Small Rewards

After our floods, (I never mentioned the one that happened when the discharge hose from the washing machine was disconnected.) I have had the chore of going through several boxes that had been left on the floor.  The cardboard was pretty soggy, but the contents were fine.

At the bottom of one I found this mug that I either did at Haystack in a Linda Arbuckle workshop or shortly after returning home.  I know it is Linda's glaze, obviously on a terra cotta clay, but whether it's the one supplied by Haystack or mine I can't remember.  It was 2002 after all!

Below are two views of the same mug.  I was going through a huge Clarisse Cliffe phase.  I did this design as a direct homage to her work.  

On a sadder note, I was so very sorry to hear of Carrie Fisher's death.  She was not only the world's princess, but a gutsy lady who carried on through all the adversities of her life.

 I love the fact that the final screen image (admittedly CGI) is of her turning and when asked what the file she has been handed holds, answers, "A new hope."

2016 has been the pits, so I have decided that my words for 2017 will be that.....A NEW HOPE!

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

Peace

My little cherub kitty spreading peace and joy throughout the land.

Congratulations and love to Gary and Maude on their twenty-fourth anniversary!
 
As always, thanks for stopping by............*s*

The Shortest Day

We lit the ice lanterns last night to drive the dark away and welcome the coming longer days!

Enjoy life!

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

My! That Was Fun!

No...not Dragonwyck, who landed last night! 

We got up this morning to a wet floor around the washing machine.  The floor is a concrete slab so there was no danger of flooring damage.  But we spent a good half hour trying to track the leak.  It turned out to be a connection from the near by pressure tank. So there was mopping and hooking up a heat lamp.  When we dry things out we will mend it with plumber's epoxy which, toes crossed, will hold until warm weather when we can replace the lines and make sure all is water tight.

The kicker was that when I went into my studio, which is blocked off from the rest of the downstairs but not really walled, there was water spread over the floor.  It looked like more than we had already mopped.  Finally I realized that my wonderful kittehs had knocked over a water jug and pooped the cap.  Fortunately it was not full, but it is amazing how much ground three cups of water can cover.
More mopping, pulling stuff out from under shelves, hooking up another heat lamp, and putting all my studio towels in the laundry.

As I said, it was a fun time had by all!

After two days of bitter cold and wind it has warmed up to the fifties!  Perhaps everything will have time to dry before it gets cold again.  We have had too many winters that start with snow, turn to rain and then get cold to turn the world into a skating rink.  When we lived in the back house on the very crown of the hill we engaged in the sport of rut running, which was not for the faint of heart.

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

Arrivals

Most of the Christmas Dragons flew in last night when we brought the tree in last night.  There may be a few more who will be arriving later.

More later  when I am more awake!

Thanks for stopping by............*s*

Hares and Rabbits?

This month it's Christmas Kitties all around.

 Happy December to all!

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

Saturday

My Christmas and Thanksgiving cactus are blooming away.  They always bloom early due to being outside all summer.  I've decided that  that is okay as it is a good excuse to buy more come Christmas.

I had forgotten that I used to make lots of cachepots to hold small, plastic pots.  Think I'll make some more!  They are simple to handbuild and fun to decorate.

This is one of the blue jays in the feeder that Aloysius and Kiki are staring at in my last post!

Feeding birds has been strange this year.  We started putting out seed in September and have tons of birds coming to the feeders.  We counted seven jays yesterday, plus chickadees, nuthatches, finches.  Last year we had a few chickadees and nuthatches, but they only showed up when there was snow on the ground.  Go figure!

We are still enjoying a warm fall.  It's supposed to go up to 60F. today.  I could live with this all winter!

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

Nuthin'!

I wish I were Aloysius Flyte, or KikiLaSois, or The Friendly Kitty, or Winterpup.  To them it's kust another day, to eat sleep and go bugf#ck.

Memory Update

This morning on my FaceBook page a photo of some pigs and other stuff came up as a memory from two years ago.

If you look closely at the bottom photo you can see where I had to reglue the legs.  I forgot to put in the holes in the bottoms to get the money out, so I used them for design ideas.  (But I remember as a kid lying on my bed and using a knife to slide coins out of the money slot!)

I dug around and found these little piggies and dusted them off enough to take some pictures of them.

These are both glaze combos af commercial and studio glazes with, of course, Mason Stain colors fired as ^05.

We have had more than an inch of rain since yesterday afternoon.  Toes crossed that it keeps up for a while!

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

Whatever Wednesday

I have decided that the time has some to sort my glazes.  These are glaze tests from various glazes I have hanging around my studio.  

All five are handbuilt with terra cotta and hold anywhere from three to four and a half ounces.

I used the same basic design and colors on all of them so I could compare how each glaze takes the color.

I have organized things with a mark for each glaze on the bottom with the same mark on the glaze bucket.  No more random bits of notes to be misplaced.  I will probably make a folded for reference on my IPad too.

Unfortunately it's going to a month before I fire.  I'm working in between cleaning the back  that used to be my glaze area.  Too much out of sight  out of mind back there!

After a frost scare I brought many plants inside and grouped the others on the deck where I could cover them easily.  We were fortunate not to get frost, but other nearby areas did, so it was worth the effort.

Meanwhile We have returned to true Indian Summer with temps in the high seventies.  The outside plants are thriving.  My toes are crossed for many long golden days.

We started feeding the birds and they are eating every seed in sight.  It's odd because last year we hardly had any birds at all.

Enjoy the day!  

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

Good Morning Moon!

The (almost) full moon seen through the trees around six AM this morning.

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

Monday Mug (lets)

I seem to be gathering a nice little collection of mini mugs.  They can be called whisky sippers but they do have many other uses.  They make wonderful little tasting cups when I am cooking; it's much easier than waiting for something to cool on a spoon.

I bought the rainbow cat by Aki at our last Christmas Sale at the South County Art Association.  The Hayne Bayless cup came from Pots on Wheels at NCECA in Providence.  The Barbara Donovan cup was from a fund raiser she did.  The Jay Lacoutur cup was also purchased at a Christmas sale, many years ago.

(Edited:  I originally said the Hayne Bayless cup was by Harris Deller.  The cup show is on at http://charliecummingsgallery.com.  Check it out!

It's supposed to get sunny today; I'll believe it when I see it!

My computer is being strange again...........We'll see, grasshopper.......we'll see..........

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

Thursday Things

These are some way-to-small testers.  I only painted these five; as I was working I realized that they are way-too-small to really work designs in detail!  

I have a bunch more that are bisque fired (Of course they are!) so they can't be recycled.  They would make nice teabag holders or perhaps salt dishes.  

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

The weather is definitely changing.  I had to close my bedroom windows last night.  Next thing you know I will be getting out my duvet.   

We are expecting several days of rain.  Although every little bit helps we could use some steady showers.

Toes crossed that we don't have any frost for a while!

Enjoy the coming weekend.....there might be a rabbit lurking around here.

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

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

More Stuff

Here are some small spoon rest I did as design tests.  I used to make little dishes, but got frustrated with having to trim them by hand so I have been making them out of slabs formed over curved forms.  I used a large measuring set ,which I found in a kitchen outlet shop, for these.  (Kitchen suppliers are one of my favorite places to find studio stuff!)

I am making a valiant attempt at sorting my glazes.  I want samples I can reference easily, small enough to keep on a shelf yet not get lost.  There were two small buckets with question marks.  I've come up with a coding system for the tests and am using the same system on the buckets!

That was a belated ray of light!  I don't know why I have never thought of doing this before.  You are never too old to learn new tricks!

We are having strange weather today.  Hot and humid, after two nights of needing blankets on the bed! It feels like the barometer has dropped....hurricane weather!  We may be getting the edge of one, possibly with rain.  I'll believe it when I see it!

Enjoy the week ahead.

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

Cat Rules

Nothing more need be said!

Wordless Wednesday

Spoons

I had originally planned to post these yesterday, but just couldn't stay indoors.  It was too nice out.

I've been making spoons using plastic soup spoons from Chinese take-out as my molds.  (Those were the days when spoons came with the soup!) 

These are made with my white earthenware, glazed mostly with Spectrum #799 majolica white, although I did do some with Linda Arbuckle's majolica white.  It's more a matter of convenience than anything as Linda's is a dipping glaze.  As usual they are painted with my own mixed Mason Stains and fired to ^05.

The are mostly decorative.  I could see using them for a very elegant bouillon. The one below would make a good tasting spoon.

After a summer of nary a praying mantis in sight we now have three perhaps four in the garden.  Proge spotted one last evening, then this morning we found three more.  The one below had just molted.  I wanted to get the empty skin but it blew away in a little breeze.

In addition to the dahlias and passion flower they appear to be liking the sassafras weeds that are always in abundance.  I guess I will wait to clip them.

Yesterday afternoon while I was sitting on the deck two female hummingbirds came to the petunias which are favorites of theirs.  Perhaps they will lay more eggs although it's getting a bit late in the year.

It's hard to believe we are at the end of August.  I feel like summer just began, but then, I always feel that way.  We need rain; how about you?

Enjoy these days of summer and as always, thanks for stopping by.............*s*

Blooming

My amaryllis appears to think it's Christmas in August.  I'm not complaining because I'll take all the flowers I can get this summer, but is it a bit of a surprise!  I love white  flowers and this one is is wonderful.  I didn't do anything special, just have had it one the deck in a shady place and watered it. 

I made this little stegosaurus intending to make it into a whistle.  Life got in the way and by the time I got back to it, it was too dry to become a whistle.  It will make a nice little planter critter.  I'll try another whistle soon.

 We are finally able to enjoy summer.  We lost a good half of it to the unpleasantness of the caterpillars in all their forms.  We could use some rain though.  I think most of the northeast needs rain.

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

All Cracked Up

And not in a good or happy way!

I fired this mug in my last firing.  It was bisqued at ^04 and glazed at ^05.  The crack is along the join and appeared after I used it several times.  The join was visible on the inside so I had my suspicions!  There are also cracks on other mugs that I fired the same way.

Right now I blame the clay body and the fact that I may be making them too thin. Possibly I shouldstart making thicker slabs.  I don't like doing this as I have always liked making think mugs and cups.

I may need to overlap rather than butt the clay edges against each other.  

Could I add a hand full of frit #3124 to the clay?

It's always sumthin'!

Sunny, warm with no rain in sight.......We'll see, Grasshopper....we'll see......

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

Chicken! Chicken!

Sharon, a Facebook friend, reminded me about the chicken whistles I made and once fired as an experiment!  The white chicken lost her tail!  I will not be once firing these again.  The small parts become too saturated with glaze and are prone to breakage.

Here are two chicken whistles in progress.  I need to work on the feet a bit more!

We have had several low humidity days which changed today.  It's humid and oddly cloudy.  Toes crossed that it rains!

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

Manatee Mermaid Monday

I am painting mermaids on my manatee whistles.  

Supposedly sailors saw manatees swimming and thought they were mermaids.  Those must have been some pretty desperate sailors.

This one is obviously in progress.  I wanted to take photos before I wax it so I can continue working without smearing or rubbing off part of the design.

 There is still a ways to go with this one.  I have two more in progress.  I'll try to remember to take photos as I work.

Alas the best laid plans......

Hares and Rabbits for August First!

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

Bye Bye July!

We have had what we think is a pair of bluebirds visiting.  The first photo I took was months ago of what I assume what was the same one sitting outside a window in late snow flurries.  He was definitely not the bluebird of happiness!

Yesterday we were happy to watch Mama (?) with three babies taking baths in a puddle formed in a   tarp we have by the wood pile.  I wish I had been able to get a picture, but no go!

We have been seeing more wildlife this year.  I think it's because the old farm down the hill from us is being developed.  We have a pair of red foxes, many more deer, and turkeys among others.  Although it's kind of sad to see a place going to houses, I take comfort in the fact that the Management Area still covers a lot of this area.

The hot weather continues.  Rain, except for a few showers, continues to elude us.  Hopefully we will get some today!  At last the pool is swimmable and the various caterpillars have pupated and laid their eggs.  Maybe we will have a cold winter and a wet spring.

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

Have an enjoyable Sunday, stay cool......or warm if you are down under.

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

Artifacts?

I started glazing some terra cotta tiles I have had hanging around.  Something came up and I had to leave before I moved them to a drying shelf.  Of course one of the cats  decided to try to make a contribution to future archeologists by putting footprints in the glaze.

I patched the paw prints, let the glaze dry then carefully scraped the edges until they blended with the rest of the tile.  One of the drawback to majolica glazes is that they show every drip and mark when fired.  My toes are crossed that the next two coats of glaze will cover any imperfections.

Lately we have warm, very humid days so I have been using my heat lamps to dry stuff.

Today and tomorrow we are enjoying a few days of lower temps with lower humidity, but this week end is supposed to get  HOT!  which some of us like!

Enjoy summer, and, as always, thanks for stopping by............*s*

We Have Babies!

The hummingbirds hatched a few days ago.  We were afraid Lady Hummingbird had deserted the nest.  Then we saw tiny little spears of beaks poking up.  I managed to get this shot this morning!

Have a great weekend.

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

Independence Day!

It's the FOURTH IF JULY!  So of course I have to pull out my old Goonybirds photo of their post parade conference!

Enjoy the day and CELEBRATE!

Is anyone else tired of the boom of fireworks!

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

Small Things

 Barbara Donovan did a mini fundraiser to aid the victims of the Pulse nightmare.  I was fortunate enough to be able to buy this little whisky cup.  Usually I become aware of fundraisers and sales after the fact!

Needless to say Barbara's imagery really speaks to me.  I love the way fox is loving his tail.  For years we had a red fox living in our woods.  We would see him on the driveway.  I can only describe his attitude as disdainful!  From the way he flaunted his tail I would say that he was just as proud and in love with it as this little guy.

I finally managed to get a good photo of Mrs. Hummingbird.  I had to wait for the right light and lean out the window to get it.  Toes crossed that I can get some shots of the babies when they hatch!

The caterpillars are pupating so the poop rain is slowing down.  I am going to try to get the pool open this week.  Proge has begun work on clearing the fish pond.

Aloysius aka Helpercat thinks summer means it is time to bite my feet until I remove my sandals and give him belly rubs.  If I slow down he gives me a nip to get the action going stronger.

It's a gray, humid day.  I'm going to transplant some petunias that reseeded themselves from last year.  I think there are snapdragons coming too.  Even though I don't like gray skies very much, it's excellent for gardening!

Enjoy the days ahead and as always, thanks for stopping by............*s*

Little Bowls

Little bowls from the last firing!  I originally made these as kitty dishes, but they more often are being used as small desert bowls, and little condiment dishes.

I painted them with Mason stains and frit #2134.  Fired to ^05. 

I am no longer going to once fire.  The terra cotta I am using at present does not seem to like the process.  This is not really a hardship; it was more a matter of testing convenience .  I do miss my old Miller #25 which is no longer being made.  Once I use up all that I have now I may do a special order.

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

We are beginning to get the yard back in shape.  I am looking forward to a long, warm fall.

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

Full Moon

Last night was a beautiful full moon to celebrate the Summer Solstice.  I planned on photographing it early this morning, because I like the way the moon hangs over the trees.  Alas!  A thunder storm put an end to that plan!

Here is the little teapot/ cruet that I was working on last winter.  I'm reasonably happy with it, but I haven't checked how it pours yet!

I have an eye doc exam this afternoon.  I'm hoping I will have time to stop at one of my favorite nurseries after.

Meanwhile, I need to put some laundry out.  I've been using my indoor drying racks outside in the garden as my lines are under trees which means I would have caterpillars and their poop all over my clean clothes if I hung them on the line.

And so it goes!

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

Magical Reality

In the middle of the mess of trees being devoured and caterpillar crap falling there are small, magical  moments.  Proge found a hummingbird nesting over our driveway this morning.  I took this rather foggy photo through an upstairs window.  Toes crossed that I can get a better one in days to come.

We have had hummingbirds coming to the petunias I have hanging outside my bedroom windows.  I guess Mama Bird decided that close proximity to food is a benefit.

I did this little test dish when the hummers first showed up.  I wasn't thinking about the subject so much as wanting to test some Naples Mason Stain on this glaze.  It burns out pretty quickly on some glazes but seems to be working well here.  This is my old standby Spectrum #799

We got the lawnmower back so we can get a start on the hayfield we call our lawn.

Happy Fathers' Day to all the great daddies out there.

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

Teapot

I had a fairly successful firing this time.  It was sort of a catch-up load.  I'll be posting various items as I photograph them.

I handbuilt this teapot based on a CAD post on quickly building teapots over a form.  I got a little more complicated because I pulled the handles and spout.  I also punched holes instead of cutting a hole for the spout attachment.  I generally use a tea basket when I brew tea, but I still can't bring myself to cut a hole when I am making a teapot.

This is terra cotta glazed in Spectrum #251 Satin White.  This is not an easy glaze to paint on.  Spraying with hairspray gives the glaze enough tooth so colors go on without rubbing off.  The colors are all Mason Stains.

The base is glazed in one of Spectrum's low fire metallic glazes.  Of course I did not make a note of which glaze.  It could be wrought iron or a misfire.  I need to work on these!    

Here is the kitty whistle with his mended ear.  If I had been willing to take the glaze off the broken area and done a refire it would probably be an invisible mend.

I have been looking for a substitute for my favorite Mason Cobalt  CORRECTION!  I MEANT TO WRITE CERULEAN 6379 which is no longer available. (Cobalt is another story.  It's a very dense dark blue that I use in very, very small amounts!) I can't even find a formula so I can mix my own.  I guess at some point I can call Mason.  This is Mason 6738 Zirconium Vanadium.  I don't particularly like it as a background color.  It's too dense and almost metallic.  I just need to keep testing; white may do a lot for it.

I was going to rant about how the Forest Tent Caterpillars are destroying my white oaks and making it extremely unpleasant to be outside.  However, I decided that ugly caterpillars and stripped white oaks do not belong with the happiness of my firing!  The rant will have to wait!

The weather is beautiful if a little windy.  It's nice on the deck under the umbrella.

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

Tyrion Tortise

I finally managed to get Tyrian into the kiln.  Below is the mandala design I did on the bottom shell, and his feet and head too.  If you look carefully between the front feet you can see where it came apart in the bisque firing. 

The next two shots are the top from the head and tail.  I was fooling around with a tree of life design.  I like the idea but I need to do a lot more drawings before I do it again.

I have some strange blend of Yggdrasil and Discworld going on here.  Inspirations comes from strange places!

I used Mason Stains over Spectrum #799 Majolica White for glazing, and fired to ^05.

We are having sun with wind after a rainy Saturday.  The yard is beginning to resemble a hay field.  I hope our mower is fixed soon!

Have a good Sunday.

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