My secret project is secret no more

Well, to give a little background information first... Back in the 1950's, our dad was a fine arts student at the NY State College of Ceramics at Alfred University (graduated in 1953). During his time there he designed, modeled, molded, and cast some salt and pepper shakers. We used a set on the table while we were growing up. 

After Dad passed, my younger brother Rick decided he would like to have the shakers replicated for all 6 of us siblings. I gave him the shrinkage rate of the black porcelain I use and he worked to create an up-sized 3-D printed model. It was then sent to someone to make a mold and he brought the mold to me in October. 

Once I finished preparing for Mistletoe Market, I thoroughly cleaned my work area so the buff clay would not have any chance of contaminating the black. I then started casting. In all, I cast 8 sets, to be able to get 6 good sets.

Unfortunately, my kiln was not firing hot enough to be able to get the true black finish on the shakers. First, I contacted Juliet Bravo studio in Seneca, but they were unable to assist with the firing at that time. I then was referred to Magpie Arts LLC in Clemson and made plans to do the glaze firing in her soon to be delivered kiln. The delivery got pushed back, and then she was dealing with a faulty breaker. 

FINALLY, firing day arrived and I dropped off the pieces to Kimberly. Then, I patiently waited for the firing and cooling to complete. (Insert the Jeopardy theme here.)

Success! They fired a little hotter than I normally fire, but her kiln is computer controlled, while mine uses a cone sitter. Either way, I was/am very pleased with the results.

Rick had me send him copies of one of Dad's signatures, as well as one of mine. He then laser engraved them onto the lids of the wood boxes he purchased. Silicone stoppers were added and they were nestled into wood shavings inside the box.

The glazes I used are definitely not the ones Dad used long ago. His were more muted and covered the entire surface except the feet. We decided that I would use speckled glazes (Dad's were also speckled) and only glaze the lower portion so that the black porcelain would show. This brought Dad's design a new life with my spin on it.

The bottoms are signed with both Dad's and my initials and the year.

I will make more.

Now that all family members received theirs. I am able to "go public" with the project.. 

Making these brought back so many memories of my youth. It also is a testament to how our family remains close-knit. 

As 2024 comes to an end, and 2025 is about to begin, I wish all of you the very best life has to offer. May any stumbling blocks become stepping stones, and may you face life with a positive outlook, no matter the circumstances.

Love to all.

 

May your New Year be Bright

 Enjoying a quiet Boxing Day before heading back to the store tomorrow. 

Yesterday was  filled with family, love, and laughter. I am blessed to have such wonderful people to call family.

Today, my younger brother is headed to town from NC. He will stay with my nephew until tomorrow before heading back to NC. He and his wife have offered to replace the elements in my kiln. I have them on hand, I just have not had the time (when I have had the energy) to replace them myself. I am grateful to have the help. ** They tried to replace them, but when I ordered the replacements 2 years ago, I ordered the wrong ones. These are for one of my larger kilns, not for my little one that I use most of the time... I just ordered the correct ones. **

My "excitement" this holiday season was being the "victim" of squirrels snacking on the power cable running from the power pole to my house. Luckily, the worst of it happened while I was home after work on Friday. The Christmas lights began to fade in and out, and blink (they were to stay on steady), and so did the tree across the room. I unplugged both. Then, the ceiling lights in the sunroom burnt out. Next, as there were multiple times the power blinked off and on, my microwave made a loud popping sound and died. The house smelled like hot electronics. What I didn't notice right away is that the electronic control panel on my gas stove also died. 

I put in an outage report to Duke Energy, stating that there were power surges and partial outage in the house. They arrived within 20 minutes or so, I think. He spent a while up in his bucket truck working in the wind to repair the line. 

I thought all was good to go. But, there is one breaker that keeps switching off almost as soon as I reset it. My brother said he can take a look at that as well. It controls the ceiling lights in 4 rooms and the lights are all turned off. But, I have been managing with what I have. If my brother cannot fix it, I will contact an electrician. I was waiting until after Christmas to call one anyway. I didn't want to pay the extra fees for one to come out on a weekend or holiday. And, I did survive 6 days without power after the hurricane came through.

Regardless, I am still grateful for all I have, especially the emotional and moral support of my family and friends.

May you all have a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year.

When Life throws you a Curve Ball!

 Well, I was creating, as I mentioned in my last post. Unfortunately, 2 days later I tested positive for COVID and was unable to create anything more before Christmas.  I just did not have the energu or motivation to work on things. Once I started to feel better, I was able to finish glazing some things that were ready and then fire them and add gold afterward. I did get one more shipment out just before Christmas. (The recipient knew it was late getting out and they were OK with it.)

I am hoping to get some things made this week, but they won't be finished until after 2023 rolls in. I am feeling a LOT better, but the cold weather (unseasonably cold for SC) and drying time will keep me from finishing all before Sunday morning.

I made over 700 pieces of Gnomes and Friends in 2022. WOW!  And there are not a whole lot of them remaining in my posession. THANK YOU ALL! 

Here's to a 2023 that doesn't throw us those cruve balls and is void of anything but good things. (I know, life isn't that way, but one can hope, can't they???)