Monday, October 27, 2008

Jenny's taggy fun

Here are my answers to Mama Jenny's blog tag thingy.

I am - for some reason afraid that I will share too much on my blog.
I want - to live in the moment.
I have - trouble making little decisions lately and think that's why I don't enjoy organizing things.
I wish - I wasn't so tired in the mornings and that I had more energy.
I hate - seeing people pick their nose or not washing their hands after going to the restroom.
I fear - germs for some weird reason, not getting sick, but the germs themselves...and also boogers.
I hear - voices in my head with different ideas pinging around like pinballs and wish I could make them stop sometimes.
I search - for God and meaning in the "daily grind" of life.
I wonder - if God has nipples and other things "normal people" don't wonder.
I always - feel like I'm the weirdest one in the room.
I usually - exercise and then eat more calories so that I never lose weight.
I am not - a night owl, but if i arise early I want a nap.
I dance - when I'm alone or with my husband and dog.
I sing - songs to my dog when no one's around.
I never - pick my nose!!!
I rarely - feel sexy.
I cry - only at real-life stories and usually not when watching movies.
I am not always - this insecure about myself.
I lose - things in my purse.
I'm confused - when it comes to space and the "bigness" of it.
I need - more sleep than other people, but then I also need to stop comparing myself to others.
I should - quit comparing myself to others.
I dream - of traveling and making a difference in the world (for the better, of course).

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Tumblers and jar


I like the shapes of these tumblers, but they don't stack very well. I was thinking of water glasses when I made them. The great thing about them is that I threw them and trimmed them in one sitting. Because they were so small, I could dry them with a fan and then trim the bottoms.

Usually one has to wait until next class to trim, then wait until they are bone-dry and smooth the rough edges (depends on the humidity but sometimes takes a few days), then wait until they come out of the bisque fire, then glaze them, then wait for them to come out of the kiln...And that's it!




Am not excited about this jar and I think I know why...While I was trimming the lid it flew off the wheel and onto the floor (the clay keys weren't on good enough or something). That's why the handle isn't parallel. Remember, there are over 300 ways to ruin a pot, and that's one of them. Sometimes they turn into happy new techniques but not this time!

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Praying mantis on the porch

Was pleasantly surprised to find this guy yesterday while taking the dog out yesterday. According to Isabella Rossellini , if this is a male he hasn't mated yet because his head is still intact.

p.s. This was taken with my old camera, as I don't have a macro lens for my DSLR yet.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Out of the kiln

Here's the saki/Red Bull set I made this summer. I have never drank saki, so I teased when I made it that it probably could be used for Red Bull, but I have never drink/drank/drunken that, either.

For those who know the lingo, I threw the cups "off the hump" out of one piece of centered clay. It was kind of hard to know where to cut the bottoms off. I also used the checkering tool from my dad's stuff (used to texture gun stalks I think?) to texture them. (Thanks, Sheri, for thinking of me when you saw it.)
This is a cruet or whatever you want to call it...I know the flaws and showed the good side.

Friday, October 10, 2008

Multicolored sgraffito bowl




If you received a homemade card from me within the last few years, the chances are very good that it was distressed. That was my favorite technique when rubber-stamping. What is this distressing technique? It's either rubbing off the edges or adding ink to make it look old or worn...antique-like. Well, I kind of combined my favorite technique from pottery (sgraffito) and my favorite technique from paper arts (distressing) on this bowl. Even though it has shiny glaze, I rubbed off the black slip on the edges to give it some more character.

Sunday, October 05, 2008

What I'm listening to...



Still enjoying those mums...




Thanks again, Pearly Girl!



Note to self: Please remember to not buy one of those cheapy coiling garden hose/sprayer combination thingies next spring because they don't even last the whole garden season before the sprayer breaks and it's totally useless because another want can't be screwed on and the whole thing has to be thrown away as one unit which is a waste of money and waste of environmental resources, etc, and then you will have to either get the old garden hose out or fill the water jug in order to water all the patio plants and herbs. Thank you "self" in advance for remembering this next spring.