Amoeba Of Protection

I had this idea.....
My brave, fearless, curious, fast granddaughters are coming for a visit...this is good.
The deep (as in holy *#** how-are-we-going-to-get-her-out) abyss between the yard and the driveway....not so good.
This worry (among many others) has been keeping me up at night ....but then I had this idea....
I could rake the leaves (there are PLENTY) into a circle dividing the safe, flat part of the yard and the steep, danger-Will-Robinson part of the yard..... and we could  have a ceremony when they arrive....
light some flashlights, sprinkle some oils and ask for protection...
....from things that dwell in the abyss crossing into the yard and for brave, fearless, curious, fast little girls crossing from the yard into the land of the abyss.
Yes, some fear is intended...
Alas, I have had no time to do this because of school....so before I went to bed last night I thought how great it would be if the rain turned into snow and I got the day off (how I thought I would rake leaves in the snow is beyond me).
It didn't snow......
But the old saw mill at the school caught on fire (rather sad) and school was canceled today.
So, I put on my beautiful-soft-as-butter-Italian-calfskin-driving-gloves-from-another-life....I didn't want to ruin my only other gloves (hand knit finger-less fair isle gloves, I do have my priorities....and I just don't do blisters) and started raking the circle.
Here's what I now know for sure:
There are way more leaves than you think.
Circles are hard....
Amoebas...not so hard.
Shoes with deep treads will easily and accurately locate all dog poo.
My yard is much larger than it appears.
The wind always blows the leaves back to where you just raked.

 just thought someone might be interested.

...And Sometimes Blue Comes Out Yellow

Well...these wine goblets (or globlets as my daughter once called them) were suppose to be a lovely, earthy brown with drippy, brownish blue around the rims....alas, the brown came out yellow...as did the blue.
Yellow is not a favorite color of mine.

Mugs

Four almost matching mugs!  The blue swirl was a surprise...I rather like it though.  It's way harder than I ever imagined to make things out of dirt that end up the same size, the same color and the same weight.  Hopefully I'll have the ah ha before my two years are up.....

Even More White Crackle

Two (very small) white crackle pots.
Here's what I learned....I don't like to throw raku clay. It hurts my hands.... it gets all rough and rocky.
I like it for hand building though and I'm about to find out how I feel about extruding it.
(This should be an interesting project so I'll try and post a lot along the way).

More White Crackle

This is the tallest cylinder I've been able to throw.
A whopping six inches.
I put Rapunzel on it since it is my tallest clay tower....so far.
I am sad to point out the fact that the glaze ran onto her braid (I hate when that happens)...still, it's the first "me" piece I've made since the toe incident and I'm rather pleased with all the lovely crackles.

Ginko Angel In The Window

My ginko angel is in the front window of Gallery 262 on Main Street in Waynesville, NC!
(several more of my raku angels are inside the gallery)

This is me...being very happy.

Raku Friday

I've always loved white crackle glaze against the beautiful black of raku pieces but my crackles never seem to crackle, the white is never really white and I never seem to get a really pretty black...behold the wonder of raku Friday!
This little pot turned out so perfect!  It has a green crackle glaze on the inside, and just look at all the crackles...and the beautiful black!...I'm so excited.
I have such plans.
 (Nothing like having an instructor who's happy to share secrets....and glaze recipes....and change the schedule to include a raku firing .....every Friday!)
I love it here, I really do......now, to throw something bigger......

Shooting Soy Sauce

These are some of my finished tiny (around three inches tall) soy pots! I tested them with water today, they all work, they all pour water..... halfway across the table (something about the tapering spouts).
They would be perfect for shooting soy sauce on your dinner companion's food (or the people sitting at the next table)....sort of a sharing, serving piece!
Anyway, I like them and I'll most likely make more...the spouts were fun and I'm sure, with enough practice,  I'll figure out the secret to a closer pour......or, I'll come up with a whole line of serving pieces..... for the lazy hostess!