My Karmic Reward

I feel like I was rewarded by the Universe this week.

For the past few weeks I have been going through stacks of books, clothes and household goods, purging things I no longer use or want. I got myself into an organization tizzy and for days I was clearing out cupboards and shelves, and even one person from my life! It became addictive and refreshing to create empty space. I picked up my book on Feng Shui to start over again.

Something about the fall makes me want to start fresh; open the doors and windows and let the air rush through the house. There are new birds here as the fall has almost arrived. I heard a new owl last night. Now there are two.

The pile in my garage had grown large enough and I decided to load it into my car to drop off at the thrift store. I went inside to look around and I found the cedar chest I've been wanting for two years. My heart soared! It was $80 and a little beat up, but still a beauty. Refinished, these things run $400. Of course I bought it and now it is home, awaiting dusting in my garage.

More Peppers

My progress seems unreal lately. I have been churning out these things like a madwoman. I am so happy to have found a system that seems to work. I can pour two molds each day while working on the previous days' molds. I don't want you to think these are production pieces. Though they are, they are still handmade and each one is sculpted by me. The mold serves as a template. After I remove it from the plaster cast, I cut each lid and add some decorative finishes onto each one. Each pepper is an original. I had my tarot cards read recently at a friend's house. The cards said that I would experience a new beginning in the fall. And that my problems of the spring would seem forever away. This was the first time I'd had my cards read by someone other than myself. It was a great reading. She was surprised at the good fortune of my reading. Anyhow, it is just fun to see the connections here. I am quickly filling my kiln for the next firing.

Ryan saves the day...

Today Ryan saved my day. How lucky I am to have my own personal Superman from time to time... someone who opens jars of olives and finds solutions to my studio madness. It's funny how we all see things so differently.

I have produced several peppers with the slip casting. The small bell peppers have been going well and I have about 8 completed- glazed and ready to go. Hooray for me! But I have had significant troubles with cutting the lid on the larger poblano pepper. I have cut and trashed about 8 so far. It is essentially a vertical lid that needs to fit well. I tried several different cuts, thinking I was onto something, only to have the damn thing slide off once the clay dried. Ugh! Stupid clay!

Frustrated with my wasted efforts, I contacted my mentor to help with finding a solution for the lid, but he never replied.

Ryan offered to help me with the cut. He came into the studio, assessed the shape of the pepper and drew on the shape of the lid that he thought would work best. "It's simple physics" he tells me. Yea, I'm not a physics girl. Science is difficult for me. Art and color are easy. So I made the cut and it seems like it will work. It also seems like an obvious cut now that it is done. So Ryan saved the day today, in the ceramics studio. I can work through a series of these designs without having to trash the mold. My new goal is to have about 50 of these things done by November. I think I can do it.

27 Elmos

I never thought I'd be making ceramic Elmos for my kid's birthday party as favors for her friends. But here I am doing it. My daughter absolutely adores Elmo. Her short television viewing each day gives me a few moments to myself, to read or unload the dishes or check my email. These short breaks from mothering are truly priceless...at least at her wee age of two. One day I'll look back and miss these times where she is so needy. But for now, I'm loving her love for Elmo.

So as time has it, her second birthday is coming up sooner than I imagined possible. And faced with the idea of buying more junk for kids' party favors, I have decided to make some ceramic magnets for the children. I decided to use paper clay again for this project. I really don't like this clay but am using it for 2 reasons: I have a bag to use up before it starts molding, and it is rather strong and lightweight so will likely work well for this project.

I started rolling out a slab of paper clay. Then I cut out circles with a small jar and made them slightly oblong for the head. I rolled out some balls of clay for the eyes and nose, which were pasted on with slip (liquid clay) and pressed in with a tool to create the eyes. I smoothed it all out (hopefully) to hide the creases and imperfections in the clay, then drew on his happy smile and signed the back. Wallah! Here are the Elmos! Once they are dry I will paint and fire them. I made way more than needed, but figured some of them will be messed up in the process. It's always good to be prepared. I was a girlscout for 6 years. I'm pretty sure I learned something from it.

More Pizza Stones

The last pizza stone I made recently broke in half. Oh NO! I thought mine were better than those production stones found at Bed Bath and Beyond... those broke in half too.

I made 2 more pizza stones this week. And decided to use paper clay this time. Paper clay is special because it is easier to sculpt with. The paper helps hold the shape of the clay and it also burns out during firing, which results in a lighter weight for the final product. Ryan, my husband, requested 2 stones this time, so he can make more pizzas at a time.

So I started the same way as last time, weighing out about 13 pounds of clay. I wedge it into a circle, and start throwing it into a slab. There is a bit of technique to learn in throwing slabs. I don't own a slab roller so this is my only option. Luckily, I learned the technique from an old college professor so it's no big deal to do.

I throw the slab as large as I can and then use the rolling pin to finish up. I made the slab as large as my kiln interior, about 17". Then made a compass with a couple of pencils and a string, and cut out the shape. It's not perfect. At first this bothered me, but I have to remind myself that I am human, and handmade things are never perfect. They shouldn't be. It can be a little uneven, or not perfectly round. It's just a pizza stone. It's not being sold at Bed Bath and Beyond. Just being used in my kitchen for Friday night pizzas. It's fine. It's important to move the stone as little as possible during dry time. So I carefully place it onto a wall board and place another weighted board on top. And leave it alone! No feet this time. Just a plain slab. The feet from the last stone weren't attached well and busted off. Ryan says there is no need for the feet if the stone is just sitting on the oven rack. So we'll see how this one goes. Hopefully better than the last.

Who Eats Beets?

I have never yet in my life had a beet... not that I can recall anyway. Who eats these things? But for some reason I found myself sketching one out a few weeks ago. I must have had a vision. So after my sketch I made my way to the market and bought a real one and then sculpted one out of clay. A large one of course. Why is it so hard for me to work small? Anyhow, I can't wait to paint it, with purple swirls coming from the root. The great thing about this sculpture, it could easily be a radish. I am excited to see these vegetables come to life! They look rather dull in the gray clay when sculpted. But once I get to the point where I can glaze them... the color will bring them alive! Ha. I sound like Dr. Frankenstein.

Pepper Progress

I am happy to say that I have successfully cast three peppers to fire. We will see how things progress as the project goes on... if there are issues with where the lids were cut, or with glazing. I am also on my way to sculpting some new peppers so that I can make some new molds. I trashed the #2 mold this week. After a second attempt at casting it, and it falling apart, I came to the conclusion that it is a faulty design. Why beat a dead horse? It's just not working. So I'm moving on. I would like to cast a few more samples of the two existing molds, but again I am out of slip. So before I drive out to Smalltown America to get more, I'll use up the 50 pounds of plaster for my new designs. I really hate driving out to my supplier! I'll just have to spend more money next time so I don't have to make so many trips.