Preparing to Fire

I am so bad about taking and posting photos of my work after I fire it that I am trying to at least get pictures before stuff goes in the kiln.  These are more of the very small cups I call SIPPERS.  They are nice for a bit of whisky or cognac.

I use them for testing out new designs.  They are much smaller than my real mugs but they give me a sense of placement and color.  The odd coloration is due to the wax resist I use. The drawback is that they take almost as long to paint as my regular mugs and bowls. 

I have been truly enjoying the whole process of  painting.  It becomes very meditative when I really get into it.  

I find I have to remember to get up and move around every so often.  Otherwise I feel like I am frozen in one position.  Ah, the joys of growing older! 

  

And what would an entry be without a picture of at least one kitten.  This is Ringo, lying on Proge's lap last night.  It's hard to believe tha in August we could just barely touch him.  He now jumps up on my bed in thew morning to add his voice to the chorus demanding to be fed.

Grayby is becoming more trusting.  Last night she jumped up on my feet while playing, and she responds with purrs when I stroke her while she is eating.  She is such a neat, delicate little girl, where Ringo plops around looking like an unmade bed, even after brushing.

It's going to take Lucky Peach longer to trust us.  She's getting better, but it will take awhile.  Yet she shows no interest ingoing outside. She and the peach pits were absolutely clean when we brought everyone in.

I still think Aloysius yelling out the window is what brought her to us.

I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO OPINION WHATEVER OF PEOPLE WHO DESERT THEIR ANIMALS! 

Happy Saint Nicholas Day to one and all.

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

Santa Stages

This a post I never finished.....better late than.....

Various stages of Santa whistles.  Glazed and ready to fire.  Details added, ready to glaze.  Basic thrown forms.

I have been experimenting with various forms.  So far I like the basic cone best.  I just need to make it a little bigger.

Update:  They have all been fired and gone to the Holiday Sale at SCAA (South County Art Association).  Per usual, I forgot to take photos of the finished Santas!

Here's a shot of Ringo explaining to Peach why it's really okay to climb the tree.  No it isn't, you silly kitten.  It's a lime tree, with one inch thorns.

Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.

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

Santas Are Coming!

I've been having fun making a few Santa Whistles.  These are a taller and narrower form than I have made in the past.

I had not made any whistles in a while so it took me a few tries to get the whistle part going.  I think of it as warming up.

I start by throwing cones off the hump.  Once they have dried a bit I make the whistle in the base.  I like to make the whistle before I start adding the Santa parts.

Once the whistle has set up a bit more I add the beard, hat etc.  Now I wait until they are bone dry.  Then I glaze them and do a once fire'

These are terra cotta Santas; I will also make some in tan, and white bodies.  I have mixed success selling the brown and tan, but since to me Santa represent a spirit of giving, I believe that spirit come in many shapes, sizes, and colors.

I find the cone shape whether tall and narrow or short and plump can be made into  many different things, from my plump little beach ladies to pufferfish.

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

Wordless Wednesday

Kittens!

Another shot of Ringo and Grayby.  It's pretty much non-stop play unless they are sleeping or eating.

We give them a really good workout before going to bed.  They sleep for a good part of the night.

Thanks to Jose we have had some pretty good wind gusts.  Of course the first dahlia to bloom got broken off along with some petunias.  I love having them inside so it's not a big problem.

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

GUIILTY! or........

.....there's a sucker born every minute........or.......who can resist kittens?

We took four of the kittens to the shelter on Sept. 14.  Yes, we were planning to take them all which had me terribly upset.  However, that plan did not take emotions into account.  Proge had connected with Grayby and Ringo is such a floofball that we could not resist. Bibsy, Cobby, Apricat, and Leaf were all just a bit tamer and therefor more adoptable.  The shelter manager would have liked them to be a few weeks younger, but I think many problems arise if kittens are separated from their mom too soon.  When i was raising my Siamese cats, I never separated them until twelve weeks.

Lucky Peach, Ringo, Grayby and KikiLaSois all ate from the same bowl yesterday.  Aloysius has taken to grooming Peach while meals are being prepped.  Peach and babies rub against our legs while we are prepping food.  It may take a while but I am sure that Peach will trust humans again one day.

There was a magical web strung across the pond a few days ago.  If you look hard and enlarge the photo you can see the web and its reflection.

Rain and wind today as we catch the outer edge of Jose.  Otherwise we are enjoying late summer weather.

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

Mermaid

I haven't put out many of my garden creatures this year.  Once the caterpillar crap stopped I did put my little mermaid out by the papyrus bed.

We have not had much swimming this year due to caterpillars.  The pool is looking a lot better.  If we really do get the six more weeks of summer that Passy Pete is predicting we may get some more swimming.  At the very least we can enjoy sitting poolside and not feel that we are gazing into a very nasty swamp.

The kittens are probably going to be leaving us next week.  I am becoming far too attached to them.  If I were rich I would set up my own shelter, but alas.......at least we are keeping Lucky Peach!

Yes, they did manage to get into my dry food cupboard and drag out all sorts of stuff.  They only got the rice bag open so things were not as bad as they could have been.  This is a heavily cropped photo.

Our thoughts and good wishes are with all those who are prepping for Irma.  STAY SAFE!

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