Tag: clay

Random

Could the End Be In Sight??

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You’d think that with the quarantine/social distancing/mask wearing and sheltering in place I’d be throwing pots and knitting like a maniac, but my orthopedic adventures brought these things to a screeching halt. The backstory is here if you missed it the first time around.

Anyhow, besides just the couple of weeks being bored out of my mind because I couldn’t do much of anything – when you break your dominant arm you’re pretty much out of luck for a while – being housebound hasn’t been too bad. You can bet, though, as soon as I got my cast off I was knitting, even if it was a super slow process. I got my hands back into the clay, finally able to finish what I’d started before I broke my arm and every day is a  little bit better than the day before. Here’s three very patient pots that waited for me to heal.

 

Word on the street is that life is starting to normalize.  Mr. iknead said there was toilet paper on the grocery shelves, no hand sanitizer or gloves, but at least it’s a move in the right direction.

 

From error to error one discovers the entire truth. Sigmund Freud

 

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p.s. Don’t forget to visit my Etsy shop, ClayDreamsPottery.  I’m always adding new pots and you don’t want to miss out on the perfect one!

 

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Random

Christmas in Bangkok

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Hi all!

So, what did you think of the changes in my About Me page? It took me a long time to get the new content from my head to WordPress!  As for my 2020 Intentions, one of my main one is to start and stick to a blogging schedule.  I haven’t quite gotten that one settled in my mind but just getting started feels like a big step in the right direction! 👟👟

I hope you had a great holiday!  Mr. iknead and I went to Bangkok for Christmas with the Bangkok Bunch.  So good to see them…..even with Facetime, etc., sometimes I crave being able to hug them in person, hold their hands and hear their voices in person. Unfortunately, I was sick the. whole. time. with bronchitis. I went to the doctor and he gave me antibiotics and cough medicine.  They helped a little and at least got me through the long, long flight home.😷🤒👨‍⚕️💊

Best gift ever?  The Bangkok bunch is coming home! 🏠🏠🏠 The excitement and the relief of having them close by again is overwhelming!  🎇🎇🎇🤸‍♂️😍

 

I’m still plugging away at Gray Day.  I’ve had to rip the entire cable pattern out and start it again twice.🤬but it’s progressing slowly!

I plan to do an  update of my Etsy shop, ClayDreamsPottery, in the next day or so, keep an eye on it – you don’t want to miss a thing!  Here’s a preview –

Knitting · pottery

Almost Back to Normal

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After being laid low last week from my shingles vaccine booster – think worst hangover ever accompanied by a temp of 102, I finally feel like I’m on the downside of this ugliness.  Jeez louise, I hate to be sick!

I’ve made what I consider great progress on Leksak Lady, with only one and one half sleeves and the crochet edging to be done.  I admit, I’m particularly proud of my edging as I rarely crochet (though I really do enjoy doing it) and am usually pleasantly surprised at how good it looks.

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Leksak Lady

I’m going to try my hardest to remember to add project notes when a project is completed.  I find other knitter’s project notes really helpful and, well, turnabout is fair play my mama always said.

OK, that’s my string side.  Now, on to the mud…..

My new clay finally arrived and new clay is always cause for a celebration.  I threw a couple of chucks, which I sorely needed.  It seems like just about everything that comes off my wheel lately has some sort of neck and I find it impossible to trim without using one.  Granted, a chuck isn’t the most  exciting thing to come off my wheel, but it sure is nice to have one when I need it!

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Someday I’m going to learn how to level my shots. 🙂

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I threw this vessel and stamped it as an experiment.  I like the way it turned out – what do you think?  Maybe my new glazes will have arrived  by the time it’s ready for glazing and it’s final firing.

FYI – Tomorrow is the first day of the fall session of pottery class.  It’s doubly exciting  because we’re in a new (to us) building as the Arkansas Art Center and Museum School is undergoing a facelift/remodel slated to take three years.  Exciting stuff!

One more thing – If you haven’t visited ClayDreamsPottery lately, go on over and take a look.  You never know what you might find!

All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree. Albert Einstein

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Random

Notorious RBG, Finally Home and Back to My Wheel

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After taking what felt like the Grand Tour of Dallas and the surrounding area, I’m FINALLY home, safe and sound.  This trip had a little something for everyone, lost luggage, missed connections, airport closings, stormy weather and about a thousand unhappy passengers, hoping against hope that their connecting flight was still on the ground, just waiting to be reboarded to take their passengers to their final  destinations.  Unfortunately, I was not part of this happy group, having missed my connecting flight home, giving me the privilege of spending the night at DFW and catching the first plane that was  pointed in Little Rock’s direction.  The stars aligned, I boarded the first plane out and was home within the hour.

After my spouse and my dog, I was most happy to see my pottery wheel and studio.  After some breakfast and a nap, I spent some QT getting my hands back into clay and  starting on a small project that had been percolating in the back of my mind for a while — a set of small bottles, all different, but glazed in a similar way.  I haven’t even given much thought to how many I should throw or how many bottles will make a set.

Here’s a look at my project progress so far –

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Last, but most certainly not least, I scored a couple of tickets to the Honorable Ruth Bader Ginsberg lecture/interview last evening and was so happy to have Cindy to go with. RBG was amazing and was sharp as a whole truckload of tacks.  Don’t let the librarian bun and her super petite frame fool you, I don’t doubt that she can go toe to toe with any of the big, well fed (her words, not mine) male Justices that occupy the bench with her, leaving them in the dust and wondering what just happened.

I want her to stay on the bench forever!

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Random

Monday in Bangkok

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ON MY NEEDLES

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Ariel Socks

So far, the Ariel socks are playing nice, but they’ve been slow going.  Things are looking up since I purchased a nice, bright headlamp at Decathlon, a store similar to Academy Sports. I actually was at Decathlon to get a new water bottle, which I did, but apparently the placement of impulse items is universal – right next to the cash register.  That bit of extra light has made a big difference, I got through the first pattern repeat last night without problems.

I’m also working on a Leksak sweater, though I find the rows and rows of stockinette boring.  It makes for great plane knitting, I’ll give it that.

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Leksak

ON THE WHEEL

Not a thing.  While I’m in Bangkok, I have to be satisfied with surfing Pinterest and making endless lists in my head of glazes and techniques to try.  That reminds me, I need to order clay.  I’m thinking that if I order now, it will arrive in Little Rock about the same time I do.

FIELD TRIP

Here are a few photos of Iconsiam, a new mall here in Bangkok that has a replica of a floating market on the bottom floor, with traditional Thai food and crafts vendors, most wearing traditional Thai clothing.  Really, the photos don’t do it justice………..

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FYI – This is an escalator!

Action is the foundational key to all success.  Pablo Picasso

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Everything Else

I’m Back!

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Hey everyone! Remember me? Well, here I am, still an insomniac and getting over a back issue.  Actually, I developed back pain about a week ago that kept me from wheel and kiln until yesterday. Anyhow, I’m much better and eager to get back in the studio. 🙂

Here’s a sneak peek at a couple of things I was able to finish before my back turned on me.

First up is a  medium sized sized, textured vase –

Next, a sweet little ring bowl –

I especially love the green shades inside this little bowl!

These will be going up in my Etsy shop,ClayDreamsPottery in the next few days, as soon as I can take a breather from playing pottery catch up!

Knowledge is addictive. Keep it up.  Teresa Sjoquist

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Everything Else

This Week’s Sneak Peek

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Here’s a look at a couple of projects I’ve been working on this past week………

 

I’ve added some high fire clay and glazes to my supply of low and mid fire glazes and such and am thoroughly enjoying playing around and experimenting with layering glazes. I think this little vase turned out really well, don’t you?

Miss Dixie got a shiny new bowl this past week, thanks to my glaze experiment.  I had marked the new bowl in my head as a new bowl for her, then, when I pulled it out of the kiln, I had second thoughts because of how pretty it was. In the end, though, I stuck to my original plan, and Dixie has a new, pretty bowl.

 

Meals are serious business in Dixieworld!

 

The pretty vase will be added to ClayDreamsPottery by the end of this week, along with some other beauties still in progress that I think will be a hit so keep an eye out for these newbies.

Nothing happens unless first a dream.  Carl Sandburg

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Everything Else

Meyer’s Shino Try Out

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A few weeks ago I was poking around in the glazes at the Art Center pottery studio and came across one that I wasn’t familiar with – Meyer’s Shino.  In keeping with my “I’ll try anything once” personality type, I grabbed one of my bowls that was glaze ready and gave it a dip.  I had no expectations, I hadn’t used it and neither had anyone else in the studio that day.  So, to satisfy my curiosity, I dipped.

LOVE!!!

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One dip Meyer’s Shino

Fired to cone 10

Looks a lot like a soda firing, doesn’t it?  All who saw it in the studio yesterday asked me the same question: Soda?  Nope.  Just glazed and fired as usual. I love it when the clay gods smile down upon me!

The years teach much which the days never know.  Ralph Emerson

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Everything Else

Hoosier Facelift

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I’ve been very neglectful this past week of just about everything while dismantling, cleaning, painting and reassembling this old hoosier cabinet –

I used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in the colors Henrietta on doors and drawers and Emile on the rest.  Oh, and see those yucky brownish hinges?  Those are the original hinges, I couldn’t find any new ones that fit.  Those old hinges?  That’s what color the whole thing was before the new paint job. Gross.  This is my workspace and storage for my pottery.

After the cabinet was squared away I was able to think about clay again and finally ran a glaze kiln today.  Here’s a first look –

Way too hot to get close, but they look like a success so far!

Be sure to look for these in my Etsy shop, ClayDreamsPottery!

My advice to you is not to inquire why or whither, but just enjoy your ice cream while it’s on your plate. Thornton Wilder

Everything Else

Rain and then more rain

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Last post, I mentioned wanting to do an Etsy shop update last weekend, which obviously did  not happen.  I grossly underestimated how busy Mother’s Day was going to be and then there was the rain. Nothing dried enough to even think about running the kiln, leaving me champing at the bit, frustrated and  more than a little bit impatient.  I finally just went ahead and candled most of the still wet pots in my kitchen oven so when the rain finally quit they’d be ready to fire.  Guess what…… it’s raining again and it doesn’t look like it’s going let up anytime soon. 😩🌂⛈☔️ But I have bisqued and glazed pots ready  for the kiln so I’m good. 🙂  On the bright side, I’ve gotten a lot of knitting done while waiting for the sun to come out. ☀️

Ninilchik Swoncho

Caitlin Hunter, Designer

NEWS FLASH ……

My partial Etsy shop update is live, with the remainder to be listed this evening, as soon as it’s cool enough to handle.

Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow. Melody Beattie

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