2015-08-25 - Tuesday - New faces around here

Tuesday I threw two new tall forms and started the push-pull process to form faces on them. Several people have said they would also look good with less detail than I usually use and I am contemplating leaving them a bit vague. I will make that decision when I go back to work on them.

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2015-08-24 - Monday - First day of school

Where does the time go?

Stephanie started her first day of school --teaching school on Monday.

It seems like we just celebrated her first day of school as a student. Could it have really been that long ago? Now she has her own fifth grade class and she's loving it. She's dreamed of being a teacher and loves working with children.

To say we are proud of her doesn't begin to cover our feelings. She's amazing.

First day of school.

Meredith's first day of third grade
and Stephanie's first day of fifth grade.

Stephanie's first day
teaching fifth grade.

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2015-08-23 - Sunday - Another day, another face

Sunday I put a face on the second tall piece I made last week. I've been using trina buff clay to make these tall guys and it's very stiff clay that gives me quite a workout. I'm interested to see how they fire to decide whether to use it again.

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2015-08-22 - Saturday - Facing pots

Saturday I was at Clayworks working on faces. I finished the round one and then threw a coil of clay on top to bring the rim up a bit higher. Apparently he's happier now.

I also finished putting a face on one of the taller pieces. I like the relaxed lines on these forms. They possess a casualness that I can't always get to.

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2015-08-19 - Wednesday - Does and pots

We had more visitors in our neighbor's yard on Wednesday at about 5:45 pm. These deer are getting way too comfortable around humans and being out in the daytime. I have seen them in our front and back yards at 3:00 pm. Having no predators makes them not worry about anything and we get to replace ornamental plants and worry about Lyme disease.

Wednesday night I went to Clayworks and threw a spherical pot. I have some surface design ideas on this one. Stay tuned.

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2015-08-18 - Tuesday - Blank looks

Tuesday I threw some cylinders out of trina buff and did the preliminary step of adding faces. Mainly pushing and pulling the clay to make the "bones" of the face. I'll come back later and "flesh" them out.

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2015-08-16 - Sunday - Comet Grill Sunshine Festival

Sunday I participated in the Second Annual Comet Grill Sunshine Festival. There were a lot of vendors, performers, a dunking tank, and quite a few attendees. We had good traffic throughout the afternoon.

It was a very hot day and I did not put my tent up so I could show off my glazes in the sunshine. I spent most of the day sitting in the shade of a large poison ivy vine that was growing out of an evergreen tree. Once I chased the last bit of shade I pulled out my umbrella and sat under that for the rest of the afternoon.

Setup in front of the Comet Grill.

I was back in the alley behind Ed's Tavern.

That is one big poison ivy vine.

...and here are the hairy vines.

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2015-08-15 - Saturday - Chicken quesadilla

Saturday I used some leftover chicken to make a quesadilla. I added avocado, ripe olives, and a homegrown tomato that Karen's brother, Scott grew in PA. It was wonderful.

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2015-08-14 - Friday - New pot photos

I took some photos of the pots we unloaded from the kiln on Monday. Except for the shivering, I was pleased with the results. Thanks Kim!

If you'd like to see the rest of the group from that firing you can access it here. While you're there, please explore the rest of the website and feel free to sign up for emails.


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2015-08-13 - Thursday - Night visitor

Thursday night I went out to spray deer repellent on the oak leaf hydrangea which I do every month. I was spraying it on the second bush when I had the feeling something was there watching me. I examined the plant closely, but didn't see anything. Suddenly a preying mantis popped out on top, looked at me and started stretching and cleaning itself.

As is usually the case with these insects, it was quite calm and didn't mind me hanging around to take a few photos. Amazing creatures.

What's that? No flash.

Ah, there it is. Flash on.

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2015-08-10 - Monday - Unloading the kiln

On Monday Kim, Becky, and I unloaded the kiln. As always there were some surprises, but overall I was happy with my haul. It's like Christmas in August.

The only problem I had was some of the new woo yellow I mixed "shivering" off of my garlic pots. I am going to get some help "loosening up" that glaze.

Some of the glaze popped off the bottom curve.

A closer look.

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2015-08-08 - Saturday - Fire kiln

Saturday we fired the kiln all day. Since it's a matter of checking it every hour or so, it left us free to do other things while it fired. We worked on repairing a wheel, measuring out some glaze materials, and I threw some pots. (I know, go figure.)

Kim and I started off with some Bojangle's biscuits and a cup of tea. Later, Becky and I had a nice lunch of falafel wraps from La Shish Kabob.

It was a good day.

Always good luck to drink from a Doug Blythe mug on firing day.

9:00 am.

10:15 am

6:00 pm

8:15 pm
Final soak.

Butter dishes and platters.

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2015-08-07 - Friday - Load the kiln

Friday night Kim and I loaded the kiln and started it candling. I was a pretty easy load and we knew we had a long day of firing on Saturday. We were also looking forward to the results on Monday.

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2015-08-06 - Thursday - Hawk and glazing

On Thursday this hawk was hanging out on the streetlight across the street. It was large hawk as hawks go. There's plenty of prey for them with all the squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, and smaller birds that live here.

I started glazing at 8:30 pm and didn't finish until 2:30 am. It was a long haul and I still didn't get everything done that I wanted to accomplish. Glazing takes a long time. Layers and layers.

On my way home at 3:00 am I was pulled over by a police officer because one of my headlights was burned out. I had purchased the new bulb, but hadn't taken the time to pull the front of the van apart yet as it's a pain-in-the-butt job. I also didn't have my new registration sticker on my license plate yet, but it and the registration were in my console which is a small, freestanding shelf.

Unfortunately, when I looked for the registration I couldn't find it in my console tray so I guessed it must have fallen on the floor. I reached under the console shelf feeling around for that small slip of paper.

When I sat back up I realized the officer was looking in my back window with a flashlight and he asked me, "Sir, did you just shove something under your seat?".

I assured him that I was looking for my registration and he went back to his squad car with my license to check the computer. I then realized for the first time that what had just happened was one of the dumbest things I had ever done. That situation could have gotten crazy very quickly.

Hands on the wheel when the officer walks up? No, make it look like I'm either shoving drugs under the seat or reaching for my gun. Either way it's not going to end well for me. Duh. Thank goodness he was a calm person.

He checked my record and let me go. I promised him that I would take care of the headlight the next day, and I did.

Sometimes I do think I live a charmed life.

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2015-08-04 - Tuesday - Kiln fired

Tuesday the kiln was finished, but too hot to unload. We'll have to wait until tomorrow.

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2015-08-03 - Monday - Bisque kiln

Monday I loaded a bisque kiln with some student work and my own. When I got to the top I realized my snorkel pots were too tall to fit so I had to improvise. I tipped them over and put a short stilt under one of them to brace it. Whatever works.

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2015-08-02 - Sunday - Home made tortillas

Sunday morning I tried my hand at home made tortillas for breakfast. They weren't too bad, but I need to tweak the amount of flour I use to roll them out and the heat of the pan a bit. Always adjustments.

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2015-08-01 - Saturday - Home again

We got home from New Jersey on Saturday evening and since we had no food in the house we went to a Chinese restaurant.

I think I will, mostly in clay.


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2015-07-31 - Friday - Last day

Friday was our last full day at the shore. We wound down our week and packed up for leaving in the morning. It was a good trip and as usual, we'll have lots of memories to cherish.

Here's one last view of the staircase.

It's a grill.

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2015-07-30 - Thursday - Staircase of death

We were staying in a reverse townhouse where the bedrooms were on the ground floor and the kitchen and living room were upstairs. We also had first and second story balconies. The scariest thing about the house was the spiral staircase that accessed the balconies. It was steep, tight, and very slippery when it was wet.

The only time I set foot on it was to take the photo from the top.

A bit overcast.

No thanks.

Um, no.

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2015-07-29 - Wednesday - Sun and moon

On Wednesday I went for a walk right after sunrise and it was beautiful.

In the evening I tried to grab some photos of the moon, but I couldn't hold it still enough on full zoom. We always had a great view from the second floor balcony.

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