Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Spoons

I've been handbuilding spoons since last fall.  Mostly I have sat staring at them and wondering how to decorate them.  I did the long handled one and then stared some more!  Finally I decided that they are the first of what may turn out to be many so I just went ahead and painted. 


This is never going to be anything I can sell as a regular item as they would have to be prohibitively expensive.  They might work as special occasion or commemorative items.

All this is early days as I need to work on the designs and, also, finish them!

We'll see, grasshopper.....we'll see..........

As always, thanks for stopping by..............*s*

Monday, July 27, 2015

Monday Mug Abuse

Monday Mugs is a group I post to on FB.  This is by no means a new mug, but I am putting it through it's paces to see what it will stand up to.

I did not like the original glaze so I gave it a couple of brushed on coats of Spectrum #799.  It had been sitting under my heat lamp so I don't think I did anything else to get the glaze to stick.  You can see some of the original design bleeding through.

Normally, I do not put any of my mugs in the microwave.  However I have  put this one through numerous two minute tea heat ups with no adverse effects, even when it's heated repeatedly.

We'll see, grasshopper.....we'll see....... 


It's raining hard enough right now to make good sized splashes in the pond.  I think it's going to keep up for most of the day, which is kind of a good thing!

Aloysius and KikiLaSois have decided that best way to spend the day is sleeping!  Way to go, kitties!


As always, thanks for stopping by......*s*

Friday, July 24, 2015

FUN! FUN! FUN!

 The well pump just passed out!  Oh joyous day calloo....callay!  

We'll pull it in a bit, but it will probably need to be replaced!  All the stuff to replace the swimming pool liner arrived; we are dealing with water and pumps way too much this summer!

Meanwhile here are some pictures of my passion flowers which are happily and prolifically blooming!  






Enjoy the week end, and, as always, thanks for stopping by................*s*

Sunday, July 19, 2015

Summer!

And it is passing way too quickly.  Here it is the middle of July and I feel like we have barely begun.  I blame it on the winter that wouldn't quit and the chilly spring.

Meanwhile I have been glazing and making at a slow but steady pace.  Below are two terra cotta planters that I bought and have glazed with spectrum glazes.  I used to these with great success.  I scrubbed the surfaces with a clean scrubby and vinegar and let dry.  Toes crossed that all goes well!   

These are Italian terra cotta which as I recall was far more successful than Mexican terra cotta.  I would say it's the formulation of the clay body than anything else.  We'll see, Grasshopper, we'll see..... 


I finally finished painting the turtle!  I was held up by a disastrous spill of wax across the tree.  I carefully scraped it down to the clay, then sponged and scrubbed (very carefully) with vinegar.  I ten had to dry it, which took forever with the humidity we have been having.  I then had to reglaze with three coats carefully brushed on. When the glaze was dry I could get down to repainting.  I probably would not have spent so much time on what is an experiment if I had not been three-quarters done!

I also managed to break my mermaid mold.  Sculpy breaks if you drop it.  I can't even blame the cats!  So I am making a new clay mermaid so I can make a new mold.  One more thing!

Speaking of Mermaids....Click on the link to see my dear great niece in her mermaid guise. Mermaid On The Beach, scroll down about two thirds of the page! 


Today would be my sister's eightieth birthday!  Here is a very old snapshot, probably taken by our older brother with his Brownie.

We are in the back yard of our house of our house in Hyattsville, MD.
Our father was working on government stuff during the war.  It was all very secret so we never really knew what he did.  My mother always said it was the smallest house we ever lived in, but there was a housing shortage and everybody made do.

The dogs are Duke and the tail end of Duchess, siblings barely out of puppyhood.


Aside from pottery and gardening we are preparing to put the new liner and pump in the pool.  We thought about replacing the whole pool, until we priced a new one.  For less that one third of the cost we can replace everything for less than a third the cost of a new one

Here's to summer days!

As always, thanks for stopping by.......*s*

Saturday, July 4, 2015

"Nothing of Importance Happened Today"

The phrase is apocryphal rather than true, according to what I have researched.  However, it does pretty much sum up the attitude of  G.B. at the time!

 

 The Goony Birds have paraded and are enjoying their annual celebration!

We did a marathon watching of John Adams on HBO yesterday.   Watching the early episodes I realize once again how the whole idea of independence was pretty tenuous.  There is still something pretty wonderful that it all worked out.  Yes, we have problems, but as evidenced by SCOTUS decisions we are willing to reconsider and change.

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!

As always, thanks for stopping by........*s*


  

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

July

Hares and Rabbits!


 Enjoy July!

As always, thanks for stopping by...........*s*