Sea turtles can live for 80 years. Many species of sea turtles are threatened or endangered due to over harvesting and coastal development. Last night I was inspired to make a sea turtle bowl. The bowl measures 9.5 inches square and 3 inches deep.
These juvenile sea turtles were in the exhibit at the Homosassa Springs park. During summer there are about 50,000 sea turtles in the waters surrounding Florida. If you live near a beach in Florida turning off your lights at night during May through October helps protect emerging baby sea turtles from going the wrong direction. The baby sea turtles are attracted to the brightest lights.
A fern such as this must have inspired me to make the next vase, which I made several years ago. I said I never made a flower brick, but I think this vase qualifies as one.
The vase measuring 10 x 12 x 5 inches. Sadly it developed stress cracks in the bottom during the glaze firing at Cone 10 and I threw it away. It had a beautiful teadust glaze on it and now I'm sorry I didn't take a photo of it glazed. Now I know to put sand under large pieces so they can move on the kiln shelf as they are shrinking during firing which helps prevent cracking. The fern appliques were an experiment back then too. I didn't know if they would fall off or not, but they did just fine. I might have to do an inventory of my previous work and see if I can re make some of the pieces.
Remember the treasure bus and our moving on a shoestring? Gary left for California today. We found out rental car companies in Florida have what is called Florida drive out after Spring break. For $10 a day you can rent a car with unlimited mileage. You just have to take the car out of Florida and drive one way. Gary is stopping in Tuscon to go his second cousins wedding and then is on to California to get the treasure bus which he'll drive back to Florida. Gary started calling the treasure bus a tiki bus since I've been making tikis in clay.
I'm left here all by myself to handle all the remodeling projects and I don't get to go to the wedding in Tuscon. Waaaa! The sacrifices I don't make. In the back of my mind I'm thinking I can make hundreds of pieces in clay. Hopefully I'll be real productive because Gary will probably be gone two weeks. Comments and suggestions are welcome.
you must be excited about your belongings arriving in Florida! wishing gary safe travels.
ReplyDeletethe fern vase was sweet... too bad it didn't survive. and yes you should revisit that form and make more!
I love your tuttle bowl! And the fern appliques look wonderful--am wondering how you do that? Hope you enjoy your 'retreat' while Gary is gone and you have only to answer to your own inner demands! Enjoy. Gay
ReplyDeleteYour info about the $10/day rental car/one-way just saved my friend a ton of money. Her son just graduated from UM, has to go to LA for a cinematagrophy workshop...ohhh, thanks, Linda. Looove your turtle bowl. Have you thought about making some of these bowls with mascots for Florida teams in the center? SEC football is coming up...insanity time in the South...!
ReplyDeleteHey, Linda, me again. Realized I'd missed a blog and back-tracked. Thank you for not only taking the time but making two vases that would work for long-stemmed lilies. When I saw the Brick above, I thought how that would be super...a really clever idea, girl. But you're right about slime build-up...you're so talented to be able to make a cap...wow! And the inverted base, perfect. My lilies are still opening up...have never seen so many buds...five stems just popping...speaking of which, when are you serving dinner? Ohhh, those clams look good!
ReplyDeletesorry about the stress cracks in the fern piece, it's lovely. i love the turtles too. actually today i was riding my bicycle and saw some questionable young men walking along the road with a snapper. i almost stood up to them in defense of the poor creature but they were somewhat reptilian themselves and thought i might be older than i feel.
ReplyDeleteHi Linda
ReplyDeleteI love the turtle plate and the fern piece!! Sorry that the fern piece has some cracks but it looks great! I think ferns are really a lovely motif for pottery!
Hi Michele, thanks, actually I don't want the things to arrive because that means I'll have to unpack and put it all away. I am wondering what could be in there that I need. Ha.
ReplyDeleteHi Gay, thanks, I hope he maintains his coloring through the firing. For the applique-first I make a paper template and hold it up against the vase to see how it looks, then I use the paper template to cut out the shape of the ferns from a separate piece of clay, making them thinner than the wall of the vase, I score and slip them and attach to the vase; I smooth out the edges with a sculpture tool. then I carve the stems in the attached fern leaves.
Hi Kittie, thanks, did he rent the car in a state other than Florida, I didn't know this program was in other states too, good if he saved money.
Sorry you are too late, we already ate all the clams, now I am wondering what to do with the shells, there must be a use there? But let me know and I'll get more if you come to visit.
Hi Jim, thanks, I need to make more of the things that don't make it, this vase took quite a while to make, but I guess the result was worth it. Poor turtle, hope they get bit by the snapper; I know what you mean about confronting them though, one never knows nowadays. Gary and I were driving on a lonely country road the other day and a guy on a motorcycle had stopped in the road to rescue a really big turtle crossing the highway, I thought that was so wonderful. We flashed our lights to warn folks to slow down till he got him to safety.
Hi Sapphire, thanks, glad you like the pieces, I guess from all the comments I should make more pieces with turtles and ferns; I better get busy.
awwwwww, stress cracks. Boy, I can relate!
ReplyDeleteHi Patricia, thanks, I was so disappointed back then, and now too.
ReplyDelete