamboo Art

 

A few months ago I spent the afternoon altering a bamboo pole. I used paints, papers, fabric, yarn and ribbon to embellish the bamboo for the purpose of making a decorative piece of  wall art. Andrew loved it so much he thought the most appropriate place for it was his room. I think he was right on this one.

The process was a little time consuming because there were so many different designs and alterations to the pole but I love the randomness. It's always so therapeutic to immerse yourself in something that requires nothing more than your creativity. Next time you desire to be creative but don't have a plan make a trip outside, you never know what can spark inspiration. Happy crafting!

Unassuming Beauty

More Mud

I was able to spend a little time throwing (attempting to throw) some pots this morning. I woke up at 5:30 so I thought this was an excellent time for pottery. 

 I continue to have some difficulty with making functional items. Things are either warped, to small, or for lack of better terms, just plain ugly.

 However, today I was able to make a few things that have the potential to be useful items. I don't own a kiln so I take my pottery to a town 20-30 minutes away for firing. Currently that isn't a problem for me, I think trying to be a skilled potter and worrying about the firing process would be a bit much. I'm hoping I can drop these pots off and glaze the ones I recently had bisque fired. :) I think a constant stream of firing and glazing will continue to keep me interested.

Even at 5:30 in the morning a critic lurks.

Random Beauty

I probably own 100 craft books. Yes it's my addiction, don't judge. In one of my books was an idea for making art when you are having a mental block. Basically, you close your eyes and make marks/lines until you decide to stop. Once you open your eyes it's up to you to determine what will develop from those random marks. When I look at this picture I see a couple of things. First, I see how it may look if the creature was in the process of developing an identity or learning to overcome the adversities of life and finally is able to stand tall. Or I see how many bow to one in the midst of chaos.

Mud Slingin Part 2

Last month I finished my first pottery class and since then I have went through about 75lbs of clay. I have produced a lot of mistakes and many things that have fallen apart in the process. I'm actually fine with that. I secretly told myself I could screw up 4 boxes (I have now purchased my 4th box) of clay before I expected to produce quality items. I finally had a few pieces that I felt were worthy to make it to the next step, bisque firing. I had forgotten about the other pieces I glazed the last night of my class and this was a nice surprise! It gave me  renewed hope to see some items I made and to be half way pleased with them.

I actually have 6 pieces but I wasn't crazy about two of them so they may need to be turned into mosaics (hint hint Jil) by the end of summer. A medium size bowl, a tiny cup, small plate and a something or other. I really don't have any idea what the clover shaped dish is but I like its uniqueness. I guess it could be an earring holder or useless ditty.

I've learned a few things, and I'm not talking about how to do pottery, clearly that still needs some work. Give yourself a learning curve when trying something new, messing up is part of the learning process. Don't be afraid to let the medium guide you instead of the other way around and accept the tiny victories as well as the colossal failures.

A Convenient Farce

It's been a balmy 90+ degrees here today so I thought it would be a good day to stay inside. Yesterday we went to Mr.Ks used book store and I found treasures!!! I have a little known addiction (that's my denial, I think it's rather widely known) to craft books. I L-O-V-E- them!!! I love their ideas, the colors inside, the way they make me feel when I read them....I digress. So I purchased 3 books at 4$ a piece about painting rocks.

I know I recently posted pictures of a few rocks I painted for our vegetable garden BUT the ideas in these books seem so easy and effortless. I thought I should try something simple for my first attempt so I chose my rock and thought I would try to paint it to resemble a squirrel.

Now here's another tidbit of information. I can get overwhelmed if I can't settle on an idea. As much as I thought it would be the squirrel I hadn't taken into consideration all the other cool options. After all, I had 3 books!! Finally I determined I needed to start with something I knew I could do without becoming frustrated.

So, yet again, a penguin would come to life. I followed the directions without fail and I was rather pleased with how easy the process actually was. Firs,t there was a little sketching on the rock to outline the basic shape of the flightless bird and then it was a matter of inserting the appropriate colors.

I used basic acrylic craft paints and various paint brushes. However, I can recommend a good liner brush for applying detail items such as eyes.

Since the ice caps are melting I can see a plausible scenario where penguins are in Tennessee. SO I put this one in my flower garden where are the other birds bathe and feast. It could happen.

I think I would rather enjoy holding a penguin