Attracted to the abstract

Forget the pottery...

Forget looking at my pottery, look at those cool rocks in the background. These rocks, which I believe are Montana Moss rocks are embedded in our fireplace. I used to hate them, thinking they should be in a lodge in Yellowstone or Yosemite not our late 70's ranch (style of house not with cows and horses and such)  When I first moved to the Intermountain west from NYC I didn't appreciate this western aesthetic. Originally we thought that would be one of the first things about the house that would have to go. But when we found out how much it would cost to make changes or the massive mess there would be when removing rock and cement especially if my husband and I were to do it ourselves, living with it seemed much easier. And as time passed, I have learned to love it. Now, I can't imagine that fireplace any other way. Besides, it makes my pottery look sweet.

My first mix

With this vintage gram scale that my father used to measure chemicals for his black and white photography solutions, I measured out my first batch of test glaze.

The glaze is called Nutmeg. It has a smooth matte finish with speckles. The glossy rim is from a splash of cream matte glaze which turned glossy in combination.

A Chihuly and a show

Dale Chihuly glass sculpture greets you in lobby of the Corning Museum of Glass, located in Corning, NY

The museum has multiple demonstrations scheduled throughout the day in various theaters. Since glass is also used for lenses, etc and has scientific applications, there is an education/demonstration area devoted to that also. Like I said before, you could spend the whole day and still not have seen it all.

Blast from the glass past

The image of the palace in the background is actually a micro mosaic of minuscule glass pieces. All Italian.

Old, but a little more modern than most pieces...maybe 1960s +

Glass from the Roman World  1st to 5th Century A.D. How did it survive?

Even the gift shop is beautiful

Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, New York. Tomorrow....really old glass.

Hobnails and prunts

Medieval prunted beaker of blown glass. Corning Museum of Glass

A year ago, while visiting family in upstate New York, I got a chance to visit an extraordinary museum...The Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, NY.  Their glass collection is extensive;  seems endless and it is very easy to spend a day there from opening until closing. Well, I was particularly inspired by the glass prunts (similarly, hobnails are nail heads on shoe soles) decorating medieval glass. Probably not purely decorative back in the day, since the prunts allowed for better grip and less slip on the extremely thin glassware. Even though it is glass, the style, shapes and colors of all the pieces in that museum are incredible and can easily be applied to pottery. I will post more photos from the museum tomorrow.