Quoth the Raven

The Wonderful World of Ceramics

In the past I had a pretty narrow view of pottery and all that it represented, often assuming that anything made with clay would ultimately resemble a canister set with a typically standard - often boring - glaze design, but all that has changed. Well, actually the field of ceramics probably hasn't changed as much as my perception of it has, especially when viewing ancient pottery from China and Japan whose styles still influence potters today and are very much desired by art collectors throughout the world, including myself.

After completing my second quarter of ceramics, I have thus found that in this new era potters are getting creative and exploring many new diverse ways to design, glaze and fire pottery and one such Washington Potter who is leading the way is Bryan McGriff who works with Crystalline Glazes. I participated in a three part workshop last month and his work is extraordinary!

On the first day Bryan took us through the basics; showing us - the group - how he takes a few lumps of clay and turns them into bowls, vases, mugs and plates. I was impressed with just how clean his work area remained during and after the throwing phase, unlike myself who refuses to work without a full length apron that prevents me from leaving the studio covered from head to toe in clay!

He also discussed in great detail the particular clay he uses, preferring the porcelains which allow the effects of the crystalline glaze to have a greater impact on the finished piece. This glaze also has a tendency to run so he will construct tray-like forms that support the piece and collect any glaze drips, which prevent the glaze from damaging the shelves in his kiln - I told you he was devoted to cleanliness! The most aspect of using crystalline glazes is the firing technique which requires the heat level of the kiln to be accurately controlled and cooled down slowly which he achieves by using a computerised control on his kiln.

The second part of the workshop was held at Bryan's studio with Bryan focusing on trimming the pieces he made during the first workshop and we were able to glaze our own pieces with the crystalline glaze and then Bryan fired them. The third and final workshop was all about collecting our finished pieces. It was a thoroughly interesting workshop and truly inspiring!

* Just for clarification, this is one of Bryan's finished pieces, not mine.

The Potters Wheel

After only 2 quarters in the potters studio, I am hooked! I still remember my first night in class and how much I detested the fact that I would have to get my hands dirty trying to manipulate all that clay AND now I am eager for it. Apart from being a rewarding experience turning a lump of clay into a wonderful piece of pottery, I am also finding that it is a great stress reliever.

Now I have to admit that I made a lot of bowls that ended up as useless little pieces that now clutter my basement, but as the old adage goes, 'Practice makes perfect' and I have to say that I am finally feeling like a potter!

The vase here was originally intended to resemble a cylinder - ok, so I am not a potter yet - but as an accident it turned out quite nice, don't you think? This piece has been raku fired which takes about 40 minutes rather than the usual couple of days. Surprisingly enough, I was really impressed with the finished product and it now resides on my mantle.

Summer Days are here again...

Well, it has certainly been a long time between posts, again, and again I have no excuse except that I have been to busy living life to sit down and document my life. So what have I been doing, you ask, to take all my attention away from this blog life? Lots. Actually, my educational pursuits tend to sap all my strength so there is little time to do anything - including house work. For Spring quarter I took the usual 2 classes, along with full time work, and all the while trying to maintain a social life (as if that is going to happen). Actually, I am finding that I am much less stressed about my workload these days and know that I am going to make the grade, so what is there left to stress about? Well, I am finally realizing that I like to stress. I do. More to the point I seem to be a stress junkie and it is the only way that I manage to get things done. A little stress helped me to walk away with a 4.0 in my second quarter of Ceramic art class and a 4.0 in Multicultural studies. So, yes I was quite content with those grades and admit to earning them as I worked my butt off - though not in the literal sense, unfortunately!! But I have time to work on that now and it is all about baby steps...

Aside from studies, exercise and housework I have also been concentrating on obedience training with my girl Zoe. I am finding that my high expectations are not limited only to my own pursuits for excellence, but that they extend to my adorable pittie. I have been trying to prepare her for the Canine Good Citizen (CGC) certificate but my studies kept hindering our progress - so with that out of the way (for now) we have no excuse. The test for the CGC is made up of various scenarios that hope to prove that your dog understands basis obedience. This sounds really easy, doesn't it. Don't get me wrong, my Zoe knows how to sit, high five, stay, roll over, play dead, and mostly walks really well on a leash (apart from the odd pull if she is in a hurry ) BUT she is a sucker for people, dogs, and cats (in the negative way) so our main problem is with these distractions. I guess some of this is my fault as people always said "socialize your dog as much as possible" - which I did - and now I have to work on her staying focused on me when these fun distractions are around. Gee, you should see the spectacle she becomes when she sees dogs and people at the park. She will listen to my command to sit, but she is on the alert and acts like a puppy who has never gotten any affection from anyone as soon as people try to approach her. It is appalling!! Admittedly, people have been one of our problems of late as they just assume it is ok to walk up and pet my dog - even while we are trying to work on distractions - and even as I am telling them that. Really, I should be excited about the fact that she is such a great example for all the good pit bulls out there BUT manners are also very important, which she partly understands. So this is my life for now and I promise to fill you in on any important updates in the near future.

* Photo provided by Sir Brownie is Australia (of course)

Good Morning Seattle

Well, all I can say is if you have to start work at an ungodly hour in the morning, say 7am, then you may as well work in an office with spectacular views...

I am bored!

This weekend got lost somewhere between art projects, essays and an exam. It is now Monday and here I am sitting in my office watching the attempt at a sunrise. I wish it was Friday again.

This wish forces me to ask the question, "Am I every really happy in the moment?"

What is wrong with my life, or with the way the clock ticks that makes the weekdays drag and the weekends disappear in the blink of an eye. Or is it only me that feels this way. Am I so bored with my work that I am constantly wishing I was somewhere else. In reality I should be happy with doing the minimal amount of work that I do. I mean, really, I work so hard on my studies that it should be nice to come to work and do very little, if I so choose. But you know something. I do love a challenge. Yes, I will often complain if those challenges start to stress me out, but I realize that I love the rush I get from being in a panic. I think that a big part of me wants to know that my work matters. I want to know that I matter in my workplace. Yes, I do a great job being the person of first impressions (I do reception and administrative work) and I do prefer the title 'Receptional Professional' which I think makes my job sound more interesting than it is - don't you think? I have the smile and the cheery voice down pat and most of the time it is real, but I have also managed to fake it so well when I just can't be bothered dealing with people that I have begun to think about becoming an actress. Hey, I have seen some of the crap actors/actresses that Hollywood is pumping out and I could most certainly do a better job and make a hell of a lot more money than I am making now. I hate to admit it but my acting abilities are SO good that I can make people think I care about their trivial concerns, while I am thinking about the bigger picture and how oh so trivial their dramas are.

Ok, I am on - the phone is ringing......lights. camera. action.

Art is in the eye of the Yelper

This was the caption for my latest e-newsletter from my favorite directory on the web - Yelp - and I found it appropriate being that I am currently doing a course in Art Appreciation this quarter. Of course, I may have chosen this class for a couple of reasons; one was out of an interesting in Art and the other was out of a need for an easier class. Now don't get me wrong. I am in no way looking to cruise through college courses but 2006 had been a tough year in the classroom and I guess I was feeling a little burned out. Also, Joel had surgery to repair a ruptured distal tendon in his bicep in December, and I knew I would need to commit some time to taking care of him.

So back to the Arts and the difficult class that I have signed on for this quarter. The workload is absolutely crazy and it is really only an elective class! The online class began on a Monday and we had to take a 3 hr revision exam by 9pm on the Wednesday. Can you believe it? I may have read the required chapters for the week, but in no way did I feel confident to take a 3 hr exam on the material. I began to tell myself that it must consist of multiple choice questions, but again I was wrong. It was made up of essay questions, questions that force you to find artwork that relates to certain techniques and styles, AND interpreting various pieces chosen by the professor. Well, I came, I saw and I conquered, and I managed to complete the exam and scored 33/35 - so maybe there is a hidden artist within me.

* Artwork - 'I and the Village' by Marc Chagall

 

the new year is here

So what happens now?

If your living in Seattle, then it appears that snow happens...and plenty of it.

Now don't get me wrong I absolutely adore the look of snow, which must be due in part to the fact that I am from Sydney, Australia and have never had the joy of seeing snow in the city - unless you drive 6 hours to find it. But I have to say that from a drivers perspective this is really getting old.

Again, I should be happy that I have had my fair share of snow days this month, which means that my boss pays me to stay at home. But even that is getting old when you are stuck at home feeling like a shut-in.

So enough of my complaints.

I should add that my dog absolutely loves the snow and can be found bouncing around in it every possible chance she gets - which also means faking the need to pee just to get out in it!

So on a positive note lets enjoy it while we can, for soon the snow will melt and it will probably start to rain again.

Oh, the joy of living in Seattle...

Death and Dying...

The interesting fact about death is that it is the one thing in life that everyone gets to participate in. Absolutely no one misses out. Joel and I often have little chit chats about it and one thing that I have concluded is that I would never want my demise to be similar in any way to that girl Terry Schiavo. It was a horrible case that should have been discussed in the private arena, but instead it became a circus with Terry as the final act. The case made headlines and everyone had an opinion, from her husband being painted as the bad guy who just wanted her to die with some dignity, and the parents refusal to let Terry go peacefully. Hey, I totally understand the parents refusal to let go of their child, and I also understand that parents have an easier time living in denial - I have seen this in my mother all my life.

But you know, maybe the husband was right. Maybe he knew, just like my husband knows, that she didn't want to spend her dying days in a hospital bed, stuffed with feeding tubes and all the other medical instruments that were required for her to resist death. Maybe he still loved her enough to see her as a person who was suffering, and not just an attention grabber for those parasites using her suffering for political gain, or to sell newspapers.   

The times we discuss these issues are the times when I know that I have to put something in writing. To make it official that I would never want to be stuck in a sterile hospital bed fighting for my right to die, left without a voice to make my request known.

On a lighter note about death in our discussion we also talk about what will become of the remains. You know the times are certainly changing, and there is less and less available land to bury our loved ones that we care so much about. Long gone are the days when people built huge mausoleums so their loved ones could rest in peace - and in luxurious style. These days those same brick buildings could house a small family for a measly $300,000k. Hey, that is really not a bad idea, and is actually a bargain when compared to the new condo's that sold in downtown Seattle - 600 s.f. of luxurious space for just over $350k. I think I should apply for my real estate license, as there is a bundle of money to be made if you have my genius.

On the other hand, what about cremation. That seems like a viable option but things have also changed there. What do you do with the remains? My nan decided to cremate my pop and she placed his urn on the fireplace, unfortunately she couldn't stand him lying around all day and she eventually buried him in the garden. Hey Nan, he is still lying around but you just don't have to see it - yes, back to that denial I was talking about.

Now don't think for a minute that you can just scatter those old ashes anywhere, as I said before 'the times they are a changin'. Did you know that there are laws preventing you from scattering your loved one in certain places? I love the ocean and have always said that I would be very happy being scattered over one of my favorite haunts (Torquay in Melbourne or Clovelly Beach in Sydney) but the environmental agencies don't want a multiude of dirty ashes ending up in protected areas. Ok, so one person can't make a huge impact but just say you have chosen a popular site, certainly a multitude of people will certainly count.

So why can't our dead (cough, cough, I mean loved ones) continue to live among us? No, don't be stupid not like zombies, but like a cherished piece of furniture, or abstract art. Joel and I went to the Bodies Exhibition last weekend and they have put my plan into action. (I wonder if it is too late to copyright my idea?). So why can't we use the same concept of preserving bodies - with the skin on please.  Just think rather than having your partner scattered around the neighborhood, they could just be content to sit around the house and watch tv (what's new), with smile firmly planted and never have a bad thing to say. How absolutely perfect. Hey, why stop there, I would take it one step further and pose my love in a sitting position with hands raised. Doubly perfect - coat rack and loving - quiet - husband.

The Autumn leaves have fallen...

and I am nearing the end of Fall quarter.

I am constantly amazed at how quickly the college quarters seem to fly by. Admittedly, this one could fly by a little quicker and I would not mind at all. This quarter I am taking a Nutrition class and Ceramics. What, you didn't know that I was a closet potter? Well, I wasn't, but my skill on the wheel is definitely getting better. In the last 8 weeks I have made twelve pots of differing sizes and shapes. Now this might not sound like a lot to you - the novice - but it took alot of blood, sweat and tears. Ok, just a slight exageration on the blood & tears. So lets just say that is has taken me a lotta sweat, and a hell of a lotta time to prepare, build and glaze. 

The nutrition class has been interesting - mostly - but also very dry when discussing the chemical breakdown of proteins and fats, etc and I really would have benefitted with some knowledge of basic chemistry. I have participated in a couple of online classes and really loved the experience but this class has been a little boring, being that only 3 of the 25 people have really made an effort to participate in the online discussions. But never mind....onward and upward.

Meaning onward to thoughts of Winter quarter with a class line up of Archery, Human Relations and the History of Jazz.

Isn't that strange...

Something bizarre happened this morning. I was getting ready for work and while I was in the bathroom putting my makeup on I realized that I had never enjoyed a bubble bath since moving into our new place. Now I don't have baths too often because I have little time for such frivolous luxuries, but I thought it could be a good way to relax. Just as I was thinking this I saw myself in the bath, no, not physically, it was more like a daydream. So there I was laying in the bath with bubbles everywhere and my wrists were slashed with blood pouring down the sides of the bath. Ok, so maybe this was less like a day dream and more like a day-nightmare?

Now, I have no idea why I would have this dream or vision, or whatever it was. I don't hate my life and have not contemplated taking it - not in a long time - but I do often find myself thinking (or saying) how much my life sucks. Which is strange being that I have a wonderful husband, a great home, a dog who has finally grown out of the horrid puppy stage, and a job working with really genuine people. So I should be content?