Had to share

 I thought I would  try to improve the television reception in my momcave. The majority of the time, I'd rather listen to television than watch it, unless of course the program is Downton Abbey, which then of course it has got my full attention while watching in HD on a large screen. A cup of tea, my feet up on the table, hold all calls and I'm a happy camper...if camping involves a couch! Anyway, the digital signal comes from one of those peaks across the valley and is free for the taking if you are in the correct location. You can check it out for your location:  www.fcc.gov/mb/engineering/maps   I snaked a cable from the TV/converter box, (old tv for the momcave) up through the heating vent in the ceiling and upstairs through the vent on the floor, under the cabinet, under a curtain and along side the window to be taped with duct tape...very high tech don't you know! Well the sunset was so incredible, it caught my eye, I dropped everything and made a mad dash for my camera. We are getting more than our share of beautiful sunsets lately, so I had to share...straight from the sky, to my camera, to my computer....to you. FYI, no photoshop was employed in this photo. Thank you Mother Nature.

Bell Beaker

The top photo is from a book of ancient history. I thought it would be easy to copy something made with simple tools, such as bones, cording and sticks as were used to create the bell beakers of 2900 - 1800 B.C. But, as it turns out...not really. Thinking I would make quick work of it, I threw the piece on the wheel, but I didn't want throwing lines to show. So I had to "mess" with it quite awhile to make it look more free form. To make a diamond pattern and the incised lines, I created a stamp and a broad blade from sticks I whittled. The incised lines seem to be pressed in, not carved in as I first thought. As I looked closer at the original, I could see evidence of a repetitive pattern that one tool would make. The beaker potters must have been a patient people because it took what seemed like forever to stamp and incise a design around the entire pot that was only about 5 inches tall and come out even. To make my pot look like the red earthenware that the Beaker Folk potters used, I used various shades of dark slip to give it some age. I came away feeling as if I had a lesson from the ancient ones in replicating such a historic piece. Too bad I didn't have some mead to celebrate its completion.   

Double walled

I enjoy making double-walled pots and this is one of them. The challenge is allowing enough clay for each wall since I throw this as one piece. In this particular case, I came up short but that turned out to be a good thing. Where the the shino glaze meets the black glaze is where the outer wall meets the inner wall. Since I didn't have enough clay to go taller, I stopped right there. I like the resulting shape and the cut-outs make one wonder how it can still hold water.

Saturday sunset on Sunday

It's all about the lighting. Sometimes the sky's got it and sometimes...not. Lately, that sky has got it! This one reminds me of the black and white or sepia prints I made in college for the required photography class. Ahhh... the smell of developer. Those were the days.

Where did it go?

     

I am very pleased with the end results of this vase, except for....there is always an "except for" .... the medallion. Twice I glazed a little abstract floral design on that disc and twice it melted away. My conclusion is that the glaze I put down first is too runny/blending a glaze which did too good a job of running and blending! My solution is to make a separate disc or possibly a found decorative shape and apply on top of the disc. I'll see what I can come up with.

The sunsets I promised

Pottery and plumbing

I can't believe my last post was in August and here we are, getting to the end of September! I've been photographing plumbing, sunsets and believe it or not, some pots. I've actually been blogging in my head! But that doesn't do much good for you kind folk who check on me. So here goes the painful task of extracting those blogs that are buried in my brain. I wish I had a memory card I could remove from my eyebrow and insert it in my computer's card reader and BAM...blog...uploaded and posted!!! Am I lazy or what? Don't answer that. Boring stuff first. Why do I photograph plumbing; or more specifically, irrigation pipes? Well, when they split and leak (a geyser in this case), a photo can document the nest of irrigation pipes you come across when digging it all out. Could my husband have put any more clamps on that pipe? I try not to get involved in those projects. "I don't do irrigation pipes", I tell my husband but when it involves moving my prize perennial pink dianthus plant...I'm involved! The reason I tell you this is because it is also the reason I don't have as many new pots to post. Most of the summer was like this, so I am glad that the Autumnal Equinox, also known as Fall, is only two day away!

Now for pottery...The bean pot is a piece I made way back in 2009 when I was exploring styles of lids and copying Americana pots from a book on antiques just to learn how. I didn't know how to trim a foot rim, so I carved  flower petals around my stamp to remove excess clay. It sat around on my self until recently. My knowledge of glazes and glazing seriously lagged behind my throwing skills. Only now can I say that they are even. Except for a demo or two at the senior center, I am self taught. I've learned what I can, when I can, from where ever I can. And in my case, my source of learning was from the great and varied pottery videos of the wonderful potters that take time out to post on Youtube. Too many to list or remember but some are posted on my bloglist to the right.  Thanks for everything you Youtubers. (sounds like a root vegetable...lol) Tune in tomorrow for some dazzling Utah sunsets.