The photo taking question was recently addressed on the clay list City O Clay and since that is #1 or #2 on my to do list I am tackling that subject today! Please weigh in and let me know what you think!

So you want to take good pictures of your jewelry(or insert your item here)…… items hunh? Do you have the cash to buy a set up?

The camera is something you are going to have to figure out yourself. Since a camera is on my Xmas list I am using what I have which is a HP Photosmart M525. This is going to focus on the set up you can work with to take great pics.

What is a small photo set up you may ask?
Here is a company that sells table top studios. If the link is broken I searched studio lighting setups.

http://www.skaeser.com/servlet/Categories?category=LIGHTING:LIGHT+TENT

Basicly it is lights with a box.

Here is a way you can make one.
http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/07/how-to-diy-10-macro-photo-studio.html
I made that one I recommend if you make it please make sure you use only one large piece of thin white paper. I made it when no store around me was open and used 8/2 x 11 which left sections of the paper that met visible no matter how hard I tried to tape them so nothing would show. I also had the problem of the corners being visible in the jewelry pieces I was photographing. Hours wasted!
If you want to see one that is close up and somewhat focuses on that exact issue in my opinion try here!
http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/07/how-to-diy-10-macro-photo-studio.html
I think this is a really good table top set up you can make. For me unfortunately it did not work out it could have been operator error but I still want to take good pictures.
During this time the lighting set up I used was the ones you get from your local hardware store and I snapped them to the sides of closet doors and one from above like this.
(example of early lighting set up)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/82656386@N00/4138626061/
Okay so you have to picture the way they would look from the top set up this way. Just clip one onto the shelf and point it down toward the object your photographing.
Okay that didn’t work NEXT! This is what I got for Christmas last year.
http://www.obnphoto.com/
I chose the economy kit! It took real good pictures but honestly the box was a pita for me. I mean the lamps came with covers for the light so why did I have to use the stinking box. Why not get a back drop and take pics?? Got the lights, got the covers for them to diffuse the light sounds like a plan to me.
Kind of something like this.
http://www.diyphotography.net/homestudio/

Wow that is exactly what I tried so now I get to show you what I came up with! I do not have a garage so I used my table lights.
Like this! Please note for illustration purposes I am showing the marketing that was the piece of paper I used for the background.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/82656386@N00/4139455192/

So here are some examples of the photos I took. I was amazed at how they differed by just a faint change in the lighting placement.

I will start with

2 lights diffused one on each side this one from a little further out.

2 lights diffused one on each side this one close in. I think that looks pretty good wonder what it will look like with 3 lights?

On the following set of photos there are 3 lights.
There is one on each side that is diffused ………..and one handheld that moves and is not diffused.

3 lights not diffused with one light on each side with the third light shining from the front of the piece. See the shadows!

3 lights not diffused with one light on each side with the third shining from the middle of the piece.

3 lights not diffused with one light on each side with the third shining from the back of the piece.

Nice now what happens if I take the two diffused lights on each side and then diffuse the third as well, of course while moving it around again?

3 lights diffused with one light on each side with the third shining from the front of the piece.

3 lights diffused with one light on each side and the third shining from the top straight down at the jewelry.

3 lights diffused with one light on each side and the third shining from the back of the set up.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/82656386@N00/4138711257/

This is the same picture from the Flickr site I think it just looks better on Flickr. No I am not going to tackle the fact that the pics on Flickr look better than on the blog I am putting on the to do list though!

3 lights diffused with one light on each side and one to the front right of the picture.

Here is what I have come up with for a basic set up.

So thats what works for me! So far. Now just to decide which placement of the photos I like! What do you think?? I am still amazed at how the lighting changed depending on where I placed the lights.

This week was fun!

But did I figure the whole thing out or even come close to understanding?

Not really which stinks I wanted to have simple posts that have a begining and an end in one session. This didnt end for me I now have to face the fact that what looks good in Flickr may or may not look good in WordPress or insert your favorite program here.

My only other option is to save in WordPress as a larger image hmmmmm

That is what full size looks like.

Only other option is this

So here I am with no end, again, photos on the brain still.

Oh well this was a good blog post! Patting herself on the back and getting out her clay.

Made from clay, painted with Acrylics

She Had Some Horses

She had some horses.

She had horses who were bodies of sand.
She had horses who were maps drawn of blood.
She had horses who were skins of ocean water.
She had horses who were the blue air of sky.
She had horses who were fur and teeth.
She had horses who were clay and would break.
She had horses who were splintered red cliff.

She had some horses.

She had horses with long, pointed breasts.
She had horses with full, brown thighs.
She had horses who laughed too much.
She had horses who threw rocks at glass houses.
She had horses who licked razor blades.

She had some horses.

She had horses who danced in their mothers’ arms.
She had horses who thought they were the sun and their bodies shone and burned like stars.
She had horses who waltzed nightly on the moon.
She had horses who were much too shy, and kept quiet in stalls of their own making.

She had some horses.

She had horses who liked Creek Stomp Dance songs.
She had horses who cried in their beer.
She had horses who spit at male queens who made them afraid of themselves.
She had horses who said they weren’t afraid.
She had horses who lied.
She had horses who told the truth, who were stripped bare of their tongues.

She had some horses.

She had horses who called themselves, “horse.”
She had horses who called themselves, “spirit.” and kept their voices secret and to themselves.
She had horses who had no names.
She had horses who had books of names.

She had some horses.

She had horses who whispered in the dark, who were afraid to speak.
She had horses who screamed out of fear of the silence, who carried knives to protect themselves from ghosts.
She had horses who waited for destruction.
She had horses who waited for resurrection.

She had some horses.

She had horses who got down on their knees for any savior.
She had horses who thought their high price had saved them.
She had horses who tried to save her, who climbed in her bed at night and prayed as they raped her.

She had some horses.

She had some horses she loved.
She had some horses she hated.

These were the same horses.

~ Joy Harjo

“Since God is God, who dare challenge His prerogative? To murmur against Him is rank rebellion. To question His ways is to impugn His wisdom. To criticize Him is sin of the deepest dye. Have we forgotten who He is?” A. W. Pink, The Sovereignty of God

I am thankful that God is God. He is the Potter and I am merely clay. I am being fashioned by His omnipotent hand into whatever tool He wants me to be for His glory.

The colors on these beads are very muted from the gold & bronze glaze I applied.  The colors showed more in these photos.  I found that photographing jewelry is much harder than I thought.  I’ll try again with a different camera.  These are the ones in the last post.  The solid bead necklace is about 28 inches long.  All the beads are made by hand, no mold.  So they’re bumpy, lumpy… each one an individual.  Thanks for looking at my latest.  Have a great weekend. xo PJ

As a jewelry designer, I’m always on the look out for items that can make my job a little easier. Although I genuinely enjoy every aspect of jewelry making, some things can be more than a little redundant, such as wire wrapping 250 3mm Swarovski crytal bicone beads! So here are some things that I think should be in every jewelry makers stash.

I hate when I’m adding beads to chain, and the weight of the necklace causes it to slip from my grasp. I’ve chipped quite a few beads this way. So I was as pleased as punch to know that someone invented the Chain Sta’. This little gadget lets you attach chain, and it keeps it in place while you add beads, charms, or whatever. The best thing about Chain Sta is that it can double as a way to display your necklaces and bracelets!
Image
Another plus is that it’s relatively inexpensive, www.rings-things.com sells them for $11.25 each, which won’t break your jewelry making budget!

Another thing I’m excited about is the Ferido x1 jewelry adhesive. This stuff is a crafters dream. Basically it’s an adhesive in clay form. You can use it a number of different ways to adhere things like flat backed rhinestones to flat surfaces like wood, glass, or metal, or you can roll it into beads that cure with no heat! Not so inexpensive, a 50 gram package costs in the neighborhood of $25.00 at www.firemountaingems.com, and comes in a variety of colors.

beads made with ferido x1

The ragged tree stumps and roots, strewn over the seashore at Broughton Bay on the north coast of the Gower Peninsula, are the remains of a birch tundra woodland that once covered the ancient land surface. They lie in position, just as they were growing before they were inundated. Ten thousand years ago in the Pleistocene Period, a large river, fed by tributaries such as the Loughor, occupied what is now the Bristol Channel with its Atlantic waters. The last extension of the ice sheets in this area, during the late Devensian Period, had been about 8,500 years earlier. As the ice receded up into the valleys of South Wales, the climate had warmed up and allowed vegetation to flourish. The sea level at that time was about 22.5 metres lower than it is at the present.

By the beginning of the Neolithic Period 5,700 years ago, however, the sea level began to rise because of the increasing volume of global meltwater and  its accompanying land subsidence. The forests and peat bogs of the coastal margins were submerged and buried in sediment…..until the 1980s when the remains began to reappear on Gower shores as the surface sediments began to erode away. Now, large expanses of Broughton beach have been stripped of sand showing the strata and entrapped woodland beneath.

Wood from these ancient forests is visible on the seashores of  Swansea Bay and Port Eynon on the south Gower coast as well. Large blocks of peat dating from this time also wash up on the sand at Whiteford – the next bay to Broughton. The plant species already recorded include silver birch, hazel, alder, elder, deergrass, rushes, irises and spurges. As I understand it, no full investigation of this palaeo-environment has yet been conducted. I hope that full attention can soon be given to this valuable evidence before the rapid rate of erosion destroys all that is readily accessible between tides. 

© Jessica Winder and Jessica’s Nature Blog, 2009. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material, including both text and photographs, without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Jessica Winder and Jessica’s Nature Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

 Photographs in this blog are copyright property of Jessica Winder with all rights reserved

“Culling”

November 24th, 2009

It’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve checked in on Sons of Anarchy, primarily because I’ve run out of superlative things to say about the show. Right now, the show is riding a wave of momentum that feels almost Wire-esque, relying less on twists or turns (which would perhaps illicit more of an immediate desire to write about it) and more on a clear depiction of SAMCRO accomplishing what they want to accomplish in the form of some really compelling asskickery.

“Culling” is the first time in a few episodes where things, you could argue, go wrong, but what’s most intriguing is how uniquely situated the audience is within this story from a traditional law and order perspective. Because our point of view lies with the Sons, who are in this for vengeance over justice, we root against the ATF and become legitimately concerned when the Charming P.D. enter into the equation. The show has us cheering things that television doesn’t necessarily always condition us to cheer, and it makes for an episode that builds tension not by having things go terribly wrong but rather having the definition of justice become a debatable topic on which different characters have very different perspectives.

It’s the complicated web the show has been spinning with shocking clarity all season, and it’s making for an enormously entertaining march to the finale.

Considering that Alan Sepinwall and Zack Handlen have both covered the entire episode in detail long before I could, I won’t go into every little thing, but I want to focus on a couple of central ideas in the episode.

The first is the idea that we’re in some way upset that A.J. Weston and Ethan Zobell have been arrested and placed into custody. While The Wire was a show that played with questions of justice, it was doing so within the justice system itself: their concern was whether the target was going to go to prison for all of their crimes as opposed to just some simple drug charge, so the purpose of the Major Crimes Unit was to investigate further to be able to follow the money and build a more substantial case. However, on Sons of Anarchy, those types of cops are effectively the enemy, with Agent Stahl proving to be the personification of the opportunistic, spiteful law enforcement that the Sons have to contend with. Obviously, the ATF is the enemy of a motorcycle club who runs guns, so it’s not as if they’re going to be some sort of heroes in these scenarios, but the characterization of Stahl has taken away any sense that the organization is capable of dishing out justice. There were bad cops on The Wire, but there were also good cops, and they were our ostensible heroes.

One of the things that makes an episode like this work, though, is that Deputy Hale has not been painted with the same brush. In the first season, he was there as the Charming P.D. equivalent of Stahl, someone who wasn’t as enlightened as Unser about the Sons’ role in the community and who in his lack of understanding of the club fought against them tooth and nail. Of course, in the first season, some viewers might have related to Hale, as this isn’t exactly the easiest world to jump into and immediately empathize with the hardcore bikers running guns and obstructing justice. But by the time of the second season, we identify with the Sons (Jax especially) to the point where Hale remaining a pain in their side would turn him into another Stahl, and I’m impressed with how Sutter has given the character a real sense of purpose. Working with Jax to try to bring down Clay over what happened to Donna shows that he hasn’t entirely written off the club, and in this episode his actions are not an attack on the club so much as they are an attempt to keep the club from following through with their planned vengeance.

Hale is not out to destroy the club so much as he is out there to keep them honest. The problem with the Sons is that they both need the traditional legal system, like when they send our two-fingered friend to the station to give evidence about the Karakara fire so that they can collect the insurance money, but yet they don’t want it to follow through. Hale has no choice but to arrest Weston based on the information provided, but that isn’t what the Sons consider justice. If they had wanted justice, Gemma would have had a rape kit done and they could have arrested Weston then and there. For everything that Zobelle and Weston have done, the Sons want them dead, and yet Hale’s job is to enforce the law and send them to jail for the crimes he knows they’ve committed within Charming’s borders. When Jax claims that the brawl is none of his business, Hale is right: they’re in charming, who else’s business is it? And yet, because he works against their idea of vengeance, and because we know that long term Zobell and Weston represent too much of a threat to be warded off with some arson/drug charges, he’s standing in the way of our idea of justice. However, rather than hating him for it (which felt more natural in the first season), I find myself identifying with Hale, and feeling bad for being stuck in this position unsure of how to handle Unser’s involvement and the sheer chaos of it all.

Of course, we know how Tara handles it. Those discussions with Gemma, first about how Tara was entitled to a certain amount of worship from the croweaters because of her association with Jax and then about how God has a purpose for everyone that no one can keep them from achieving, woke up the inner Gemma inside Tara. As she takes a simple choke and turns it into a bloody attack and a threat on her hospital administrator’s life, you see the most stirring example yet of how far she’s gone. Back a while ago, when she was reading Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle and pondering whether she could truly see into this life, we had seen her sex up Jax in a Karakara bathroom and be capable of showing a more purposeful side to herself. However, that was always about Tara asserting herself within SAMCRO, whereas this is Tara asserting herself in a SAMCRO-fashion within her everyday life. The scene was visceral and powerful, as Maggie Siff sold the hell out of the attack (and, to give her full credit, the administrator did a good job of selling her shock and making me glad to see her take one to the chin). And it confirms that, whether we would think the same in real life, the show has crafted a scenario where we want to see Tara take back her job with force and fear, and where that feels just (even if it goes against every sense of ethics we can imagine).

Heading into next week’s finale, we find the Sons at an impasse: they’ve played the League into a corner, and managed to foil the ATF’s plan to take out the Irish, but their overall goal of vengeance has been foiled by law enforcement (which was partially their own mistake, really). The result is that the two people they wanted to drag outside of Charming and kill aren’t going anywhere, at least for now – and while their wits got them out of a few scrapes as of late, I’m legitimately not sure how they’re going to deal with this one, and I greatly look forward to what Sutter and Co. have to offer.

Cultural Observations

• So, did SAMCRO expect Hale to follow them out to the brawl? The presence of the Chinese and the Niners would seem to indicate not, as Jax wanted to finish off Weston once and for all, and yet the “Unser moves on the cigar shop” side of things requires Hale to be away from the station (although he somehow got back in time to find them just walking in), so I’m not entirely sure what the timing was there.
• Loved the small little beat of Bobby and Clay discussing Half-sack and him losing his Prospect status in just a month. If this is leading to a ore substantial role in Season Three, wondrous. If it leads to him being killed before getting patched in, I will loudly curse out Sutter on Twitter for the world to see.
• Really enjoyed the opening sequence as we see the Sons putting everything together and getting their ducks in a row (and out of the rain) ahead of their plan coming into play.
• I’m a little disappointed that Chibbs didn’t get to take out Jimmy O while he had a chance, but the idea of Titus Welliver recurring is worth the delay of justice being served.
• I really intended this to be short, honest.

Love this! Here are some of my favorites with my comments in italics:

I’m a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world.

Lord, here I am, send me. Keep breaking my heart for what breaks yours. Let Your love overflow.

No moment from my God is a rock of burden…it’s just a rock waiting to be broken apart into stepping stones.

Even this moment…this moment when I’m laying on the floor crying. You are using it to make a stepping stone toward something beautiful.  You are the potter. I am the clay.

choose joy

here am I. I choose You tonight and Your joy.

if what you do does not resonate with you… it is not really going to matter to anyone else.

talking about passion gets me energized and makes me come alive. talking about kids and life changes and God completely invading your heart…yeah, that’s the good stuff.

some pursue happiness..others create it

I may not control the circumstances, but I choose joy and I choose to let God give abundant life in Him.

fashion your life as a garland of beautiful deeds.

let everything I say and do be a reflection of You.

Clay sculptures by Portland-based Meredith Dittmar.

(via fecal face)

Think I’ve haven’t got some new wares to introduce this holiday season? Think again!

Yes, I’ve got my plate over-full many areas this time ’round, but I have been finding a little time to sneak into the studio. Luckily, some things are just coming out in time to feed the shopping rush! Look out this week for some brand-spankin’-new beer steins over in my Etsy shop, like the sexy red mug, above.

I think around the holidays, many women face the question: What the heck kind of handmade gift can you really buy a man? Problem solved!

Originally there should have been 100 tons of clay showing huge clay cube. But what happened? It collapsed, all this huge clay cube. Then somebody got brilliant idea. Let’s citizen of Helsinki (Finland) make their own art from that clay. That was nice idea, because about 1300 persons made their own art and guess if it was a great success. / Originalmente la idea era hacer de 100 toneladas un inmensa cubo de arcilla. ¿Pero que sucedió? Se derrumbó el cubo de arcil. Entonces alguien recibió una idea brillante. Se permita que ciudadanos de Helsinki (Finlandia) hagan su propia arte de arcilla. Una idea genial. Aproximadamente 1300 personas hizieron su propia arte y eso fue un gran triunfo. / Au début il aurait dû avoir 100 tonnes de d’argile pour faire une un énorme bloc cube d’argile. Mais qu’est-il arrivé ? Il s’est effondré, tout ce énorme cube d’argile. Alors quelqu’un a obtenu une idée génial.Laissez les citoyens de Helsinki (Finlande) faire leur propre art de l’argile. Cela était l’idée brillante parce que a peu près 1300 personnes a fait leur propre art. Vous pouvez bien deviner que c’était un grand succès.

Crazy Clay Art / Loco Arte de Arcilla / Fou art d'argile

Crazy Clay Art / Loco Arte de Arcilla / Fou art d'argile

Crazy Clay Art / Loco Arte de Arcilla / Fou art d'argile

Crazy Clay Art / Loco Arte de Arcilla / Fou art d'argile

Crazy Clay Art / Loco Arte de Arcilla / Fou art d'argile

Crazy Clay Art / Loco Arte de Arcilla / Fou art d'argile

Crazy Clay Art / Loco Arte de Arcilla / Fou art d'argile

Crazy Clay Art / Loco Arte de Arcilla / Fou art d'argile

Crazy Clay Art / Loco Arte de Arcilla / Fou art d'argile

Crazy Clay Art / Loco Arte de Arcilla / Fou art d'argile

Crazy Clay Art / Loco Arte de Arcilla / Fou art d'argile

Crazy Clay Art / Loco Arte de Arcilla / Fou art d'argile

Crazy Clay Art / Loco Arte de Arcilla / Fou art d'argile

Crazy Clay Art / Loco Arte de Arcilla / Fou art d'argile

Crazy Clay Art / Loco Arte de Arcilla / Fou art d'argile

Crazy Clay Art / Loco Arte de Arcilla / Fou art d'argile

Crazy Clay Art / Loco Arte de Arcilla / Fou art d'argile

Crazy Clay Art / Loco Arte de Arcilla / Fou art d'argile

Crazy Clay Art / Loco Arte de Arcilla / Fou art d'argile

Crazy Clay Art / Loco Arte de Arcilla / Fou art d'argile

Crazy Clay Art / Loco Arte de Arcilla / Fou art d'argile

Crazy Clay Art / Loco Arte de Arcilla / Fou art d'argile

Crazy Clay Art / Loco Arte de Arcilla / Fou art d'argile

Crazy Clay Art / Loco Arte de Arcilla / Fou art d'argile

Crazy Clay Art / Loco Arte de Arcilla / Fou art d'argile

I have listed some children’s pottery in our etsy shop.  Junji did such a lovely job with these.

I understand that some people hesitate to give ceramic dishes to their children, but we have always done it without incident.  They are all made of porcelain which is a strong clay body, so it’s more durable and suited for children.  I think it’s good for children to use high quality materials.  This is something that you will keep forever, and not dispose of after a short period of use.  And we always strive to keep the price affordable for you.

There are limited quantities available now, but I will be listing more items as they become available.

Please have a look!

The hands & feet are polymer clay beads I’ve been making. The darker ones I painted.  The face is going to be a pin.  The round beads are an experiment.  I started making them in paper mache.  Didn’t like the look,  so I covered those in paper clay.  Then I used foil w/paper clay.  Painted multicolored.  Then mixed a satin varnish with gold pigment.  Then the rest  with bronze.  Fun to do.  Now I have to redrill the holes in some of them…. and see how I like them.  This isn’t a fast process.  Takes lots of time and space.  I love trying new things during the holidays.  Have a fun safe Thanksgiving!  I hope you’re with people you love!  xoxo PJ

raedunn. Je suis en amour avec ses objets en céramique. Personnalité, simplicité, subtilité.

raedunn. I am in love with her clay objects. Personnality, simplicity, subtility.

Currently working with the Primary Teaching Students, they have chosen their animation ideas and are now developing those ideas into something concrete. Ms Beattie is working on the idea of a growing tree that gets destroyed through harmful human acts. The tree is a symbol for world harmony. Ms Beattie’s ideas were great, though may be too large to complete in the short time that she has. I took a little time out to animate an example of how I would tackle her animation to let her and others see that ideas can be laid down quickly and effectively. Stop animation does not necessarily have to take a long time for it to be attractive and successful.

• The St. Louis Post-Dispatch says 90210 is “succeeding.”
• TVGuideMagazine.com has 90210 casting spoilers.
• The New York Times has an article on the webseries trend, which mentions Jennie Garth (Kelly, Beverly Hills 90210) and The Broadroom.
• I watched Grey’s Anatomy for the first time last night and saw that James Pickens Jr. (Henry, Beverly Hills 90210) is in it.
• Beverly Hills 90210 on DVD made EW.com’s Holiday Gift Guide. (I heard Dawson’s Creek is in there, too, but I can’t find it.)
• Brian Austin Green (David, Beverly Hills 90210), Ed Westwick (Chuck, Gossip Girl) and Jessica Szohr (Vanessa, Gossip Girl) are all included in PEOPLE.com’s Couples Watch.
• PEOPLE.com has an interview with Szohr about her style compared to Vanessa’s.
• Blake Lively (Serena, Gossip Girl) will host Saturday Night Live on December 5.
• Kristen Bell (Gossip Girl, Gossip Girl) was a presenter at the American Music Awards.
• Examiner.com has more on the Sophia Bush (Brooke, One Tree Hill) and Austin Nichols (Julian, One Tree Hill) appearance on a USO Tour.
• James Lafferty (Nathan, One Tree Hill), Robert Buckley (Clay, One Tree Hill) and Eric Balfour (Eddie, The O.C.) are all starring in The Legend of Hell’s Gate: An American Conspiracy.
• There’s an interesting reference to The O.C. in this Huffington Post piece.
• SoapNet will air the two O.C. specials–The O.C.: Obsess Completely and Welcome to The O.C.: A Day in the Life–Tuesday at 1 and 2pm.
• Joshua Jackson (Pacey, Dawson’s Creek) will star in UFO, a film based on a British television show.

Play Doh is all well and good, but I want the boys to get some experience with actual art supplies, so I introduced Thing 1 to clay last week. Well, I use the term “clay” loosely as this was $5 for a whole BUCKET. And I do mean bucket. Oh man, did he ever love the clay. The only “snag” I didn’t forsee was that for a bucket of 50 colors, he felt compelled to create something with each color. Around the beginning, this meant using the cookie cutters and making dolphins and roses (for which he needed my help as this clay was much stiffer to roll out than Play Doh)… and by the end, he was just taking strips of clay and making “bracelets.” It certainly kept him busy! And he even asked for it again the next day!

It’s clay! In a bucket!

The clay.

He was very proud of this and proclaimed “Look! I made yucky!” It took his parents to explain that he meant GNOCCHI. Right. Makes much more sense than “yucky.”

I made these. Googly eyes included in the bucket.

Rose. I am holding it very carefully because of the thorns. (Yes, he made thorns! It’s hard to capture these wee details when my only available tool is my iPhone.) In the background you can see the googly eyes, rolling pin, and cookie cutters that came in the bucket.

Snake. I don’t really like snakes – in fact, I’m terrified of them, but I LOVE this snake because…

It has a bellybutton! Thing 1 has a bellybutton obsession – they’re on all of his drawings, and apparently, all of his sculptures. Bellybutton is one of the words he knows in Slovak (which his mom speaks), which I think is part of what makes them so fascinating for him.

Watch. This is kind of what the last half-hour’s worth of projects looked like. Various watches. A few bracelets, which were just like the watch but without the face.

my clay co shelf near entrance...

back shelf/tide pool.

today i unpacked the work i’d taken with me to “eclectic and then some”.  since most of the smallies had just come out of the kiln they hadn’t made it to the shelf before heading over to gulfport.  these are some quick snaps, but you get the idea of my shelf space at the clay co.  i am really loving the pieces all together like this.

john cage says “Rule 8: Do not try to create and analyze at the same time. They are different
processes.”   gettting a look at everything together, the low fire wall pieces i made about a year ago and the small ones which i made a couple of weeks ago really get’s my brain going.  the collection in the second picture feels like a display case of a natural history museum.  shells?  fossils?  an aquarium?  this is the kind of situation i would like to put people in.  and then they realize they can take a little piece of the display home with them.

welcome to my collection of specimens…