Done! Well, Done-ish...

I say "done-ish" since I can't seem to find a place to fire him, as of yet. *Sigh*

I thought about doing a design on his "body," but then I thought that since I'm going to Raku him, I'd see how the crackle pattern would turn out as visual interest. I can always make another one with more details!

The gray-looking, flowery bits around his eyes will be black after the firing. The other colors should darken a little, after the clear crackle glaze goes on and gets fired. I like his lid. A friend calls it his "green man-bun," but I don't care! I'm looking forward to seeing how it looks after the Raku firing!

And here's another little friend! I really like how darn happy he is!

And this sugar skull jack-o'-lantern is shaping up really well! It's not done, yet, but I like the way the colors have turned out, so far! This one will also be getting a clear crackle glaze before the Raku firing.

I'm really pleased with how these projects are developing! Have I mentioned I can't wait to get them fired? ;) 

Progress!

This one is reserved, already!

I was happy to have some time this weekend to do some more inlay work and some cleanup/touch-up on the new sugar skull jacks. I got my new underglazes in earlier in the week, and now I get to play with some color combos!

 My dad was also good enough to take some product photos for me. I've had some new items hanging around and not in my Etsy shop, yet, so it was on my to-do list! They sent out some new info on how to best market using product photos, and suggested to the sellers that we include a picture of ourselves with the item we made. Ultimately, I'll post some video, too, but for now, I have this one to start with!

Dad used his little point and shoot, but it looks like I may have convinced him to do some puttering around with my Canon T-3i. Yes, it's an older camera, but as I'm not a professional photographer, I really don't see the need to upgrade when this one work really well and suits my needs. Besides, I have a kiln to save for!

I completed the above pumpkin person over the weekend, too. I'm going to use underglazes on him, too, and see how he comes out of the Raku kiln! Orange and white with black crackle seems like it will be perfect!

I'm going through a period where I'm having a wealth of ideas barraging my poor brain, but the positive part is, I'm keeping occupied through all the craziness going on right now. I have friends in Portland, and I worry about them staying safe through Covid-19 and the Federal interference in our First Amendment rights. Work is still good and the proof-of-concept I've been producing is coming along impressively, so my days are pleasantly full of creativity and new learning! I've never felt luckier to be where I am in my life than now!

Odds and Ends

Every summer garden needs some corn in it, right? Man, fresh corn is so good! Throw in some BBQ chicken and a potato salad and you have the quintessential summer meal. So when I ordered seeds this year, I decided to take a gamble and get some corn planted.

Normally I would say that corn needs more space than what we have, but I also know that corn likes being planted in squares for purposes of pollination. So even though my space was limited, I had hoped that my corn-planting experiment would work.

And voilà! I have some ears growing! Hooray! (Seriously, it really doesn't take much to make me happy!)

 Everything else seems to be pretty happy, too. The peppers are going to be ready for picking, soon. I haven't grown this variety, before, but I'm pretty sure they need to turn red before I pick them.

 Predictably, the tomatoes are going nuts. I'm going to have to try my hand at making some mozzarella for a nice caprese salad! There are a bunch of these guys looking like they'll be ready all at once!

The cucumbers are a day or two from harvest, and we're going to have some nice zucchini. I ordered one of those food slicer/shredders to try to make zucchini noodles. (I mentioned the plan to my dad, who quipped, "Sounds awful!" Little does he know!)

Of course, I've been chugging along on my Hallowe'en ceramics, too. 

I've started to inlay the color on my sugar skull jack-o'-lanterns, which will go into the Raku process after they get their first firing. Whenever that happens. 

Tomorrow, I'm supposed to receive my new colors, and I've been delaying inlaying more until I get them, although I'm laying down the second coat on the colors I already have. Meanwhile, I've been making some more pumpkin people for Raku. (You can see the process of making a Raku jack-o'-lantern from start to finish here. I need to make a new video soon, since this was from when I was still with the ex and I don't work in that space any more.)

And last, but certainlay not least, Robert Santos of Necrotic Creations passed away from complications of a massive stroke. He is survived by his partner, Stacy Fitz, the children of his heart, and his parents. He was 52.

Like many people in this country, he had no medical insurance. If you want to help with the medical bills and his final arrangements, please go here and drop a few bones. Even if it's just $20 or even $5, everything helps! (The ambulance, alone, was over $10k!)

UPDATE, JULY 18, 2020:

Robert's internment:
July 27th
10am
Gates of Heaven Cemetery
22555 Cristo Rey Dr
Los Altos, CA 94024
United States

There is a 60 person limit, so anyone who wants to attend can.

Masks are required

There will be a place for flowers

Meet at Gates of Heaven at 9:45

I was lucky enough to know Robert and to spend time with him and Stacy. He was a funny, uplifting, good human being who had a smile for everyone he met. The Hallowe'en community will miss him deeply. Rest well, my friend.

Sugar Skull Jacks

The making cycle continues! I threw these guys (plus a few others) last weekend so I could continue my experiments with sugar skull jack-o'-lanterns. I left them under plastic overnight so they wouldn't dry out too much; I'm in L.A. and it has been hot and dry for a while. (People forget that before Mr. Mulholland came along and stole water from up north, we were a desert!)

They were still too wet to work with the next morning when I took my Grace out for her morning constitutional, so I left them uncovered in the morning sun for a while so they could firm up a bit. 

I get my wooden potter's knife out so I can sculpt the leaves and outline the lid. Yes, I am fully aware this is horticulturally inaccurate, but it looks good and I have decided to take artistic license!

I'm a bit of a clay tool fanatic, so I'm playing with different tools to draw the patterns on the clay. So far, I like the clay shapers best. I can use them like pencils and they don't seem to leave behind a lot of clay debris like carvers do.

This week before work, I laid down three coats of white underglaze on each of the sugar skull jacks.

It's nice to get back into the work flow. Back when I was still in Folsom, I used to be up and at my wheel at 4:30 AM, go to work at 8:00 or so, come back around 3:00 PM, carve or throw more, then do some household chores - or mix them in through the day. Somewhere in there was taking care of the dogs and the ex, doing a little grocery shopping, sometimes making dinner.

I'm not quite to the stage of getting up that early any more. Part of it is that I'm working outside and I just don't have the lighting I had in my old studio. The other part is I'm older and need my sleep!

I ordered some new colors for these guys, and they should be here early next week. I am so looking forward to using the turquoise I bought! It's one of my favorite colors and it's one used in the more traditional Mexican arts.

Shown sans lid.

These guys are destined for the Raku kiln. I can't wait to see if the crackle works the way I hope it will!

A Little Color

I added a little color to the carved parts of the new sugar skull jack-o'-lanterns I made. The next step was to wait for everything to dry and scrape off any of the overflow so the lines could look crisp. Afterwards, I touched up the spots where the white underglaze was too thin or missing, and now these guys are drying with the rest of the jacks I've made so far.

I'm really looking forward to the studio opening so I can get everything fired, but man! I am nervous about getting them all there without breaking anything! Dry clay is so fragile, and can beak or crumble far too easily, making transport a nervous endeavor. The pumpkin people, in particular, are going to make me sweat, because their little fingers are at the biggest risk for breakage.

Crossing my fingers!