Monochromatic days

It's winter, but here's a bit of color that was still left at the end of fall.  Reflected in Lake Tomahawk is the lonely Japanese Maple on the left bank.  Clouds cover tops of mountains on the other side of the valley.

Weekend Reflections

Quote for the day:

Power is not about exerting our will over others, it is about being in complete truth with yourself. Madisyn Taylor. Daily Om

 

To sleep close to nature

I visited a wonderful retreat out in the woods of North Carolina...where you sleep in fantasy beds, or closer to nature than in a tent (almost.)

The Mountain Light Sanctuary has many choices for those who wish to retreat from busy techno life to a simple woodsy quietness.  Sometimes there are workshop-type retreats held by various spiritual groups.

 

My friend who introduced me to this center had to try out one of the gorgeous beds!

A stream runs by the property, with little bedroom cabins sitting over the edge of it.

Gardens, a medicine wheel, and other sweet meditation/prayer nooks are tucked away throughout the property

I'm sharing with my world-wide friends on Sepia Saturday, who have some other views of sitting rooms and boudoirs. 

SEPIA SATURDAY 403 : 27 January 2018

Vice-Regal Lodge Boudoir, Dublin City

ROOMS : FURNITURE : BOUDOIRS : INTERIORS : COVERS 

  

Quote for today: In every gathering, in any chance meeting...there is an elegance rising up.

Rumi

Mug bowls are finished!

Yesterday I shared what I'd done last week.  And last night the bowls came out of the glaze kiln. An advantage to posting things ahead of time...sometimes.

Here they are!

I'm pleased with them, and hope my friends are too...and there are 2 left over that I can sell to someone else!

PS, I'm getting my eyes examined in a few weeks, so maybe I won't make as many typos, like BLowls!

Mug-bowls for friends

A smart potter (which I seldom am) always makes extras for any order.  I needed 3 mug-bowls...bowls which have a handle, can be baked in and are really sturdy.  I am glad that sometimes they get dropped and broken, and thus I get a chance to make some more.

 This is liquid wax, which is applied to the bisqued bowls on their bottoms with a brush.

The wavy bottoms are a result of how I pull the wire under the bowls to cut them off the bats where they were thrown on the wheel.

Three tubs of glaze are used.  Glossy Green for the forest green color requested, and it's totally inside, and on the bottom of the outside of the bowls.  The Matte Bronze Green is on the handles so they are a bit easier to grip than the shiney and somewhat slippery Glassy Green.  Then a dip of just the rims of the bowls into Satin White, which will hopefully drip into the greens and give some interesting glazes to look at.

In a few days there will be a kiln fired to cone 5-6, and I can take more pictures to show you how this worked out.

Pitcher piecing part two

This time I have some speckled brownstone clay (from Highwater Clays).

I threw the basic shape a few days ago, and I was worried that it had firmed up too much.  That meant when I cut it and removed the wedge for the handle area (on left above) I had to put a lot of slip and extra coils of clay into the "wound" while smoothing it out.  Since clay seems to have a memory, it may split apart at any stage in the rest of the assembly.

The curve cut-out on the right side at the top, of course, is where I'll apply a piece of curved slab of clay...and again put lots of slip and some coils along the seam to strengthen it up.

Looking through the cut you can see the "wound" repair on the inside opposite it.

A bit of guesswork here.  I mentioned to friends in the studio that if I'd been smart I would have a pattern to cut with.  Instead, I cut and guess.  I never claimed to be a pro!

Still damp, but into the kiln room to dry and then get into a bisque kiln-load.

Behind the scenes

Making pottery doesn't just happen.  There are two main ways that I do it (and probably many others). I call these ways as 1) Throwing on the Wheel, or 2) Hand Building.

If you like pottery, you may have a preference.  If you make it, you probably do too, but spend some time with both techniques.  I've been playing with combining them lately.

 A pitcher with some tucks taken, a handle added, and a pieced spout.  The basic pitcher was thrown. A pulled handle was added, and the tuck meant waiting till it was just firm enough to cut into it's side, remove a wedge, and push it back together, leaving the concave portion behind the handle.

A similar pitcher which I sold to a friend recently...and she would like another one like it. 

I'll show you tomorrow how I piece a slab into the pitcher to make the spout area.  I don't know how various pro potters do it, but this way seems to work for me.

Lakeside flowers

It was August, and the first flowering of some chrysanthemums overlooking the lake!  Would they bloom again in the fall?Yes they did!

This is the bush that bloomed pink in the summer...and came out white with purple tints in October!

I do prefer the pink and purple chrysanthemums.  This is another bush at Lake Tomahawk in Oct.

Sunday summertime, 3rd Sunday of the month has been moved to Monday this month, so the marchers can be shown on Sunday! Sorry.

Today's quote:

A personal outdoor sanctuary is an important part of feeling connected to all of life. Madisyn Taylor