New Doings in the New Nest

The hands of a working potter. Manicure? Me?

OK, it's not really new, anymore. It's coming up on two years, this June. Plus I grew up there, so it really technically isn't new...

Anyway, since I was able to bring a wheel into the place (amazing that fluttering my eyelashes at dad still works!), I started playing around with new ideas. New mediums. Anything to get the fun back into creativity again.

On a side note, I started meditating daily again. It's been well over a decade since I last had a daily practice of meditation, and it's made a big difference to my creativity and my state of mind. (Still a long way to go with that, as there are some serious and lingering anxiety issues after what I went through, but enough of that...)

Well, since the creative ideas started popping again, I thought that adding beeswax candles to my shop this year would be a logical next step. After all, if I sell jack-o'-lanterns, shouldn't I be a one-stop-shop and supply the flame for all those burning grins? 

My imagination went another step further and I thought it would be fun to make ceramic jack-o'-lantern votives! So after some mental calculations, I decided to go back to the jack design I used to do, way back before I knew how to make enclosed forms. Only now, I would make them smaller, the better to make the piece into a good receptacle for the wax.

Thrown "off the hump" and waiting to be trimmed.

Since the studio in which I work is a high-fire studio, my first tests are going to be with underglaze first, then be fired with a clear glaze. If they turn out well, I'll make candles out of them. That way, when the candle burns down, another tea candle can be thrown in! 

And if you look below, you'll see I'm already working on that angle!

Of course, my usual difficulty of having more creative ideas than time to execute them, is still in play.

How on earth do people have time to be bored?!

Halloween Tree Painting Progress

I'm not a painter. I don't know how to paint. I've never done it. Kind of. If you don't include my office in my last house, that is.

But considering I've been away from clay for so long, and Hallowe'en calls so loudly -

And Aaron Brothers is out of business and had a sale on everything having to do with painting -

I decided to try.

So this here is my very first painting on canvas.

I have no idea what I'm doing, but in spite of that, it seems to be turning out well. 

Eventually, I'll get it done.  There are lots of pumpkins to paint.

Once it's done, I'll get some prints made.

Meanwhile, I might just be able to get my segment for the Charmed Pot done before the show this week...

Scary 'Crow!

Photos by Folsom Telegraph editor Don Chaddock, who told me this 'crow was considered too scary and too large to be in Folsom's scarecrow contest. Apparently, the small scarecrow by his side is roughly person-size, just to give you a sense of his size. The face is individually welded plates, and yes, that is the back of the pumpkin's head in his mouth!

More of Don's Halloween photos here.

It's Coming!

A quick trip to Michael's revealed a trend towards a certain favorite time of year...

Pumpkin Goodness

With my pumpkins starting to show their blooms, I had to go on a quest for the finished product. I simply love the Cthulu pumpkin!

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Pumpkin Love

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Out of the House

The sun decided to come out and play yesterday morning. I resisted the (strong) temptation to pull the covers over my head and snuggle deeper into my pillow, and got up. I threw on some sweats and my newly-completed Jayne Cobb hat, grabbed the camera, and ran out the door for a short field trip down the road.

It was colder than it looked outside. We do have a thermometer outside, but on days like this, I try not to look. I'm native to Southern California; thirty-two degrees to us is really cold. If I'd seen the thermometer, I probably would have gone back to bed and snuggled with the dogs.

As it is, I'm glad I got out of the house.

My fingers were getting stiff with cold, as I'd forgotten my gloves. I saw the glittering of frost on the little wooden bridge that would take me to the trails, so I stepped carefully. I could see my breath and unsuccessfully tried to blow some smoke rings.

A few hardy souls were out already, walking their dogs or jogging. I admired their ambition, since my only purpose was a short ramble to take some pictures. I could hear the honking of the geese and the quacking of mallards as they started their day.

I ran across this little goose as I stopped at a bench to change lenses. I'm pretty sure he's a hybrid (although I suppose he could be a juvenile. I'm not that great at identifying birds.), which are sterile geese. Interesting how Nature takes care of her breeding program.

This pic was taken in my backyard. I love how the frost makes the little diamonds on the rose leaf. I'm letting my roses go right now so they'll form hips. Come February or March, I'll give them a good pruning.

That's my field trip for today. I think it's funny that my buddy SpookyBlue said in his post yesterday that artists need to get out once in awhile. He was probably writing that as I was hauling my lazy butt out of bed. I guess great minds do think alike.

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Fall Images

It's been good weather for taking pictures, lately. It seems the rain came for the express purpose of messing up my carefully laid plans and effects for Halloween, and then disappeared, mission accomplished.

This is the view of the full moon a few nights ago from my front yard. My neighbor came over to drop something off and pointed it out to me. I love how the fading light made the windows of the houses on the hill look slightly afire.

My husband kidnapped me the other day to get me out of the house. As it was a sunny, comfortable 75 degrees out, I went. He took me to a site his company is monitoring for a rare salamander (long story), and this oak tree is on the property. I would guess it's at least 150-200 years old.

What's special about this tree, is that it's become a storage unit for the woodpeckers to keep their acorn stash. I'd heard about this, but never seen one in person.

The woodpecker will peck a hole in the tree, and then cram an acorn into the hole. This tree had thousands of acorns stuffed into it. Some of them had been there so long, the bark had started to grow around them.

In fact, when we poked around the dead branches lying at the foot of the tree, we found that by peeling back the bark, we could see how many acorns had been swallowed up by the tree. One branch had at least 20 acorns inside it.

It was a lovely day. I'm glad I took a break from painting and organizing to go out and play. After all, there are always things to do around the house. They're not going anywhere. And when you're on your deathbed, are you going to say, "Gee, I wished I'd cleaned the house more."? Or will you regret all the things you could have gone out and enjoyed?

Jeez, I hope not!

The Water's Return

The rain blew in on Halloween. The wind slapped it against the windows and dribbled it over our dirty gutters. It ruined my idea of how the fog was going to lay in my front yard, snuggled against the ground in a creepy carpet, the orange light from Stewie's eyes giving it an eerie look as it slowly drifted down the hill (Something about the best laid plans applies here, I think). It's interesting, though, to realize the beauty that can come from a storm like that.

I took a break from my housework today, grabbing the camera on the way out the door. I thought I'd get some good images for today's entry. I'm glad I did, for I found that with the rain, the nearby wetland had new life breathed into it.

As I walked down the pathway, I heard the first of the winter's frogs begin their song. Just one lonely little, "ribbet," like the one I heard outside the garage earlier today. If you walk that path in a month or so, you won't be able to hear yourself think, the frogs are so loud.

The red wing blackbird is back with its distinctive call, flitting among the cattails as they sway in the breeze. Some of the waterfowl have begun their return to the neighborhood, as the cold weather in the north pushes them downwards on the map. Mallards, a few Canadian Geese. Soon, the Teals will show up, and the Buffleheads, and goodness knows what else. I can't wait to see them again.

When I returned, I finished packing up the Halloween stuff.

This charming witch has been with me for years, a gift of my friend's mom who was a very crafty lady. Very simple design: A bead for the nose, a pipe cleaner, a wooden spoon, fabric, ribbon, a piece of dowel, plastic eyes, a little hair, black and red markers, and (wait for it)...

A roll of toilet paper to make her skirt poof out.

I have to say, this really is one of my favorite decorations. We also collaborated on a Halloween mouse candy jar, and a witch candy jar. Carole passed away a couple years ago now, and I'm realizing how much time we spent together making stuff. In a roundabout way, this little witch was Stewie's progenitor.

Thanks, Carole, for helping get me started. I'm sure the Afterlife is better decorated with you there to help!