Thursday, July 31, 2014

"Your Papers, Please…"

The letters of transit...

My new job requires a social security card. I think the last time that I actually saw my card was back in college. So, I stopped at the home of my parents and picked up my birth certificate. Then, I made a stop at the nearby clay supply store and picked up some goodies for the first week of school, and for myself. Another school errand had me at a toy store, picking up desk trophies and play-doh. I usually buy stuffed animals for the trophies, but there was a limited selection, and they were really large. So, they would have taken up too much space on the students' desks. We're going with tiny tigers this year. Then, to the teacher supply store, to buy a few items, before the crowds hit. After spending about a half an hour waiting in line at the social security office, I was ready to head home. Back to the clay tasks.  


A blessedly short drive from my parents' home...
Clay and a bookie...
Look at these candy-esque celadon glaze colors...
This board game gave me a disturbing jolt at the toy store...
Trophies and play-doh...
Fadeless paper and other ephemera...
Soon you will be glazed, my friend...

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Soldier On

Lost this large wall piece to a large crack...
So, I'm making three smaller ones...
Leaf factory...
Making flowers is strangely hypnotic...
Mi Amor...
Dearest...
Lovely...

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Beware the Ides of July



This morning, the internet weather report showed a tornado symbol for each day of the week in Watsonville. I kept clicking on "refresh", and the symbols remained. So, I decided to take the day off, and run some errands. I was in search of pants, since I've clay stained many pairs of late. And, I also needed some plate stands for Open Studios. During the lengthy drive, I listened to the news. Really, our world is a mess. There was a report about our "Do Nothing Congress", where a Tea Party spokesperson called in to say that our country is really a republic, and we are "kidding ourselves if we think otherwise". There was a report about the strife in Gaza. Children being killed and hospitals being bombed. Then, Vladimir Putin. A formerly well-place politician in China will soon be tried for corruption. An American doctor now has ebola. And a person suffering from ebola, took a flight to Nigeria, and died there, leaving doctors to wonder if it will now spread to that country. An author of a book about global warming was interviewed. The world was feeling a bit like the plot from "Survivors", a scary apocalyptic British television show...

After running my errands, I kept hearing birds screeching. So, I pulled off the road to see what was going on. Near a sandbar, there was a scene that would make Alfred Hitchcock proud. Because of the extreme overflow of anchovy, there were thousands of birds, feasting on them. I walked into a nearby pottery shop. A young man stocking heavy pots stopped to talk to me about the insanity of the swarms of birds. The internet has recently been flooded with photos of humpback whales, and other sea animals that are cruising very close to the shore. I could also see a large pile of sea lions on the sandbar. I've never seen them there before. All of this seemed to go along with the theme of the day: mayhem, and a disturbance in the order of things.

Looking at the glazes on pots seemed kind of soothing.






















Monday, July 28, 2014

Back on the Bottle

Laying out the slabs...
Slipping and scoring them together...
A sketchbook full of bottle ideas...
Adding the necks...
This is what happens when you take time to sketch...
Adding some floral details and dots...
The last page of bottles...
Open Studios, here I come...

Sunday, July 27, 2014

La Pulga

The walk past the cemetery on the way to the sale...

Arm candy...

Love these...

Convertible rust bucket...

Lovely luggage...

Large marionettes...

Tole painted dining chairs...

The hat man was in the house...

These guys were back from last year...

All shirts should have this message sewn in...

Fancy brooches...

Looks just like our old sled...

Strange tableau...


Saturday, July 26, 2014

Fever Pitch in the Shed

Thinking about popsicles helps to keep the shed cool...
The shed is filling up with small objects for shrines and boxes...
There is no room to store anything...
I need to drag out some white clay to make sprig molds...
These obelisks are finally in the kiln for the second firing...
I learned a bit about how to make the tops fit better...
Started more obelisks today...
Waiting for texture and decoration...
Firming up near the fan on this toasty day...
Fingers crossed: a new solution for the construction of the tops...