Beach Goer

Squishing sand in the hands

It's hard to believe that summer is almost over. Just a couple more weeks and the pool will be closed and my son will be back to school. Although I've already begun to prepare for long hours in the studio working while he is learning, I look on my fridge to find a list of "to dos" we had planned this summer that are only half complete.

~ Go to the zoo. Nada
~ Go to the aquariaum. Nope
~ Go to the circus, with daddy. Negatory
~ Go to the beach. YES!

WE HAVE A WINNER!!

So yes, we did finally manage to go the beach this summer and that day was yesterday. It was a long 40 minute walk, but once there my son was thrilled and excited to be in the water. For me it was nerve racking. The surf was rough because of Hurricane Bill and the constant thought of him being swept away to sea was totally on my mind. Awful thought. The water was particularly dirty with tons of crud floatin in it too. Nothing I can't stand more than crud hitting my feet and legs in the water that doesn't feel like a seashell or a piece of slimy seaweed. But I hunkered down and enjoyed my son enjoying the ebb and flow of the waves. I was ill prepared for all the sand though. I hated how the sand was just up in everything, especially on my hands and between my fingers. That really freaked me out. No matter how much I tried I couldn't get the sand off my hands. Next time we bring a BIG, BIG, BIG blanket!

ICK.

Francesco kept waving his arms and sand was flying. He wanted to build a sand castle but the more we dug the more "treasures" like cig butts and coffee tabs we found. The thought that people could be so careless with their garbage right ON the sand really annoyed me. Of course, what did I expect? It is a NYC beach and the one we went to was one of the cleanest around.

ICK.

Contrary to me he loved the feel of the sand though and was flapping and rolling about IN it which sent lots of sand flying....IN MY DIRECTION. All I can say is it was so good to be back home. I have come to the conclusion that I will never be a good beach comber or a great castaway. I like my cushy pool and lounge chair in the sun. Ending the day with a soothing cup of coffee in my new mug and a waffle topped with whipped cream hit the spot...for both of us!

Breakfast for dinner

Of course, taking some time to enjoy the most recent raku pieces out of the new raku kiln was also a comfort. I dare say I am getting better at this raku thing. The glazes from Georgies really and truly make the difference. Such quality compared to the other commercial brands. I feel another Christmas request of, "I want more glazes from Georgies" going on my personal list for the family Kris Kringle. I know they think I'm wacky, but I just can't help myself. Forget the bags and shoes...give me glaze baby!

Latest raku pieces

Here are close ups of my two favorites from this firing. I just love that last piece. The edge has such an antique feel. Like something found at an archilogical site. Yep, I am totally hooked on raku.

Close up of the crackle piece

My favorite from this firing

Workin....

Working the mulberry grey on a china

Workin?

Ok, I really WAS working today...in between some sun sessions and some dips in the pool. LOL The Donna Chaney bone china is making lovely progress and with the new batch of lavender oil that just arrived I can stop fretting about color and application. Without that lavender oil I feel lost. Painting on china with overglazes is sorta like running on the ice with steletos. At least, some days it sure feels that way. Lavender gives the grip needed to make color flow and bend. I hope to have a finish on this boy real soon. Maybe this week?

Workin' hard

Of course, if we get any more gorgeous days in the sun the finish on him will take longer. I mean, it is truly hard to resist the pool on sunny days. I did get a few things prepped though. Prepping is fun to do with my niece Christina by my side. We chat away, then swim...then chat some more. Before I know it, prepping is done. My son sometimes joins in but mostly he was the one that worked today. He had some great pieces today from his work session and I must photograph them so you can see. He is telling stories now with his drawings. FUN!

Now he was workin'!

Ugly Weekend

"Wild" clay glazed and finished

The weekend was about the ugly.

The big business BBQ we had in the backyard went great. The day after was...UGLY. Clean up after such affairs is never fun, but doing it after partying too much is even less fun. I tried my best to hang in there, but just gave into the ugliness and rested for pretty much most of the day. Bed bound is never fun for me. It's actually torture.

Sunday was much more pleasant even though I wasn't fully recovered. Lounging on a raft in the pool with other members of my family who were also in recovery mode was nice. My mind was wandering on clay and raku, but without the full capabilities I decided to just fire up a test strip of the "wild" clay more fully in the new Paragon kiln while I lounged. In a half an hour I'd see if 2000 degrees would fully fire this found clay and it did. It fired it beautifully to a mocha and purplish clay. The ugliness of this adventure though came when I decided to slap on some glaze. I was just too impatient to see how it would look glazed and didn't even let the glaze dry fully. Just slapped it on and sorta popped it in the kiln.

Beautiful red like the red ash banks

Well, it is probably the ugliest vessel and yet, the most beautiful vessel I have ever made. Everything that is the woods....my woods from home....has been captured in this one little treasure. The outside covered with Georgies "Turquoise Lagoon" is reminiscent of the lichen covered rocks I climbed as a child. Never ending were my adventures in the woods. The inside also glazed with one of Georgie's glazes had captured the mud and ash rocks of my playground. The precarious cracks which look like trees were also a reminder of how fragile it all was with the entire area having been mined to the bone. As a child I just knew what areas were unsafe. The cracks in the ground and lean of the trees told a story of distress and I just knew to avoid those areas.

But the vessel is ugly. Truly ugly in ever sense of the word and I'm dying to replicate it so my father can have one too.

It has a sorta "raku" feel, no?