There were happenings this weekend.

First among them, I came down with a nasty stomach bug. One of those 24-hour varieties, but ugly nonetheless. Sleeping it off was my solution. As much as possible. But UGH! Well, I shouldn't complain too much - our friend Katie was up from Tucson to visit for the weekend (You remember Katie? She pops up around here every-so-often) and she seems to have come down with the same bug, except that were I got to curl up in my bed and sleep all day, she had to travel home whilst being ill. No fun. So, Katie: I hope you are feeling better, or at least soon.

So that was the low point of the last 96 or 120 hours or so. I'll finish on the high point and deal out some pots in the middle. So, pots:

These big bowls are now trimmed, decorated, and drying. And I'm not a photographer.

The other big bowl.

This is a large platter.

This is another large platter, trimmed and drying upside down. The platters will hopefully turn out all right. Each is battling potential issues, but I should know before they bisque whether or not they remain issues post-drying.

Krystal has allowed my pots to take over even the finished portion of the basement to maintain a visual sense of inventory in preparation for my fall show.

Hey look, a tea set!

I'm sure you're wondering why you haven't seen pictures of that tea set in progress? Because I had to keep it a secret! It's that simple! Gosh! This was a special order from a friend of mine (Joan) for a friend of mine (Jon) on their (shared) first wedding anniversary. And he, apparently, supposedly, keeps up with this blog. And I probably could have kept my purposes on the sly, but I preferred absolute secrecy. Here's a situation of glazes going awry - which is painful for me, especially on special orders, where the end result must be judged by someone other than me. But you see the cream-colored portions in there? Supposed to be sandstone. I.e., not milky-white. But I shipped it, and they were pleased. Or so they say. Speak now or forever hold your peace! Ah, the angsts of being an artist. But how about that blue? Beautiful! So there you have it - in case there were any doubts - I will make teapots. But they'll cost you. Just saying.

While I'm at it I'll mention that Jon keeps a couple of blogs on food & foodie-ness and biking & fittie-ness, respectively. And while he's a great friend, and a decent blogger when he blogs, he's actually fairly horrible about doing any of the latter. But you can check out the stuff he used to write and mourn with me.

My other realization this week (sort of a low point) is that I totally bought 200 pounds of the "not right" clay while I was in Minnesota last week. I say "not right" because, as it's now the clay I have, it may turn out to be a very fine clay, and as such, certainly not wrong. But for the time being, and until I see positive results, it's the not-right clay. And that's totally my fault for not keeping my vernacular, loose-tongued naming of the company produced clay straight with it's ACTUAL names.  See, even though I would describe my clay as a buff-colored stoneware, to Continental Clay it is actually a "Mid-Range Oxidation Body." Because the name "Buff Stoneware" was already taken. By this other clay that I happened to buy instead. So we'll see what happens. It will fire in the same range, but it does have a different color and consistency and will take me a bit to figure out. But, bottom line: 200 pounds of clay purchased 600 miles away = not going to be returning that anytime soon, so I might as well throw it.

Moving on up, I did also buy 200 pounds of the correct white "B-Clay." So expect more white pots on the horizon.

Finally the highlight of the weekend came when we got to go to the annual Crow Creek Hunkpati Oyate Wacipi (powwow). Krystal's work kept her pretty busy with an affiliated event for the weekend, so that left plenty of time for Katie and I to take in the dancing and, in Krystal's words, "eat indian tacos* 'til you throw up!"** This was not my first powwow, nor is it the biggest (By any means. Whatsoever. Even a little.) in the area, but it was the best weather, food, and dancing that I've seen at one recently. The dancing was wonderful, and powerful, and the traditional dance costumes and regalia were beautiful. Stunning. And I happened to have a camera. So I'll leave you with a few pictures.

Mostly I'm awed by the tenacity of any people's spirit of cultural traditions. Which is not something I'm going to try to get into here, as it's a deep and complicated issue and I'd hate for the meaning of my words to be lost or misconstrued. But the celebration of deep, rich, cultural traditions is a beautiful thing and I'm glad to have the opportunity to witness and participate in even the tiniest way. 

*Fry bread + taco fixin's = awesome.
**Little did she know...

Happy New Year!

Yes, it may be a couple days late, but I certainly hope you have started this year off on the right foot!  This is the part where I normally would go back and review the happenings of 2010, but I covered most of that back in November when I reappeared after my extended hiatus.  So it's mostly just on with pottery as usual here.  But first...

Rather than spend Christmas in the beautiful, snow-covered midwest (where Christmas ought to be celebrated, right?), dreadfully balmy week in Phoenix, Arizona, where Krystal's folks have relocated.  It was pretty rough, actually, getting on the plain in sub-zero temps to arrive in a 70 degree desert environment.  The worst part was when we ate our Christmas turkey out on the patio under the garish light of the sun.  I mean, isn't it, like, sacrilegious to be running around in shorts on the eve of our Savior's birth?  But I digress.  Here are a few things that happened down southwest way:

Paid a visit to Taliesin West, the "summer camp," studio, and school of renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright.  It was pretty nifty.  Although, this time of year, paying a visit to the original Taliesin in Wisconsin would have been much more agreeable.  You know - with all the snow and ice and stuff.

Met up with friend Katie, who lives in Tucson, to visit Casa Grande National Monument ruins.  They were looking pretty ruinous.  Did you know they were the first federally protected archaeological site?  I didn't, but I do now!

Casa Grande's museum featured some jars grande that have been dug up, too.  That's one jar grande!

We got all dressed up for Christmas Eve church, and took our family photo.  Aren't we lovely?

Here you can see how effectively the temperate climate incapacitated my Krystal.  Unbelievable.

We went to the zoo and met a tiger.  Somebody hid his dinner in the tree.

We also got to hang out at the Desert Botanical Gardens for their Holiday Lights celebration with live music and lights and cacti and other assorted succulents.  The DBG informed me, via interpretive sign, that a cactus can be defined most accurately as "a plant that is a member of the cactus family."  You can't make that up. 

Anyway, that was my Christmas break.  Our plane landed in South Dakota to a much more reasonable 35-degrees and sunny climate.  By the time we made it home from the airport the temps had dropped at least another 15 degrees and I found myself back in the appropriate holiday spirit.  On a related note, I shoveled and/or chiseled ice from our drive way for five consecutive days, as we apparently had yet to use up our quota of snow for 2010 - hand leave any flake undropped at the turn of the year, you know.  So we started the New Year with a veritable white washing, the proverbial "snow-covered clean slate," tabula rasa, mi casa su casa, cabasa y cabana, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera...

Blizzard above.  I know it doesn't look that impressive, but I'd like you to note that there is a four foot tall retaining wall hiding somewhere underneath those drifts.  The heap at the foot of our driveway is now taller than me.  And I'm not particularly short.  So there.

Needless to say, when I wasn't shoveling, chiseling, and salting, and could cease for nursing my poor shoulders (my kingdom for an ergonomic shovel!), all that snow sure made it easy to stay hunkered down in my studio.  However, I actually had a lot of waking hours committed to the above activities, and of course it was hard not to just snuggle up on the couch with my darling and finish Netflixing Season 4 of Psych (awesome!), not to mention starting a new job last week.  But I did do some pottery work.  But only some. 

Here's two of those vases from last week.  Got a little creative with them.  Not so sure if that's a good thing or not.  They're drying upside down because the bottoms have a harder time drying than the lips.  Kind of like babies. 

Again, I've got the lip covered to keep it from drying out significantly faster than the rest.  The reason you want them to dry evenly (or as evenly as possible) is that as the clay dries, shrinkage occurs.  And uneven shrinkage can like to warping and, more catastrophically, cracking.  Horrible!

Look, it's a big bowl with blue slip in the middle!  Quelle surprise!

Time to get back into this shape - I call it an Arizona, due to its resemblance to the traditional southwestern shapes - see jar grande above.



And another Arizona in progress.

So that's the news this week.  Those vases are the first pieces dated 2011, so hurrah!  I've been listening to a lot of new music in the studio this week, because that's what happens after Christmas: any new music that made it onto our Christmas lists is either gifted, or we get it for ourselves post-mas.  Because you can't safely buy anything for yourself after Labor Day.  Or is that wearing white?  Either way, being unemployed wasn't helping me out there either!  In any case, 2010 was certainly a year for looking into new artists, or at least just new to me.  And expanding our horizons as well.  While it's still too early to get my critical verdict to stick too tightly to anything, I've really been enjoying new albums from The National, Beach House, and Sleigh Bells.  Maroon 5 also delivered a delightfully irreverent album (I've never heard anyone write so many bouncy happy songs about being miserable!), and I'm not too proud to admit that Kylie Minogue hit a home run with Aphrodite.  I have no idea why she doesn't dominate the charts in this country.  Also, all of these are on Amazon for download for $8 or less, for the time being.  So go check them out.

    

Happy New Year - there's plenty of more pottery to come in 2011 - thanks for coming along for the ride!

Double-Mug and Throwing

First off, some unfinished business regarding yesterday's double-mug. This piece of pottery was on display at the Chapin Mesa Archaeological Museum at Mesa Verde National Park. Very few of these mugs have been found (according to the little plaque in the picture), but we do know that the bottom connector is open, meaning the level of liquid in the cup(s) remains equal.

I was questioned as to its value, or role, or functionality. More precisely, my mother asked if that wouldn't be hard to drink from. I'm assuming yes, but I haven't tried it myself. I know of at least two archaeologists who read this blog, and several anthropologists* of varying specializations, so I ask: why do you think this double-mug was made? (You may post your opinions in the comments section even if you're not an archae/anthrop-ologist.)

Double-Mug

My suggestion is that it had some ritualistic function, most likely tied to marriage ceremonies, based on its similarity to "traditional" wedding vases (see below). Again, I ask for help from the anthropologists, as I couldn't find any reliable information on the actual "tradition" associated with these vases. But in general (across cultures), vessels such as the wedding vase with two distinct chambers/spouts/cups that are joined together are symbolic of marriage relationships and often serve ritual functions.

It makes sense to me that a vessel such as the double-mug could be intended for sharing between a bride and groom, perhaps as a means of finalizing their marriage. If you imagine for a moment that they were intended to drink from the cup together, in unison, they would have to drink cheek-to-cheek. Sounds romantic.

Oh, and it's okay to use your imagination when you're thinking archaeologically. I know because Eli, our Interpretive Ranger who took us on a tour of Balcony House at MV, told us so. He said it's important to use our imaginations to put together the whole picture from the pieces that are left behind. He also told us that you can't generally get water out of cactuses, but you can get water from the little furry critters you bop over the head and eat, and hydration is key, and you really shouldn't touch the ruins in the cliff dwellings, and stay away from that ledge, and HEY-YOU! QUIT CLIMBING ON THAT PUEBLO!!!

That's enough of that though. Please share your thoughts on double-mug in the comments section.

Spent a couple hours in the studio last night. Mostly throwing cups. A baker's dozen. I'm thinking that most of them will work out for me, once they are trimmed/dried. If not, I'm not afraid to toss them in the slop bucket. Yup, I'm that intense. I also remembered to take some pictures of Sunday throws. So, here's the pictures and I'm done for the day. Have a great one!

Pots, various.

Bowls, slipped. Small (bottom) and smaller (top).

Jar, slipped.

Cups. 13. Some variation, but predominately uniform. Especially factoring trimming, etc.

*For those not aware, archaeology is actually a subdiscipline in the field of anthropology. The other subdisciplines include: linguistic anthropology, physical (or biological) anthropology, and cultural anthropology. And, contrary to popular belief, none of these fields have anything whatsoever to do with dinosaurs. That would be paleontology. Obviously.