July 14 - Pots (go figure!)

Decorating and drying the two on the right, making the two on the left.  The small one on the left was going to be a large one until I ripped the cylinder of clay off the wheel on my arm.  The small one was made with the clay that was still on the wheel head.  The larger of the two was what I made when I re-threw the cylinder.

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July 13 - Meredith's Birthday

Friday was Meredith's birthday and Stephanie made her cupcakes.  Her friends at the barn celebrated with her during the day and we had a family celebration after supper.  Happy Birthday Meredith!

These kids grow up so fast.

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July 12 - Fired!

Thursday I got some pots back from the gas kiln and they turned out better than I expected.  I am very happy with my work of late, both the forms and the glazing --especially the glazing.  I am trying some tribal elements and love the way they come through the reduction.

Watch for more.

Tallest of the group.

Detail 1 --love that texture.

Detail 2 --love that crawl and the "worm trails".

"Castle" pot.

Detail 1 --more of that texture.

Detail 2 --nice spotting.

Another new glazing idea.

Wonky with movement.

Detail.

Yet another new test.

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July 11 - Wet clay

I made some more of my tall pieces on Wednesday.  I am having a great deal of fun withe these shapes and am curios to see where it goes.

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July 7 - Skulls

Elaine has been working on her skulls lately.  These are about twice the size of human bones and just keep getting better.  She is planning on making twelve of them as an installation.  I can't wait to see it.

The sepia version.

The x-ray version.

June 29 - Uncle Bill's Pancake House

Friday was breakfast at Uncle Bill's, something we look forward to every year.  Uncle Bill sure knows how to make a great breakfast.

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June 27 - Images of the shore

Some images from a day at the shore.

It started out with a long walk on the beach with my brother.  I love the different light, shadows, and textures available at the shore in the mornings.

For lunch I had the best fish taco ever at Jay's Crab Shack.  Dave said the fish and chips was really good too.  We'll be going back there.

Some relaxing at the house, supper and then off to the boardwalk.

A day at the shore.

Hermit crabs everywhere.

Yum!

Karen, Stephanie, Meredith, and Rich.

Ramping up to the boardwalk.

The time-lapse boardwalk army.

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June 26 - Family fun

Tuesday Karen's aunt and uncle came over with two of her cousins.  It's always good to see Uncle Anthony and Aunt Camille and it's surely a bonus when Janet and Julie come along too.  I've said many times that I am blessed to have married into such a great family.

My brother also arrived for a couple of days.  I really like to spend time with him and we always have a lot of fun.

Early morning.

Stephanie, Ryan, and Justin clowning around.

Karen, Julie, and Janet.

John and Anthony.

A family meeting on the beach.

Atlantic City in the distance.

While waiting for my brother to arrive
I found a nice cloud at the end of the street.

Later, the moon caught me.

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June 25 - Weather

Monday the weather threatened several times late in the day and into the evening.  It held off while we went to the boardwalk, but came back with a vengeance at about midnight.  Nothing like a storm at the shore.

Clouds are building dramatically.

The boardwalk was surprisingly empty,
perhaps because of the threatening weather.

Karen with her buddy, the Shriver's Salt Water Taffy guy.

                                       The storm hits.

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June 24 - Beach walk

Sunday was my birthday and Karen bought a delicious cake for me from the bakery downtown.  After we all had our cake several of us went for a long walk on the beach.

The sky over the sea was beautiful, with puffy clouds.

The land side with the setting sun was beautiful too, but a whole different story.

Rich, Scott, Meredith, and Karen.

We saw more ghost crabs this year than any other so far.  Everywhere we walked they were either diving back in their holes or running madly across the sand.  I'm always amazed at how fast they run.  Wikipedia says that the scientific name is Ocypode which is derived from the Greek roots "ocy-" meaning "fast" and "podos" meaning "foot".  I concur.

Sitting still for a moment.

On the way back we found a mermaid someone had made in the sand.  She had sea grass hair and shells on her tail.  She was beautiful, but due to the low light, I couldn't get all her details in one photo.

Almost home.

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