Firing discovery

Some time ago my neighbour gave me one of those charcoal kettle BBQ's. I had the idea at the time of using it for paper making but then I got a gas burner BBQ and the kettle sat in the garage lean to collecting dust and spider webs. A few months ago i asked Ricky's Mum if she could make use of it and she said. Yes as they didn't have one. Fast forward to two weeks ago at pottery - I’d gone over to the studio after work on the Thursday evening but was not feeling the best. I'd even considered going straight home, but I'm glad I didn't. While having a coffee and a chat with Wendy and Rod, who are key members of the group, we somehow got on to the subject of pit firing and ways to it in your backyard. That's when I learned about using a kettle BBQ. Wendy suggested I have a look on YouTube so I watched a videos  and got very enthused in giving it a go myself. Needless to say, the next day I phoned Ricky's Mum and asked if I could be an Indian-giver and have the BBQ back. When I explained why, she more than happy to return it as Ricky enjoy doing pottery and it'll be something different for him to learn about.

I even had the bags of charcoal returned to me.

My idea was to create a pottery boot that could be used as a kitchen herb planter. I found a boot pattern online and enlarged it 400% to to actual size of a boot.

 I talked to Wendy at the pottery group, who has years of experience working with clay. She was very excited for me when I said I'd acquired a kettle BBQ from my neighbour and didn't realise what I could do in it when I gave away but had it returned. She recommended I used red raku clay as it is a hardy, coarse clay ideally suited for the hand building of large work, slab building and sculpting. 

  It has "beautiful strength, plasticity, workability and is forgiving for all methods of hand building. plu really low shrinkage - a stunning handbuilding clay" 

 I found the easiest way to roll it out was "slapping it down" and "flipping it over" to stretch it.

  Then I cut out the shapes using the paper templates as my guide. When I tried to assemble it, it wasn't what I really had in mind -it was more like a converse sneaker.

  So I went and got my boots and tried to take a pattern off of them which was tricky to do.

 It took at few attempts to get the shapes right...

...and not have it too thick or too thin.

In the end I abandoned to whole idea as it turns out making a boot is much easier in my head than in reality! I think I'd better just stick to soap dishes.

 PAPER-MAKING/SOAP LABELLING

I needed to make up a batch of paper so I could label more soap.

SOAP-MAKING:

I spent an afternoon making soap as I've almost run out of stock.

November 2017

November has been a frustrating month. I injured myself doing the hedge which is over 10 metres long and had grown almost twice my height! I'm really regretting thinking I could do it as I'm not suffering - suffering with tingling, burning and numbness in my arms but particularly in my hands. I've been enforced to limit my activities as a result and this has been very frustrating creatively-speaking but it's also been distressing and had me in tears of anguish.

RICKY-TIME: Teaching/Encouraging

Ricky's glazed garlic pots, ready for firing.

Ricky said he enjoyed making them and often asks me when we are next going to do pottery.

We made up box-frames for concrete tiles (his mum needed them for the fireplace)

At the request of Ricky's Mum, we also attempted to make a mitred-cornered picture frame for a tapestry his sister had done. As I didn't have the proper tools I had to ask his Mum to get someone else to cut the mitred corners, which she did. 

I've done my best at gluing/stapling but then learned the backing board Ricky and I had stretched the tapestry around was too think once glass put into the frame so I've had to cut a second, thinner board up-cycled from an unwanted picture frame and re-stretch the tapestry.

PLANNING/ORGANISING

TLC Programme Support, Dane Devine has been helping me over the months to plan my week and then record my creative activities. I did have a Weekly Organiser pad but haven't been able to find it in my messy system so I went online and found some weekly organisers that are free and printable. My daughter Sarah who is at home studying too, offered to help me sort out my "Creative Spaces" - there is still much to do but she has helped me sort two areas. It's great to be able to find things again!

POTTERY

I haven't been able to do much pottery but did manage to make some plant makers. I thought they might sell well at The Bach Gallery. They are yet to be fired and glazed.

HARVESTING/FORAGING

With the longer days I've been making the effort to spend time outside in my garden again. I harvested more calendula for soap and salve making, along with comfrey and borage

The flax bush that I'd cut up for paper-making and had in water in the outdoors bath with starting to smell pretty bad! My daughter reluctantly, but graciously helped me get it out and lay it on the lawn for processing. I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to cut it up mow though - what I really need is some sort of big munching machine that can cope with the fibrous nature of flax!


TAPESTRY WEAVING/COMMUNITY PROJECT:

Naoko and I discussed how we were going to work and weave the "water" - she suggested hatching and I suggested colour blending the yarns by splitting them in half and then re-plying them. We compromised by doing both. The process of doviding the 8 ply wool was a it tedious but over time I've adapted my technique and cut the dividing time in half. Nothing like a challenge to make one look for solutions!

SOAP-MAKING/SALVE-LABELING

I spent several days over the month having to make soap so I didn't run out of stock over Christmas/January. I had great plans of selling soaps and balms at The Artisan's Market but with my tingling and burning issue in my arms I just had to let that go. I'd even organised another marketeer to sell on behalf for me. Fortunately with putting my prices up and having some ceramic soap dishes for sale I did ok over December sales-wise. 

Nature Numbers - first sale!

POTTERY:

A customer came into the gallery last week and bought some things from the shop. During the transaction she asked if we had numbers, like house numbers. I found myself telling her that I was in the process of making a set of  pottery numbers using bark to create surface texture and with a leaf vine. She said they sounded exactly what would suit so I took her contact details and said I'd email her some photos. long story short - I made my first number sale! Now I need to make another 3 and 8 and be brave enough to bring them into The Bach for the Selection Committee to "critique" to sell them in the gallery. A scary thing after my tapestry artwork was "shot down!"

Creativity Catch up over the holidays

PHOTOGRAPHY

My younger brother Ian, his partner Anita, her son
and their daughter came up from Christchurch for
a holiday between the 10th - 15th December. 

My older brother Mike, from Hamilton came up too

 so much of my time (off work) was spent with them

 and (of course) taking photos of our time together. 

We went up to A.H.Reed Park, which is an area of forest 

about 10 minute drive Northwest of the city, and of which 

accommodates a cluster of large native Kauri trees

The forest is a place I feel very peaceful.

It was a lovely way to spend time with my family

Looking back at the bridge we'd just crossed.

Sadly, the two or three photos I took of the Kauri trees didn't come

 out very well (I was having a few problems with my camera) but

I liked the bark texture and didn't realise this is what they look like.

Tree roots fascinate me as well - I see them as a deeply expansive and supportive system that reaches out in search of a collective meaning and understanding of the world around us and the world within us. A system that is continuously encountering challenges, obstacles, and brick walls. Yet a system remains persistent and strong enough to break through, grow, and change course of direction to keep moving outward. Roots grow from the heart of our internal beliefs, passions, and core values. They are part of a foundation and an essence of our being. One of the most profound things I’ve given great consideration and time exploring in my life are my ‘roots’  — core beliefs, core values, and my passions for life. Especially in relation to my physical, emotional, cognitive, and spiritual well-being.

The splendor of falling water 

My brother, Ian and niece, Trelise

My brothers partners son, Alex

Alex was very playful with the 

camera and a joy to photograph.

As well as the "posed" shots, I like

 to just observe through the lens.

And last but not least - a few more tree images

I just LOVE trees - they make

 me feel so at peace *heart*

Below - Reflections

Car mirror reflections of the setting sun

What I saw reflected in the mirror!

HARVESTING PLANT MATERIALS

The hot dry summer up north has meant my calendula's
 have flowered abundantly and I have harvested
 several bags of petals for my soap and salve making.

 I found it quite therapeutic separating
 the petals from the seed head.

As well as harvesting petals, I cut up
a load of flax for paper making

The summertime is the best time for drying the sheets
 of handmade paper quickly so I used the days not in The Bach
 gallery over January to make paper to stock up

I learned from last year that I need to spend the extra

time making paper in the summer - it takes way to long

 to dry over the winter!

ORGANISING/PLANNING AHEAD

I purchase a 2 door cabinet to better organise
all my creative projects - the plan for 2017
is to have improved systems in place so I
don't waste time trying to find things.

Sadly, upon opening I discovered damage to one of the corners so I had to get a replacement. That turned out to be a long drawn-out process as they didn't have any in stock and it needed to be freighted up from Auckland by truck. 

Cam no longer needs or wants his Year 13 Photography portfolio so I'll remove the photos and use the A1 card for my Wearable Arts creation. I am going to "be a story-book" this year and very excited about getting started. I've purchased some animal fibres/wool and plan to commence the felted tartan book cover shortly. I will make "mock-up" small samples first to practice the tartan technique before making the full-size cover.

As well as planning my Wearable Arts creation I've been working on my design for the next community tapestry but I might start a separate post for that as there's so much to write about.

POTTERY
After a short break over Christmas and early in the New Year I returned to the Reyburn Art Studio to spend a few hours each Thursday evening de-stressing from the days work.

I glazed and fired numbers 3-8

 along with a couple of other "leafy things"

I'm not entirely happy with the leaf arrangement and glazing effect but like the concept so will experiment more over the coming month. (Particularly with glazing techniques)

 Again - need to experiment with glazing techniques and probably should do what "the experts" do - make little sample tiles/record what different glazes do (I'm sure there is a proper term but I don't know the word!) I have got a book on glazing and must take another look at it now I'm up to exploring the process with better understanding. It's called "A Glaze of Colour" by Jane Davies.

Plus I also rolled out and cut the remaining numbers that for different reasons didn't make the bisque firing with the other numbers. Interestingly enough, I had a customer ask at work yesterday about house numbers (did The Bach have any?) and I said I was in the process of making some pottery ones. So, I have her email and will send photos. The number she wants is 30 so I need to get the zero bisque fired and glazed if she does want to buy them.

Photography: 3 hours (includes editing)
Planning/Organising: 1 hour
Pottery: 9 hours
Preparing Fibres/Harvesting plants: 2 hours