the big b

this is beatrice my kiln, yes i name my kiln, i figure anything that i will be having that much of a relationship with should have a name.  so i asked her what her name is and beatrice is what i got.  big b for short.  :)


as anyone who does clay work, it's the anticipation of opening the kiln up after a glaze firing that's so exciting.  to see after weeks of hard work how everything is going to look. 

almost.... almost....

taaaadaaaa!!!! a successful firing!  :-D


now to fill b back up with greenware and start the whole process again.  fun times.  :)


oh and just because i love where i live a couple of pictures of the back yard.  :)

until next time,
nom xo

monday monday

and growing....

i'm hoping things will be dry enough to put the kiln on this week. 

friday's chatterings

so having yourself as your own boss has it's difficulties and benefits.  you make your own hours, good, you make your own hours, bad.  i'm trying to find a balance on time of working.  i feel bad that i'm not up and at em but it's not like i'm not working.  just later.  it seems like although i love working in the morning i have a tendency to ease into the day, then i'm basically working from noonish till the late evening.  that's still a mighty long day just not what i thought i would be doing.  i pictured myself up in the early morning light with coffee in hand, nope i hit the snooze about 14 times and then i slowly get out of bed.    oh i don't know, i think i'm over thinking it.  as long as i'm working forward it shouldn't really matter when i get things done just that i am.   when do you feel that you're the most productive? 

a day in the life of a gnome

here is a shot of some of the many transitions one gnome goes through.  the left is how the gnome looks like when it comes out of the shape mold.  i use the plaster shape mold i made to give me the same size.   the middle gnome is a drying greenware gnome, you can notice the lighter bit on the hat as it slowly is drying.   the right gnome is a finished and glazed gnome.  i don't have any bisque fired gnome which would fit in between the greenware and glaze fired gnome.  each gnome takes between 3-6 weeks from start to finish, depending on the drying time (some have to be dried slower to help reduce the chance of cracking) and some have accents added (stained glass wings, lanterns, hand drawn butterflies)

slap of clay rolled out, shape mold filled, carving and adding, drying time, bisque firing, glazed, glaze fired, added accents then viola a gnome.  :-D

saturday's ramblings

so it occured to me while i was still laying awake at 5:30 am last night (gotta love insomnia) that i worked 16 hours on my art yesterday.  i think my brain has now realized that this is a reality and now it seems like catch up time.  this week alone i've made over 30 gnomes and finished 4 paintings with 7 in progress.  it's crazy.   it's exciting.  it's all of the above.  my night hawk tendencies are coming out, but i do like working on the clay work in the day light (coffee helps) and painting at night.    i've  been criticized for working on many things at once and told in order for an artist to be taken seriously they must only focus on one theme/medium etc.  that always bugged me.  just because i work on many things at once does not make my intensity any less.  it's a constant with me. 

so off i go to work on a painting series with coffee in hand and a smile on my face.  life is good.

nom xo

what i'm working towards

i've been lucky enough to be chosen as one of the 16 artists that will represent muskoka in toronto's spring oneofakind show through muskoka marketplace.     veeeeery exciting and an opportunity i am not taking lightly. 


http://www.muskokaartsandcrafts.com/Muskoka_Marketplace/muskokamarketplace.htm


http://www.muskokaartsandcrafts.com/Muskoka_Marketplace/Exhibitors/brinkhof.htm


 

all in a day's work

  the army is growing....

also a couple of works in progress, not to mention everything else i've been working on for the last bit...  isn't there some saying about a messy workplace means a creative mind.  :-)

this is all new to me

so new year, here it is.

new year brings new starts.  this year i have decided to make the leap into working on my art full time (bites nails anxiously) it's been a long time in the making, a long time.  a bit scary i must admit but exciting none the less.  people have asked me to blog, not too sure who would be interested and the idea of people reading whats in my head scares me a bit too, but life has taught my it's usually the most scary road that is the right one.  oye.  so hear it is my random thoughts, of creating and well the world in general.  have fun. 

nom xo