How About Fresh Fish?

Dragged across the highway? This bothered me even though the fish was already dead. Last Saturday was a good fishing day obviously. This striper (bass) was caught from the beach at Linda Mar Beach in Pacifica. I took this photo from my car while waiting for the traffic light.

Stylized Prehistoric Fish Tile

I started with an abstract design that I liked and it turned into a fish. Imagine that! This glaze looks great on this clay but totally SUCKS on white earthenware. I left it irregular and very thick, it gives it a sort of artifact feel - just what I wanted.

grr, I took these photos very quickly thinking I'd get better ones later but just in case...well, they are the final ones I ended up with until they were hung.

Weaving Perfection?

So, when my teacher left me last week he said something about my next project being perfect. Perfect is not in my vocabulary anymore, not when it applies to me anyway. I don't do perfect, I don't even try for it, I just do the best I can at any given moment.

When I put the word out that a teacher was desperately needed it was just to teach how to dress the loom. Now I see how things work...well, pretty much. And I need to do it a few dozen more times until I become more confident. I'll need my teacher again I know. For now, I need to go it alone for a while. I do hope he doesn't take it personal! The word perfect did alarm me though...

My fear of the loom is pretty much gone, it is slowly becoming my friend.

My fish is so large it may just barely fit into the kiln, no room for the tail, maybe I'll weave him/her a tail, I don't know!

Welcome to the Wonderful World Virginia Marie In Tennessee!

I think I'll get rid of that utube connection here on my blog. That one dumb pottery video keeps playing; very irritating. (3/07/09 edit - I did change the Utube to feature KIVA, microfunding, please take a look).

A friend of mine just became a grand aunt, or is it great aunt? She is very excited and so it the new grandmother. Welcome Virginia Marie to the world; she was born in Tennessee; welcome Virginia, maybe by next year when you have a baby brother I will be able to weave him a blankie!

My warp is on the loom again, I'm unclear as to what my teacher is doing since it isn't in any of my books the way he is having me prepare but I keep thinking that maybe its one of those "wax on; wax-off" exercises. I do hope you remember that Karate Kid movie!! He doesn't seem like one of those types of teachers but then again, who knows?

Instead of destashing such a large portion of my Tibetan beads; the repousse ones, maybe I'll go ahead and make myself more jewelry using it. That is what is was all about in the first place and I do love the designs!

Next week I hope to have some photos of a fish, a surprise fish...it is certainly surprising me, it has almost outgrown the kiln!

Big Little Boat

Big Little Boat
Originally uploaded by sheilasthings

Well, I sanded this big little boat to make it distressed and old looking. There is a SKULL under the prow. It doesn't look like a pirate boat at all but I couldn't resist the skull. The little white beads just make it So Special!
I'm not sure if the fish is protecting the boat or if it's like the whale in the story of Jonah and the Whale....about to swallow it up.

How My mp3 Player Changed My Life

I am the happy owner of a new mp3 player. What a revelation. No one told me how much better they are than the little radio things I have been using. WOW. I am in my own world, no one exists except me. Me, me, me..... I know now what the big deal is. Mine is a Sansa and it works great, I could even figure it out after playing with it for a while. Off to Napster now for my free trial and to get some music. Woo-hooo this baby boomer says!

In the meantime, here is one of my fish,he has swum off to a new home, I will miss him! He has been a large presence in my life. I think maybe he has special connections with all things - see how the scales form the eternity symbol?

Fishes and Loaves

Well, I like the story about the fishes and the loaves of bread. As a child when I heard it I thought it was such an odd story, how in the world can someone feed the crowd with 2 fish and 3 loaves of bread and have leftovers? So, as an adult I think it is an amazing story. If you don't know what I am talking about I bet you can Google it and find it. You know, seek and you will find....

Tiles of Fish

My low-fire/raku class is coming to an end. There is a ton of things on the raku shelf because I haven't had my raku fix for a while. Last fall and spring I didn't get to do raku which is a long and boring story about how I was a victim caught in unhappy circumstances between some people having a personality/power struggle. So I just sat out a few dances until it was safe again. So, anyway next Wednesday is going to be a long and dirty day and of course I have scheduled 3 other things that day also. Nothing like the rush of "things to do". I am working against my own best interests here and I know it but I do it anyway!
Of course I had to do some fish on the tiles! These fish turned out kind of freaky ~ like they are I suppose! I have it in my head to do a series of them in different colors. You see, if I call them a series it deflects whispered comments about obsession, of course the like-afflicted know....
The beach, the beach...it is lonely for me!

A Sad Fish Tale

My 24 + " fish went into the kiln head first and survived the bisque firing!

I unloaded it a couple of days ago and glazed it with raku glazes.

Yesterday was raku day.

Loaded the kiln, loaded the metal garbage cans with combustible material, fired it up and we were cookin'.

It took nearly an hour to reach temperature since the it was in the first firing of the day...

Into the garbage can it went and stayed there for about 1/2 hour until it was time to remove it for the next batch of ware to be placed into the reduction atmosphere.

Cleaned it up with a scouring brush and carefully placed it on a table. Turned my back to wash my hands, as I returned into the room a big bucket jumped off the shelf and smashed into it and broke it into 4 pieces. WAH, WAH, WAH!!!

So, off to the hardware store for some 2 part epoxy to glue it together, it won't show I guess. So, you break it, you buy it applies most of all to me in this case. It will go on nicely on my deck.

Just Another Day at the Beach.

Well, this is a fine kettle of fish. I unloaded a kiln with several fish today, this one is my favorite. It is so glossy and rich colored! I hung it on a leather cord with one of my handmade beads. It swims up the wall because of the placement of the holes for hanging. I like it thay way.

My war/death mask is drying, not quite ready to bisque fire yet.

Class situation is wonderful, very few students so there is plenty of room to spread out and get things accomplished! Tomorrow I will throw some coffee mugs because everyone in the family likes new coffee mugs!

Firing the Fish and The Maui Fish

I saw this fish in a gallery in Maui, it is made of quarters and what appears to be paper currency. I was so fascinated with it I asked to take a picture of it, so here it is. Personally I don't understand any symbolism by the use of money except perhaps the cost of ahi at some of the local restaurants.

If you give a man a fish he will eat for a day, if you teach a man to fish he'll feed himself for a lifetime. True or not there is an element of truth...

Continue the fish story: If the fish you made is now dry and you have signed it and there are no sharp edges it can be fired. I fire to cone 04. This is called the bisque firing. After the kiln has cooled the fish can now be glazed. Check the glaze you purchased or made - to see what cone it is designed to be fired at - pay attention to the zeroes..if there is a zero in front of the number it means something, there is a huge difference between 04 and 4. Get a book on ceramics and study about this if so inclined but be aware of a difference! Glaze your fish as desired, I nearly always use at least 3 coats of glaze because I do not like a glaze-starved look on a fish, makes it look sickly I think. Fire to the cone stated on the jar of glaze. After experimenting with the process a few times you can get bold and try over firing a bit for different results.

I am looking forward to raku firing in a few weeks, always dramatic and risky. One year all of my raku pieces broke in the raku firings because I bisque fired to a higher temperature to make the pieces stronger (I thought) but they just crumbled when removed from the kiln because a raku firing requires an open bodied clay - not one fired to maturity. I need to remember this sorry and sad disaster.

Texturing and Drying the Fish. Plus an Art Tile

OK, this is obviously not a fish. This is a small tile I have re-glazed and re-fired multiple times. I like the rich colors, kind of like a crude art tile....

Now, the fish needs some scales so you can roll up little balls of clay - a lot of them - and apply them one at a time for a lot of textured scales. Another option is to incise lines into the clay, one could also use any number of materials (netting, etc.) for an interesting body texture. Be sure to put gills and a mouth on the fish too. Then drape it over some wadded up paper towels to make the fish look lively. I use straws to punch out 2 holes near the dorsal fin; later I use leather or wire to string through the holes to hang the fish. If you are not going to hang the fish up you don't need to do that of course. Once the fish is draped leave it alone until it becomes leather hard, that is when you can carefully handle it but it is not yet dry. This is a good time to gently remove any rough or sharp edges. They may not be sharp now but when fired, those rough spots can become lethal! This is also a good time to sign your fish. Gently put the fish back on the shelf and leave it alone until it is completely dry.

Let's Make a Fish

This is a photo of part of the process I go through in making the fish. This one was rolled out of a slab of clay and cut out freehand - aiming for a salmon....right now it is about 18" long.

I don't have a studio but I do have a workplace out in back. Of course it leaks when it rains and recently it has lost a vital element. Plastic is going to be my best friend for a while I think. Anyway, I feel fortunate that I have a place that I can mess up and walk away from without guilt.

Next week I begin taking a 6 week class at the local community college; there is a core group of advanced students that show up for classes from time to time. This is a low fire and raku class; I have a list of things to make, I may even throw again (on the wheel).....would be great to make a few nice raku platters with dragonflies.

Some People Don't Know When to Quit

I am one of them. I wasn't satisfied with just making fish, things had to change, improve, get bigger, get more. So I made this whopper in 3 pieces so that it would fit into the kiln and it just barely did. I fell in love with firing red fish after my first successful firing. Tiffany told me how to glaze and fire to get good reds (they can be tricky).... Even though this one is not what a some (unenlightened) might call a perfect firing; there are some imperfections - it is the perfect fish because this is what nature is like, imperfectly perfect!

I have this one at home; I would like someone to know this by osmosis or magic and tell me, "I need this fish for my sushi restaurant or my fabulous fishing/hunting lodge in Montana or this is perfect for my fish market, may I offer you $200.00 for it?" It stores quite nicely so it is ok if no one ever says that because it is tucked away, and it doesn't smell or eat or, or, or...

More Barbie Manifesto

This is another one of my fish! Unfortunately I am not the kind of potter

that documents everything - or anything for that matter so

I don't know how I got this woo-woo metallic green glaze...

Well, I have delivered my message to two stores and wow, do I feel crabby. I sense that this may be harder than I thought. I assumed that people would hear my story and jump on my bandwagon....

Wait, wait, I forgot**************************


During one of my phone calls to Mattel one of the people told me that the "little books" that I was describing were not Barbie products and must have been pushed into the package. How do I deal with that???? I did then say that they had someone sabotaging their Barbie product and it should be corrected.

At some point I call Target and they handed me off to various people not knowing what to do with my complaint. So, I emailed them eventually. Since it is my email I guess I can put it in my blog... this is a response that I got from Target on 22 January 2004:

Dear Sheila,Thank you for your e-mail regarding the packaging for the Barbie yourpurchased at Target. Allow me to apologize for the delayed response. Yourpatience is appreciated. At Target we are always looking for ways to make the Target experiencebetter for every guest. I apologize for the situation you described andappreciate the time you have taken to contact our office. In order to fully research this issue for you and respond to your concerns,I do need some additional information. Please provide the 12-digit UPC number from the Barbie package or if youhave your receipt you can also find a 9-digit item number listed there.Also, if you can provide all of the details of this "subliminal message" sowe can fully understand your concern. I look forward to hearing from you soon and thank you for being a valuedTarget guest.Sincerely,Janine OTarget Guest Relationswww.target.com

and here is my response to JanineO at Target:

Dear Janine O, Thank you for your reply. I gave the Barbie as a gift before Thanksgiving so I cannot supply the box with the UPC or the receipt. I wish I could. The message was in a Movie Star Barbie on a little "book" (2 of them actually). In very small digital type printing one book said "Lose 10 lbs in 10 days" The other "book" also said "I lost 20 lbs and so can you". I bought two Barbies, one in the Bay Area at Serramonte Target and the other at a request of my 4 yr old granddaughter, hers I bought in Las Vegas. I hope this helps you. If you would like to see what I am talking about I can fax the image to you. I have the "books" here at my home. Thanks again. Sincerely, Sheila





I thought that this was a dead end and it was but Janine did respond sometime later with this nice email:

Dear Sheila,
Thank you for your e-mail providing additional information regarding the Barbie you purchased at Target.
We take pride in our products and strive to ensure that all the merchandise sold in our stores meets Target expectations for quality and outstanding value. We appreciate the time you have taken to personally bring this matter to our attention. I apologize that the product you purchased has disappointed you. Your comments and concerns with this item will be made available to our buyers for further review with the manufacturer.
I encourage you to write or call if you have future questions or concerns about the products or services at Target. We do value you as our guest and thank you again for making us aware of this matter.
Sincerely,
Janine O
Target Guest Relations
www.target.com





So much for Target, I had done what I could there; time to move on.
Did I mention that this was starting to become a Crusade?

My Barbie Manifesto Continued

I made this fish last year, the glaze is called Floating Blue,

it is a very reliable cone 5 glaze and is one of my favorites.

I stopped "ruining my daughter's Barbie experience" and when my grandaughter walked in and saw the Barbie, her eyes lit up and she wanted one too. She asked me if I would buy her one too, so....I told her that of course I would buy her a Barbie. No sense being both a bad mother AND grandmother....

Off we went to Target to buy a Barbie, I wanted to get the same one and I did. I told my daughter that if it had the same messages inside that she should take them out and save them for me. This Barbie was going to be a Christmas gift.

When Christmas came and went I asked about the Movie Star Barbie and sure enough it had the same subliminal message on the little books found inside. She mailed them to me. Here I now had my proof and something to work with.......

My first call was to Mattel; I had a complaint. The customer service person on the other end was polite and told me I should talk to someone in a different department. I can't remember what department - product development or something. I spent a while on the phone getting nowhere at Mattel. I told them that they were putting inappropriate message inside of Barie packages and I wanted to know if this was a standard practice. ...huh?...

My next step was to go to Target. I went there and told them my story about the subliminal weight loss messages in the Barbie packages. The manager was quite kind but couldn't help me. I said I wanted someone to be aware that the Barbies they sold had weight loss messages in them and that it simply wasn't acceptable to give this message to little girls. She suggested that I contact corporate headquarters on the phone or by email.

THEN I went to Toys R Us. Now, I didn't buy the doll there but I knew they sold Barbies (see the madness beginning?). This is where the crazy-lady looks began also. I repeated the bad Barbie messages being sold in the boxes meant for little girls and on and on....

It was a cold and rainy day and I delivered my message to those 2 retailers that might or might not have cared.