Let the Beauty of what you Love be what you Do...
~Rumi

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Wednesday is Clay Day... Part 4

Well, truth be told... pretty much all my days off for the past 2 weeks have been clay days. Which is great, but then other things that you need to do on a daily basis don't get done. You know, thing like running errands, going grocery shopping, cooking a decent meal... those sorts of things. You see, I only have a couple short weeks left until my class ends and when it does, so does my access to the studio. Sooooooo, this is why on any given day, my kitchen table looks like this!


 I was playing around w/ slab work. My very loose template was the vase on the left... but I wanted to make it a little more "flowy," & came up with this~


It has the potential to look quite cool once it's glazed! And do you remember my little bear from "Days off are the Best," many posts ago? 
Well, I made another one, though a smaller version~


And I finally got back the original from the other post!
Here he is glazed~ I call him my good energy bear... 'cause he really is chock full of good energy!
:)


And here they are together, so you get the idea of size~


And now back to the Micaceous Clay! Well, those of you who have been following my blog since I was taking classes up in Oregon know that I love to document process, and am rather intrigued by it. But dang it... I forgot to take pictures as I was making this pot! To give you an idea... I'm showing some of the scraping & sanding that goes on to reach the finished product. Pretty exciting stuff, eh?


Here I am scraping the inside of the pot. This one was a lot smaller than my first one, and my first closed form (has a lid) pot ever. Since it was small, I felt the walls should be thin... and in order to get nice thin walls from where I started, a lot of scraping was necessary. This was actually a lot of fun! I sat out on my front porch in the sunshine in my PJ's with an endless cup of coffee... my kinda day! :) Below is the pot after the scraping, but before the sanding.


My feelings about this pot are fairly neutral. I don't absolutely love it, except in an I made it so I gotta love it, kinda way but I don't dislike it either. I do have to say this though, doesn't it kinda remind you of Charlie Brown's head?
Seriously... I didn't mean for it to come out that way, but it is kinda shaped that way, is it not?! Then on to the sanding... will this excitement ever end???


... and more sanding~


And finally, after applying 3 coats of micaceous slip, and hand burnishing w/ stones
(oops! forgot to take pictures of that~ suffice it to say it is a long and lengthy process!)
My finished pot... sparkling in the morning sun!



Whew! That was a lot of work! Now again comes the wait for the firing & the anticipation of whether it will make it through, and how the look will transform if it does. In the meantime, I finally got some glazing done on some cups & bowls I threw on the wheel weeks ago, and I'm concurrently working on 2 more Micaceous Pots... another small closed form & another big one like my first~ but they've just been placed under wraps for now... as I go back to those crazy 10 hour shifts at work. It's funny, 'cause I get tired after 8 hours in the studio... so imagine how I feel after a 10 hour work day! 
Can anyone say "Couch Potato?"
Until next week...
:) 


20 comments:

Lisa said...

You do some very very beautiful work and I know its not easy. Keep on going . I love to see what you do.
What an amazing art.

Daliana Pacuraru said...

Yes, indeed...
I love Wednesday stories!
Is like watching you from morning till evening .
Compliments

jo©o said...

Hiya Becky,

As a rule I am not one to wow and ooh and ah.
But in your case: you have a real talent for this, and the dedication to see things through.
I'd take out a bank loan, get the equipment ( second hand) and make a career out of it. When these things of yours appeal to a person that couldn't care less about pots (me), then they must be really special. Have you tried selling some to see how it goes? Or entered them in a craft show?

That Charlie Brown pot is absolutely wonderful. Now I will be sitting here worrying when it goes through the firing.

And please put a sheet of plastic down to protect that cherry/maple table top :-)

snoring solutions said...

you did a great job,the pots are looking beautiful.This is a fascinating post!

Wanda..... said...

Didn't know the original bear was so large, Becky. My son-in-law still has multiple items "under wrap" here that need firing; his photography and furniture finishing jobs keep him occupied!

I really like the Charlie Brown pot, it has a pumpkin look somewhat too!

clairz said...

I am learning so much from you, Becky, about this process and about the joy of creating wonderful pots. Eight hours in the studio! That alone is pretty impressive!

Robin said...

Such a wonderful, enlightening post! I really enjoy seeing you go through "the process"....it is fascinating! I love the bears.....they BOTH radiate good, healing energy.....and - the "Charlie Brown" pot - so true...it DOES resemble his head - and yet, does have a Pumpkin-Autumnal sense as well.

You are really, truly talented.....and I hope all of these latest works "make it through".

Annie says you may be leaving Santa Fe soon.....I hope it isn't the case....I think you find great inspiration there....

Sending you hugs from San Francisco,

♥ Robin ♥

Annie said...

Becky, you made me laugh out loud about your pot looking like Charlie Brown's head! I think it is a wonderful pot and also your bears! I really love them. My kitchen looks like yours on clay day! I can't leave it all out though because of my cats. I look forward to coming here and reading about your wonderful adventures in clay. xoxo
P.S. I need to know how you made that lid, and so perfect!

becky said...

Hi Everyone~ thanks for all your lovely compliments!
:) :) :)

Dee said...

I appreciate that you take the time to share everything with us. :)

Rick said...

A great post Becky, taking us through the process and showing the progress along the way (well, most of it ;-)

Love that pot and especially the lid - yup, Charlie Brown all the way, but great ! Good luck with the firing !

Take it a bit easy on those 10 hour shifts - gotta save some for the 8 hour studio shifts !

Daliana Pacuraru said...

Please, have a wonderful weekend!
Regards!

Barb said...

Hi Becky,
I'm back home - loved my trip through NM. The weather was perfect while we were there. Your little scalloped pot reminds me of fall - kinda looks like a pumpkin. The bears will look great together with a candle between them to cast a warm glow. I hope these pieces make it through the firing.

KClark Photography said...

That vase looks very exciting. Can't wait to see which glaze you choose.

Kate said...

Hi Becky, Again I am mesmerized by your description of the process. Hope all goes well during the firing.

Anonymous said...

When you do the gourdshaped pot, can you give it the same coloured glaze dribbles as my vegetable one?
That would be fun.
jo

Pat said...

You are so funny! I laughed out loud at the Charlie Brown comment!

I love the lip of the lid! I'm happy it's not just round, but shaped with some imagination! Really cool!

You really do have talent when it comes to making pots young lady!

Doris Sturm said...

What a wonderful looking vessel. Can you actually cook in it - I think it would look fantastic on a Thanksgiving Table with pumpkin soup inside....or it could be a centerpiece with dried flowers and/or fruit...I really, really want one of your energy bears. Do you sell them?

Tammie Lee said...

I love your bears!! They are wonderful and this final pot is gorgeous too, you are are gifted with a wonderful style.

Lisa said...

Thank you for the gift of see you at work here.