To Absent Friends...

I miss you, my friend. Hope you're well. 

More Hallowe'en goodness from Pumpkinrot here.

Gratitude!

This week has been beyond great, and everything seems to be coming up ShellHawk!

Last weekend, I made a few tumblers and cups to decorate, and got the initial underglaze laid down. The tumblers were for a girlfriend of mine, and we had a play date while both of us worked on our projects or prepping everything for some inlay work. God, it was nice to see her face in person!

So, since I've finally finished the whole Supernatural series and like many others have become a fan, I decided to make a few Supernatural-themed tankards. I posted my WIP to a Supernatural fan page and HOLY COW! The response has been unbelievable!

I really hadn't been doing self-promotion, more just a, "Hey, I, too, like this series, and I made a thing!" But now? I've got a bunch of orders and everyone knows they have to wait for a while until I can start filling them. They can get mass-produced merch, but nothing like what I make, and they seem to be smart enough to wait for quality.

The rough part is that I'm behind on Hallowe'en stuff, but I'll catch up. I've been accustomed to working long hours in the studio, so there's no reason I can't!

I have a number of other great things going on which I can't share with you, although I'm really itching to!

 Stay tuned...

Chugging Along!

So remember the last post I did about the large pot I made? Well, things are moving along a little bit at a time!

I took some time to make some slip from the red version of the clay I use. Slip is essentially somewhat runny, creamy mud. I put a few layers on the pot and let it solidify.

And the angst began.

"What am I going to carve into this? What if I screw it up?"

I always do this. Start a big project and then psych myself out. It's not one of my better features. But I have learned to step in and just start. It helps to just do the first thing, the first line, whatever. Just taking the first step is empowering! Then I can get into my creative zone and just keep rolling with the momentum of one step after another. I know how to do this part!

So I made a decision and dove in!

I'll keep carving around the pot, continuing with the California desert theme. If this turns out well, I hope to be able to submit it to one or two of the more prestigious art shows. It's been a few years since I got juried into an international art show, and longer since I had a piece in a museum show. That's going to change, really soon!

Busy, Busy, Busy!

Spring is in full swing, and has been racing by so fast that we're almost to the Summer Equinox! Where did the time go?

I took a break from my usual clay-obsessed Saturday mornings to go on a hike with a friend and took my Grace along. It was a perfect day to harvest some white sage for smudge sticks, since it's still pretty cool in the mornings, and the 80 degree 9:00 AMs are still about a month away. I was really proud of what a good girl she was! It was her first time wearing a backpack, but she adapted like an old pro!

After we got back an my friend headed out to do her errands, I got back to my clay. Unfortunately, the first big pot I had made was simply not right. If I know something I make isn't up to my standards, I'll destroy it rather than take it all the way to completion. My work goes out into the world and speaks about me when I'm not there, and I won't allow inferior things to represent me!

So back to the beginning I went.

Piece by piece, a new pot was grown! And of course, I had help from my studio assistant!

It took most of the day, as you can't just throw and attach. The clay has to set up in between, and although I use a torch to speed things up, I'm still cautious about how much heat I put on each section.

I am really pleased with the final form! I have more I plan to do with it, but the basics are done!

I got a few other things thrown and they're all in various states of completion. I can't wait to see how they turn out!

Meanwhile, my garden is doing really well. I planted a couple of ornamentals in the little shade garden and they're starting to bloom! I know it's silly, but just looking at them makes me smile.

And in between all of this, I'm trying to get more jewelry in the ShellHawk's Creations Etsy Store!

I'm always amazed that people say they're bored! I mean, wow! There's always so much to create!

"Truth! Justice! Freedom! Reasonably Priced Love! And a Hard-Boiled Egg!"

The glorious 25th of May. If you have to ask, you weren't there.

But I'll do you a solid and tell you where to look: Terry Pratchett's beautifully written Night Watch. 29th in the Discworld series, it remains one of my favorite books and is always a go-to comfort read. 

 From the synopsis:

For a policeman, there can be few things worse than a serial killer loose in your city. Except, perhaps, a serial killer who targets coppers, and a city on the brink of bloody revolution.

For Commander Sam Vimes, it all feels horribly familiar. Caught on the roof of a very magical building during a storm, he’s found himself back in his own rough, tough past without even the clothes he was standing up in when the lightning struck. Living in the past is hard, especially when your time travel companion is a serial killer who knows where you live. But he must survive, because he has a job to do: track down the murderer and change the outcome of the rebellion.

The problem is: if he wins, he’s got no wife, no child, no future…

In writing about policemen Sam Vimes and John Keel back in 2002, Pratchett teaches us the difference between what is right and what is simply expeditious for the powers that be. He shows us the foolishness of mindlessly following orders and mindlessly following the rebellion, both.

In all honesty, This could have been written today, in the wake of the massive wave of police protests and the justifiable anger of Black Lives Matter. I only wish we here in Roundworld had a Sam Vimes to show us the way!

He even wrote "an old army song" for the rebels to sing. Beware, it is a soldier's song...

Click on the pic for a soldier's song...

And to all who wear the lilac and toast John Keel, it is my fervent wish you all rise up!

More WIPs

 Sorry that it's been a bit since my last post! I've been busy with lots of things and there are only so many hours in the day!

I'm currently training myself on some new pottery forms. While Halloween ceramics are still undoubtedly my bread and butter, I'd like to make some more art pots so I can start submitting to international art shows, again. As the time my kiln is expected to arrive draws nearer, day by day, my desire to make new and beautiful art intensifies!

I'm taking the time to start carving porcelain, again, and I'm pushing myself to make larger pieces, too. Since my shoulder is still recovering from a nasty case of tendonitis, I'm learning to compensate and not over-stress the area so that I can continue to make new pots.

It'll be interesting to see how the larger piece turns out. Honestly, I'm just hoping it will survive my poking and prodding it into shape!

And I'm behind on Hallowe'en making, but I think I'll be able to catch up with it soon!

Onward!

Playing with Colors

I've been sketching out some new ideas with the intention of using them for my ceramics. A while back, I bought both watercolor markers and alcohol-based markers to putter around with. I'm not much of a sketch artist because I'm very rusty at sketching and drawing, let alone color and color blending. I know just enough to know that I'm out of practice!

Even knowing my current limitations, it's been fun! I've really enjoyed just playing, not worrying about developing a new, saleable, piece of work. I try to do them quickly, without thinking a whole lot about it. I find that I overthink my art if I let myself, so I try to let go of the spectre of making it "perfect," and just let  my imagination roam.

Of course, I do want to improve my technique, so I've started to watch beginner's videos on using Copic markers.

HOLY COW! I had no idea they were so damn expensive! And if you're a pro, you need to buy multiple sets to get the full color range of skin and metal and all the rest of it! I don't doubt that they're worth it, they're just a little north of what I need to spend.

Yeah, for now I'll stick with my little cheapie markers. I've got a new kiln coming, after all!

Meanwhile, I'll keep puttering around with my new little critters and see what they tell me about themselves, and where they take me!

 

Beltane DIY

I admit it. I have got that Spring gardening fever going on this year! Maybe it's from a year of lock down. Maybe it's a natural part of my healing process. Who knows? All I know is the garden is calling me and telling me it needs a facelift! I decided to start with re-potting a favorite plant.

I brought some Kahili ginger back from the Big Island. It's horribly invasive, so it's been in a pot from the beginning, and I intend to keep it that way! Its blooms have a gorgeous scent, though, which is why I brought it back in the first place.

My dad potted it in one of the multitudes of terra cotta pots we have around, but I was never 100% happy with it. So I went hunting for a new pot and found one of those concrete-looking ones at Home Depot. I didn't like the color, but I did like the shape of it. It looked like it would be easy enough to change the color, so I ambled over to the paint aisle to find something suitable. Rust-oleum has those nifty "2X" colors, and I grabbed an aqua that I couldn't live without.

Yesterday morning, Grace and I were up early and I got everything set up to paint. I did a scuff sand on the pot, wiped it off with a damp cloth, and I was almost ready to go. I have a heavier-duty sculptor's "lazy susan," which I covered with newspaper before putting the pot on top. I hung an old sheet we use for a drop cloth up, creating a poor-man's spray booth, of sorts.

Of course, since it was after her breakfast and part of our morning routine, Grace had to bring me the ball for a good game of fetch, in between being my self-appointed paint supervisor! I swear, anything they absolutely and under no circumstances shouldn't get their noses into, is a sure-fire invitation to them to stick their noses into! It's like she knows there is no way I want her inhaling spray paint, so she's just going to come on over and try to, anyway.

Hence the distraction of the ball-tossing while trying to lay down a first coat of spray paint!

Voilà! First coat done! That lazy susan really made it easy to keep the flow going nice and even.

I laid down the second coat when I got back home from work.

And the end result, while not immediately impressive, is still pretty good! I like the pop of color.

Dad says he's planning to re-do the outside of the house, so I'm holding off on any major plantings until that's done. I can't wait to see what happens.