Clay Creations!

Well, this is it... the end of the term. Had a little delay in getting back the last of the ceramics as one of kilns was down. Now I'm in the process of packing them up & deciding which to give away, which to keep & wondering if I can wait as long a Christmas to share them. Probably not, as I've already started giving them away! Here's the bulk of my creations this quarter, minus the 20 or so I've given away~

And some "up close shots" of some of my favorites... of course I made some more of the coffee bean mugs~

Here's the big salad bowl I was so happy about in a previous post, though it doesn't look so big in this picture! I also made 4 smaller bowls to go with it. I wasn't ecstatic about the glaze choice afterwards, but chose a clear glaze to try to bring forth the natural dark clay body~

One of my favorite bowls I decided to keep for myself... I just love this glaze~ 

It looks like a plate here! I think I'm a lot better at landscape photography than studio photography! Here's the back... I'm experimenting w/ different "signatures" & liked this one.

The next one I call the "Zen Bowl..." I don't know... it just looks Zen to me. I've decided who this bowl is going to, but that is top secret!

Another "keeper," I've already used the bowl below for french toast! (None of my plates turned out well, and I don't really like making them, so I just cut the french toast into bite size pieces, add banana & syrup.) This funky bowl was an experiment in carving & use of stains.

The glaze in the bowl below kinda looks like an eye, doesn't it?

And just a few more favorites~

It was fun experimenting with different glazes!

I think the use of different glazes can totally define what the bowls are used for... whether decorative, salad, soup or ice cream. I love the glaze in the one below, and it was difficult not to keep, but I already gave it away... it's fun to give handmade gifts!

I've really enjoyed my ceramics class this quarter, and am hoping I can figure out some way in the not too distant future to have this sort of creating be present in my daily life!

:)

First a Glimmer...

I bought this card last summer at the Tesuque Flea Market near Santa Fe. It is by mixed media artist/poet/photographer Lisa Chun. You can check out her website & work here:
http://www.lisachun.com/
I love her work... a lot of the words she choses for her works resonate with me. It's hard to make out the text above. It says "This must be the way dreams are built, first a glimmer, something shaken down from the stars, something made from light & air & hope. Then comes all the days of quiet activity in support of it." So, this is the deal. I want to live my life creatively. I want figure out how I can make a living through being creative... I just haven't figured out exactly how to go about it. Sure, I have ideas... glimmers of creativity, of hope. Some people know exactly what they want, and how to go about achieving their goals. I had this idea years ago... pay off my student loans, figure out where I want to be (in this case, southern Oregon,) start taking art classes... and it would all fall into place. So, I've done all those things... but things have not quite fallen into place the way I thought they would. One of my classmates said to me "maybe you just have to be patient"... only I feel like I have been patient for years. So for now, I just continue the "days of quiet activity in support of it."