Just reminding you that the ShellHawk's Creations Etsy shop is open right now!
And you can grab a few Halloween things ahead of schedule!
I will probably be putting the shop on vacation shortly, to stock up for the next store update, so be sure to do your shopping now!
It's that time of year for cherries, and I decided to take a break from making wine cups to make my Oma's Cherry Torte recipe!
Well, time for some coffee and my first slice of cherry torte!
It's the 4th of July, and in my world, that means that sometime today, I re-watch Jaws.
Originally, Jaws was a novel written by Peter Benchley (The Deep, The Island) and published in 1974. Benchley took the deep dive into everything having to do with sharks, combing through every bit of data available at the time about shark behavior in order to bring gritty realism to this masterpiece. Even after he wrote Jaws, Benchley continued his study of sharks, going on expeditions with scientists and filmmakers in order to expand knowledge of these amazing creatures. He became a conservationist, working with governments and nonprofit organizations to educate them on the plight of sharks being targeted for shark fin soup.
The 1975 film created a terror of sharks with its signature soundtrack written by composer John Williams (Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jurassic Park, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Minority Report). The instant recognition of the signature first notes, "da-dum, da-dum!" are now indelibly linked in our collective psyche as a sign of unseen danger and a bloody end.
For me, though, this film brought what is arguably one of the best monologues in cinema history.
I can't imagine I've never waxed poetic about The Indianapolis speech, so I won't go into great detail here. I will, however, state that Robert Shaw's delivery and pacing on this monologue is an actor's education in character. The shock on Richard Dreyfuss' face as he realizes that Quint survived that horrific event is portrayed flawlessly, and sets up Quint's monologue beautifully.
For those unaware, the U.S.S. Indianapolis remains one of the worst and most horrifying recorded shark attack events in history.
The Indianapolis was sunk in the Pacific ocean during World War II, and the crew fought to stay alive for the four days it took to rescue them. In that four days, they fought off starvation and the sharks who came in droves, drawn by the blood in the water from those dead and wounded in the sinking of the ship. You can see a memoir from one of the survivors here.
Happy 4th of July, y'all. And maybe, just for today, stay out of the water...
I am loving these new underglaze transfers so much! There are so many nifty combinations to play with. I think that I'll eventually design a few of my own, but these are a great jumping off point. Thank you, Elan Transfers!
It's amazing how many great things creative energy is bringing into life right now. I'm just basking in it!
The ShellHawk's Creations Etsy store goes live tonight at 5:00 PM PST!
I also have the beginnings of Halloween things which will be in the shop tonight, so be sure to set your alert for 5:00 PM, Pacific time!
There has been so much going on this year, but I have still managed to get back into the making swing of things! I have enough for a shop update, which I plan to get done in the next week or so, so just breathe...
The short version is that a bunch of people in my life died within a six-week period and the aftermath is, well, just a lot to deal with. Hiding in bed, while effective for short periods of time, is not a sustainable option!
But life goes on, right?
After the rains let off, I started to get back out to making things, this time with a specific market in mind.
These particular cups will have some Dungeons and Dragons-related phrases on their medallions! I have some new glaze combinations to play with and I am so excited to be able to offer these soon! There's a game shop close by and I'm going to take a few over there to see if perhaps they'd like to carry them. I haven't made the effort to get in a retail shop before, so it's a new adventure!
There's another nearby shop which expressed interest in my "just breathe" cups, so I made some to take over to them. The kiln is nearly full enough to run a bisque firing, and after that, it'll be at least a full day of agonizing over colors and glaze combinations, and then several more days of glazing and putting the glaze combos into my spreadsheet!
After that, there will be a shop update with some of the new bowls in addition to new cups!
Onwards!
It's my birthday come Monday, and I gotta say, I look great for my age! ;)
Pic via Godzilla Photoshops. I think.
Well, it seems like there's a pause in the rains and the cold here in good ol' L.A., so I got back outside to my wheel and started making, again.
I've had more requests for really big mugs, so I've thrown a few of those, too. I'm guessing those will end up at around 30-ish ounces once they're out of the glaze firing.
Clay shrinks as it goes from wet to dry, then shrinks again in the bisque (first) firing, then shrinks one last time in the glaze firing, which for these guys will be at ^5-^6. The little carrot means "cone," which is how hot it's going to be fired to.
I've had the idea to make some mugs for Pride, to support my LGBTQIA+ friends and fans, and what better way to do that than to start with what we in the Supernatural fandom call "The Ship of Dreams," Destiel!
And life has been difficult of late for many of us in my age group. I lost both my aunt and my mom within weeks of each other, and decided that a couple of naughty language cups were on par with the current mood...
I figured I'd give you a sense of scale and capacity, too, so my two-cup measuring cup was the best tool for that!
This morning, I unpacked the kiln, and will start cleaning the clay dust off these pieces before I agonize and overthink the glaze combinations! Three of the pieces are commissions, which I seldom take anymore due to people "Karening" too much. I just don't have that kind of patience left in me, anymore!
"Carry On" is one of those commission pieces, actually. The client wants it in yellow, so it gives me the excuse to buy and have fun with a new (to me) Celadon glaze from Amaco.
I was down to just a few bowls this year, so I took some time to make a couple of larger ones, and a bunch of smaller bowls that would make good ice cream or prep bowls. I still want to get to ramen or Pho bowls, but just haven't gotten there as of yet!
And then there's this guy! My first cookie jar, requested as a gift for a friend's brother. I've really enjoyed making him so far! Lots of thought about the handle, I have to say...
This cup is a replacement for another one of similar design, because my friend wanted even more caffeine at her disposal!
This guy is just a glaze test for a new to me glaze which has a reputation for being runny. I have a piece in mind which will use this texture, and I want to be sure I know what to expect! Aren't the bees adorable?
Time to get glazing!
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