Spicy Vegetable Medley

Eating something hot and spicy on a hot day makes you cool off; please try it. Peel and chop one shallot and a two inch cube of peeled fresh ginger. Saute those two ingredients in a pat of butter in a large frying pan. Meanwhile chop up some fresh tomato in small pieces, about one cup full of a medium firm type. Add the tomato to the pan. Leave the skins on and chop one medium zucchini and one medium crookneck squash in small bite size pieces. Add those to the pan and stir well. Add a few shakes of some Jamaican hot sauce. Grind in a little fresh pepper, cover and let steam on medium low heat till squash is soft but still firm. Stir occasionally to blend the flavors.


This is so quick and easy to make and very tasty too. There's something about that Jamaican hot sauce and the ginger together that really makes my taste buds come alive. It takes about 15 minutes to cook. You'll make it over and over again. Oh, this Spicy Vegetable Medley was so good I forgot to take a photo when it was ready to eat. The dish looked more blended than the top photo in the pan. I've made it twice since. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.

Tropical Couple

Here's a tropical woman wall tile I just made which is about 8 x 8 inches. Gary said she looks Cuban. I carved lower eyelashes and forgot to slip paint them but the outlines are noticeable. Today I went back and painted those in.


Then I decided to make a tropical man to complement the tropical woman, a tropical couple if you will. After these two are fired I'll tell you another story about my time in Cuba. The colors on the woman look more muted since it's more dry than the man I just made. I like the fact they're drying together cheek to cheek.


I've been thinking about how to display the couple. Several possibilities come to mind such as mounted individually on a wall, mounted on a board together and hung on the wall. What do you think? I've been feeling braver with my process, using brighter colors, stepping outside my usual bounds, letting go.

Bigger isn't always better for slip containers. The canning jars don't stack on top of one another and take up much more room on my work table. I'm thinking about a rolling cart I can place under the table and pull out when I use the slips. Maybe a double decker lazy susan for table top.

I think clay must be the most expensive medium to produce a finished piece of art, tools, glazes, slips, tables, slab rollers, kiln etc. What do you think? Well maybe bronze and metal are too. Hum, just had an idea of painting the tropical couple on canvas with acrylics, we shall see if I get around to it though. So many ideas and so little time. Please stay tuned for more. Thanks for reading and for your comments.

Drum Circle

Here's some photos from the drum circle we went to a few weeks ago. Gary liked it so much he now wants to get a drum, probably a conga. We're going to stop in to a place where we can get advice on what kind of drums to get. I still want to get a tongue drum. It was quite a relaxing yet energizing time. There were belly dancers, drum players, observers, and it was just plain fun at the beach.


I took my ceramic rain stick and my spirit jar and played those along with the music. I still have to fire the maracas which are nice and dry now. But I am thinking something ceramic might be heavy to keep shaking repeatedly. Drumming is a lot of exercise believe it or not.


We just talked to Gary's eighty-one year old uncle in Cranbury, New Jersey and he's OK. He said it's the second time in 50 years where he got water in his basement. He built his home and worked there in his own milk delivery service till he retired in his 70's. He got about five 5 gallon buckets full and had to pull his carpet up. His neighbor's whole basement filled up with water, but his land is graded improperly down towards his house. The downtown section fared much worse with several feet flooding the streets.


I mixed up some more mason stained slips and now I'm completely out of dry porcelain clay. Been working on a few more colorful pieces so stay tuned for those. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.

Hurricane Irene News

Today we had high winds from the back side of Hurricane Irene and just had a big rain storm, but I'm sure it's nothing like what folks are and will be experiencing. When I was a child we lived in Virginia in 1954 and 1955. We had several hurricanes come through there. I remember my mother preparing in advance, getting food, water, and supplies.

Tonight I'm thinking of those in the path of the hurricane so I thought I'd post two sites I use for information about tropical weather and for Hurricane Irene News. Even though this first site says Central Florida Hurricane Center, they have information for the all of the tropical storms as they travel. Scroll down for lots of clickable links. Also Weather Underground Tropical is where I check for satellite photos, radar and rain patterns, click on the hurricane link for more info. I bookmarked these two so I can check them daily. I hope everyone stays safe.

Mixing Mason Stain Slips

Today I'm mixing mason stain slips. Here's one of my new jars filled with aqua slip. I'm so happy I found these wide mouth canning jars to use. I just mixed up a whole new batch of slip and filled each new jar with slip and different stain colors.


I thought these baby food jars would work well but the lid barely makes half a turn and doesn't seal. For over year now I've had a terrible time with the stained slips drying out that I've been using.


See how dry this slip has become in the baby food jar. I end up having to keep adding more water and remixing the slip stains every time I use them.


When I'm working on a piece I scoop a bit of slip out and put it into one of these glass condiment bowls. I dip my brush into these bowls so I don't contaminate the whole batch in the jar. But it's a pain in the neck to keep remixing the various colors of slip each time I use them because they've become so dried out.


So today I started out with some bone dry white clay. In this case I am using cone 6 Frost porcelain clay. I like a nice white clay to mix stains because the colors are less affected by a whiter clay.


I put the clay in a deep stainless steel bowl and add enough water to cover the clay. I use bottled or distilled water to mix my stains. I set the bowl aside to slake down.


Once the clay has slaked down completely I put the bowl in the kitchen sink with a towel to catch the splatters. I don't want any clay going down the sink drain. I mix up the slip with a hand held mixer on low speed.


Here are my new jars, nice and clean and ready to use. I'll be able to mix and store twice as much of each color slip now.


After I have the slip all mixed up I put a measured amount in each jar.


I then add a measured amount of mason stain into the jar of slip and mix it up well with a small rubber spatula. Using a flexible spatula enables me to smooth out any lumps that might form. This frost porcelain usually doesn't get any lumps as long as I mix it well and keep it well covered in an air tight container.


Here's my new batch of slips; I write the color of each slip on the top of the jar. The top photo shows what one color mixed up looks like. As I empty the baby food jars I'll phase them out. I may need to get four more small canning jars to mix up a few more colors. I keep one jar of plain slip on hand. I hope these new jars don't dry out. I'm getting bolder with some of my slip painting so stay tuned. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.

John Lennon in Mount Dora

Recently we took a trip to a mountain town in Florida. OK it wasn't mountains but it was hilly. The mountain town is Mount Dora and there were actually hills in the town, with an elevation of 189 feet. We saw this bronze sculpture by Lawrence Holofcener titled Imagine and Gary sat on the bench right next to John Lennon in Mount Dora. This is one of the reasons I love Gary, he's so spontaneous. He saw the sculpture, skipped up, sat down, and put his arm around John.


The town had lots of interesting architecture and tourist shops were full of people even on this very hot summer day.




Gary said he could live in a town like this. There might be hope yet for me yet to move to a bigger town.



Many of the streets were lined with huge oak trees. The town sits on Lake Dora but Gary's knee was throbbing him so we didn't get down there. A few months ago Gary got a bike to get some exercise and I think he wrenched his knee overdoing it. I got him a knee brace but he forgot to bring it that day.



Mount Dora could be called the city of parks. There are seventeen parks listed in the city directory. This is the park building in the middle of Donnolly Park adjacent the downtown area. Have a good weekend. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.

Mangrove Snapper

Once a week we're making a regular trip to our local fish market on Wednesday's to get fresh caught local fish. Next time we go I've got to get a photo of the guys arriving on their boat at the back door, how much fresher could that be? Yesterday we got some mangrove snapper which was new to me. Gary said the meal looked great presented on my handmade leaf and fern serving trays. Maybe lunch or dinner plates don't have to be round. Square or rectangular ones would be easier to fit in the kitchen cabinet too.


Put your black rice on the stove to cook and use two cups of water for every one cup of rice. Put a small pat of butter in the water and bring to boil and then add the rice and cook till water is completely gone, about 20 minutes. The pat of butter helps the rice stay nice and flaky. Meanwhile remove skins from one shallot and a one inch cube of fresh ginger and chop very fine.


Cut your fillet of mangrove snapper to serving size (or any snapper or mild white fleshed fish will do).


Sautee the ginger and shallot over medium heat to soften in a pat of butter.


Add the snapper and sprinkle with your favorite spices. Cook about five to seven minutes on each side depending upon thickness. Don't over cook fish otherwise it turns mushy; you want it flaky. Test for flakiness by inserting a fork into fish and twisting to the right or left a half a turn if it turns easily it's done.


See how the fish flakes while I'm eating it. Oh boy, was it delicious. Gary liked the fish and the black rice too. Dinner took less than half and hour to make. We'll have this mangrove snapper again sometime. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.

White Ibis and Pelican

My plans for today included making two more 5 x 12 inch wall sculptures with a pelican and a roseate spoonbill. After hand painting all the chartreuse slip into the carved leaves for this white ibis sculpture, I decided to quit while I was ahead. It's about a three hour process to get to this greenware state. This stylized ibis is flying in front of a palm tree in the dark of the night. He looks more like he's floating though.


Here's the ibis on Honeymoon Island which inspired me. I thought his beak was too long, but it looks like I could have made it longer. Like previous wall sculptures in this series, the bird is a separately carved sprig which is slip painted, then attached on top of the underlying carved tile.


Oh, I had another burst of energy after dinner, so I made this stylized white pelican. I think I should add two more leaves to the branch on the left. There's a larger space between two sets near the bottom. Now that I see a photo of a pelican on the net, I may change his beak to a yellow color. His beak is full of food. Sorry this one is out of focus since it's darker in the studio now and the flash would reflect back from the black slip.


Update: I made some modifications to the pelican, I like this one better. I'm having fun making these, I can't wait to fire some of these. Since Hurricane Irene isn't expected to land here, I may fire some wall sculptures I made a few weeks ago very soon. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.

Disaster Supply Kit

Everyone needs a disaster kit, everyone. You never know when this preparation might come in handy. Even if you don't live in a hurricane, flood, tornado, forest fire or similar disaster area, being prepared for a disaster in this day and age should be a top priority. It's easy to do in advance. It can help if you are snowed in, ill for a week with the flu, your car broke down, a tree falls blocking traffic, a bridge collapses, a river floods, storm drains fail, or you can't travel.

Hurricanes effects can reach hundreds of miles inland dropping huge amounts of water in a short amount of time. Hurricanes can also spawn very high winds and multiple tornados in inland areas. Over the last several months we've been stocking up on canned food and water. For toilet flushing water, Gary has been filling up milk and orange juice bottles as they are emptied. For drinking water we've purchased bottled water. We have a tent, foam mattress, camp stove, bottled propane, tarps, hand operated tools, a chain saw and extra fuel. We also have a back up generator which operates limited electricity in our home.

We checked out a disaster preparation video out of the library and learned some important information. You tube probably has some good information too. If you become separated from a loved one, decide where you will meet. Also pick a relative or friend to call that lives in a different area to notify since local phones may not work, and phones in a different location may be easier to reach. Please don't put it off, do it now, put your disaster kit together and keep it stocked at all times. Information below for a diaster supply kit was taken from the NOAA site.

Water - at least 1 gallon daily per person for 3 to 7 days
Food - at least enough for 3 to 7 days
— non-perishable packaged or canned food / juices
— foods for infants or the elderly
— snack foods
— non-electric can opener
— cooking tools / fuel
— paper plates / plastic utensils
Blankets / Pillows, etc.
Clothing - seasonal / rain gear/ sturdy shoes
First Aid Kit / Medicines / Prescription Drugs
Special Items - for babies and the elderly
Toiletries / Hygiene items / Moisture wipes
Flashlight / Batteries
Radio - Battery operated and NOAA weather radio
Telephones - Fully charged cell phone with extra battery and a traditional (not cordless) telephone set
Cash (some small bills) Credit Cards - Banks and ATMs may not be open for extended periods
Keys
Toys, Books and Games
Important documents - in a waterproof container or watertight resealable plastic bag
— insurance, medical records, bank account numbers, Social Security card, etc.
Tools - keep a set with you during the storm
Vehicle fuel tanks filled
Pet care items
— proper identification / immunization records / medications
— ample supply of food and water
— a carrier or cage
— muzzle and leash

Something Fishy

There's something fishy going on in the studio this week. This fish gives me the feeling he's blown up with air. I've got straight lines in one direction and curvy ones in the other and I've put chartreuse slip in the lines. I'm wondering what the background would look like with both directions curvy.

Here's another guy mostly black and white with some crimson thrown in to coordinate with the background. I shaded each of the ovals with another color; I'm not sure how that blending of colors will end up after firing.



I hate to risk all these slip painted works I've been making over the last several weeks with a clear glaze. There's always the possibility of too thick an application of turning cloudy, Since I've got some deep carved lines, using a glaze might have a tendency to pool in the crevices and be too thick. (I just realized I didn't carve the ovals; might be too busy if I did; guess I'll leave them like they are). This is probably where spraying the glaze would be better, but I've never tried that before, one of these days. I'm wondering if I can coat these with a sealer after firing. I guess I'll have to practice on some test pieces to see how I like different coatings.

I'm also thinking about of how I'll hang these and the other's I've made this past few weeks. I can either attach wood blocks on the reverse with eye hooks with a wire between to hang. Or I could mount them recessed in a shadow box type of wood frame. These wall sculptures are about 9 x 12 inches, so a wood shadow box frame would make them fairly large if I leave a border around the edge of them. What do you think? Thanks for your comments and happy Monday to you.

Alligator

Here's the latest Florida creature, an alligator. Maybe I'll put a few more lumps and crevices in the skin. He looks like he's smiling. Now that I look at the photo I took of an alligator last year, he looks like he's smiling too.


Fish and birds will be coming up next. Hope you're having a good weekend.

Functional Street Art

Had to turn around to get a photo of this mailbox stand in Tampa. It was on a busy street; I suspected someone knocked over the previous mailbox stand. So this person made another stand a little harder to knock over. We were in a rush to be some where and Gary was getting irritated at me, so I could only get a quick shot. His ear is where the mail box is and the door opened to put the mail in. The other side had a different face on it. What a great idea, functional street art at it's best.

The Perfect Friday Evening

9 x 12 inch wall sculpture

It's Friday evening and you just got home after a long commute in bumper to bumper traffic. You sit down at the kitchen table and open the window overlooking the highway which is always snarled with noisy traffic no matter what time of the day or night. Friday's are particularly noisy. You think to close the window, but the warm setting sun lights up your kitchen and relaxes you. As you look out the window you see two leaves from a sycamore tree floating over the highway below. With the angle of the sun the highway appears magenta instead of the usual dusty and drab gray.


All you have in the refrigerator is a chilled bottle of Verdi Spumonte and a couple of long slender eggplant you purchased at the local market a few days ago. Even though it's Friday night, you decide you're much too tired to go out or fight the traffic again. So you pop the cork and pour yourself a glass of the bubbling wine and slice up the eggplant.


You melt a couple of pats of butter in a saute pan and put in the slices of eggplant. You sprinkle the eggplant with minced garlic, rosemary, thyme, marjoram, celery salt, and fresh ground pepper, and cover the pan with a lid. The garlic and spices permeate the air and you can just imagine the taste of that succulent eggplant melting in your mouth. As the butter is absorbed into the eggplant you drizzle a little olive oil to keep the slices from burning, then turn them over to brown them on the other side.


You take balsamic vinegar out of the refrigerator and pour a small amount on a plate. When the eggplant is soft you put the slices on the plate and sit down at the sunny kitchen table. You place a bite of eggplant in your mouth and savor the flavors, dipping it gently into the balsamic vinegar just enough to absorb a taste of the vinegar. You're finally relaxing after a stressful work week.


Then you hear a knock at the front door and wonder who it might be. A sales person? Should you answer it? You decide to see who it is and you open the door. It's your favorite neighbor across the hall asking what the wonderful smell is coming from your apartment. You invite your neighbor in, pour them a glass of wine, and you slice up the other eggplant. As you both sip your wine accompanied by the sauted eggplant you realize it's the perfect Friday evening.