Weekend

I got to spend time in the studio this weekend! Yay! It was long overdue, but having a new job means that 30 hours a week have disappeared. When the office moves this Friday, it'll be more like 35-40. I know the rest of you have jobs and somehow make it work with family demands, etc., so I know I can do it. I'm just not sure how I'll make the show commitments I have, plus commissions, etc. Maybe a lottery win?

Anyway, I've been playing with some new designs, which are more sculptural. The ones pictured have a hole in the back of their heads for tea lights.

 The one below was going to be a witch, but ended up with a pumpkin head. So he's got moobs? So what? :D

Still feeling my way with these, but overall, I'm pretty happy with them. Well, onwards to the next one!

For Game of Thrones Fans

It's hours away. I can't wait!

Meanwhile, click on the pic for a great video!

Abandoned Island For Sale - Comes With Own Hauntings

A bed remains in one of the dormitories in the psychiatric ward of the abandoned Hospital of Poveglia on Aug. 27, 2011, in Venice, Italy. The island of Poveglia, with its ruined hospital and plague burial grounds, is said to be the most haunted location in the world. The area is located within a multimillion-dollar piece of real estate but is deserted and off limits to the public. The dark and derelict forbidding shores are only minutes away from the glamour of the Venice Film Festival on the Lido.

I ran across this article from a year ago. I wonder if anyone bought it?

Pic via Getty Images.

Unsolved

Source.

Skelly Netsuke

Source.

October Dreams II

I got it!
I got it!
I got it!
I GOT IT!
I GOT IT!!!
OH BOY! :D

I pre-ordered October Dreams II: A Celebration of Halloween from Cemetery Dance Publications about an aeon ago. Hardcover and signed. It arrived a couple of days ago, and I just can't wait to curl up with a cup of tea and read this!

If you haven't heard of the first book, October Dreams: A Celebration of Halloween, take a chance and buy it. It's a wonderful collection of Halloween-themed short stories, plus personal recollections of Halloween by some of the greatest authors of our age: Bradbury, Straub, Koontz, Brite, Crowther. On and on.

*happy sigh*

Back Home

We're back from vacation, and what can I say? Maui was gorgeous! The whales are migrating right now, and we could see them blowing and breaching from our hotel in Kaanapali. What a beautiful sight! Of course, I had a chance to catch up on some reading while I caught some sun and had a couple of mai tais. Heaven!

A few days in Kaanapali, and then we were off to Hana, which was a first for us. The picture above is the view from the back porch of the house we rented. I loved listening to the ocean as I drifted off to sleep at night. We did a few excursions around the area, ate some of the local cuisine, and just chilled out. It was a relief to have a "freestyle" vacation this time, rather than one involving so much running around that it's not very restful.

Once we got back home, it was time to catch up on laundry and get back to the job. Oh, and continue to work on a large bowl I had thrown a few weeks ago. 

I had been debating how to decorate it from the moment I threw it. Then I saw this video on YouTube, about several Korean master potters, and I thought it would be interesting to layer different color underglazes and carve a pattern through the layers. I had painted on the layers before I left for vacation, and left it to dry, uncovered, while I was gone. 

It's a work in progress, still, as you can see. 

Technically, it's not the prettiest bowl ever thrown. Even so, I like it!

This weekend, I started working on some new offerings for Halloween. I'm feeling my way through some new (for me) techniques, so that I'm not always doing the same thing, year after year. While I'll still be doing my jack-o'-lanterns and some plates and platters, I felt it was important to expand into other things. As always, we'll see how things go! They could be great, or utter failures!

Inspiration in Maui

So later this morning, Mr. ShellHawk and I are off to Maui, Hawaii for some much-deserved R & R. If anyone knows of any good potteries in Maui, feel free to leave the name in the comments!

Be back soon!

Studio Staff

I've been working on a few new things in the studio, and am lucky to have a staff member who works for just a bone a day!

I can't believe he's the same dog as the little guy in the above picture!

A Most Peculiar Trip: Searching for Miss Peregrine

Click on the pic for a short film highlighting some beautiful abandoned spaces in Belgium.