Good News, (Im)patience & Another (not so) Big Bear

The good news is, my "cartoon bear" from the last post made it from my little apartment to school & onto the kiln shelf intact. Now comes the waiting... and trying to remain patient.   I often feel I use up all my good patience at work, and then when it comes to getting things done in my personal life... I want it all to happen now, and I have to admit, it's one thing that drives me crazy about ceramics in the classroom setting... the waiting for firing- which could take weeks (or longer!) Aiiiiiiiii!!! So, in the meantime, what's a girl to do but do more work. I swore I wasn't going to work in my apartment again due to the tight space & constant clean up, but sure enough, as soon as I dropped off the Big Bear, wouldn't you know I picked up another bag of clay & got right to work the very next day. Here's the finished bear (soon to be in line w/ his buddy on the kiln shelf!) He's quite a bit smaller- about 8 inches tall & 16 inches long, which is still rather large, considering what I was doing before I started this class.

Another angle below~

I rather like the way it turned out... a bit less cartoonish & more bear-like to me.

And while I won't bore you all to tears with a million photos on process like I did last time, I will share a few... lucky you!

:)

I figured it would be easier if downshifted a bit, and went a little smaller this time... still working mostly w/ slab construction. I also figured I'd let the slabs dry a bit instead of working w/ wetter slabs that tend to collapse. Problem w/ that was, the thinner/drier slabs tended to crack during construction... so I was constantly re-wetting, smoothing & repairing as I went along. My 3 hour project turned in to an all day affair. I don't feel my construction was all that consistent, so I figure this one has a pretty good chance of blowing apart during the firing... so we'll see. Here's the work in progress below~

And as usual, there was the problem w/ the dreaded head! I can see in my mind exactly how I want it to look, but I can't seem to get the picture in my head to translate to the form!

Yes, again I redid his head at least 3 times before I could live with it.

Though the pic above would probably adequately describe how I was feeling as I was trying to get it right. And now, again comes the waiting game. In the meantime, I have been working on some assignments for class... but nothing I have really been able to sink my teeth into, or get really excited about, though I'll probably post some assignments here at some point or another. I have, however, been checking out various different types of sculptural clay online, & ordered a few clay books that I'm (im)patiently waiting for. There are certain types of clays that tend to be a bit more forgiving which would be a huge plus for larger sculptural works, and I'm anxious to give them a try. Until next time!

:)

"I go to nature to be soothed & healed,

 and have my senses put in order."

~John Burroughs

And boy did I need to put my senses in order! Today was my first opportunity to get out in nature in far too long! I've been busy as usual, with work and finally with unpacking. It has been a stressful transition, my moving to Santa Fe. Finding affordable housing was the hardest part. I thought I had found a place and had my car packed after moving out of my little temporary casita... only to find the place filthy when I got there. The whole interaction I had with the owner of the place had been odd from the start (she doesn't live in town, and I was largely dealing with her friend here, it took a week to hear back on my credit & ref check, and there were some odd things written into the lease.) To find the place a mess the day I was supposed to move in (with my car loaded with all my belongings) was the final straw! I certainly did not want to be in a lease situation with a flaky landlord. At this point, I was beyond stressed... work had been extremely  busy, and to not have my own place to come home to was pushing me toward the edge! "Things are not supposed to be this difficult," I said to myself... so I gave it a timeframe. 1 week. If I didn't find a decent place in one week, I was packing up & heading back to San Diego for a re-group, and then likely back to the travel job. Well, thank goodness, I found a place 2 days later. Whew! So, after almost a month here, I finally have a cozy little place. It's very cute... and at roughly 450 square feet, very tiny!

It's also a bit more than I had anticipated, which means I may have to pick up a few more shifts at work, but I suppose a girl's got to do what a girl's got to do. The really good news is my ceramics classes start next week, and for that I am excited! That is really one of the main reasons for moving here, you know. Well, that and the close proximity to the most beautiful (see above) escapes in nature which soothe my soul, feed my spirit, and put a little joy in my heart!

(Ok... maybe the red chile has a bit do do with it, too!)

Hope you are all doing well!

:)