Translucent dragon cups, some more

            Here are some more pictures of the translucent dragon cups. I threw them on the wheel and trimmed them, then brushed black slip on around the outside. After letting the slip stiffen, I carved out the dragons. The reason they are so translucent is that they are made of porcelain. Not all porcelain and porcelain-like clays have this property, so when I chose my clays back in the fall I specifically selected one that was recommended for its translucence.
            Having never worked with translucent porcelain before, I'm amazed with the stuff. I love working with porcelainous clays, I knew that before. But after hearing all about how difficult it is to make translucent pots, I guess I never expected it to work this well. It really worked!

            I knew as soon as I took these out of the kiln that they were even better than I had hoped. The first thing I usually do when I pull something out of the kiln is to scoot into the sunshine to get a good look at it. These cups are translucent enough that you can see the effect in normal light. You can see it as a little creamy glow around the foot in these pictures:

             I'm pleased with nearly all the pots in this firing, but these are the best. The translucence is something I can only guess at when I'm making them, so I paid a lot of attention to the other aspects. I used my tiny rubber rib to make them smooth, and worked hard on the carvings to make them clean and crisp. I also sanded them gently after both firings, so the bottoms feel good in the hand. I love my abstract dragon design; it looks good in two colors like this and I can reliably make the dragons look related to each other. I also love making them, especially the carving part. I do get tired of doing the same thing after six cups, but that's what bowls and plates (and Kickstarter rewards...) are for.

            And fussy though my camera seems to be about bright sunlight, I have to give it credit for doing a good job in the dark. All I did was click the button and hold very, very still. (It helps to rest my hands on something sturdy. A tripod would work, too.) And when I hold still enough, I get pictures like these: 

            That's what they actually look like with candles in them. It's beautiful. I also found that the sides of the cup remained cool despite the hot candle inside, so I could pick them up and move them around without worrying about hot fingers. I think at this point I have to 1. make more of these cups; and 2. make some "cups" with shades/lids specifically for the purpose of holding candles. Because, wow. Ceramics = the real magic we have in the world. I can make mud that glows.

Wednesday Traveling Dragons

            This week, I have pictures of a dragon who is a traveling musician! This dragon plays the viola da gamba, my own favorite instrument to play. You may not be familiar with the viola da gamba. In short, it's a six stringed, fretted instrument that you play with a bow. They come in various sizes. They were popular a long time ago, before the raucous orchestral strings we are accustomed to today took over the scene. 
            This dragon traveled on a train! It looks like they had a little help from their human chaperone, though. It must be hard to read the signs when you're so tiny.

             This is what a treble viola da gamba looks like. Note the dragon, who is sitting in approximately the correct position to play:

             Little did I know what a prodigy this dragon would be when I first carved and fired him/her. In the first few months of life, this dragon has already gone to the Young Players Weekend to meet other promising viola da gamba players. (Incidentally, at that link you can see me in the picture. I'm over on the right side in a blue hoodie with a tenor viol. The picture there is from 2010; I wasn't able to attend this year.)

            It looks like everyone had a good time this year. These pictures were taken by, and belong to, Ben from Connecticut. The featured dragon is his viol buddy. Happy violing, and thanks for the pictures! I love to see how my creations are getting along in their homes.

Wednesday traveling dragons: kitten in the box!

            While I was photographing the small dragons from this firing, our new kitten climbed in the lightbox with the dragons. She wanted to know what I was playing with in there!

            She decided that they weren't edible, didn't make jingly or crinkly noises, and that if I was going to insist on playing with them, she'd just have to sit in the lightbox too so at least I'd pet her.

            The kitten's name is Warbear, and we just brought her home from the shelter three and a half weeks ago. She's about 3.5 months old. So far, she thinks porcelain is fun to stick her paws in, and is very polite about stepping around pots on tables.

Wednesday Traveling Dragons

            This time we have a couple new stars! This little creature just came out of the kiln this weekend, and is already finding things to be happy about.

            And this little one as well:

Wednesday Traveling Dragons

            All the rain this fall has resulted in the blooming of many mushrooms. There seem to be a lot of different kinds here: brown ones, white ones, red ones, puffy ones, skinny ones.... and big ones.

            So naturally, the dragons had to go see for themselves.

Wednesday Traveling Dragons

            This week the dragons have something new to explore! They have to check the new device all over to make sure they can allow the next dragons I'm making to be put in there.

Pictures of an exhibition

            And now, the post you have all been waiting for... pictures of the show! This post is all about my work, and the next one will be all about the work of others in the exhibition. Enjoy!
            The view through the doorway: The Meeting House Gallery has two rooms that are connected to each other, one large and one small. My display is in the smaller room, but you can see it through the door.

            The view through the window-shelf: The wall between the rooms in the gallery has two windows with shelves that objects can be placed on. For this exhibition only one of them was used, and I had fun peering through it at my display.

            The next images were taken on Wednesday, before the opening, so the other sculptures in the room were not in their final positions. This is the view as you enter the room:

            And as you walk around the piece:

            A closer look:

            You might have noticed a white tag in the pictures of the stump. That is the tag for the label information so that the gallery knows what the title of the piece is and how to spell my name. I was silly and forgot to remove it for the picture - it wasn't there in the actual show, however. The real label is mounted on the pillar and looks much nicer.
            Thanks for looking!

Sculpture on the Green reception

            The opening reception of Sculpture on the Green at the Meeting House Gallery was on Friday night. There were lots and lots of people; thank you everyone for coming! It was exciting to see so many people interested in the show. If you are one of the people who weren't able to come to the reception, the show is still open Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 11 - 4, until July 8th. I won't be there, but my art will!
            I also enjoyed meeting other sculptors. My work is the only piece using clay in the show; everything else was metal, wood, found objects, etc. I love to see art made with other media, because I feel that the different techniques used and the qualities of various materials can inform my ideas and use of clay. Clay is great for imitating or implying other materials; that is one of the strengths of the medium.
            And now for the part you are all waiting for - the pictures! Lots of people in the gallery:

            People looking at my piece - many people wanted to look up close to see all the details:

            This fellow is from the New Marlborough newspaper, and he took pictures of my work. Maybe I will become famous in New Marlborough! Or at least be mentioned in the newspaper; that would be exciting.

            All in all, it was a wonderful evening. It was fun to see people engaging with my work and talking about it among themselves. It was fun to talk with them about it, too! I often am nervous to start conversations in a crowd of people I don't know, but when I am asked about my work I have plenty to say.
            You can expect more pictures here over the next few days, both of my work and that of the other sculptors in the show. I won't say what days I expect to have new posts; it seems that when I specify a particular day I somehow never manage to post on that day, but usually the day after.

Sneak Preview

            Wednesday I went to the gallery to help finish setting up the show, but it turned out I was mostly unneeded so I took a lot of pictures of my piece. I won't post pictures of the whole thing until the show has been open for a few days... you should come see it in person! But here are some close ups of the dragons.

            The opening reception is tonight from 5 to 7. Come to the Meeting House Gallery in New Marlborough and see some clay dragons, and a lot of other cool sculpture both indoors and out!