Just For Fun

Check out this "Life List" by way of Lori Buff of Future Relic Gallery. Bold are things I have done. This is just for fun. Copy and paste and put it on your blog. Highlight what you've done and change the things you've not to a normal font. Hope you enjoy!

1. Started your own blog


2. Slept under the stars


3. Played in a band


4. Visited Hawaii


5. Watched a meteor shower


6. Given more than you can afford to charity


7. Been to Disneyland (I think Disneyworld counts too)


8. Climbed a mountain


9. Held a praying mantis


10. Sang a solo


11. Bungee jumped


12. Visited Paris


13. Watched a lightning storm at sea


14. Taught yourself an art from scratch


15. Adopted a child


16. Had food poisoning


17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty


18. Grown your own vegetables


19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France


20. Slept on an overnight train


21. Had a pillow fight


22. Hitch hiked


23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill (not at my current job though!!)


24. Built a snow fort


25. Held a lamb


26. Gone skinny dipping


27. Run a Marathon


28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice


29. Seen a total eclipse


30. Watched a sunrise or sunset


31. Hit a home run


32. Been on a cruise


33. Seen Niagara Falls in person


34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors


35. Seen an Amish community (spend lots of time in an Amish community)


36. Taught yourself a new language


37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied


38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person


39. Gone rock climbing


40. Seen Michelangelos David


41. Sung karaoke


42. Seen Old Geyser erupt


43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant


44. Visited Africa (Morocco is in Africa right?)


45. Walked on a beach by moonlight


46. Been transported in an ambulance


47. Had your portrait painted


48. Gone deep sea fishing


49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person


50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris


51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling


52. Kissed in the rain


53. Played in the mud


54. Gone to a drive-in theater


55. Been in a movie


56. Visited the Great Wall of China


57. Started a business


58. Taken a martial arts class 5


59. Visited Russia


60. Served at a soup kitchen


61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies


62. Gone whale watching


63. Got flowers for no reason


64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma - I try, but they don't want my blood


65. Gone sky diving


66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp


67. Bounced a check


68. Flown in a helicopter


69. Saved a favorite childhood toy - I was the oldest kid of 6, all my toys became the younger kids toys


70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial


71. Eaten Caviar


72. Pieced a quilt


73. Stood in Times Square, on New Year's Eve


74. Toured the Everglades


75. Been fired from a job


76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London


77. Broken a bone


78. Been on a speeding motorcycle


79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person


80. Published a book


81. Visited the Vatican


82. Bought a brand new car


83. Walked in Jerusalem


84. Had your picture in the newspaper


85. Read the entire Bible


86. Visited the White House


87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating


88. Had chickenpox


89. Saved someone’s life


90. Sat on a jury


91. Met someone famous


92. Joined a book club


93. Lost a loved one


94. Had a baby


95. Seen the Alamo in person


96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake


97. Been involved in a law suit


98. Owned a cell phone


99. Been stung by a bee - more times than I can count


100. Read a book in one day

Not much surprising there, but still a fun little exercize. Be well.

New Neighbors

A pair of bald eagles are nesting in a tree behind the house. Kinda of cool and fun to watch them fly across the swamp carrying sticks to build their nest.

Today I took advantage of the sunshine and our long deck railings to wash up some bisque and help the waxed feet, rims and designs dry. These pieces will be glazed over the next week to be fired in the first firing of the wood kiln built last summer. Flashing slip will be applied to some and then all will be glazed and packed to take to the farm for the firing. They look kind of boring right now, but soon they'll be sporting coats of shino, tenmoku and celadon soon.

Sunshine

Since there was an extreme lack of sunshine here in Minnesota today, I had to peek in the cooling kiln to get a glimpse of something bright. This large yellow bowl is the closest thing to sunshine I'm gonna see today. And its still warm enough to feel like sunshine (probably should have been a little more patient before unloading).

Happenings

With our record snow fall of the past winter melting and the rain we've been getting lately, the stream and wetland behind the house have really been rising and filling up. We can't normally see water from the house, but today, it's just a couple hundred feet away. With more rain and snow due the next couple days, I hope it doesn't come up much higher.

On the pottery front, I unloaded another glaze load today. A while back I'd mentioned changing my clay body and hoping to focus on more colors in my cone 6 work. The lighter, smoother clay body works really well for texturing pieces. And the brighter colors break well over the texture. Here's the rim of a large bowl glazed in the deep grass green glaze.


The photo below is a close up of the grass green and bright sky blue glaze combination I've used on a rectangle platter. I love how the blue on the green give it a watery look.


Also in this kiln load was several mixing bowls, yarn bowls and mugs. So far I'm liking the clay body change and the brighter colors.

Have a great week.

New Pots

Yesterday I took advantage of the great spring weather to get several kiln loads of pots glazed and ready to be fired. I like to sort through the bisqued pots I have and separate them by what glaze I'd like to use on them. Then I glaze many pots of the same color before moving on to the next. This process allows me to make best use of my time and glazes since I don't have to go back and forth from one glaze to the next repeated. It also helps make for more efficient kiln loading. With so many pieces ready, I never find myself with a small space left on a shelf with nothing the right size to put there.



Here are some of the pieces in the glaze load I unloaded this afternoon. The green bowl in the center, low of the photo turned out very nice.

Well - time to reload and get another batch going.

Have a great week.

Planning

After a few hours of throwing new pots this weekend, I've got a dozen berry bowls, 8 yarn bowls, three large bowls and a dozen mugs on drying boards. I think I've got one more weekend (maybe more, but I'm not counting on it) of throwing left before I begin the glazing and firing marathon to be ready for the Bluff Country Studio Art Tour in late April.


Additionally, the first firing of the wood kiln constructed last summer will be the weekend of April 8th. Being the planner that I am (sarcasm!!) I'm working to have everything ready for that as well. It's so hard to think of everything I'm going to need for this first firing. I'm sure I'll forget something and there we'll be hours away from any supplies needed. Here's what I've thought of so far, all you wood fire gurus out there take a look and see what's missing.


I've got:

• hundreds of glazed pots
• shelves
• pyrometer
  
• wadding for the shelves
• different wadding for the pots
• several cords of dry wood, split and stacked
• help

It's much too short a list, there must be dozens of things missing. I'd appreciate any help you can send my way.

Have a great week.

Quiet Studio

Last weekend my studio helper Snuffles the wonder mutt moved to a new home (actually my daughter moved to a new home and took Snuffles with). So this weekend I was able to work in the studio without Snuffles' constant demands for my attention. It was nice to not worry about her nudging my hands to be petted while I was finishing a rim or jumping up on the wheel work table when I didn't give the attention she was seeking.


But, there was also no one there to talk to - it was just me talking to myself (which it was before, but it didn't seem so weird when the mutt was there). When a great song came on the Ipod and I started dancing, no one was there to dance with me - again, just me dancing (and hoping there were no secret cameras around).

On the plus side, I didn't find a single shredded sponge laying about and no one made off with my piece of chamois when I wasn't looking.

Enjoy your new home Snuffles (and Gabby and Will) and your B-clay free coat.