doodles and excavations

recently excavated

Every pottery has a shard pile somewhere, sometimes several. We simply place broken but interesting pieces here and there around our property, often along paths. Mr. Cranky found this (ancient!) platter that one of us made (can't remember who) many years ago, buried, but partially sticking up out of the woods near the studio. 

plate rim as headdress 

The rim had separated from the center and makes a nice headdress addition to our broken "haniwa" figure.

miscellaneous clay doodles

We have been spending our free time sitting on the terrace modelling random clay elements by hand for use in ...? Well, we haven't actually decided yet, but we are amassing a nice collection of interesting small pieces, some with holes in them for hanging. Mr. Cranky is making relics and crosses using a technique similar to the one in the platter above, coils of clay arranged to make patterns. This method lends itself to bronze-y glazes and stains that can be applied and then partially wiped away to emphasize texture and pattern.

outdoor bed upgrade 

In other news, summer has finally arrived here in the pacific northwest and the outdoor bed is back with a snazzy new canopy (thanks, Lisa) and fresh linens. I miss the orange color of the old mosquito net, but this does make the bed feel like a miniature palace. Sweet, except that the fifty acres across the street is just starting to be logged. They start at seven am (of course) and are very noisy. So much for sleeping in...

bumblebee drizzle

still waiting for summer to begin...

bumblebee 

On the other hand, the broaches with magnetic backs came out really well. The glaze is nice and thick and the images didn't run or blur. Look what else you can do with them:

ceramic paper clip

The ultimate in executive desk ornaments, a handmade clay/magnet paper clip.

I also discovered that you can put them up on a wall if you can locate a nail for the magnet to adhere to:

beetle on the shed

teehee

Earthworks by Robert Smithson; I like the spiral jetty.

dinner plates and misty terrace

dinner plates, musical variations

misty day on the terrace

 drip, drip, drip...

foggy too

 view from the summer bed

not summer yet though

no morning coffee outside today

necklaces await cords

A musical interlude while waiting for the kiln to cool

My current musical obsession, Zaz. I watch this practically everyday. It makes me so happy. I love her voice, her affect, her joie d' vie.

And for punctuation lovers out there, colons are on the march.

Broaches, not cookies

nearly edible 

When I was in Arizona visiting my mom, I saw broaches that  had magnets instead of pins affixed to the backs. This struck me as a brilliant solution to the problem of placing a pin in just the right spot; easy to move around and no stabbing. I promptly laid in a supply of strong magnets and got down to business producing porcelain broaches.

tray of sketches on broaches

I am always in need of something simple and small to use to sketch ideas and to warm up the slip-trailer before tackling large pieces. I used to use tiles for this, but this winter I started making tiny (2 1/2") dishes which are perfect warm-up pieces. Last month, I made dozens of small ovals in porcelain to hold in reserve to sketch on, but I apparently have no impulse control because I decorated all of them at once.

 jewelry, not cookies

A wareboard full of these is irresistible, I simply can't stop decorating with just a few. I guess I had better find a place to sell these.

waiting for glaze

I have a kiln full (dozens and dozens!) of these firing right now, in black & white and blue & white. I hope the glaze is nice and thick and glossy with no blurring. Stay tuned...

I like the sculptures of Brendan Monroe. 

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!

peppermint patties

little valentine tiles and a peppermint patty

I have been making weekly batches of peppermint patties all winter. The first batch only lasted two days, the second only a day longer, but we seem to be settling in to one week per batch now that we have calmed down about them.

Vanilla, peppermint, powdered sugar, coconut milk

They are so easy to make, it almost feels like cheating somehow. You need to allow time for things to chill from time to time with this recipe, but otherwise it is a very simple, fool-proof process.

thin mint patties

I like to make them thinner than usual to increase the ratio of dark chocolate to mint.

it's okay to be messy

These do settle down a little and are smoother in the end, but who cares if they don't look professional? Well, I do, a little bit. The photo above is an example of a rushed job.

peppermint patty on a teeny tiny dish

So good.

*I make them vegan by substituting coconut milk for evaporated and earth balance for butter. And 70% dark chocolate (Trader Joe's) is amazing!  Recipe.

Making decisions just became easier.