Some Raku, Good, Bad and Ugly

The title says it all. I am happy with all of the results except the plate, it has spectacular color but very bad design in the placement of the glaze. The pink/black pot was burnished, coated with slip, a thin layer of glaze over the slip and raku fired. The slip cracked off revealing the pattern underneath. It's naked raku because no glaze remains on the pot.

I will work in the yard today. It has huge potential; if only it would remain in place once "fixed". I like a nice yard but I am not a gardener; the joy some feel from yard work escapes me...

Road Trip

Sunday my husband drove me to visit one of the most special people in the world that is sick and far from home, stuck in the hospital for over a week now. Cottage cheese ordered for lunch and she was excited about it!! She is really sick. I don't mean that to sound funny even though it does.

Just thought I'd post some silly pictures I took on the way there to keep me distracted.

Not a Fish TILE. A ? Tile

Look how brave I am getting. This tile was done very free and easily. Inspired by the drive to Half Moon Bay, California. There are fields of various things growing along the 2 lane highway to the north. There are some trees and a big hill. I see migrant workers as they work in all kinds of weather working in the fields, planting or harvesting. Anyway, I look at these fields and tried to capture it on a tile, this is my first effort. When making it the rules about perspective were forgotten and I just did it from memory - plus imagination. It is so different from the others.....

My Rusty Neighborhood

As soon as I got my digital camera about a year and a half ago I took photos everywhere. This house has a wet suit hanging out in front to dry. Must be a surfer. The reason I took it was the rusty old car, later I saw the wet suit and thought it was a person. Oh, well.

Cheryl, the co-owner of the Rusty Hook Bait and Tackle Shop called and left a message that one of my fish sold. There is a mighty fine looking striper in the making right now that I am hoping I will dry, fire and glaze and re-fire successfully.

Meet the Monkey

My dear friend gave me this sock monkey, don't even ask why....
I am thrilled with him, she tells me it is male and his girlfriend's name is Bella. She lives a few miles away at her own place.
We don't know what his name is though, so until then he is The Monkey.
If you have suggestions feel free to post them.
Isn't he cute? Some people don't "get" sock monkeys, my dear husband is one of them but that's ok, he doesn't need to understand, just to go along with it.
This was very unexpected (because she doesn't sew much).... she makes these very beautiful boxes and plates, etc., using images that she manipulates using Photoshop. You can see ther work here: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5177554
We play mah jong together and I commissioned her to make me a mah jong money box, I received it yesterday also. It is perfect in every way! Our mah jong money is donated each holiday season to a women's shelter so that when we must pay a dollar or two it isn't so painful.

I Know This Place

Originally uploaded by john curley

Even though I know this place I don't know it like I see it here. This man has a fantastic eye for the extraordinary. His name is John Curley and his photos of Pacifica on flickr always grab me and make me look at things in a new and magical way. Thanks John Curley!

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!