Horse Hair Ball Experiment

I've been wanting to experiment with horse hair instead of glaze. Sacrificing a saint just didn't seem prudent so I tried it on something smaller.....I made really, really heavy Christmas (or maybe Halloween) ornaments.  The horse hair was fun to work with, although a little smelly, it frizzled up and made interesting patterns on the hot ornaments.  ...I'm thinking maybe this would be a fun way to finish a Saint Urban, patron saint for protection from frost...

The Virgin Mary and Icon Boxes

While I waited for my clay to get stiff enough to make icon boxes I painted some more on the mantel...I decided to paint the Virgin Mary on the oval medallion...partly because it looked like she belonged there and partly because all the saints lined up on the mantel seemed like they needed her...

The somewhat finished portion of the mantel looks like this and says ..."be not weary of make believing... when you least expect it you shall reap" (I don't remember where I read this but I'm pretty sure it wasn't in Revelations)

The icon boxes I made today were Saint Giles (patron saint of those who fear the night)...he will have doors on the outside, metal stars hanging inside and a place for a battery votive candle.

...and Saint Agostina Petrantoni who has a lovely name and is the patron saint for protection from poverty...I think a stack of coins on her shelf would look nice...maybe some hexagon shaped foreign coins

New Idea

I love the funky neighborhood I live in but there are definitely "characters" so...I keep my doors locked...even when I'm home.  I only have THE KEY and when someone comes to the door there is much scrambling about locating THE KEY...anyway, a friend recently suggested that I get a copy of THE KEY made and keep one on a hook beside the front and back doors...this got me thinking...what if I made an icon type box of Saint Zita (the patron saint of lost keys) and made a little shelf to keep THE KEY on and then some hooks to hang other keys on...so I did...and here she is!

Clay!

At last!  1050 pounds of lovely raku clay has been delivered and stacked under the slab table!  Instead of working with clay today,  I painted a little more on the mantel and then painted some encouraging words on one of the walls in the shed.
I have great plans for dirt tomorrow though!

So Far So Good!

I bisqued all my dry pieces on Tuesday, unloaded the kiln yesterday and...everything made it!  Even the leaf wings!  Now for a warm enough day to raku....the real survival test.

While the kiln had the shed warmed up nice and toasty, I worked on a Saint Francis, a Saint Gertrude, the moons for the blue moon goddess and an odd pot that's really a test for a drum.  I'm still using two different colored clays but I think I've cleared enough space to finally order clay... today's project.

This is a picture of the blue moon goddess...I had to hold each moon up and take the picture so they're a little out of focus..I think she's going to be pretty amazing!

Moon Goddess and PayPal

I think I figured out how to attach the moons to the goddess!  Both moons are made but I need to wait until they are leather hard to post a picture of them in her hands...I'm pretty excited...although, I think I'll have to add them on separate since I don't think she'll fit in the raku kiln holding them.
PayPal...blah...I am SO not a computer person but, I set up a paypal account for my pottery today!...it was not fun...it took forever...but, I think it is done!  I also took some Saints to the UPS store and got quotes for shipping...not cheap...but they seem confident that everything will arrive intact.
I was busy and I was not warm.

2010 Full Moon, Blue Moon, Lunar Eclipse Goddess

I braved the cold shed today because I had this idea that I just had to make.  Since I'm almost out of clay, she's made out of two different colors of clay...the dreaded pink and raku clay.  The dreaded pink is actually my favorite to work with and is most lovely until it is bisqued...then it turns a sickly, palely pink...which definitely motivates me to get the glazing done quickly.  Anyway,  today I made a goddess of my own.  With so much going on with the moon on New Years Eve, it seemed sad not to make something to celebrate what surely must be an auspicious beginning to a new year....so... the full moon, blue moon, lunar eclipse goddess has been conjured.  She will be holding two full moons over her head that make an eclipse...once I figure out how I'm going to attach them!  I carved some waves on the base of her and put beads to hang little stars from down her sleeves...I'm fairly excited.

Almost Ready to Fire!

Today was cold, cold, cold.....too cold.  So, I loaded the kiln...maybe by Thursday everything will be dry enough to fire.  I'm a little worried about a couple of the pieces....I sort of pushed what can be done....but then, that is my way.  Pretty much if someone says something can't be done I have to give it a go.
I have 57 people that are fans on my pottery facebook page, most of them I don't even know...this is exciting!