Tangy Shrimp Salad

Here's a quick and easy recipe for Tangy Shrimp Salad. Shred some romaine lettuce in bowls or on plates. Chop a red bell pepper and toss on top of the lettuce. Open a small can of tiny shrimp and toss on top of the lettuce and peppers. For the dressing, in a separate bowl put about 1/4 cup of ketchup, add two teaspoons of prepared horseradish, add a few dashes of hot sauce, then add in some vinegar to make the dressing thin. Drizzle the dressing over each salad, grind a generous amount of fresh black pepper over each salad and serve immediately.


As Gary and I were eating the Tangy Shrimp Salad from a paper bowl, I was wondering what type of ceramic plate the salad would look attractive on. I thought of a flat plate with a gray or black glaze and a little squiggle of lime green over the top as an accent color. I seem to be looking at food in a whole new way, wondering what shape and color plate would complement the food. How about you, do you think of glazes which will complement food? I like the plate on the left which is more square rather than oblong for a salad. An oblong plate might be good for sushi or crackers and cheese.


I had a slip decoration on these two plates but I didn't like it so I wiped it off. I thought I'd texture the plates. I looked around for something to use and my old bamboo back scratcher was lying about, so I scratched away on the diagonal, then I took the scratcher and gently hit the plates a few times randomly. I think I got this back scratcher in San Francisco in the 1970s. Now that's a tool with longevity.


I love all the oak trees around here, they are so beautiful with their curving branches and the moss and ferns growing on the limbs. If all goes well, in two more days we'll be in our new home. Ugh, moving, unpacking, arranging, rearranging, electrician to wire a kiln, etc. all necessary evils for an end result of firing the pieces I've been working over the last several months. Stay tuned for photos of the new place coming up. Comments and suggestions are welcome.

The White Unicorn

In the wee hours of the morning on the coldest day of the year I heard our motion detector go off in our driveway. I got up to see what had set it off. I couldn't imagine who or what would be out on such a cold night. I opened the bathroom window rather than the front door and I heard very heavy footsteps crunching on the frozen ground. Then I saw a pure white horse walking in our front yard. I shook my head thinking I must be seeing things. Then I saw a brown horse following, and then a black one. In my half awake state all I could think of was the horses were going to eat my landscaping and I yelled,"Yaw, yaw", loudly and the horses trotted off around the corner.




Then I thought better of what I had done thinking the horses must have gotten loose from a barn or pasture. So I ran to wake Gary up to help me round up the horses. Gary and I got our clothes on and went outside. We looked all around but the horses had disappeared. We looked for hoof prints, but the ground was so frozen we couldn't see any. Gary turned to me and said, "Are you sure you saw a white horse?". I said yes, I saw a white horse and two others too. We called the local sheriff in case someone was missing their horses. We lived on a main road and didn't want anyone to hit the horses if they drove by. Later Gary said, "You must have seen a white unicorn!" He started kidding me about seeing a unicorn. Later I told the story to some folks and word spread quickly about the story of the white unicorn.




A week later everyone in town was asking me about seeing a white unicorn. Months went by and everyone in town still asked me about seeing a white unicorn. I kept insisting I had seen a white horse, not a unicorn. Then during the summer I learned a neighbor was boarding three horses nearby. I drove over to see the horses. One horse was black, one was brown and one was white. I asked if the horses had ever gotten loose and they confirmed the horses had gotten loose on the coldest day of the winter. I was finally able to prove I had seen a white horse.


This morning we drove through Ocala, Florida and saw some colorful horses in the town square. The public art is called Horse Fever and the sculptures reminded me of my unicorn story. So I decided to make a tile of a unicorn this afternoon. I am almost out of white slip, so this is an emerald unicorn. I'd like to make a few more unicorns, especially a white one, as a reminder of how much fun everyone in town had kidding me about the unicorn I saw. Comments and suggestions are welcome.

Imagine a Treasure Chest

Patience is wearing thin in the RV. Gary was talking on the phone and asking me questions while I was trying to put this box together and I pressed too hard. The top caved in, the sides came apart, and the straps started to separate. So I worked like a mad woman for over an hour trying to salvage the box. Then I tried to smooth the rough edges and they got even rougher; but I persisted. Now the trunk is a rustic and worn treasure chest instead of a nice looking wooden trunk with leather straps.


I was inspired by the cover of this magazine to make a trunk shaped box. The trunk shape stayed in my mind, but not the details of the trunk. At one point I even wondered if I could make a hinge to the lid so it would open like a trunk. Have you ever made a hinge in your ceramic work? If so I would love to hear about it. I remember seeing a ceramic piece that Lana Wilson made with a hinge.


Be sure to click on the link on the right side of Lana's website to hear an interview with her. Lana talks about not paying too much attention to your teachers, but doing what you like to do. She also said it's important to remain excited to work in the studio. I can't remember a day I didn't want to work with clay; I love it. I think I could make a hundred different treasure chests out of clay and not be bored - different shapes, colors, textures, hinges, surfaces, glazes, firing techniques, clays, and on and on.

Can you imagine a treasure chest just pulled from the depths of the sea. The chest having fallen from a ship wreck of long ago, worse for wear, but still intact. The chest is filled with jewels and Spanish doubloons gathered by pirates who sailed in ancient seas. I'm sure your mind can embellish the chest much better than I can describe. The trunk looks rough and simple now, but I envision a mixed media piece developing from this treasure chest. And to think I came ever so close to giving up; close to crushing this piece. Comments and suggestions are welcome.

Front Loading Kilns ?

Please give me advice on front loading kilns. I told Gary about an L&L Hercules front loader and he just about had a fit when I told him the price, which is only the price of a good used car and think of all the use it will get in it's lifetime. I want to get a front loading kiln since they're easier for me to load with a bad back.

Then Gary said what about a used one. I've never seen a used front loading kiln, even top loading kilns come up very infrequently. Maybe at that price I should forget about electric firing and go back to Cone 10 reduction, but then I'd need to get a propane tank. Maybe I can find a studio assistant to load my ancient Skutt? I just want to get all the pieces I made fired and make some more. I never did go to a place to get them fired because I thought I'd just get them fired when we move in to our new home. What to do?

For the past two months I guess we've really been snowbirds in Ocala, Florida. We're in an RV park which has 55 spaces in each row A through J, which is 540 RV spaces in just this one park.


It's kind of amazing thinking of the number of folks who go South for the winter or North for the summer in so many states, thinking of how they affect the economy of each state. So here's a toast from my latest mini goblet to all those part time residents in each state of America, no matter what month of the year it is. I won't tell you what Gary said about the stem of this goblet. I actually meant the stem to twirl around several times, but I couldn't manipulate it into that shape this time.


This is another one of my wrapped boxes. The lid fits down into the box. I made the lid by attaching a flat piece to the underside which slides inside the box. Then I made a similar attachment on the top of the lid to give it some height.


After I made the flat part of the lid I attached the handle on top of the lid. Next I wrapped the piece of clay all the way around the box which created the second part of the handle and then I cut through that piece of clay at the front and back of the lid so it would open.


The paper is to keep the lid from sticking till it dries. I have the whole piece taped up with electrical tape till it dries because I can't find my paper tape. Comments and suggestions are welcome.

Pasta Textures

Cinderella Vase by Linda Starr
11.5 x 5.5 inches
Stoneware, Cone 10 Reduction

Perhaps you recall this vase I made several years ago? Originally I called it my Castle Vase, but Gary said he liked Cinderella Vase, so that's what I call it. How do you like the texture? Know what it is? I guess the title of my post gives it away. I pressed bow tie pasta into the wet clay. The kitchen is full of items I can use for clay texture, even food.


For the life of me I can't remember who I learned about alphabet pasta from, but I finally found this pasta at the grocery store the other day. So I decided to try using this pasta as a texture in a platter. Except, I didn't think in advance, what will happen to the pasta letters now that I have rolled them into the clay?

Hopefully the pasta letters will burn out in the bisque and then I can use a glaze that will pool into the space left by the letters, like the Cinderella Vase above. The letters are really tiny, I picked out the ones I put into the handles, but the rest will have to stay there. I thought they might pop out as the clay dried, but I just looked again this morning and they are embedded quite deep into the clay.


For these two small plates I used a pinwheel pasta and overlapped the impressions and then I brushed some colored slip and wiped it off a bit. Then I placed them over a paper plate hump mold and added a round foot on the bottom.


I think these little dishes are so versatile and could be used for dessert, as a bread and butter dish, for fruit, cheese and crackers, and on and on. They can stack quite well in a cabinet too. I plan to make more of these. Comments and suggestions are welcome.

It's a Wrap

Here's the first of a series of boxes I plan to make. My original sketch calls for black clay with a symmetrical white band incorporating a handle. Before I start using my precious black clay again, I thought I'd make a few practice boxes with the last of the sculpture clay.


Not sure if you can tell but the box is raised off the tabletop by the width of the wrapping. Since the wrapping is off to the left side I put a hidden piece of clay on the bottom of the right side to keep the box level. I made the box as a whole and then cut the lid off, the way I've seen Tracey Broome make boxes.


After I made the box I wondered what it would look like with the front seam covered, so I cut a piece of oblong clay and Gary held it up for the photo. I'll let the piece dry and I can epoxy it on after firing. I figured there was too much leverage to get it to stay put now. Which do you like better - the seam showing or hidden?


Making boxes is good practice for me to improve my hand building techniques. This box is slightly wonky, or wabi sabi. That's the beauty of handmade I think. I'd like to make a box with a gallery that holds the lid, um how to do that?

I'm off to find some tape to hold the box together while it dries, so it won't warp. I learned this tip from Judy Shreve. Comments and suggestions are welcome.

New Home and Studio

If all goes according to plan, central Florida near Inverness will be our new home and my future studio in about two weeks. We decided to move here for several reasons. The warm, moist climate is easier on aging bones.

I planned on visiting potters along the way, but truth be told my back hasn't been good at all. Traveling here I had to stop about once an hour to get out of the car and walk around. Sleeping on RV mattresses and riding in a car for long distances have taken a toll. Once we get settled I hope things improve and I can take a trip up the Eastern seaboard. We really want to drive up to New Hampshire to visit some of Gary's relatives and visit potters along the way.

We wanted to get a newer home without immediate need of changes and improvements. Instead we opted for a home we could afford with a pool so we can take advantage of low impact exercise; one with a little space around it (for barrel and pit firings), and a place large enough for a studio inside the home (to reduce utility consumption in winter and summer).

We hope in the long run we've made the right decision. I'll show photos after we move in and make a few changes so you can see before and after shots. Comments and suggestions are welcome.

She Must Be Thinking

There's lots of Spanish moss growing on the trees outside our RV. When it's raining we sit across from one another at the dinette. One day Gary remarked I always seem to have two fingers across my mouth and my thumb under my chin. I said he was wrong, that I didn't always do that. Later if he caught me in that pose, he mimicked me. Since he was mimicking that pose quite often I realized I must be doing it. Whenever he catches me in that pose, I tell him I must be thinking.


This got me to thinking that we often don't see ourselves as others may see us and others may not see as we really are. What do you think? Later that evening I made a sketch of three faces with various hand poses. I made the sketch months ago. A few months later I thought I might make an oblong platter to illustrate the three faces, so I put that thought across the top of the page to remind myself.


Today I decided to make an oblong platter for the three faces. I rolled out a slab and cut it to the shape I wanted. Then I brushed some green slip across the surface and pushed up the sides. Then I made two handles for the platter and attached them. I waited for the slip to dry and used a sgraffito technique to draw the three faces.


My drawing is more expressive than my sgraffito. For this platter I used a different tool while the clay was still damp. I also wish I had put the faces beside one another like my original sketch. Perhaps if I had some white clay with black slip the contrast would be sharper. When Gary looked at the platter he said, She Must Be Thinking.

Joy Tanner talked about prototypes in a recent post about boxes she made. If I had more room in the RV I'd make more till I achieved the look I wanted. So this platter is a prototype for future platters. Once we have a permanent location (more about that later), I hope to use decals to apply some of my drawings on clay. Comments and suggestions are welcome.

Pyramids

There's something about the shape of a pyramid which I find so intriguing. I was surprised to learn pyramids have been built by many cultures and in almost every country in the world.

The other day I set out to make a building shape in clay and ended up with a pyramid. I made the upper pyramid first and it reminded me of the Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco. I also remember visiting Mexico years ago and walking to the top of the Teotihuacan and being awe struck that ancient civilizations could have built something so amazing.

Of course I thought about the well known Egyptian pyramids especially when I was lucky enough to see the King Tut exhibit visiting De Young Museum years ago. I discovered the exhibit is again traveling around and is now at the De Young Museum till March 28th, which gave me a little Twilight Zone moment. If you get a chance to go to the visit when it comes to a city near you, you won't be disappointed.


During my college days I heard the term pyramid power and thought the idea was probably a myth. Whether pyramids have special powers or not, the shape is something I plan to continue making.

Off topic but I thought I'd mention, the past couple of weeks I read a few good books which I got from the RV lending library. All four books I found difficult to keep reading at the beginning but I persisted and was glad I did for all of them. I must have a little more patience than I used to have.

Pirate by Ted Bell
Moscow Rules by Robert Moss
The Constant Gardener by John De Carre
The Center of Winter by Marya Hornbacher

Comments and suggestions are welcome.

Looking Beyond

Looking beyond the past isn't always enough to change the past, even if I want to. I've traveled across the country several times before, and was always sure I'd chosen the right path. This time it's different. I'm torn between wanting a place with space around me and being physically able to take care of that space.

This sculpture started out as a tall building, but the piece decided to morph into something completely different. When this happens I have no control other than to make what comes forth. No matter that I have no idea how I am going to get the top portion to stand up till it stiffens enough to stand on it's own. Sometimes I just have to make what I have to make. I ended up using toilet paper rolls folded in threes to hold up the top portion and supported it with a rolled up dry washcloth set on shelf beside it at just the right height.

I was born in 1950 in the middle of the century, in the middle of the country, poised between two different eras. One is modern and the other more traditional. I'm also a Gemini with a definite dual personality. Therefore I can rationalize what I make into two different categories. Two, who am I kidding, not sure I can limit myself to just two, there's much more than two. There's modern, traditional, spiritual, architectural, functional, sculptural, and on and on.

I plan to explore this type of piece more. I'm hoping to achieve asymmetrical sculptural pieces in clay. The bottom portion is a leaning square vase shape and the top piece is flat and set into the vase which holds it up. How about you, what era do you see your work falling? Or what type of art/work do you like? Modern, traditional, etc.?

Spirit Jars & Tornado Prawns

Tornado warnings surrounded us on all sides this morning. We also had more than three inches of rain in one hour, along with lightening, thunder, and wind. I started out the day making two Spirit Jars to hopefully ward off ill effects from the storm. Each jar is about seven inches tall and the top has a small reservoir to smudge sage or burn incense.


Later I decided to cook up some local prawns we obtained the day before. I wanted to use garlic, ginger, and coconut milk for Gary because those ingredients are supposed to be good for the gallbladder.

Tornado Prawns

1 lb fresh large prawns, cleaned and deveined
4 tbs butter
3 tbs olive oil
2 tbs capers drained well
10 mushrooms slided medium
1 stalk celery chopped fine
1/2 yellow bell pepper chopped fine
1/2 inch cube fresh ginger chopped very fine
2 clove garlic chopped very fine
6 ounces canned unsweetened coconut milk


Shell the prawns, butterfly them removing the vein and set aside. Measure 2 tablespoons of capers and set aside to drain on a paper towel. Slice the mushrooms into medium pieces. Chop the stalk of celery fine. Chop half a yellow bell pepper fine. Peel and chop a 1/2 inch cube of fresh ginger very fine. Chop 2 clove garlic very fine. Measure out 6 ounces coconut milk.

Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large saucepan on low heat. Add one tablespoon olive oil and add the sliced mushrooms. Saute the mushrooms till barely rest of the butter and the remaining olive oil. When melted add the celery and saute for about two minutes, next add the bell pepper and saute for a minute more, then add the chopped garlic and ginger to the pan moving the celery and peppers aside so the garlic and ginger are resting in the butter and olive oil and saute them till the garlic just starts to lightly brown.

Immediately add in the butterflied prawns placing them against the pan bottom moving aside the sauteed vegetables. Use your spatula to flip the prawns to cook them on each side two to three minutes till barely done. Quickly stir in the coconut milk and the previously sauteed mushrooms and stir just to distribute ingredients evenly. Cover lightly and cook another minute or two. Do not over cook. Serve with a wild rice mixture and a green salad.


The ginger, capers, garlic and coconut milk combine to make a unique and complex blend for the palate. We had a glass of Oak Leaf Sauvignon Blanc along with the meal. ThE wine was less than $3 at a Walmart superstore but the grapes were grown in dry, gravely soil of Livermore, California and it was quite acceptable. Comments and suggestions are welcome.

My Kind of Place

Isn't this the most beautiful shimmery, pebbly surface you have ever seen? Such wonderful mother of pearl colors reflecting the light. I just love it. How in the world can I recreate this in clay. The raised pebbles are so luscious.

Today we were driving around looking for a public restroom. I knew we'd find one at a fast food restaurant, so we stopped at McD's. As I was leaving the restroom I noticed some interesting interior features. I was impressed enough to get my camera and take some photos. McD's is my kind of place, yes, indeed-ee.


I'm sure everyone eating their breakfast was wondering why I was taking photos inside a McD's. But look at the surface of this water feature which was located there. Isn't it wonderful? There were two columns of Plexiglas flanking the pebbles with water bubbling up through them.

When I got home I realized I was out of white stoneware and the effect on red clay wouldn't be quite the same. But I thought enough of the pebbly surface to try it with the red clay. My piece has a different surface, but I like it. If I had had some shellac I could have painted the pebbles and then wiped the surface away to raise them. Perhaps I could have used wax. Instead I cut out pieces of clay and rolled them into a slab and kept adding more and more. Hope they hold together. Thinking of how to achieve the surface reminded me of how Jim Gottuso makes such beautiful surfaces on his pots.


Up next, no there won't be any golden arches, but wait a minute, arches would be a wonderful sculpture wouldn't they? How about you, have you ever been inspired by an unusual location or something unlikely? Comments and suggestions are welcome.

Six Wheels

I cut out six circles of clay and used a can of blueberries for my template. I make use of whatever the RV cabinets hold for tools. I pressed indentations into each circle, then cut out a cross in the centers, and triangular holes surrounding the cross. I let the circles stiffen a bit, and assembled them so they're just touching. They look a bit like rough hewn wheels, six wheels joined together. The wheel seems simple but it was a very significant discovery for mankind. I'll be coming back to the wheel in the near future.

I plan to explore more cut out pieces, perhaps squares. Squares have more surface to adhere the edges. Maybe I can do some triangles; perhaps I'll attempt more than six sides. The possibilities are endless. I briefly thought of this piece as a votive if I'd left the top removable. But I wanted this to be a closed piece, something containing space or thoughts, whatever one would like. I might think about making a votive in the future.


Gary's feeling much better, thank goodness. I'm researching the foods to avoid which irritate the gallbladder, mostly fatty foods, but there are a few others too. He may have to have his gallbladder out eventually. Hopefully we can find a home base before then. Comments and suggestions are welcome.

Evening Egret

This wall plaque is a silhouette of an egret with a full moon behind his head. I may add a few more filamentous feathers along the neck, back, and tail. I covered the background behind the bird with small dots of very light gray slip which don't show in the photo very well. I'm not sure if the small dots will darken after firing; I hope so. For the border I tried cross hatching with green slip numerous times and was not happy with the look so I washed it off with a sponge and added some black cross hatches and then dabbed them off with a sponge till they were almost completely gone.

This is the last of the white stoneware clay, otherwise I might have made another of these in a rectangle and a black border. In the past I never made multiples, but I can see the benefit of them now. Once I have more room I plan on making multiples which I feel would be a good exercise for improvement.

Gary had a gallbladder attack last night and didn't get any sleep. He is still in pain; might be a gallstone. We had some sweet potato french fries yesterday evening and I think the oil they were fried in may be the culprit. I've been giving him flaxseed tea and beet juice, hope it goes away soon.

Call of the Cranes

Some things just stick with you; you know what I mean. You remember years later when some small word or thought or sight jogs your memory. That's the way it is for the sandhill cranes for me. The first year Gary and I were married in 1985, I stood on the deck of our home located in a dense forest of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. In the distance I heard a unique and plaintive call coming from a long way off. (Click on the link and then on sound to hear their call, perhaps you'll be mesmerized like I was so long ago).


I knew of sandhill cranes but had never heard or seen one. Somehow I immediately knew the sound I was hearing was the call of the cranes. I kept looking up into a small opening high in the sky waiting, and hoping I would see the cranes fly over head.


It seemed like such a long time that I waited for the sound to come closer and closer. I thought the chances were slim that the birds would fly overhead where I could get a glimpse of them. There was only a small opening in the forest created by the foot print of our house. All of a sudden high above me in the sky I saw the formation of the flock flying overhead. For just a few fleeting moments I saw the birds fly by and heard the call of the cranes on their way to their winter homes.


Yesterday Gary and I were driving through a residential neighborhood. Two large birds were walking on the front lawn of some one's house. At first I thought they were statues and then they moved. They were eating small insects I suppose in the lawn. I stopped the car and took a few photos. Several cars drove by and the cranes seemed oblivious and kept up with their quest for food. One bird kept a lookout while the other dug in the grass and then they reversed roles. I didn't hear their call but somehow I knew these two birds were sandhill cranes. Later we drove by a pasture and saw two more cranes. I came home and did a search on the Internet and found they were indeed sandhill cranes. Ain't life grand.

Lines In the Earth

My sketch book is filled with drawings of pieces I want to make. I've been itching to make these particular pots which I sketched in my journal. I sketched them from a feeling I got from lines in the earth as we traveled across the country.


The drawings in my journal are more true to what I envisioned than the two pots I've made. For perspective the little pot is toothpick size. I intended to make the pots a much larger and low rectangular shape rather than the taller shape. Normally, my pots are closer to my drawings, but not this time, so I plan to explore this form and slip decoration some more.

I can't tell you how many times I took photos of these pots before I captured them in focus, trying to keep cat hair off the background and the pot. Living in an RV with three cats is taking it's toll on us. It's probably not easy on our three cats either. They used to go outside during the day and wander around freely.


I'm having withdrawal from clay since the number and size of pieces I can make are limited. I feel an urge to be making so much more in clay. I also have several very large pieces in mind I want to make, several geometric and building inspired pieces. There just isn't enough room and it's frustrating dealing with the cramped space.


We've been staying in an RV park and paid for a month to save money a couple of weeks ago. We had planned to travel around much more but towing the trailer is fraught with complications finding an RV space long enough to park it. Also RV parks are more expensive paid by the day. Then there has been the colder weather in most places which prevented us from traveling farther north right now towing a trailer.

Gary has been looking at homes in this area and we may end up here rather than farther north like we thought. Old bones and arthritis are much better in warm moist climates, so luckily we've been feeling much better health wise here than other locations. Might not be singing the same tune in the summer though. Beds in RVs aren't that comfortable; whenever Gary sees a nice big bed, he feels like lying down on it and stretching out. Once we are settled we can drive up the Eastern seaboard in the late Spring to visit more potters and eventually end up in New Hampshire where we plan to visit relatives. Comments and suggestions are welcome.