Uncleaned

Now that I can throw the basic forms, I need to work on some design and decorating on the pots. This quarter I'm experimenting with engobes, stains, underglazes and glazes. As far as finding my style..I still don't know...but I had better familiarize myself with Asian pottery because that is my bent. I am working a handbuilt piece and trying to fashion an octopus..more of a sculpture..I don't know if I can fashion something that I can see in my mind. We shall see....keep an eye on these and I will try to put them side by side--a work in progress, vs. the finished piece.  I need to work larger too--beyond dishware!

Lehua's birthday cupcakes

After the fact..there is only one lone cupcake left and I missed taking pics of dinner and dessert..all on glass tiers, the cupcakes were wonderful chocolate and cherries! Lasagne and eggplant parmesan with pasta, and a nice salad! We all had a good time, as usual and I still think Despicable Me is an adorable film (I've seen it a few times this week!).

After jigging for squid..

AHHMMM..some squeemish stuff? First you cut the head and tentacles from the shaft and take out that thing that looks like a sliver of see through plastic and clean all of the ink and gunk off. These will be cut into rings and breaded for calamari. Next you take the beak out from under where the tentacles join the body. Then you squeeze out the eyeballs and...it's all clean!! These are small and usually there are hundreds to clean..as soon as you get home from jigging for squid! I'll let you know if the squid luau is any good!!

When people help me in different projects there is a need to show appreciation..maybe they will want to help again in the future! This was a fun project...and it's not magic...you still need stuff for it...and to take the time. It's a basic carmel corn recipe, drizzled with melted white chocolate and then broken up, bagged, tagged and labeled! Thanks, Rachelle, for the recipe, the idea, and for printing out the personalized labels! Ya gotta love it..and it's awesome stick to your teeth lusciousness!!

Appreciation

handles all attached today!

Engobe

Stuff that goes on before firing.

built-in chopstick rest

I've seen bowls like this..I confess that this bowl was rolling around in the truck and a piece broke off..so I carved it out and smoothed it for the chopstick resting spot. I've even seen bowls with 2 holes punched out to accomodate the tips of the chopsticks.

Pulling handles

It's a yuhky job, but someone's gotta do it!!

Lehua's Sleep-Less Over

The girl turned 9 and had some friends over. Our place has some sleep areas but these gals decided to slee perpendicular in a twin bed!! I thought it was quiet at 12:30, but they swear they went to bed at 4 a.m.!!

Progressive Dinner

I belong to the church..you know..OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS aka..Mormons and my calling or job in the church is to plan stuff for the women..of course, with a purpose. So my committee (of 2 but growing) planned a progressive dinner. 3 houses were selected in close proximity. Our place..the Lilly's, the Brunson's and the Palmer's. The food committee was called to help. At our place was the au douvres/appetizers/cru di te; the Brunson's Place had soups and dessert was served at the Palmer's. We decided that at each location we would have the women make things to help out at church.

We put our testimonies inside the Books of Mormon for our sister missionaries, we serged table cloths for the Young Women, shaker implements for the nursery: The idea? Use pvc pipe painted in bright colors, put bells, nails, rice, sand or marbles inside and seal the ends--too bad we couldn't hear the ringing of the bells when the pipes were sealed :-(   The Nestles crunch bars were wrapped with "thanks for helping us in a crunch) for people who substitute teach with the kids in Primary, and missing from the picture are the cricut graphics that we laminated as birthday recognition pieces also for the Primary.

The food was awesome! One of my friends was asked to do centerpieces for 6 tables...she came in as a crew of two with peacock feathers, swaths of filmy cloth, shiny beads, large vases and flowers....WOW!! The ladies all had a great time catching up and helping with the projects. Cutesy..

I admit to being able to do all of these things..but having other people DO IT is something I'm not used to. No more army of one!! If people ask what I don't know how to do...I tell them I haven't done ice carving..YET!!

teapot 2

I  hurriedly threw 2 bowls and 2 small saucers..hurried because of time crunch and really wanting to put this together...and because Vokolek says, "Every closed pot has a secret." I think my secret is that these were really BAD pots but I knew they had potential. One saucer is upside down becoming the bottom then a bowl is right-side-up, joined to another bowl that is upside down. I cut a hole in that one to put a lid inside and the second saucer sits in the hole as a lid. I'm trying to decide if the elephant trunk-ish spout needs to be cut ouff short and not seem so much like A THINGY to me. I'm working on finishing some texture on the bottom and will clean it up a tad before setting it on the rack to dry. My at home projects will be complete except for a Franken-pot I've been trying to save...wish me luck!!

teapot lid

So, I had the teapot in the car, in a box on the floor, safe..until I dropped the car keys on the lid. My heavy weight pot with the chipped lid...I don't want to make it again..lids DO NOT fit when made again with different stressors on new clay..this was my solution..I carved the 2 divots into flower petals and finished more petals around the lid. Now it's too feminine for the pot, but I don't wanna chuck into the clay graveyard before it's time!

Sicilian Seafood

Yeah..for a couple of years now, Brandon's family spends MLK Day making this seafood dish..it has fish and clams and crab...and Mary makes couscous from scratch.  So that resolution of eating sensibly and walking every day goes right out the window!!

I see a trend here...

My Columbia jacket, my hiking backpack, my favorite hat, a gourd I worked on a few years ago, my new scarf that still needs fringe, a purse I've had for a couple of years, and a ceramic piece in Bailey's red...I think some dishes are gonna be this color...shades of orange!  The trend has been coming for a long time..so maybe trend isn't the correct word!

Wandering thoughts..

The blog is showing a lot of pottery.  I DO live a life outside of pots.  If all goes well, soon I will have my bike and things will be changing.  In the next few months there will be some decisions to make.  Some I will have control over, others I will not have control over.  Some things are back to square one of a year ago--housing??  Job??  School??  Why??  What??  I really want to laugh out loud a lot more, and to sing out  to my heart's content.  I've not been able to do this for a long while.
 
I feel awesomely HIGH in 2 things that I do...volleyball is one and pottery is the other.  I think it's because these things are tangible; that I can decide to improve in little steps: serve every ball over; serve every ball overhand; go after everything that I can without injuring someone else or myself; push myself off the ground using my right leg with the knee surgery; go after a hit at every set no matter if it's on the net or low or bad; try a soft block; stuff a ball at the net, etc.

In pottery? Make wonderful pots that I love!

These are different than handling loneliness and sadness.  I try to be good to others; to curtail negative criticism;  to have a positive attitude.  These are spiritual things; important things; heavy things:  my quality of life is improved when I send only good and peace out from my center.

making notes

Usually after each pottery session I write notes and set goals for the next session--right now it's all about basic shapes and forms, but I will need to study a lot and branch out into finding my own niche, a decorating style or form style all my own. Some of my pottery friends are quite accomplished..I wish to imitate them...but I need to find ME in all of this. I know I'm not the feminine potter of thin porcelain dishes..but I'm not the heavy handed potter either...something in between. As with other creative endeavors..it becomes a MADNESS! There is so much more to explore and learn! And back at the studio I have more pieces to put handles on and build into teapots. I challenge myself to wedge 10-12 mounds of clay and to turn them into something within an hour or so on the wheel. Yesterday I was running out of time and globbed 2 mounds together..I threw a huge serving bowl...today I took a look and the bottom was too thin; so I lumped it all together and will turn it into something else next time. That is the next step...TO GO LARGER and see how large a mound I will be able to control, shape and form.

decorating

Wedgewood blue engobe...on greenware...these still need to bisque fire. After that I need to decide what to glaze over it!

My first teapot

Snow nite lites

Ceramics II

Ceramics II means throwing like production work and studying glazes. I did these pieces the first day, on the second day of class I cleaned and trimmed the pieces and pulled handles.

After attaching handles I threw the bowls--small enough for a little icecream after dinner!

The third session was at an open lab and I threw these..larger bowls and other mug shapes. Today I tried plates...hmmmm...who needs plates anyway, when you have all these bowls! I don't think plates will be a one session thing! While I was at the studio I got the call to go squiding..it was FREEZING and I only had a sweatshirt on. Now I'm too tired for homework!  Well, I will have to make the glazes for these too!