the dreaded s-crack

see that horrible, unwelcome curved line inside the foot-ring?

It's called an s-crack (even though it is more of a "c" in this case).The photo above shows what sometimes happens to the inside foot of a bowl thrown off the hump. There is plenty of advice in pottery books and online about how to avoid this (clay body, compression techniques, trimming tricks, etc). And yet...

ready to attack the problem

I can sometimes save the piece by burnishing the crack firmly with a hardwood stick.

firm pressure with the crack, across the crack, and around and around

looks pretty good, neh?

Oh, but I won't stop here. No I won't.

adding paperclay 

I don't trust burnishing alone. I prepare a slurry of dry clay mixed with paper pulp and a water/vinegar mix for crack repair. I smear it over the burnished crack with a stiff brush.

perfect

Now, I have to see if it makes it through the bisque and glaze firings intact. Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't. Stay tuned.

Drowning beautiful, so incredible!

a plate a day #506

dinner plate from the textile series

An unexpected honor from one of my favorite blogs, a plate a day.

black cab sessions~ the miserable rich

banksy!movie!excited!!!

Ooooh, can't wait.
I've talked about Banksy before. I love his manifesto:

When I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bicycle.
Then I realised God doesn’t work that way, so I stole
one and prayed for forgiveness.


Champagne top chairs.

heat wave

Yes it is.

My new favorite photographer.
(via Bliss)

Vignettes from around the house

coffee table with sunflowers

Mr. Cranky made the tiles for this table in the early seventies. The table was made by our very talented friends, David Simon and Bill Toney (they have a store). The pitcher with a pair of birds was made by our friends from Astoria, Michael and Lorna Zametkin. The sunflowers were from Trader Joe's and wilted way too soon. 

nice birds

vignette

My son made this clay head in middle school ceramics class. I put the little crystal on the forehead and placed it with a small sculpture made by Mr. Cranky.

Since we are using our dog kennel for a baby chick house, maybe we need one of these.

Just in case

Wary of the danger posed by bears, Little never goes anywhere without her foothold trap.

Paper cut rolls (miniature worlds).

forty-two seconds of amazingness

via

also hahaha

Cardew

Beautiful bowls by one of my heroes, Michael Cardew (1901-1984).

I love the free, relaxed finger swipes through the slip and the robust, solid, comforting form of these bowls. Plus, he is adorable:

mud houses

Jealous

I keep an extremely messy inspiration board.

Gennine Zlatkis does not.

Neither does J. Otto Seibold.

A delicate balance

The Amaryllis is blooming with such exuberance that Mr. Cranky had to rig a yarn and twig support.
We love having flowers in the house.

A poetical visual musical interlude.

Artist, bunliu

Very creative.
I love stop motion video.

*thanks Mat :)

Artist, Motoi Yamamoto

Labyrinth

Sakura (cherry), detail
Sakura

Motoi Yamamoto is a Japanese artist who uses salt as his medium. That's right, ordinary table salt. (I just love to see what other artists think up.) He is very philosophical about his work and I can't begin to encapsulate the essence of his ideas here. His art reflects his interest in exploring life, death, meditation, and memory. Because salt is consumed or used by all living things, he sees it as a substance that demonstrates the interconnectedness of all life. (He asks that the salt from exhibitions be returned to the ocean when the the show is over.) Asked about the impermanence of the work, he says it does not matter if the work lasts or does not last. It will last as long as it will.
He uses a tool that looks like a large slip trailer and sits on the floor, presumably for hours, drawing intricate, elaborate mazes and labyrinths with ordinary table salt. Remarkable.

If you are really interested in his process, here's an eight minute video of him working on an installation:


Still more on Yamamoto here.

Artist, Apak

I am madly in love with everything these two do. They live in the sweet fantasy land pictured above, but you need special vision to see it this way in real life.

I mean, who else could make a sloth look cute?

Apak is the fantastical magical duo( as they put it) known as Aaron Piland and Ayumi Kajuikawa Piland. Visit their flickr page to see some tiny sculptures that look positively edible.

A pink tapir? Having tea? Brilliant.

Of course, they have an etsy store too.

dead battery + juliapott

I just love the animated videos by Londoner, Julia Pott. She will even make a custom animation for you!
I have to deal with a dead battery emergency this morning, so this seemed an appropriate post to fill in for my Monday missive.

Artist, Joana Vasconcelos

I don't remember how I found this Russian blog, but these crochet pieces by Joana Vasconcelos are fantastic. Click here to see more of her work. I can't understand a word of the text on the blog, but there are some great images to see.
I have admired these crocheted stones forever, by Canadian Margaret Oomen, who has a good eye for photography (see her etsy shop) and strong connection with nature. I follow her blog, Ressurection Fern and her flickr photostream. She is the embodiment someone who finds art in daily life.

Artist, Kyle McDonald

Kyle McDonald started a project, the goal of which was to trade a red paperclip for a house. It took him one year and fourteen trades to achieve his aim. His first trade was for a wooden fish pen belonging to two vegan women who (being vegan) didn't really want a fish pen.
He traded the pen to a Seattle sculptor for a handmade clay doorknob.
From there, he traded for a Coleman stove which he exchanged for a generator, followed by a keg of beer with a neon Budweiser sign, next for a snowmobile, and on it went until he actually had a house. A nice house.
He tells the tale in a book called One Red Paperclip but you can read about the series of exchanges and adventures on his blog. It is a very entertaining story, and he tells it well.
I think of projects like this as a form of performance art (art in daily life!).

Artist, Bovey Lee

Bovey Lee says "Although the hand cutting process demands from me extreme concentration and fastidiousness, it is also at once immensely gratifying and spiritual."
Wow, I would hope so.

I would like to have one tenth of her talent and skill.

via design*sponge

Artist, Brock Davis

I just found this picture via Burstoid and proceeded to get swallowed up in Laser Bread's photostream on flickr. Creative, versatile, clever, fun.This reminds me of my series in Tales where everyone gets a pet (upcoming).
I really want to steal this image. So great.
More here.

Artist, J. Morgan Puett

J. Morgan Puett is crazy-creative and versatile.
She is represented by Alexander Gray Associates in (where else?) New York.

Artist, name unknown

Needle Sized Art

http://www.guzer.com/videos/needle-art.php

If you have not seen this yet, prepare to be astounded.