Monday, June 1, 2009

Ushering In June

New medallion in earthenware


Ushering in June with a spastic spattering of art, gardening and gargoyles.

First, my garden.

It's been the real reason I've been fairly silent recently. The first few weeks preparing the garden beds is time consuming, but well worth all the effort as the ground yields my most favorite delights...vegetables. I love them. My favorite include tomatoes (of course), cucumbers and many, many rows of arugula. I cannot seem to get enough arugula. Just something so delicious about it with salt and a very good olive oil. Lucky me, I'm the only one in the family that likes it. A true salad die hard!

Rows of yummy greens
beginning to grow


Secondly, there is "The Winner" medallion which is giving me all sorts of grief in the molding stage. It pour fine, oh yes, but getting it OUT of the plaster mold has been a real challenge. So terrible, in fact, that I am two seconds away from chuckin' it off the parapit balcony. The smash would render a most delightful moment after so many frustrating ones trying to pry this sucker out of its mold. I've tried to adjust the mold, I've shaved the mold, I have even tried other slip to no avail. It's just being super stubborn.

Guarding the kiln


Last, but not least, there is Mr. Gargoyle. A gift from a good friend who sent him here so he can help with my recent kiln woes and ward off any evil spirits lookin' to mess with my ceramic works. Now, I'm not one for superstition, but oddly enough, firings last week were really good with him hangin' out in the studio. Nothing out of the ordinary happened (which was a pleasant relief) and the colors actually looked GOOD on the wares I fired. After the third successful firing he has earned a permanent place atop the high shelf overlooking my kiln and I'm seriously thinking he may need to snuggle up to the "Winner" mold for a spell.

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