December in Santa Fe :)

Winter greetings to you on this last day of 2012! 

While it seems winter came a little late this year, we have been blessed with a fair amount of snow this December. I love the seasons here, and I find it particularly beautiful here in winter after a fresh dusting of snow... it sounds cliche, but it truly is like walking in a winter wonderland! I'm sharing a few photos I've taken out & about on my rare days off this month~ hope you enjoy them!

:)

My Driveway~ early December.

:)

~St Francis Cathedral~

~Holiday reflections~

~Christmas lights on the Plaza~

Below is the Christmas Eve walk on Canyon Rd. I hadn't done this in a couple of years, as I had simply been too tired after work... but I'm really glad I went this year. 

It had just started to snow as my friend & I arrived... making it all the more festive. They close down the streets to car traffic & farolitos line the path from the beginning to the end of Canyon Rd.

It was a really nice way to spend Christmas Eve. I woke the next morning to a white Christmas day of relaxation. I had the day off, but rather than join friends for Christmas festivities, I chose to stay home & relax, & talk to family back home. I had a fire going all day & into the evening... it was wonderfully cozy!

I'll miss my place when I move. While it is funky (which I love!) & expensive to heat in the winter (which I don't love...) it has also been my one of my favorite places that I have lived in Santa Fe. It's within walking distance to the Plaza... and as I woke to another dusting of snow this morning, I thought I'd get out & about on this beautiful New Year's Eve for a little photo walk around town.

:)

Snowy New Year's Eve on the Plaza.

Window on Cienega St.

Graffiti on the railcars.

Snowy Railyard.

I am lucky to live in such a beautiful place!

☺

Wishing you all a very safe & Happy New Year & the very best in 2013!

☼☆☼

Sky Awesomeness

We get that a lot here- the Sky Awesomeness thing. Just another thing I love so much about living in New Mexico... the breathtaking skies! Our above average temps (mid to high 90's) the past 2 weeks, made this scene even more welcoming, because along with sky gorgeousness comes that wonderful cool evening weather & the sweet scent of freshly fallen rain... it seems our monsoon weather has arrived! As usual, I've been quite busy~ spending the past 2 weeks packing & moving & working & doing a bit of clay work, but I'm hoping to get out & about & do a little more photography now that I'm getting settled into my new place... 

:)

Dreaming of a White Christmas...

Well, according to the weather forecast, it won't likely be snowing here on Christmas... but we did finally get a little snow this week! Not the 4-6 inches that was predicted (we started the week off with rain!) but enough to dust everything in a wintery white... a beautiful day to go out walking... and as luck would have it, I had the day off to do just that! 

 I walked around town for quite some time, in awe at the beauty of it all... smiling a goofy smile. It was one of those days where you just feel happy to be alive... and thankful to have the leisure time to enjoy it!

:)

It's Beginning to look a lot like Christmas... :)

Ok, perhaps this doesn't look like Christmas to most people, but to a clay loving Chica such as myself... it looks a whole lot like Christmas to me! Not to mention the fact that when you've been waiting in anticipation for weeks to see how your crazy glaze-dipping concoctions have turned out... well, It's kinda like that feeling the kids get waiting for Santa... hoping they get something from their Christmas list, and not for example, a lump of coal. Metaphorically speaking, I got both.

:)

I experimented with 4 different clay bodies and numerous glazes, which resulted in a large range of results, from super cool, to so ugly I'm glad I took good glaze notes so I'll know never to do that again!

Above~ a random sampling, and below, some of my favorites pieces.

This mug was my # 1 fave. I love the shape, size & glaze, but I especially love the handle. Have you ever notice how mugs fit in your hand? Some handles are two finger holds, some three, some four. The handle to hand fit often determines my favorite mugs.

The mug on the left was hand built & funky & I love it. The mug on the right was wheel thrown, way too small to be a proper coffee mug, but I totally dig the glaze combo.

Two of my favorite bowls.

:)

These? Well, I'm not the craziest about them. I've found with all the pieces I've gotten out of the kiln so far, the ones I like the best were made with darker clay bodies. These were done w/ a white clay, & I'm just not super excited about the way the lighter clay bodies interact w/ the glazes, and I tried a lot of different glaze combos! The feel to me is just not as earthy & natural as the effects achieved with the darker clays.

Above, a darker clay with a couple of different glazes works for me... a much more earthy feel.

And the finished bears~ I totally love them! 

:) 

 I tested different glazes on each one & came up w/ about 3 combos that I would definitely use again. 

My favorite!

:)

I've still got 2 larger bears & about 12 or so pieces (both white & dark clays) yet to glaze, which I'll get in to finish later during the week~ though those likely won't be out of the kiln 'til 2012! That's fine though, because I've got plenty to get started on for gifts... and have been as busy as a Christmas elf packing them up w/ goodies to ship "home" for Christmas!

Hope you're all having a wonderful December!

:)

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

Well, not quite the Winter Wonderland that was predicted by the weather service, but enough to give us a fresh dusting of snow, and w/ temps in the low 30's today... perfect hiking weather! I took these while out hiking Picacho Peak today with a friend... it was a beautiful day to be out & about. Thankful for heat right about now, as our lows by monday night are predicted to be in the single digits & more snow on the way!

Hope you're all staying warm out there!

:)

Raku Results & other Clay Stuff... it's a Potzapalooza!

Just wanted to share the results of the finished pots I started while back home this summer & catch y'all up on what I've been up to claywise. We Raku fired these pots in class a couple of weeks ago, but I just got around to photographing them today~ so, without further ado...

The Bear Pot!

Bear Pot~ Aerial View :)

My other pot~ really digging the round form, but the rim... not super crazy about it.

Mom's Pot, taking in the Fall Colors! (yes, amazingly... after the snow & wind we received last week- we've still got a fair amount of color on the hill... I was pleasantly surprised.)

Another view of Mom's Pot. I find the effect of the Raku firing interesting... it reflects the shadows & highlights & the finish can actually look quite different depending on how the light hits it and/or how it is photographed.

Raku'd Black Polar Bear in the Snow

In other clay news- I have taken the "Bean Pot Challenge" this semester... no cups, no bowls~ just pots! The pots below I started the first week of September when I was staying at the Sublet.

Wet Clay Bean Pots

Dry Pot- needs Scraping & Sanding

Sanded Pot, needs Slip & Burnishing

Polished Pots~ Ready to Bisque

Closer view of the pot on the left/ above. I really like this one.

Above a bunch of my classmates Pots, getting ready to go into the kiln. Below, various classmate's PIPs (pots in progress.) It's right about now that I am thinking, (o.k, really I am saying it out loud,) "It's a potzapalooza!!" Well it really is, dontcha think?

Below is the 2nd to the last pot I made. I was having some trouble w/ the rim (for me, it's one of the harder parts of making the Bean Pot) and I had to cut it down & build it back up several times.

Finally, I just had to leave it at that~

 There it is below on the left in it's drier state, next to my last pot on the right.

(It seems to have shrunk quite a bit & looks kinda squatted down... but so it goes.) Perhaps after sanding & polishing it'll be a decent pot.

"Raw Pots." Still need waterscraping, sanding, slip, burnishing!

Oh, and for those of you that have asked, Yes, I am getting settled into my new place, thank you. And nope, I did not find the perfect little inexpensive Casita I was looking for... and thus I am an ... I hate to say it... an Apartment Dweller. It was the best I could do given I was running out of time on my sublet. I try not to dwell on the lack of privacy (people walk by my front window,) or the fact that I can hear my neighbors when they take a shower, or cook, or shut doors. Whatever~ it is quieter than my last place, which says a lot. On a positive note, I can see the mountains & the sunrise, AND it does have a little more space... here you can see I set up a little space in my kitchen to water scrape my pots yesterday.

I also had a bit of good fortune come my way after pot scraping as I scored a few more items to complete my kitchen "clay station." Being the helpful person I am, :) I responded to an S.O.S for cleaning help for one of my friends that is moving out of town. It was a lot of work... cleaning fridges & stoves & so forth... and without expecting anything in return, he gave me that little blue work bench & baker's rack! Cool.

Kitchen Clay Station

So that's about it for now... my "weekend" is over & it's back to work tamale. I'll also be trying to get 3 more pots sanded & polished by the end of class on friday for the Final Pit Firing on Saturday, followed by too much work, and then a family visit! So, please do not hold your breath, anxiously awaiting the final results... I will get around to posting them once they're finished, but I honestly could not tell you when that will be!

:)