Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Who Do you Trust?

I wasn't going to post today, but I've been thinking about  a post I read on Jody Hedlund's blog titled "Is Our Culture become too Critical and Open?"  She is a writer, but raises many good points about criticism on the internet.

I have seen reviews from readers that are absolutely vitriolic and ignorant about the subject matter they purport to be critiquing.  (And can somebody tell me why so many reutable newspapers allow anonymous comments?)

If you are going to give a critique of any creative work I think you should have a strong basic knowledge of your subject.  Calling the creator names and worse does nothing to further the strength of the work.  On the other hand, "It's so nice;  I really like is a lot.", gives nothing either.

It is possible to be honest without being mean.  Many years ago a group of potters used to get together once a week.  We got into a mode of giving honest crits without being nasty about it. At the same time statements like, "It's so nice; I really like it a lot.", without any backup were not acceptable either.  That two or three years were invaluable in teaching me to be open to options and to thoughtfully defend what I was doing.  Alas the group gradually stopped meeting due to other things happening in our lives, but when I returned to university to finally finish my degree I had an invaluable tool because I had been through it all.

So, my question is "Where do you go, when you are working on an idea and need input?"  Friends, fellow potters, the internet?  I stay away from anything where people can post anonymously because I think there is too much of the ego driven fourteen year old boy out there, who thinks he knows what he is talking about, but doesn't.  Not all those fourteen year old boys are fourteen year old boys...it's my catch-all label after having worked with early teens.

I'm going to post this over on Mud Colony, but may return with more thoughts.  Click on the link to see  what is happening in the world of clay.

The rain has finally stopped; we've had over two inches in the last four days. It's still cloudy, but windy; supposedly we will have sun by tomorrow.  I need to dry out a bit.  I have pots that I threw on Tuesday that are still too wet to trim.

Remember those who have given so much for the USA on this Memorial Day and enjoy the rest of the week end.

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

Wordless Wednesday

Tuesday

I'm going way back to 1967 and the first dog I had after I moved out of my parents' house.  In 1967 I lived with a family that had a pair of Irish Wolfhounds.  They gave me Truce when he was born for taking care of the litter of fifteen pups.  Large litters are common with Wolfhounds and require a lot of supplimental feeding and care.

I called him Truce because the end of his tail was white.  Others wanted to attach more esoteric and deeper meanings to the name, but that was their take, not mine.

It's funny to think that at eight weeks he outweighed our little Winterpup.  At eight months he weighed 90 lbs.  By the time he reached his full growth at two years he was thirty-five inches high at the shoulders and weighed one hundred and seventy to one hundred and eighty pounds.  He was a sweet, gentle dog who had no idea of his own size.

I learned early on how to control him which stood me in good stead when it came time to trim goat hooves as I was much better at holding them, while Proge's father trimmed.

Is it any wonder that I have thought of the eighty and ninety pound pups we have had since as medium dogs and Winter as a mini-dog?

Somewhere there are photos of Truce with people that give a better idea of his size.

The early morning mist is burning off.  It's time to plant marigolds and get out more of my big pots.

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

Busy Days

It's been a busy, but here and there sort of week.  The sun has been out so we have been trying to get yard and garden into shape.  Finally it has been warm enough to start putting plants outside.

The last of my daffodils are blooming.  They are minis and are always the last to bloom.  I think I need to move them as a lot of the buds dry our before they open.  

We are in the middle of pollen season.  Everything has a green film over it.  I am so glad for modern allergy medications!

 We recycle everything in this house.  Aloysius was bound and determined to fit into the box Linda sent with goodies in it.  He's still sleeping in it.  Who knows the mind of a cat?  I know I sure don't!

My big thing has been experimenting with monoprinting on a gelli plate.  Linda Germain is a printmaker who has great information on the method, both making and using.  Of course I have to complicate things by trying to do it with clay.  I spent a good part of yesterday figuring out that the process does not work on dry tiles.  I think freshly rolled slabs may be more successful.

I am also exploring my printing mediums.  I am trying a mix of frit, gerstly borate and mason stain in a paste form.  I am also trying various underglazes.  I think the trick will be to keep them fairly thick like regular printing inks.

I could just print on paper and use it as a transfer, but that means thinking in reverse and has a different effect that printing directly.

Iam doing this strictly for my own enjoyment.  I am in the process of cleaning and reconfinguring my studio.  I can work on exploring an idea for an hour or two without much mess.

This is the 11x11 gelli plate I made.  It's a little thicker than it needs to be, but I tend to overbuild when I am starting a new project.

If anyone has any ideas or knows of anything out in the ether I would love to hear them.

Adriana asked on her latest post, "What is the pot you would not part with?" After thinking a bit I realized that this guy, which is the first pot I ever made and kept back in 1966 must be the one.  It has stayed with me over many moves and has always been where I can see it.  It has always been special for me, even when I did not think of it as such!

Little did I know, when I potted for about five months back then, what I would get into twenty years later.  I thought of pottery as something I had explored for a few months and left behind, mostly due to life's little complications rather than a dislike of clay.  Sometimes life does have foreshadowing!

I hope everyone has a sunny, good day....or rain if you are in a drought.

This post will also be over on Mud Colony.  Everyone should click on over and explore clay around the world.

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

Fantastic Mr. Fox

On Tuesday I went to the post office and there I found a box of goodies waiting for me from Linda Starr.  Inside a cool bread book Our Daily Bread first published in 1970.  This is an oldie but goodie, that I once owned but lost in one of my many moves.  There are sponges.  Look at the big one; it looks like an underwater fern.  Aaaand I was going to buy a new sponge and chamois next time I went to the art store.  I think Linda can count mind reading among her many talents.

The piece de resistance is Fantastic Mr. Fox.  Has anyone seen the animated version of Roald Dahl's book?   George Clooney is Mr. Fox and this is a perfect portrait.  Right now he is hanging here in my plant sun room, but I think he is going to be down in my studio.  I find something comforting having other potters' work around me when I work.

BIG HUZZAHS and THANKS, LINDA!

Spring is here again after several days of too cool weather.  It's supposed to be in the seventies.

We're going to the pond supply store to get plants for the pond.  Hopefully once we get some plant cover on the water the fish will have places to hide from Mr. and Mrs. Red Tail, andwe'll be able to
remove the net.

I'm also biting the bullet and going to Walmart to look for some sort of containers for the gelli plates I have been making.  Yes, yesterday's Wordless Wednesday was a gelli plate.  It was so amorphous that I couldn't resist posting it.

Have a great day and, as always........thanks for stopping by...........*s*

Wordless Wednesday