Sunday, July 24, 2016

Damage Control

Cleaning up a small crack on this bust...
Made a new compote top, when one of the old ones cracked...
Made a new vase when the base of a previous vase cracked...
Starting a stack of objects to fit on this base...
Cleaned out the milk bottle mold...
Molded two halves...
Complete multitasking chaos...
The milk bottle is very wonky...
This was my view all afternoon...


Friday, July 22, 2016

Getting Plastered.

If you mix the plaster in a liner bag, it makes clean up easier...
These have been coated generously in Murphy's Oil Soap...
Setting out the plastic containers...
Weighting down the bottles...
And now, the plaster will heat up and dry...
Hoping to get nice, crisp, press molds...
I would like to invent opera length latex gloves...
Scooby Snacks are definitely needed afterward...






Slumming

Always colorful at Lovers Point...

Politics has really been a bummer of late. I feel relatively positive about our country. So, listening to the doom and gloom version of America has caused a dissonance. Do we have problems? You betcha. Perhaps the problems loom larger because of social media and nearly constant exposure. Everyone witnesses everything. There was a video of Philando Castile's last living moments: he was actually bleeding to death for society to observe. Utterly heartbreaking. Just imagining all of the students at his school watching this video made me hurt. I spent a lot of time thinking about the loss of Philando, a fellow kid lover and enjoyer. Our team can't afford to lose more players. People who work with kids understand this.

Our country has always had race issues. I spent 13 years working at a school ruled by de facto segregation. A teacher actually posted, on the multipurpose room wall, a quote by a kid from the segregated gifted and talented classroom which read, "I really like being in a class with kids that are just exactly like me." It is not a surprise that these problems continue to persist. Everyone is racist in some way. I will make an exception for babies and toddlers in my generalization. I firmly believe that racism is learned. Even if it is unlearned, bias still often clouds our judgement. 

A few years ago, my entire neighborhood was empty. Literally, seven houses on my street had NOT been repossessed. There were bank signs on all of the other homes. When I walked the dog, I felt alone. We're a working class neighborhood. Everyone tries hard to be here. So, when someone falls off the economic treadmill, it's painful. When the entire neighborhood falls, it's tragic. Sometime near the middle of President Obama's first term, that started to change. Houses were purchased or rented, and they were actually "fixed up". There are currently no empties. All of my unemployed friends and family are now working. So, I feel hopeful. I felt hopeful watching President Obama take the oath of office on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial with his hand resting on Abraham Lincoln's 1861 inauguration bible. It seemed like we were taking a baby step against racism.  

After mowing the lawn this morning, I took the day off. I headed south to Carmel and Pacific Grove. Then, I attended a chamber music recital, featuring work by Bach, Handel and a Suite for Trumpet and Organ by Jeremiah Clarke. It felt so good to sit in the historic San Carlos Cathedral. It was built in 1770 as a mission, but then was used as the church for the Monterey Presidio when the mission was moved to Carmel. As I reflected on my day off, I thought about the people I live near on the California coast. I feel pretty blessed to live here. Which I guess means that I don't mind living in America too much. If we stay positive, my eventual retirement in Spain won't be for a few more years...



Tessuti Zoo gets ready for the Feast of Lanterns celebration...

Behind the Pacific Grove Museum...

Gorgeous afternoon...

Dropped in on my favorite haunt...

Abalone decoration...

And, now for the concert at the San Carlos Cathedral...

I had never been inside before, it's lovely...

Ready for the Handel harpsichord piece...

Listened to chamber music from the Carmel Bach Festival... 

Love this cut-away view of the original paint job...

Fabulous paintings in colored frames...

Definitely on board for next year's Bach Festival...




Tuesday, July 19, 2016

The Finish is Actually the Start

Finished compotes...

The blog template program is being a pain, and I've tried posting photos over and over again. So, it finally posted the photos backwards, in reverse order. I give up. Essentially, this blog will go from finished project to the start of the project. There!


Finished bowl, drying a bit more, before the pedestal...

Sprig molds worked nicely on the plate edges...

Pedestals on the bottom...

Future mold peeps are watching...

The bowl is unmolded...

One of my favorite studio bowls becomes a mold...

Creating three pedestal bases...

Decorating the top of a plate...

Winston looks skeptical...

Drying the plates...

Smoothed out coils...

Using a mold to make a coiled bowl...

Having a healthy luncheon...

Sunday, July 17, 2016

Scolded But Happy

Very fancy drawers...

A saucy underwood with blue ribbon...

Gorgeous planters...

Sculptural thread...

A few years ago, I ran out of room in my house. I have a very small house, and I love collecting antiques and junk. Also, I make ceramic art, which helps to fill up my home. So, I decided to quench my antiquing thirst, by taking photos instead of purchasing antiques. It has really helped to cut down on my consumption. Generally, no one cares when I take photos. Sometimes, I ask permission, especially if a vendor has really merchandised their wares, and put in effort to make his/her booth look great. As, a former visual merchandising designer, I respect the effort. Today, I was taking photos at a small flea market about a 30 minute drive from my house. After I shot these photos of spools of thread, the vendor launched into a lecture about politeness. She likened the spools in glass jars to a sculpture, and said that she wanted to know what the purpose was for snapping photos. I blithely apologized, and explained that I often share pictures of flea markets on my blog. I mentioned that I find the colors and shapes sometimes inspire my ceramic work. She insisted that I give her credit for the photos of the spools, and briskly handed me her card. Well, I'm not going to mention the name of her business here, because I think she's being really silly. Also, the name of her antique store is actually the name of a really famous French restaurant in Paris. Copied. I have jars with spools in them at home, and they aren't intentionally sculpture, it's actually called convenient storage. She was right, though, I should have asked first. Duly noted.

After being scolded at the flea market, I got to have lunch with the Allison Family. They were here visiting the coast, and enjoying the local beaches. It was great to see them. Three nicer children, there are not. Seriously, their kids are so kind and polite. And, their minivan is named "Jerrry". It had to have three r's on the license plate, because Jerry with two r's was taken. The pups and I were sad to see Jerrry drive off as they headed back home...


Complementary colors...

Sentinels...

Crochet and chickens...

Very pricey toy cars...

Important information...

As a former player, I noted how lovely these sticks were...

Made by a local basketmaker back in the 1940's...

Waited with these guys in a long line for seafood...

And, with these guys, because it was a LONG line...

I had the usual...