Driftwood

For years, whenever I went to the beach, I collected driftwood. I wasn't sure what I would use the driftwood for, I just liked collecting mementos from the ocean. Driftwood is surprisingly strong for having been tossed about in the ocean and pounded by waves on the shore. One day I thought it would be nice to combine some driftwood with ceramics. I made this water carrier with the idea of inserting a driftwood handle. I have five boxes of driftwood, but only a couple of pieces of driftwood were suitable to use as the handle for this piece.

Today I decided to make a wind chime with another piece of driftwood and some of my ceramic leaves. I drilled four holes equally spaced through a piece of driftwood. I noticed the driftwood has a fresh pine scent when it is drilled. As I was drilling the holes, I was imagining the piece of wood traveling down a stream from a forest above and finally entering the ocean below. I was quite happy to be reclaiming the wood and putting it to another use.


Since I was impatient to hear the sound a ceramic chime would make, I quickly tied hemp cord through holes in some ceramic leaves I made. I pushed the cord through the holes the leaves and then up through the holes I drilled in the driftwood and tied knots at the top. Then I drilled two more holes for another piece of hemp cord to hang the wind chime from. The stoneware leaves make a beautiful sound - a pleasing reverberation when hung near a building. I'm already thinking of how I can jazz this wind chime up a bit by staggering the leaves, perhaps adding some wood beads and other natural items I might find lying about.

Later I tried stringing some of my small porcelain pendants to make another wind chime, as I jiggled them about the only sound they made was a dull thud. There must be a formula for the mass and size the ceramic piece must be to make the appropriate chiming sound. Does anyone know a forumla for the size and thickness the ceramic piece must be to produce a pleasing sound? Anyway, it's fun finally putting some of the driftwood I have collected to use.

Wild Turkey

Thought you might enjoy some photos of a couple of the wild turkey, Meleagris gallopavo, I spotted in our yard during the summer. These two are part of a group of about fifteen turkeys which used to visit our yard regularly. I haven't seen any turkey around here in a while; I hope they are still wandering around the neighborhood.


Have a relaxing and happy Thanksgiving with your family and friends.

Glazing Progress

Here's Black Bamboo Pitcher, porcelain clay, Cone 10 reduction, 6.5 by 6.5 inches excluding handle. This is the pitcher everyone said was too large, too cumbersome, not functional, handle won't hold, too large, scrap it, recycle it, make a planter out of it, put a hole in the bottom of it, etc. Since I spent so much time constructing the piece, I decided to spend a bit of effort on the glazing. Well I am glad I did. I am finding I learn something from each piece I make, each piece that's fired and each piece I glaze - and all of this is valuable information.


Don't get me wrong, the pitcher is too large and would weigh a ton if I filled it full of liquid. But the glazing experiment I tried was a success. I glazed with teadust on the bamboo leaves, stems, and handle, and used a green celadon over the rest of the pitcher without using any wax resist. I also added yellow iron oxide to the green celadon which was drab olive green. Now the green celadon is much more pleasing to my eye. Next time I'll make the pitcher smaller and glaze the inside more evenly.


I've learned I can't always listen to those around me even if their voices are loud or negative, I have to listen to myself and keep on my own path of creativity and determination. I'm realizing other folks have different goals and ideas and they don't always mesh with what I am want to learn or achieve.


Above is my Creamy Matt Free Form Bowl, Black Mountain clay, 10 inches diameter by 3.5 inches tall. This bowl was sitting on the top shelf of the kiln and so the interior glaze turned more creamy rather than blue.


Here's Molten Blue Free Form Bowl, Black Mountain clay, Cone 10 reduction, 8 inches diameter and 4.5 inches tall. I intended the blue glaze to drizzle into the mahogany interior.


I also had a couple of reglazed pieces from last semester I finally got into the glaze firing, but they didn't turn out well, so I decided to give up on them.

Harvest: Ceramic Still Lives by Una Mjurka

I took advantage of being in Visalia today to see the ceramic solo exhibit Harvest: Ceramic Still Lives by Una Mjurka at College of the Sequoias. The exhibit will run through December 4th. The middle of the gallery contained two long banquet tables, one filled with ceramic ingredients for a feast, the other table was bare with a chair at the end. I was immediately struck with the contrast between the two tables, one overly abundant and one glaringly empty. I couldn't help but feel many families will be faced with the realities of a table much more bare than bountiful this season.








Realistic fowl, fish, fruit, vegetables and breads were presented on the Harvest table in baskets, bowls, crates and also strewn on the table in their overabundance. The sheer magnitude of the bounty was astonishing to me as I thought what it would be like to make all the ceramic pieces. The pieces were finished in an almost monochromatic color scheme with soft matt slips and stains with only an occasional hint of color. The muted colors unified the harvest table into a whole.

Una Mjurka described her current work "We use food as a communication device, we gain a sense of security through it, and we fill emotional voids with physical nutrients and obtain a sense of belonging through food. It has become a friend, a symbol, an identify or even an obsession. As a society we have a very peculiar relationship with our daily bread..."






The exhibit is about human potential and the choices we make. Una Mjurka went on to say, "Even though one could assume that in the developed countries all deficit needs can be met and easily fulfilled, this providing a fertile environment for the growth motivation, it is surprising how few actually are reaching their creative potential".

Is your table full or empty?

An Omen

I don't see myself as a complainer and I try to work hard. It's always been amazing to me the more I seem to do the more people expect me to do even when I tell them I can't. I know folks are busy but a kind word or an offer of help would be welcome. I guess I just got too few phone calls asking how I am and too many emails asking me to do this or that or saying this or that was expected and I've finally just had enough. Nary a word asking how I am doing. This isn't a plea for sympathy, either, just to let you know where I am right now and that I'm a little behind on things too.


For many years now I have had a bad back and kept on doing, because I had to - 'twern't' anybody else to do it. Over the last few years I haven't been able to do as much but ignored it. This last six months or so it has gotten progressively worse which is one of the reasons we planned on selling our home and now have it for sale. Which is also one of the reasons I concentrate on making slab and slump built ceramics because I knew my back wouldn't handle throwing. So I decided to do what I knew I could. These last few weeks have been terrible. It has gotten to the point where I can't sit or walk for extended periods of time. Terrible, too, because not being able to do what you normally do and having to ask for help isn't a place I want or like to be.


Do you believe in omens? In good omens? I like to think they are real. Up to this point in my life I feel I have been lucky, more than most. I also like to think I have made some of my luck from hard work. Striving to improve my life and the lives of others around me. Too often I think folks are misjudged by those who don't know them or their circumstances in life. For several years now I have striven to look beyond what I see as the outward person into the inner person of who I meet, or talk with, or know. I've tried to, (and this might sound hokey) but treat others as I would have them treat me. I am reminded of that line in the Rolling Stones song "You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you just might find you get what you need".


Today I found good omens in the garden, one on the downspout - a monarch butterfly chrysalis. What joy I felt at this wondrous discovery. I got my camera and took a photo. Then I decided to see if there were any more chrysalis on the butterfly weed, Asclepias tuberosa, in the herb garden. What did I see but a monarch caterpillar. Then I saw another and another. And I remembered butterfly weed is one of the monarch caterpillar's favorite foods. What mystery and beauty and hope, right here in my garden, which I was lucky enough to discover today. Fear, of the future, of my back going out, and of not knowing what is wrong, has prompted me to write such a post, but here's hoping it will all be OK. Xrays and CT scan showed nothing unusual. Tomorrow I go for an MRI and I hope they find something (so I'll know what's wrong), but I hope it isn't much.

Made in Finland

While rummaging through my kitchen cabinet the other day, I came across this beautiful slip decorated redware bowl. The bowl measures 8 inches across the top and is 2.25 inches tall. The foot measures 3 inches. Every time I come across the bowl in my cabinet I remember Gary's grandmother. My mother and I discovered this bowl in her apartment when we packed her possessions when she passed away at 98 quite a few years ago. When I turned the bowl over, I saw, Made in Finland, stamped into the bottom. This didn't surprise me since Gary's grandparents on both sides immigrated to the United States from Finland.


However, when I was looking at the bottom of the bowl I was surprised to see it's completely glazed with a clear glaze, even the foot. I wondered how the bowl could have been fired. I looked for some stilt marks all over the bottom and couldn't find anything at all. I was amazed. As I looked at the front of the bowl again, admiring the slip decoration, I noticed what I thought was a small nick in the rim of the bowl. As I look closer I saw the nick was a definite line. I ran my fingers around the rim of bowl and found two more lines at even intervals on the rim of the bowl. I believe the bowl was fired upside down on a type of plate setter.


Gary's grandmother lived at Strawberry Creek Lodge in Berkeley. When we used to visit her, we would take her out to lunch at Spenger's Restaurant. I remember she loved the French bread, perhaps she liked the sourdough. I could never figure out why she liked the French bread so much, because her Pulla, Finnish Coffee Bread, was much better. She used to make us Pulla every time we came to visit. Pulla is braided and has crushed cardamom seeds as a flavoring and is delicious. Sometimes she added raisins to the bread batter too.

Pulla

2 cups milk
1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
2 packages of active dry yeast
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cardamom (or more if you like)
4 eggs, beaten
9 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons white sugar (to sprinkle on top)

Warm the milk in a small saucepan until lukewarm. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Stir in the lukewarm milk, sugar, salt, cardamom, 4 eggs, and enough flour to make a batter (approximately 2 cups). Beat until the dough is smooth and elastic. Add about 3 cups of the flour and beat well; the dough should be smooth and glossy in appearance. Add the melted butter or margarine, and stir well. Beat again until the dough looks glossy. Stir in the remaining flour until the dough is stiff.

Turn out of bowl onto a floured surface, cover with an inverted mixing bowl, and let rest for 15 minutes. Knead the dough until smooth and satiny. Place in a lightly greased mixing bowl, and turn the dough to grease the top. Cover with a clean dishtowel. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. Punch down, and let rise again until almost doubled.

Turn out again on to a floured surface, and divide into 3 parts. Divide each third into 3 again. Roll each piece into a 12 to 16 inch strip. Braid 3 strips into a loaf. You should get 3 large braided loaves. Lift the braids onto greased baking sheets. Let rise for 20 minutes.

Brush each loaf with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) for 25 to 30 minutes. Check towards the end of baking to be sure bottom doesn't burn.

Betty Picks Name Out of Hat !

Today I announce the winner of the Buddha's Hand and .......... A DRAWING FOR A FREE GIFT ! I decided to take my gardening hat (you can see by the sweat band that it's well used) and put all the names in there. Then, believe it or not, Betty picks name out of hat ! You might be wondering how I got Betty to pull the names out of the hat? Betty is a very curious. All I had to do was point out the rolled up names in the hat, she cooperated by trying to get them out of the hat so she could bat them around on the floor for a while.


Your odds are one in ten (10) of winning the drawing for the free gift(s). I put the following list of blogger's names on a piece of paper, crumpled it up, and put it in my garden hat. Ricky was a first time poster here. I discovered Judy's blog because I love her glazes. Gary had a contest on his blog and I thought it would be a good idea too. Jerry has been a long time follower of my blog. I discovered Meredith's blog and then she visited mine. Becky and Amy found my blog because I visited their blog posts on barrel firing. And I know I'm following in Deborah's "Stonepool" footsteps keeping you in suspense here. CJ visited my lavender garden and learned I had a blog. I think Cynthia's blog is the second pottery blog I ever read.


In the first photo you can see, indeed, Betty picks name out of hat ! She has one piece of paper with a name on it under her left paw. Then Betty pulls the name out of the hat and bats it around on the floor for a while. When the paper ball stops rolling she looks at it. While Betty's looking at the paper ball, I open it up and let her see it. As you can see Betty has chosen the winner: CJ of the JollyEwe Knitting Blog.


Congratulations CJ, just send me an email with your mailing address and I will mail you your free gift(s). Then if you'll take some photos when you receive the gift(s) and send them to me, I can post photos of the gift(s) from the drawing for everyone to see.

A big thank you to all who read my blog, especially those making comments. I love hearing and learning from all of you around the blogging world. By the way, Betty said you're all winners. She pulled the rest of the names out of the hat while I was writing this post. Thanks Betty !

Top of the Line - My First Juried Show

I am pleased to announce my hand built, one-of-a-kind ceramics were juried into the Soroptimist Club of Visalia's Top of the Line Holiday Marketplace show for this weekend. Tickets are available at the door. Please stop by my booth G-04 in the main exhibit hall of the Visalia Convention Center. This is my first juried show and I'll be unveiling some of my new ceramic forms with unique glazes. I'll also have some of my popular pieces available.


WHEN: Saturday & Sunday, November 8 & 9th

TIME: 9:30 AM TO 4 P.M.

WHERE: Visalia Convention Center, downtown Visalia


For more information, please check the Soroptimist's of Visalia's Top of the Line website. There is free parking on the street or in lots surrounding Acequia, Mineral King, Court and Bridge Streets.

This is a family friendly event, so come on out and enjoy the early holiday festivities. This is the Soroptimist Club's main fund raiser and monies raised benefit the local community as well as the worldwide projects of Soroptimist International. Through the years of the show’s existence, they have contributed over $600,000 to benefit local as well as worldwide projects and organizations which improve the lives of women and girls.


Hope to see you there.

Buddha's Hand and ............................... A DRAWING FOR A FREE GIFT !

PLEASE READ ALL THE WAY TO THE END OF THIS POST !

You've probably realized I like gardening, but to go along with that I also like cooking with things I harvest from my garden. All summer I didn't have much time to appreciate my garden with all the watering and weeding and then there was all the time I spent with clay. But now that our weather is in a cooling trend, I've had a little more time to walk in my garden and enjoy all I have planted here. Much to my delight today, I saw some of my Buddha's Hand, or fingered citron, are ripening.


I planted this citrus tree as an oddity in the garden. Since that time I learned there are lots of reasons to recommend this tree. My tree is only 4 feet tall, if that, and it has at least eleven Buddha hands on it. There are probably more on the other side of the tree.

Carolyn Carter, of sanfranciscofoodie.com described the fruit as "what looked like a piece of yellow coral". Carolyn provides an easy recipe on her site for Candied Buddha's Hand Citron. In addition to using the fruit for cooking the fruit is also very fragrant. It is said to freshen a whole room if picked and placed there. The tree has ancient origins and is one of the oldest members of the citrus family.

I am not a Buddhist, but I collect Buddha statues. To go along with the Buddha's hand, here are some photos of my small Buddha collection. Since I am always running around trying to do too much, I am drawn to the peacefulness Buddha statues seem to emanate. I like looking at my Buddhas as I go about my daily life. I have several Buddha statues placed in various locations around my home.


This small collection of Buddhas are inexpensive, probably resin, but I like their happy countenance. (Please disregard the dust, I don't have time for that now that I've found clay). This group graces the lower shelf by the front door and brings good will to all who enter and all who leave.


This Buddha graces the shelf in my family room. I went to a local fund raiser several years ago and there was a silent auction and I was lucky enough to obtain this statue. The statue is solid concrete and the detail is amazing. This statue would be beautiful in ceramic, don't you think?


This next Buddha is in the bathroom. I hope it isn't sacrilegious to have a Buddha statue in the bathroom, but the wood fits in nicely with the decor and he looks like he is doing his morning stretches.


This colorful Buddha is placed on the upper shelf of a stand on the screen porch. I found this Buddha in a run down thrift store in a little town I was passing through one day and he called out to me. He watches over the my newly installed kiln. From the looks of his happy expressions, I think I'll have many wonderful firings. He's so colorful I think he's capable of positively influencing kiln firings far and wide.

I just realized I don't have a Buddha statue for my new studio conversion, so I'll be on the lookout for one to grace the shelves there too. Today, I have a few more platters and casserole dishes to glaze. Some of these are going to be a re-glaze from the load which didn't reach Cone 9. Hopefully they'll come out looking OK this time. Remember purple surprise, if it doesn't turn out this time, I'll post a photo, you'll have a real good laugh. Stay tuned.

GUESS WHAT? .... THIS IS POST # 100 !!!

To celebrate I will put all the names of those making a comment (one comment per person, please) on this post in a hat. I will then draw the name of one person to receive a gift, maybe even two or three gifts. I'm a generous person and it's a surprise from me. I will announce and post the winner here on this blog next week. At that time the winner can send me an email with their shipping address so I can send them their prize shipped to them free of charge by me. (sorry, free shipping to this continent only - shipping to other areas will be negotiable). The winner should send me a photo via email of them receiving their gift(s) so I can post a photo of them on my blog. Good luck!

Ceramic Jewelry Display

Since I make ceramic pendants, earrings, and necklaces, I wanted to develop some unique ways to display the jewelry at shows. Before I went out to purchase commercial display racks, I decided to look around my home and studio to see if I had anything I could use. I remembered this concrete bust which I thought might work to display a ceramic necklace. I also have several wood bowls that look nice with contrasting pendants lying in them.


Unique or unusual display items are much nicer than the traditional black or white velvet easel displays often seen at art shows. But an easel display can also easily be made by cutting out a cardboard shape and gluing some fabric over or by painting the cardboard. Even a flat piece of cardboard can be propped on a metal easel for a necklace display. I am cutting out several of these and putting different colors of fabric on them to use.


Although using a manzanita branch as a jewelry tree is not new, a friend of mine took a manzanita branch and stuck the branch in some plaster of Paris in a metal can. She painted the can a decorative color. She placed the finished manzanita display on her table at the show and hung her strung pendants from the branches of the manzanita. She makes rustic looking pendants and this type of display suits her pendants very well. Sorry I don't have a photo of her display to show you, but her pendant display was very well received by those visiting her booth. Since her display puts the pendants at eye level, they were noticed by passersby much more easily.
I also thought it would be nice to attach tags or card. This way I could hang them from a rack when I go to shows. Sending pendants in the mail attached to a card is also a nice way to package them for the customer. Either way, I think having the pendants and earrings attached to a card is more professional looking than just loose. Having them boxed is another option, but boxing is a more costly option. If jewelry is given as a gift and is attached to a card, the receiver will know who made the item and where to purchase others.


Another reason to put my pendants on a tag or card, is the cording sometimes gets tangled up and it is a pain in the neck to untangle the cording. If I had the pendants attached to the cards and the cords behind the card it would be much easier to keep them neat and organized. Eventually I can have my cards printed, but for now I want something I can print up quickly and inexpensively on my printer at home.


To make the tag or card I first thought of using my business card and punching a hole through the business card and attaching the pendant. My business card is printed landscape and is a traditional business card size of 3.5 by 2 inches. A business card is a little small for my pendants.

Pamela Vale showed how she used business cards as hang tags to her advantage. I thought about gluing the business card to a larger size card stock and punching a hole in the larger card stock. But it would be time consuming gluing the business cards to other card stock. There is too much information and lettering on the business card. So I rejected using a business card for my purposes. But maybe just a tag with my business card background design, the business name and byline. Might be good for some items, but still too small to attach a pendant.


I wondered what other type of card stock is available already perforated that I could easily print on my printer. I checked out postcard stock. Print ready, perforated postcard stock is a little too large at 5.5 by 4.25 inches. Folding the postcard in half makes a 4.25 by 2.75 inch rectangle, which seems about the right size. And folded in half the card is a little heavier weight, which is nice. I can still punch a hole through both thicknesses and attach the pendant. Another idea would be to use plain card stock and stamp a border design, but I like the idea of being able to print my name on the card along with the pendant. Try to picture the tags on colored paper with a hole punched in the top to attach the pendant.


Now to design what the card will look like. The lettering needs to be on the side or bottom of the card. The top is hidden by the hole punched to hold the pendant or earrings and the middle is hidden by the pendant or earrings themselves. That leaves the side or bottom. If the pendant is large, part of the bottom may be hidden too. So only a limited amount of information can be printed on the tag or card.

More information could be printed on the reverse of the card. In the Art Bead Scene blog recently Jennifer Heynen of Jangles Jewelry outlined a list of what can be included on a tag. She also said to be sure the price can be removed from the tag. I thought of placing my price on a little round sticky on the tag which could easily be removed.


Printing just on the bottom of the card is optimum, but what if I want my contact information on the card? There isn't much room on the bottom of the card for much information without it being hidden by the pendant or looking too busy. So I thought, what about printing a mailing label and sticking it to back of each card. That might be the perfect solution. I could print "Handmade Ceramic Pendant by Linda Starr" on the front and I could attach a mailing label to the back with information about how to contact me.

Since jewelry is often an emotional purchase, other information included on the tag could include the artistic process or idea behind the design. For example, “Made from clay the artist dug from Tule River deposits”, or “Impressed with a leaf from artist's own garden”, or “Handmade with traditional pattern passed down from the artist's ancestors” (Cherokee). I could also include information on how the pendant is made, such as hand rolled or hand carved clay formed into a pendant.

OK, I have been thinking about jewelry tag or card for about a week and it just now dawned on me I have less than one week before the show. I have complicated this much more than it needs to be. If you want to chime in, please do so, but I have to move into high gear to get everything done - yikes!