Saturday, July 18, 2020

Kiln Unload.






  Today's kiln unload was a good one! There is some finished work, and some work that still needs colored washes and a last firing. The ice cream cones need a full glazing. I'm getting this work together for the online Open Studios website. I also hope to get my own website up and running one day... After unloading the kiln, I headed off to order some take out shrimp tempura from Inaka, in San Juan Bautista. It was fabulous...







Thursday, July 9, 2020

Paper Clay Toy Telephones






Today, I started working on some toy telephones. I finished the boxes, but will need to make the handsets this weekend. The paper clay doesn't take detail well, so it's necessary to make the dials and buttons out of a smoother clay. I think that the handsets can be made of paper clay. Meanwhile, some large bowls are cooling in the kiln. Can't wait to see how they turned out!










Tuesday, July 7, 2020

Virginia Hall and Ice Cream Cones







Today, I worked on making ice cream cones and wall donuts. The cones have to be made with the really wet, sloppy clay that is at the bottom of the bag. And, the ice cream part is a good way to use up slip. It's very messy! I also made some wall donuts on plates. They will have wires in the back for hanging. All of this happened while I was listening to a fantastic book about Virginia Hall. She was an American woman, who was repeatedly turned down for relevant jobs in the foreign service. When she did get work, it was always as a receptionist. She had amazing language skills, and a lot of charisma. So, she applied for Winston Churchill's secret spy network, Special Operations Executives, the S. O. E. Virginia had experienced a leg amputation, after a shooting accident while hunting. She was fitted with a prosthetic leg. I just finished off the part where she becomes imbedded in France, as a reporter for an American magazine. She relays information about life in occupied France. What she's really doing, is letting other S. O. E. agents in on the terrain, and the culture of life in occupied France, so that when they parachute in, they will be able to quickly adapt and blend in. I can't wait to keep listening!










Tuesday, June 30, 2020

Weekend Glaze-a-Palooza


Starting coats on little flower heads...

Sanding the bottom of a bowl...

Layers and layers of color on these bowls...

These are the last of the worry stones...

Most of these will have a dark wash...

Or, maybe a turquoise wash...

The bowls have matte glazes on the interiors...

They will also have dark washes...

Thursday, June 25, 2020

"Hey there, cupcake..."

Today, we made cupcake boxes in the shed...
Each cupcake box needs a lid with a flange...
These molds help to support the heavy lids...
Winston was worried that we wouldn't finish...
The lids need an air hole, and some swirly topping...
It looks like a 3D poop emoji before it's carved...
Attaching the lids to the boxes...
Now, they just need to dry...
Yesterday's wall nests are drying nicely in the kitchen...

Wednesday, June 24, 2020

Nesting.

I'm going to be possibly setting up a web page...

So, I guess that I need a lot more work...

This morning, I made some wall nests...

The nests are formed with coils...

And, they are smoothed and coils are connected...

Hoping to get them dried quickly, in this warm weather...



Tuesday, June 23, 2020

Bowling.

More worry stones just popped out of the kiln...
And, there is a swarm of bowls...
These bowls are on their second firing... 
The bowls will be sitting on stands... 
All of the bowls had to be whitewashed...
The whitewash makes the colors of glaze more vivid...


Wall Pieces & The Devil Who Cried Wolf

  I'm trying to start to limit my screen time. I feel like I'm hopelessly addicted to Instagram, and Threads. This is not good for m...