House Birds

One of our outlets is closing, so I picked up a group of House Birds from them.
Now they are Studio Birds, as I put them up all around the studio entrance.

nuthatch

pileated woodpecker

I'm adding the leaves to the house bird group in front of the house. Pics to follow...

On an unrelated note, I am attempting to scrub the words "amazing" and "awesome" from my vocabulary, but  think you will agree that this video is rather remarkable~

Three weeks until Showcase

large oval platter w/ wavy lip 

Production is going full tilt with only three weeks left until Ceramic Showcase. I'm switching things up in the studio, moving back into animal and plants in addition to dots and stripes, and adding color to the black & white.

tray with scalloped edge

Despite that Portlandia episode (you know the one), I persist in putting birds on everything. 

Platter with green fish

I'll have to stop making pots soon and get my booth figured out, there are so many details to track when getting prepared for a show. I feel like I am starting from zero, it has really been years and years since I've done this.

This video of pendulum waves is mesmerizing.

Gearing up for Ceramic Showcase

bear with branch (unglazed)

We haven't done a show or craft fair for many years. It seemed to be about time to show our faces in public, so we signed up for Ceramic Showcase this year. Scheduled for April 26, 27, & 28th, it is the largest pottery show and sale in the country. Lucky for us, it's right here in Portland.

tests and stains and brushes

I'm still working with my dotty black & white series, but I have been tempted into adding a splash of color here and there. Just like in the children's book, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, one thing leads to another, so now I am back to drawing animals and flowers too~

origami bowls & mini plates (unglazed)

I am currently favoring birds, bears, and fish. But, as you can see, the barnyard is not off-limits either~

a couple of goats (unglazed)

I go through a lot of slip-trailers. My current favorite is the homemade version, formed like miniature pastry bags from mylar or plastic gift wrap. There is very little hand fatigue when using these little dears~

spent slip-trailers

Here is a post about how to make them if you are interested.

A Priestess in Myanmar has to kiss an enormous King Cobra three times to save her village from a curse caused by its anger, watch this to see how that worked out~

Making templates for origami pots

 origami pot

I promised ages ago that I would show how my origami pots are made. To begin, you need to make a template. 

here are a few that I made 

 some useful items to begin

It's helpful to assemble a few basic tools as pictured above. I scrounge around for paper, on the stiffish side, to make the actual templates out of.  I have used manilla envelopes, file folders, cereal boxes, sketch pads, and such. 

Here is how to draw an oval:

Cut a length of string and tie it to form a loop. Place two push pins through the paper you intend to use.
Experiment with the placement of the pins and the length of the string loop to achieve the shape you like.

the string will stretch a bit, so go around a few times 

Using the string and the pins as shown above, draw an oval with a pencil.

 not an exact science

I'm guessing that there is some kind of formula out there to calculate dimensions, cross-referencing string length vs pin spacing, but I just go with trial and error until I am satisfied.

 cut it out

Pick a line to follow and cut out your oval. Mark the center using a ruler to measure, make a little 'x'.

fold it up

Experiment with folds, using the center to gauge distances to keep it symmetrical. On this one, I folded the long sides such that they meet in the middle and then folded the ends so that the sides would all be the same height.

 notches

Cut notches in the corners, one aligned with the side fold and one bisecting the corner. You don't need to remove the entire corner, that little extra bit of clay will help make the seam.

 tape it up

Lightly tape the corners to see how the finished shape will look. If you don't like it, make another one; you aren't really very committed yet.

it might look like this

 finished origami pot

I call this one a 'cradle' shape (for obvious reasons.)

 circle template

Another approach is to begin with a circle. I just traced around a bat that I had on hand, but you could use a compass or any other round thing. The rest of the process is the same as before: find the center, fold the sides, snip the corners.

tape it up to see what you have

I over-shot on the cuts as you can see, but it doesn't matter. Had I folded the template using the longer cuts, it would have higher sides and a smaller footprint. Experiment around to find the shape you like.

here you go

origami dish

I'll show the clay part of this process next time.

What to do when the bus doesn't come and you want to scream-> click

Clear decks

work table, all clear

The hubbub of the holidays is now past. Everything is peaceful and quiet in the studio.

ready for something

I have a million ideas of what to do next. I designed some new origami forms that I'm itching to make.

I will finally put up pictures of how I make them here too. 

I can take my time for now, no pressure.

 a light dusting of snow on the goose

We'd love to pretend that we are snowed in, but this amount is not enough. Still, I really should take care of having the snow tires put on, just in case.

 snow just heavy enough to topple an onion top

I do have a winter garden going, but I have discovered that I don't really like winter gardening. It's sloppy out and cold. It's nice to know that if food was needed that it could be produced. But for now, my feeling about it is kind of meh...

 succulents in the orange dot planter will survive

Taking care of the cactus and succulents is about as much as I want to do in the garden arena. That, and planning the vegetable garden for this coming season; counting out leftover seed packets, recalling the varieties of carrots (not Yaya, much too tiny) and lettuces (Butterhead is all the rage around here) and radishes (Dragon, have you seen it?) that I liked best, to order more seed

cacti safe from freezing on the birdwatcher's table

 And, a tile job just came in (yay). Sea shells are in the offing.