Sometimes I Draw Things

A couple weeks ago I took a zentangle class and all of the sudden my brain went crazy...it was like finally being given permission to be proud of doodling...
This is my 2011 Christmas Angel.
I'm going to have a run of prints made...if you'd like one you can contact me at 375.jenny@gmail.com...I'm not sure of the price yet but I'll post it when I find out the cost of the printing.
If you are interested in seeing her progress check out the next several photos....I'm thinking I'll call her "The Music of the Spheres", or maybe "Bubbles of Blessings" (thank you Dana).

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Art Shows and Co-ops

The Apple Annie Art Show is over and I've unpacked the car.
I met some very lovely people this weekend and hope the art they bought will bring them as much joy as it did for me as I created it. It's always a bit hard to let go of a piece I've poured so much of myself into but I think all went to good homes!
Rather than unpacking the pieces that are left after the show I'll be putting them at The Collective in Inman Park. It's a great art co-op with some amazing artists! There's beautiful fiber art and hand made, really classy, hats and stunning jewelry and unique Christmas ornaments and unusual plants and.... well so much more...really, really beautiful art. The Collective is located at 280 Elizabeth Street NE # B103, Atlanta, Ga 30307-1974. If you're in town check it out?..... and eat at one of the great restaurants that surround it....parking is easy too!

Some Thoughts on Art and Holiday Gifts

I've been thinking....as I begin packing my treasures, yet again, for another move.....about the things I have kept as I move through my downsizing saga....my great grandmother's cameo, an oil painting that some kids back from a trip to Europe gave me as a thank you gift, the blue print my dad made of my face when I was 3, a rather mount doomy charcoal someone did for my other grandmother, an odd family crest ring from a long gone uncle, a print my parents gave me years ago titled "Solitary Splendor"....how did they know?....a color blanket my Mom wove,  the Waldorf doll my youngest son and I made to help him cope with his older brother going off to college, the beautiful "Scottish piece" that will most likely be in storage for years, a funky pottery bowl my daugher gave me after a rough patch during her teenage years, the reindeer my oldest son made from some sticks....and suddenly it struck me that all my treasures are art......with stories.

So....just a thought as you do your holiday shopping....the things that stay are not the gadgets and gizmos....it's the hand knit christmas stocking, the hand carved salad bowl, the hand painted abstract with the title that stirs something in your soul, the hand embroidered table runner, the hand made mugs....the things with the hands...they are the treasures....buy art!

Apple Annie Arts and Crafts Show

Alright people....it's time!  The 31st Annual Apple Annie Arts and Crafts Show is next weekend...and I'm going to be there.  It's my first show in forever and I'm taking a lot of new pieces that I'm really quite proud of. 
The show runs Friday, Dec. 2 from 9:00 AM-7:00 PM and Saturday, Dec. 3 from 9:00 AM-2:00 PM.  The Catholic Church of St Ann is located at 4905 Roswell Road, Marietta, Georgia 30062.  My booth is in the Carroll Center...booth 35.
For all of you who have been asking how to buy one of my pieces...this is it!  (no shipping)  Would love to see you there!

Yet Another Mary Box

I spent yesterday packing art for a show I'm doing the first weekend in December..... I got a little sidetracked by some almost too dry clay and made another Mary box...I'll pack tomorrow.

Bobbin Goddesses

A friend asked me to make some bobbin deities...yep, bobbins....like in a sewing machine......she has been working in the wardrope department at Emory getting a million Jane Austin type costumes ready for an any-day-now play and all the bobbins on all the machines had nervous breakdowns....this is never good.  So....here they are, the goddesses Bobbinette and Bobbilina....they'll have bobbins in their hands to hold an incense stick and some tangled thread with bobbins hanging from the bottom....I hope they bring blessings and peace to the wardrobe artists and healing to their sewing tools.

The Mary That Made It

I'm very pleased with this Mary!  Her halo really is this shiny..... you can't tell from this picture but she has a sort of tear under her right eye...you just never know with raku.

ARRGH!

cracked Mary

Mary on fire

I just hate it when something I'm so excited about doesn't make it through the raku fire.  My favorite Mary cracked right across the middle...odd.  Guess I get to keep her!

Glaze Day

Today I glazed and glazed and glazed some more...very tedious....finished!  Tomorrow a zentangle class and then RAKU DAY!
happy dance...happy dance....

Paint Brush Pot

This sweet pot was going to be a treasure pot but the lid had an unfortunate meeting with the floor.... now it holds my paintbrushes!  I may make more pots somewhat like this to hold the rest of my tools....I like the way they fan out...makes it easy to grab just the right one.

Star Angel

The angel that will go with the moon wings (if all goes well). She's not as cross eyed as she looks in the picture.....phone camera, questionable lighting, etc....

Moon Wings

Somewhat out of focus moon wings for an angel who is holding a star.....the little hook part is very important for balance.....at least I'm hoping it will be....

Tree Wings

Tree wings for the new tree angel I'm working on!  I ended up removing the bird and the nest....they just didn't do much for me.

Working My Way Through The M's

While all the various Mary's are drying I thought I'd make a mermaid tile.  My last tile experiment didn't go very well so I've been doing some reading and some pondering and I think this one might make it!  I still need to work on her hair and the crown of her head...... the bits of paper on her tail will burn out in the bisque....mostly, I'm pleased.

Finished Ginko Angel

The ginko angel from several weeks ago...finished!  I got the idea for her wings from a print of an arts and crafts wallpaper block....she's holding a ginko leaf and there's a sort of oceany thing happening on the front of her....I'm quite pleased with her.

Three Mary Icon Boxes

I am SO pleased with these!  I wish the clay would stay this color...I wouldn't bother glazing them...I'm sure they'll turn out beautiful after being raku fired though....can't wait, can't wait!

Some More Mary

I know it looks odd to have some fired and some not fired art together....I just needed to see how Mary was going to fit together....hopefully I'll be able to bisque by the end of the week (it's been so damp lately that the clay is taking forever to dry)...I think I'm going to like this Mary.....although I've already got some new ideas for the next one!

More Mary

Well.....I've learned quite a bit working on this Mary idea.  I'm still going to finish the neck and shoulders of this one....and I am pleased....she's just not quite what I was seeing in my head....close though!

Ginko Angel

The ginko wings on the angel (she's holding a ginko leaf bowl). I love ginko trees....the leaves look like gold coins falling.....I really hope these wings make it!

Ginko Wings

Here's what I did today.....I finished glazing small bits to Raku next weekend (tedious, somewhat boring, very small paintbrush) updated the photos on my facebook page, sold an angel, made these ginko wings (for the angel that I'll take a picture of tomorrow) and pondered Mary some more.....I'm a little stuck on her neck and shoulders and how to get them to fit....her body is a complete mystery (construction wise)...I need a sort of  tile mosaic cage...anyway, I carved the Chinese symbol for kiss inside her face....an afterthought since listening to Mary (Joan Baez) nonstop for two days.
I think these wings will really be nice raku fired....can't wait!

The Mary Project

I don't really know why Mary intrigues me so....perhaps it's all the touching stories and rituals (that cross so many different religions and cultures) associated with her...I don't know...I just know that she's been on my mind a lot lately...maybe having my last son leave for college has made me feel closer to her....not that my son is at all comparable to Jesus...but there is a deep missing I feel she understands.
I heard a Joan Baez song about Mary last night... it opened something and I had to put the Tara's aside (again) and start on her.
There's been this idea for a 3D Mary mosaic floating through my brain for a while...I've spent months reading Mary lore (something I highly recommend), I've drawn the prototype for what I want to make (although I have no idea how I'm going to construct her).....I believe this might be her head and crown....although I might totally change it (because I do that sometimes).
I want her to look proud and tough but somewhat sad....approachable.....graceful, dignified...you know....Maryish.

Cheyenne Tara

I think this is one of my favorite sculptures...I never posted a picture of her finished because she cracked down the back when I raku fired her
...I just hate when that happens!

I had intended to do a series of Tara goddesses from different cultures but I got a little depressed when the first one didn't make it...now, a year later,  I'm ready to work on the series again
...I just love it when that happens!

Three Saints in a Row

From left to right:  Saint Rose of Lima (patron saint of rose gardeners) Saint Francis (everyone knows about him) and Saint Gertrude (patron saint of cats and people who fear mice)...another experiment.  I made these from porcelain...which doesn't do well for raku...they turned out quite nice...I won't use porcelain again though...way too sloopy for hand building!

Pretty Hamsa

I just love the way this Hamsa turned out!  I love the color, I love the places the spirals ended up and I love, love, love the shiny dots!

At Last...Wings!

Well....the beautiful crackle white angel I made in July of 2010 has finally earned her wings!
The ones I made for her originally didn't make it through the raku fire and I've been at a loss over how I was going to replace them (the original wings were mostly black with white crackle spirals....pretty, but too same and same).  These wings were an experiment that made it!  I used a technique that I wasn't sure would stay together through the raku fire...and since I wasn't sure the wings were going to survive at all....I used a glaze that froze during the winter...a glaze that usually turns shiny blues and greens but now is matte earth tones (however, I didn't know that was going to happen...I only knew "they" say to throw away glaze that has frozen)....LOVE it!

I did use a shiny (nonfrozen) glaze on the dots in her wings..... so there is a little sparkle.

Necklace

This is a new project I'm working on with my daughter.  I make and raku the pendants and she does the chain and beadwork.....pretty cool!  You can check out my very-slow-going website www.firebrushedstudio.com to see more of these.

The Mouse

After a week of not firing, we opened the raku kiln to load it up and there was all this fuzzy stuff in the bottom of the kiln.....what could this be? A pile of seeds, fuzzy stuff, bits of shredded tarp...I lifted the bottom shelf and there was a wee little, very worried, field mouse...who immediately ran down into the gas line....perfect! We poked...we banged the line with tongs....we waited....and waited....and waited some more. After what seemed like forever he/she scurried out from somewhere underneath and all was well. In fact, we got some of the best colors ever....I wonder...could mouse droppings be the missing ingredient?

Sorry, there are no pictures...you'll just have to use your imagination....do it, it's good for you.

Well.....

There truly was a slideshow/video...with music...there were people that saw it and said "wow"...and then it just went away.  I'm sure it will pop up again someday in some random place on my computer and it will bother me for a day or two and then I'll get over it.

This is the peace angel.....I really, really like her!

Peace Angel

This is a video of the bird nest angel with the stick wings becoming the peace angel.  I figure anything that survives this much heat, fire and water and ends up looking so graceful and calm deserves a new name!

The music Peace Song is from Phil McWilliams' new CD...Signs of Peace.  Check out his website at philmcwilliamsmusic.com

Great Raku Day!

pondering if the glaze has melted

adding paper to the reduction can

cough

I was able to raku fire twice this week! All the pieces turned out amazing....we got some really cool colors and, thanks to Billy and Lisa Davis, some great pictures of the raku process. 

This is one of my favorite ways to spend a day!

digging through the ashes

a lovely finished piece!

A Heavenly Host

I've been blogging from my phone and the challenges have been extreme ...mostly adding pictures....oh and spell check seems to have a mind of it's own...anyway ...here are some of the finished angels I've been working on lately .....I'm quite pleased!

Very, Very Hot Shed!

Firing the kiln in 98 degree weather...not so smart!

I have a little fan but all it's been able to do is blow hot air on me. I made a few small dishes and some beads...the clay was drying out too fast from the heat to make anything more complicated....alas, nothing with a raffia base....or an attachment. I also glazed today...never my favorite pastime...oh! the stick wings made it through the bisque fire....we'll see how they do Thursday when I raku fire them....I'm thinking pink bubbles that they turn out amazing!


Sweet Rufus always hangs out with me no matter how hot ...or cold....the shed may be :)

Birdnest Angel.....With Stick Wings

This angel is holding a nest with a little bird on it. Her wings look like branches with a leafy vine twisted through them and several nests with eggs sitting in the branches....I'm going to Raku the wings this week...the angel isn't quite dry enough yet....I hope the wings make it!

Broken Wings

Sometimes things just don't work...lately, a lot of things haven't worked...I suppose it's because I'm trying out some new ideas...it always takes a few tries to work the kinks out....I try to tell myself it's just dirt...but it was such pretty dirt...can't you see these wings all shiny and raku magic?

Four Wee Trees Of Life

More getting ready for the upcoming Christmas festival at Saint Anne's. After these are Raku fired I'll add some beads and charms. I like making the tree boxes.....they always turn out with the coolest colors.

Perhaps it's the size.

This Might Help Clear Things Up

Ok...here's the "something completely different" project... unstacked. It's going to be really cool...don't know what quite yet but something amazing will be hanging from the branch....can't wait!

And Now For Something Completely Different.....

This is a surprise...it's hard to tell from the picture because it's in pieces.....it's a box with a tree branch in it and two doors with hinges. All the bits are stacked on top of each other in the picture but it's going to be fantastic!

Hamsa Hands

Three finished hamsa hands....I love the colors! I think I'll do these again...if I can remember what glaze I used....I really should keep better notes!

Bird Angel

Today was a great Raku day! Everything turned out the most wonderful colors, nothing cracked or broke and we didn't start any unwanted fires!
This is the bird angel I made a few weeks ago....I really like the colors on her....the glaze looks like it would be velvety to touch but it's very smooth...the egg, in the nest on her shoulder, is a metallic pink with a blue line running through it...like an Easter egg!
I love Raku....it's always such an exciting moment when I pull it from the ashes and see what magic the fire chose to add to the piece!

New Wing Angel

This is a new wing idea...I've broken several the past few days but this one might make it...I think it will be really cool once it's glazed...probably the hammered copper glaze.....the leaf in the angel's hand will burn out in the bisque fire and leave the imprint in the clay.

Goddess Icon Boxes

Today I made four goddess icon boxes. They're for a gallery in Cartersville called Divine Oddities....rather fitting for my work....I also found an all girl indie art show in Oklahoma City in November....I think I might try and get into it.
I started the kiln this morning but it generated so much heat that I've decided to blog awhile in the a/c ......I'm doing all this from my phone...this is amazing for me...and rather time consuming...at least I'm cool!

New Pot

This is a new technique I've been working on.  It's a small lidded bowl to put small treasures in.  I hope it makes it ....I rather like it.

Well, I Just Don't Know What To Call This....

...possibly "The Brain of Jenny"
(you would need to be a fan of
Pooh to understand).
I kinda like it..... although I have no idea what it is...'twas certainly fun to make!
...glazing will most likely be tedious...hmmmm....