At Last! A Complete Nativity!

I think that part of what draws me to raku is it's unpredictable nature.....the humidity, temperature, dew point and tides can all effect the outcome......well, maybe not the tides and dew point but who knows?
But then, the little miracle of digging through the ashes and finding not one but three (5, counting baby Jesus and the angel wing) pieces that made it!
That sort of go together in color!
That didn't crack!!!
That's my favorite part....the part I really have no control over...oh, and the smell. I absolutely love the smell....it's sort of like lapsang souchong tea...which I've been told is an acquired taste.
Go buy some and just stick your nose in the box....lovely!
If you're the brave sort.... have a cup.  It tastes very different than it smells and it's best with nothing added.

Rare Before and After

I seldom do before and after
photos
...mostly because I never have my camera handy
... or I have too much clay on my hands..... or I'm just not thinking clearly....anyway  I spent today with my daughter (the beader)....she added drift wood and beads and charms to this tree of life icon box.  I think it turned out really nice and it's hanging on my wall at the moment!

Another Tree of Life

This is a larger tree of life..with a spiral sort of root ball.  The base of the box says "the tree of life whose leaves will heal the nations" ....which is my take on a verse from Revelations (the scariest book in the bible...in my opinion).
The tree of life is a bit like the goddess Tara...it's in pretty much every culture so I think I'll have fun exploring different ways to portray it.
This tree has ten leaves for the ten nodes on the tree of life in Jewish mysticism....of course mine aren't in the proper interconnecting pattern but I liked the idea...and the bird is there because I like the way it looks...and the spiral..well, that's just the whole mother earth goddess thing.

Wee Tree of Life

I made a large tree of life icon box a while back (it's still drying)...but this is one of the small icon boxes with a tree of life...complete with a small (very) bird and nest.  I rather like it and think I'll make some more...maybe I'll add some different animals or change the tree a bit or add a few charms......

Imperfect

 This is actually the top part of a three piece stacking sculpture.  It was quite amazing...with little shelves and cubbies and places to hang things and places to burn things and a really cool poem about not being perfect, written by an Atlanta poet, carved all over it.....alas, it broke before it made it to the bisque kiln....cracked right where the poem said  "I will embrace my imperfections".....soooo, this part's been sitting on a shelf for almost a year just staring at me.
  Monday, before the explosion and after much propping and adjusting and anxious debate, it JUST fit into the raku kiln.....it's the largest thing I've ever raku fired and it was very heavy....and very hot and there was much concern when it wouldn't drop down into the reduction can...it just sort of stuck there in flames but my cohort Joyce saved the day by wacking it with a humongous pair of tongs and it was sucked right down into the can.....getting it out later was a challenge but...it survived!...although some of the colors are not what they should have been....

Johnny Cash Moment or The Ring of Fire

 Notes to self:
1. never, never, never get too comfortable with gas and fire...
2. never, never, never fire one more load when you know you're tired....
3. never, never, never, never forget that raku firing can be very dangerous....
That being said...all my pieces turned out amazing yesterday and, without going into detail,  the explosion was small, the ring of fire stayed on the ground, no one was hurt....

....and it was still fun...

Waiting

A box of freshly glazed saints, hamsa hands and icon boxes...waiting to head to Winder to be heated, dropped into a trash can, set on fire, plunged into cold water and then admired!  I'm fairly excited...they look a little anxious....

Silly Pots

These are some odd little three legged pots I made to hold my paintbrushes and cutting tools and sponges and such.  They sort of look like little fat pants and they make me smile...smiling is very important when creating!

Shelves!

The shelves are up...the walls are painted...supplies are organized (sort of)... spiders have been encouraged to move elsewhere...all is well in my world!  I even have a few empty shelves!