Wednesday I played around with some new forms in raku clay. I quite like this shape and these marks. I believe I will play with this form some more and see where it takes me.
Meanwhile... back at the shelf...
I have no room. I've got bisqueware and greenware everywhere. I need to fire a bisque kiln and then I need to get on the schedule for the cone 10 gas kiln.
I have another problem looming. I have been throwing a bunch of raku pots and have no glazes. I need to get the chemicals and mix some raku glazes very soon.
Saturday at Clayworks was Muddy Fun day. We had a great group of people and volunteers and we had Muddy Fun. Go figure.
At the end I was heading to the recycle bucket to dump my pot when my hand slipped, the bat dipped, and the pot flew off and onto the side of the recycle bucket. I couldn't have planned it any better. It just stuck there.
Muddy Fun!
Lucky shot.
Definitely clay only.
It's sad when an icon fades.
Apparently the Pixar lamp now needs a little help to stand. Age catches up with all of us.
Later we went to Bad Daddy's for some burgers and while we were waiting for a table we were treated to a well defined rainbow.
Wednesday I finally got to the glazing part. Lots of shino, lots of dipping, pouring, trailing, painting, and spraying. My glaze work has really gotten more complicated over time. Layers on layers.
Tuesday I went to Clayworks to glaze pots. I had a range of pots in this run and it took a really long time just to get the waxing done. A lot of detail work. I'll have to glaze tomorrow.
Ralph is firing the kiln and he will fit some of my pots in it so it's glazing time.
Monday we went to see the Knights game and the fireworks afterwards. It was hot and we lost, but it was still a nice night out and the fireworks were amazing. They went on for almost thirty minutes.
While we broke the record for attendance at the ballpark, many more people came downtown to Romare Bearden Park to watch the fireworks. When the ballpark let out there was so much traffic downtown it took an hour for the cars in our parking deck to move at all.
Our downtown stadium.
Karen and Stephanie.
Happy Karen, and Stephanie.
Tower cranes spring up everywhere here.
We are getting quite a skyline.
I love the panoramic mode.
Our city looks nice at twilight.
We broke the record!
Stuck in the parking deck by a traffic jam.
We had to wait an hour to leave so we just sat down to wait it out.
Although I am woefully behind on updates here, I am going to step out of date sequence to say goodbye to our dear Binkley who left us on Tuesday. While 15 years is a long time for a large dog, it's WAY too short for us, and we miss him dearly. He was 75 lbs of pure love.
I thought I would take a moment to commemorate the wonderful life he gave us along with his unconditional love every day.
He was born 6/20/2001 and his puppy photos are all on paper somewhere in a cabinet, so I am sticking with the digital ones for now.
A handsome devil in 2002.
Chilling in the sun 2003.
Wrestling with the kids 2003.
Jumping for soap bubbles 2004.
Not crazy about the camera 2009.
Trudging toward the house 2010.
Hamming it up in May 2016.
The joy he brought us is immeasurable. The way he fit into our lives and daily routines was amazing. He knew voice commands and hand signals. He would follow me with a tilt of my head. He was always ready to play. He got more and more affectionate as he aged and loved rubbing his face all over my chest and shoving his head under my arm, lifting me from the couch. Kisses were always sloppy and plentiful.
One of my favorite things over the years was whenever I would sit on the top step in the hallway he would automatically park himself next to me. We would both sit there for a few seconds staring straight ahead, and then he would swing his head around and slobber all over the side of my face.
It's true a dog will break your heart in the end, but the rest is so worth it.
I'll leave you with a grainy video I took with our first digital camera after a snowstorm in February, 2004. I apologize for the quality, but the absolute joy comes through the years.
Hug your fuzzy children tight and enjoy every day with them.
