More Day Lilies

More day lilies are blooming every day.  I may actually divide some of these clumps this year.

 As always, stay safe, and thanks for stopping by..................*s*

Majolica Monday

This is another oldie!  In addition to glazing all the flotsam in my studio.  I have been going through boxes of pots I saved for one reason or another

This is from a Walter Ostrum workshop I did at Wesleyan Potters in Middletown, Conn.  According to my notes (Yes, I am that compulsive that I have notebooks going back to forever) We were throwing and altering ring forms.  I obviously made an oval.  The raises 'S' is formed from a coil on the back.  This was the first time I used oak leaves for decoration, which is odd because I live in an oak forest.

I've made other press forms since then (almost 20 years ago).  Because they are bisqued clay I don't worry about needing a release of any sort.

Our named day lilies have begun to bloom.  We were happily surprised to see these, as we thought they would need a few more days to pop!

We made pizza on the grill last night as a belated Fourth of July celebration.  No, no pictures; it was eaten too quickly!  I made a small loaf of bread from leftover dough which I baked on the grill.  It had a nice woody undertone to it.

The weather is in one of its mutable states.  Hot today, hotter tomorrow....a day for sitting under umbrellas with the beverage of choice and swims as needed.

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

Good and Bad.....

The bad, or sad, is that my majolica workshop did not get enough people signed up for it, so we had to cancel it.  This did not surprise me as summer is hard time to get workshops going.  We'll  offer it again in january when everyone seems to need something to get them out of the doldrums.

The good thing is that I have been invited to participate in one of the co-op type shows that the Art Association periodically does to get members work into public awareness.  We all contribute a small fee to help offset the cost of the show and the Art Association covers the rest.  I need to start getting my work out into the world again; this seems like a good place to start.  I think the next step is to learn how to take photos that are something more than what I do for my own records.

Meanwhile back at the zoo....I finally finished the hippo whistle.  I need a better wax resist....one that will not peel off so easily when it dries.  Years ago we had a great resist at a Linda Arbuckle workshop.  It took no more than half an hour to dry and when I painted the background the wax did not come up in chunks if I hit the design with my brush.   Anybody?

This is a new type of decoration for me.  I'm doing the design in resist then laying in the color.  It's based on a printed fabric I saw from the early fifties.  I'll have to do several and think about the results before I go further.  Jeez, I can be such a stick in the mud!

The day lilies are having a wonderful season.  I think all the June rain got them going like gangbusters.  Below is a double orange.  This one showed up unannounced in my garden when I still lived in the back house. (To quote Monte Python....seeds are carried in the guts of birds.) I have only rarely seen doubles and never in anything but orange.  If I knew more about plant breeding I might try crossing it with some of my other plants.  Zette on her blog, (Picture a Day) posted one on July 25.  I think I've seen one garden with doubles.  Has any one seen these?

I want to thank everyone for all the comments made on my little rant about workshops and arts education.  This is a subject we need to think and talk about every now and then.  I would love to see a balance between sports and art.  Contrary to some belief it is not  Clean Mind, Clean Body: Take your Pick!  As I said in one of my comment replies, have you ever noticed that the kids who need sports the most are the ones who are left behind or left out completely.

The sun has just come out when it was supposed to stay hidden until early afternoon.  Another afternoon spent lolling by the pool is in order.

This post will also be over on Mud Colony.  Take a look; there is always something interesting to be found there.

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

Frogs or......OOOPS!

I thought I still had 100 lbs of clay ready to use.  Alas, I have about twenty-five pounds of the clay I use for making hand building forms and test stuff.  I also have 25 lbs. of my white clay that I use when I make when I want to underglaze.  I now have 200 lbs. both slaking and drying.  I could buy some more that is ready to go I suppose. But by the time it got here my own will be ready to go. I really like this clay I use (Laguna Miller 20) and I am too much of a nudge to spend money when with a little work, I have the body I like.

Ah well, I have plenty of work to do in glazing and decorating.

Here are frogs of various kinds......one I glazed....the others are all guys who have been around the pond this spring and summer. 

This little tree frog was perched on a yellow flag.  They blend in with rocks and other flora.  They are probably the noisiest little critters around.  They puff up and sound like New Year's Eve rattles and horns.  They are recognizable by the difference in their color patterns.

And finally the day lilies have started blooming.  I've been sprinkling them with chili powder in an effort to keep the deer from having them for dessert.

It was 65F when I took Winter out at 5:30 AM....I put on a sweatshirt!  It's about 82F now with low humidity.....a good afternoon for sitting by the pool under the umbrella with a chai latte.

 I have bread rising which I will bake in my counter top convection oven.  This is probably the best kitchen appliance I have ever purchased.  With cooking for just the two of us, turning on the big oven always feels so wasteful.  And in summer it makes for more heat in the house.  It's big enough to roast a good sized chicken, cookies, bread etc. And it draws a lot less power than the stove oven.

Enjoy the day.  Thanks for stopping by..............*s*