Thing 1 and Thing 2

 

Here is a new water dish for Jasper. It's pretty ok from this vantage. It's 7 inches in diameter, which is a little smaller than I'd like. This was it's third firing because it developed an S-crack in the bottom after the glaze firing. Typically, that means I didn't compress it enough on the bottom while throwing. Rookie mistake.

I hate wasting things, though as I said in the previous post, I have long ago learned that it's often better and easier to just throw it away and start over. Still. I couldn't quite bring myself to toss it. Yet.

To the right is the inside of this bowl. You can't quite see the remains of the s-crack in the bottom, but it's still there. It will hold water, so I'll put it to use, but I also plan on throwing a new one, with an emphasis on compressing the bottom. Fail. Learn. Fail. Learn. Forget. Fail. Learn. The circle of [my] life.

The other piece I re-fired was this little porcelain bowl. The bubbles are less prominent, but still there. I may put it into my next glaze firing just to see if I can eventually eliminate them. Some glazes start to bubble from within when fired too often, so we'll see about these. It's actually a usable bowl as is. I really like the size. . . a 5" diameter, and this shape a new one for me.

I'll finish up with an image of these snowdrops from my yard. They started blooming in mid-January and are just now starting to look like they're ready to move on. They'll completely disappear by June. Talk about buried treasure!

Pottery stuff

 

Two mugs, inside

I know that some potters love the surprises that opening a glaze fired kiln provides. Personally, I usually tremble. After 5 years of doing this, I'm still surprised, and often dismayed at the results of that "final" firing. These two mugs came out fairly well. They don't embarrass me. They're a nice size, which is never a given for me. And the shape and glaze is pleasing. If I took more copious notes (and could find them, AND would read them), I'd probably be further along with all of this.

Two mugs, side view

The side view is to the right. They look more squat in this image than they really are. The glare in the photos are a bit of a problem. I know what I need, but haven't gotten around to getting the photo booth yet. I'm also no longer a professional, so I'm not losing sleep over it. 

A not embarrassing bowl

Other good news from the kiln was this little bowl. 6" in diameter. The glaze has an organic feel to it that I really like. Emeraude and Ancient Jasper applied with a brush as a lip ring does this erratic dripping thing that I just love. It looks a little metallic, too.

"Meh" dipping bowls

It goes downhill from here. These are little hand-built porcelain bowls for holding soy sauce or your choice of dipping stuff. I really like the texture on the outside, but the inside. . .the part one sees. . .is really meh. I thought the stark flat white (Klaus Hard White) would be pristine looking, but it really just isn't interesting. I could try putting the texture on the inside, but really, I think I'll throw the little bowls and be done with it. Hmm. But I really like texture, which is tough on thrown pieces. I'll think some more.

Sweet porcelain bowl worth rescuing?

Also in the "Well, Darn" category was this thrown porcelain bowl. The inside was glazed with Black Satin, and it pitted terribly. The scratches are actually from my diamond grinding tool (thank goodness for metalsmithing tools and expertise). The glaze was initially bubbled, but when I ground it, the bubbles came off and I was left with pits and scratches. I touched every pit with more glaze on a tiny brush. I'll re-fire, and report back. So much for the final firing.

Porcelain bowls, pitting issue

It's often better to just start over when you screw up. I had to learn this repeatedly with enameling and metalsmithing. But I really like this little bowl. Maybe I can save her. Nothing beats a failure like a try. Sometimes.

Lucky Peak in March

 

Jasper. No pictures, Mom. . .

In closing, Jasper and I had a wonderful hike at Lucky Peak the other day. 35-40F. Snow capped mountains.And while Jasper has repeatedly told me that he doesn't really like having his picture taken (I have the same dislike), I can't resist trying to get a good image of him. This one isn't as lovely as he is, but it reminds me of what a great companion he is. And one of these days I'm going to get an image that shows his beautiful everything.

Where Have I Been?

 

Moonrise at Rockridge

I do wonder how a month and a half could have possibly gone by since the last post. I don't have a lot to show for it, though I do have Something. It seems I spend more and more time on body upkeep (for both Jasper and myself), less left for productive pursuits, and even less because I have become so much less efficient. I am not at the height of my powers, but I am also mostly OK with that.

Handspun

I've come to appreciate this place where we live. Our moon rises have been spectacular this winter, and the huge Sweet Gum trees (such an annoyance with their thousands of gum balls) offer beautiful stark spidery limbs against velvet skies. 

And at last, I am making headway on spinning the fleece that came with Jasper. I'm really happy with the result. It's a nice weight for, say, a textured vest, a fabulous natural color, and Jasper's fur gives it just a little bit of a halo. It is amazing how much time this takes. It's been months since these twin assets (Jasper and the fleece) came my way, and this is only about half of what I need for a vest. It is a fraction of the whole fleece!

Bowls after bisque firing

Here's a small collection of bowls. . . bisque'd and ready to be glazed. Have I mentioned how much I dislike glazing? The two in the front are actually much smaller than the angle would suggest, and are hand built. And the letters on the upper left bowl say "JASPER". Yes. A new water bowl that doesn't have "Moxie" written on it. Not that Jasper seems to mind.

Oblong Vase before final firing

This slightly odd oblong vase is porcelain, so it should final fire to a very white surface, which will (in theory) show off the texturing.

Last up is this thrown and appliqued mug. I'm struggling with my photographic setup, so I'm trying photographing it on gray tiles vs. on the photo background. The professional background gets scratched and dirty after about 2 uses, and it is wicked expensive to replace. 

Thrown mug on backdrop

 

Conversely, the tiles are awkward (and heavy) to set up, but also free because they're left over from our bathroom, and they don't suffer from the ceramic scratching at all. 

 

I'd love to get a couple of large-ish pieces of slate to photograph on, but it seems that slate has gone out of style for homes.

 

Thrown mug on tiles

Hiking in Dry Creek with friends

Finally, an image of Jasper and I. He's by far the more photogenic, and I'm reluctant to post images of myself for a dozen different reasons. Still. It's worth documenting. It was a great hike against a beautiful backdrop of snow, and M was sure to include the rose-hips in the picture. We've had a bumper crop this year. Her hiking pole in the foreground makes for a nice vertical accent, I think.

Just when you thought. . . .

It's true. I, and most Americans, simply believed that things would turn around with something as arbitrary as the calendar. What heartbreak. What a shock to have our Federal Capitol violated. And yet. Not such a shock, was it? Certainly predictable in hindsight.

So Jasper and I continue to walk. I continue to make stuff. Cook stuff. Switch from wine to scotch. Try to figure out What To Do. 

Dry Creek is anything but. The water continued to run through the summer and fall, and now it roars. What comfort. The trail is packed hard with trodden ice. Jasper doesn't mind, and neither do my hiking shoes.

In the studio, the clay is slowly illuminating herself. It was not the porcelain that was causing the slumping. Well, not directly. It was firing it slightly higher. Pretty sure. It's not terribly easy to see (or photograph), but when rolled to the same thickness, neither the porcelain (left) or the stoneware (BC6, right) slumped when fired to cone 5. 

 The previous porcelain (which slumped to flat!) was fired to cone 6. The temperature difference isn't that great, but it must have been enough. These are pretty sweet little pieces. The colors don't show well in these photos. Larger and they could be dinner plates. 

Looming in the background of all that I do, though, is the suspicion that our civilization may have already ended. We're just waiting for the crumbling to reach us. Here. There. Throughout. What a thing.

So care for this small family. This small piece of land. This worthy creature (John too). Try to figure out how to effect change with no lever except to further incite unrest. Be Patient. Wait.Wait. Wait. Not my forte.

The last day of the holiday. . . .

 

Jasper and his Christmas bow

Well. Tomorrow marks the beginning of the new work year. We were looking for no more than to survive the holidays, and we did better than that. A small victory. Our handsome boy wore his red velvet ribbon with no complaint, though maybe a little embarrassment. I'm hoping it wasn't just giving up. It seems not. He grows more comfortable with each day, and of course I'm not above rearranging furniture to help him feel less constrained. . . more able to move in and out; up and down. We had a major victory a week or so ago, when he let out a small "woof" in the middle of the night and went charging out the dog door. We didn't figure out who the intruder was, but he came back in smelling of rosemary, so that at least gave us his trajectory. Into the herb garden. Cat? Badger? Possum? Mountain lion? (the last is unlikely but not impossible). Still. He clearly saw the yard as his to protect. Another victory. Yay, Jasper. 

The daughters are safe, if not free from worry. The kind we all have these days. This multi-faceted illness/society/world sort of concern that isn't easily expressed in words. "How are your children? How are the kids?" is always my second question to friends not seen for a while. It is literal, but also something more. "How are all of the things that concern you most closely? How are you coping with this threat to all that you hold most dear?" 

Jasper. Unambiguously good.

How can we come together? How can we understand each other? How can we bear to be in the same room with those who would threaten this civilization? How can we help?

Tomorrow I will walk Jasper. I will make things. I will try to figure out other ways to make our small corner of the world a better place.

Christmas Past. . .

The Dogwood Wreath, closeup

 A friend of mine had said that this Christmas would be memorable. It was. We felt fortunate that everyone was healthy, and calm and bright; even if distant. We have spend Christmas's without any of our kids home before, but this one did feel distinctly different. Neither John or I were inclined to travel, or go skiing, as we have in the past. We did have a lovely day, brioche for breakfast, and a long hike with Jasper. Ha. As usual. And now I can post what I was working on for so long. . . porcelain candle wreaths for the Daughters: A four-candle advent wreath for Beth, and a 5-candle not-advent wreath for Sarah. I was so pleased with the outcomes. 

 

The Dogwood wreath

Two things to note, though. One is that I completely underestimated what it would take to pack and ship these puppies. I am still astonished that they made it to their cross country destinations in one piece. Kudos to Federal Express.The second is that their success may have made me a little overconfident with porcelain; possibly explaining the disaster in the previous post.

The Dogwood Wreath  with candles

Christmas has always been important to me, in spite of my devout agnosticism. I was raised Christian, of course, but even after my spiritual awakening, I have continued to appreciate the themes that Christmas celebrates. Generosity and a coming together being topmost.  The notion of lighting the dark is so strong for me that we never eat dinner during the dark months without candlelight. Nothing celebrates this quite as brightly as Christmas. Unless it's Hanukkah. 

The Poppy wreath with candles

This year, though, a new word kept coming into my mind and my annual End-of-year card writings. It was "hope". I realized the degree to which hope figured into a this now-famous baby being born into and embraced by a fraught world, representing hope for something kinder, gentler, more humane, and enlightened.

 

The Poppy Wreath

Honestly, it feels naively optimistic to hope these days. But there you find yourself on Christmas day, talking to friends and loved ones, and feeling hope in spite of yourself. You do so knowing that you're setting yourself up for disappointment, but you do it anyway.

The Poppy Wreath, closeup

Next?  The porcelain experiments (using white stoneware in tandem) will begin next week. . .when I get a little of the studio Christmas chaos under control. 

Wishing everyone in the world a promising and hopeful 2021.

Looks like monthly reports now. . .

So this seems a little bit sad. A month goes by and I don't seem to register it, let alone post. What's going on with that? And yet. Here we are. We have a neighbor who is a physician's assistant who works with Covid patients, and she told us yesterday (driveway conversations! so wonderful!) that she got her vaccine. One of the first in line. Hallelujah. One less essential soul to worry about. Sort of. 

Pottery has continued, but stutteringly. These bisque pieces were so wonderful, but collapsed during the glaze firing. I can't bring myself to photograph them in their misery. Porcelain is a harsh mistress. So the next project (after holiday baking indulgence, and Christmas cards) is to make the same square piece (roughly) from both porcelain and a cone 5 stoneware, and run them through the same paces. I suspect that the porcelain is to blame, but I must have had something to do with it. . .

The days have been full of the making of other things too. I am no medium snob. Knitted socks, crocheted collars on tiny velveteen dresses, procuring (wrapping and mailing) gifts. All good work, but not work I am good at. It all takes me so long. 

Jasper continues to be my partner-in-crime. We had a long walk today in misty murky weather with M and B. Perfect for my mood. These Rocky Mountain foothills have their charms, though more and more I miss the wet eastern green.

And we sequester. Wine, dog, consort, not in that order. We wait, too. Patience is the hardest thing. For me. For most of us, I expect. Christmas is a thing to try to cherish, but mostly to survive. We're planning on a NY Christmas. We have to find some Chinese take-out. Smile. And hope that Christ can actually intervene, and make compassionate souls out of all of us.