It kinda sucks. Not a little.
Thanksgiving is this week. I have much to be grateful for. Though I am sans employ, I have a marvellous family, a comfortable home, and relatively good health. I have the skills and abilities I have gleaned. Most of all, I have Tara. She has put up with so much from me, and still stays by my side. I am eternally grateful for her. I am thankful for God's attentiveness to my family and my life.
All in all, I would be completely ungrateful to complain about any aspect of my life.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Asking blessings of the kiln gods...
It has become a protracted and amusing joke, the gods of pottery. It started when I was in college, don't remember who it was who was the first... They really have no names or other designations, but they MUST BE APPEASED with sacrifices of... what else? Pottery. The kiln gods are apparently the most flighty of these, as their whims can only, at best, be hoped to be positive for the one firing the kiln. I am going to open the kiln in just a little bit. I am... hesitant. I'm always a little scared to open a kiln and see if the kiln gods have smiled upon me and bestowed upon me marvellous finished wares. We shall see.
UPDATE:
Nothing died! That's a plus. Some things didn't fire out completely though, necessitating another firing later... But that can wait a bit. *whew*!
UPDATE:
Nothing died! That's a plus. Some things didn't fire out completely though, necessitating another firing later... But that can wait a bit. *whew*!
Monday, November 7, 2011
It finally happened...
My employer decided that I wasn't needed (or wanted) anymore. So now I am unemployed.
It's a scary term, unemployed. There is a sort of foetor hovering about it, always waiting to infuse you with it's reek, covering you with it's miasmic awfulness. While I am NOT sad to put my former employ behind me, I am now in the ranks of those who are in nned of gainful employment. One part of me would love to try and make a go of the "making stuff", but I realize, barring some major unforeseen event, that that is probably not in the cards at this time.
Speaking of stuff, here is a pic of one of my latest creations...
It is a pendant made of black clay with orange glass. The tree that seems to appear was a little gift from the kiln gods. I won't say no to that! It is actually available for sale in (one of) my etsy shop(s):
http://mossbottle.etsy.com
Shop early, shop often!
It's a scary term, unemployed. There is a sort of foetor hovering about it, always waiting to infuse you with it's reek, covering you with it's miasmic awfulness. While I am NOT sad to put my former employ behind me, I am now in the ranks of those who are in nned of gainful employment. One part of me would love to try and make a go of the "making stuff", but I realize, barring some major unforeseen event, that that is probably not in the cards at this time.
Speaking of stuff, here is a pic of one of my latest creations...
It is a pendant made of black clay with orange glass. The tree that seems to appear was a little gift from the kiln gods. I won't say no to that! It is actually available for sale in (one of) my etsy shop(s):
http://mossbottle.etsy.com
Shop early, shop often!
Saturday, October 8, 2011
BIRTHDAY TIME!!!
WE have two birthday seasons in our family. Lady Arat's birthday and mine are two days apart (oct. 6 and 8), and the kids are all in April, May or June. Today is my Honey's birthday! YAY! I have a few plans... (muhahahaha...)
I feel that in the last few months I have been lax in my attentiveness to my wonderful wife. That I have been taking her for granted is factual. But no more. I realise how incredibly important she is to me, and how much I need her in my life. I want to be the best husband and lover to her I can be. I'll do the best I can!
I hope it's a happy birthday for you, my sweet!
I feel that in the last few months I have been lax in my attentiveness to my wonderful wife. That I have been taking her for granted is factual. But no more. I realise how incredibly important she is to me, and how much I need her in my life. I want to be the best husband and lover to her I can be. I'll do the best I can!
I hope it's a happy birthday for you, my sweet!
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Birthday...?
Today is my 39th birthday.
Honestly, I never thought I would make it this long. I was pretty sure I would flame out in some indulgence of insanity LONG ago. But I am glad that that occurence has never come to fruition.
39 is a weird age in my family. On December 12, 1981, Danny Lee Buck was killed in a car accident in Concord, California. He was my dad. He was 39 years old.
I think I'm one of the only people around who is going to be EXCEEDINGLY happy to see his 40th birthday roll around. I'll feel like I dodged that bullet.
Lady Arat made my a LOVELY cake today. I always say that "Bacon makes ANY food better". SO she found the ultimate: A BACON CHOCOLATE CAKE RECIPE. No kidding. ANd how was it? INCREDIBLE. Chocolate overload with bacon? What could I NOT love? Like I have said earlier, how did I ever get so lucky as to have her? I don't know, but I do know I'll not jinx it.
For good measure, I'll add the cake picture, along with me grinning like an idiot.
There you are.
Honestly, I never thought I would make it this long. I was pretty sure I would flame out in some indulgence of insanity LONG ago. But I am glad that that occurence has never come to fruition.
39 is a weird age in my family. On December 12, 1981, Danny Lee Buck was killed in a car accident in Concord, California. He was my dad. He was 39 years old.
I think I'm one of the only people around who is going to be EXCEEDINGLY happy to see his 40th birthday roll around. I'll feel like I dodged that bullet.
Lady Arat made my a LOVELY cake today. I always say that "Bacon makes ANY food better". SO she found the ultimate: A BACON CHOCOLATE CAKE RECIPE. No kidding. ANd how was it? INCREDIBLE. Chocolate overload with bacon? What could I NOT love? Like I have said earlier, how did I ever get so lucky as to have her? I don't know, but I do know I'll not jinx it.
For good measure, I'll add the cake picture, along with me grinning like an idiot.
There you are.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
I did it. YAY ME!
I haven't posted in this long... I guess I'd best start afresh!
So I did it. I got into grad school. I never would have thought I'd be doing this, but it is a wonderful feeling. In two years I will have an Msc, masters of science in counseling. How I got to this crux is a VERY long story and I really don't type THAT well... Suffice to say, it has been a long hard road. But good, in the end.
I have the most AMAZING wife. Sorry to everyone else out there who didn't get her. SHE IS MINE! HAHAHAHAHA! Oh. Sorry. Even with all of the strains, trials and difficulties, she has stayed. Not just that, but she has done a downright UNBELIEVABLE job of it. I am lucky to even know of her existence, let alone be married to her... How did I get so blessed?
Ahem. Ok. As I have said before, I make stuff... hence the name of the blog. What do I make, pray tell? SO glad you asked. I ... well... I make... Hmmm...
This kinda stuff!
I like to call myself a "non media specific three dimensional artist", for the most part, but I think it is more accurate to say that I am an artisan. I love to make and create things of beauty, that have an intrinsic purpose BESIDES the beauty. Not that beauty alone is an unworthy undertaking. I just like what I create to have... purpose. I work (mostly) in clay, metals, glass, paper, plastic... Anything I can get my hands on, really. Lately, it has been copper wire. (did you know? Copper is one of only three elemental metals that is not silver or gray in it's natural state? It's true! Gold and Caesium are the others). I have been making little tidbits like the one at the top of the post. I have been selling (or trying to, anyway) such nifties in (one of) my Etsy shops:
Interested in something else? I'm more than happy to graciously attempt to create anything. Sometimes with only VERY limited success... But you don't know if you don't try, eh?
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Thoughts of a potter...
The cold was almost unnoticeable. It got that way when things were going well. The shape was good, but not quite where he would have it. A bit more of a flare, tighten in the bottom... good. A bit more water, a few finishing touches with the ribs and loops, and done.
As the now comppleted thrown pottery form was pulled free on it's bat from the bat pins, there was a definite sense of accomplishment. Not that he was attached to the piece, it may destroy itself yet, as pieces were wont to do. No, just the simple act of making was sufficient. To see the formless blob of clay be shaped and turned into a vessel with function and purpose was sufficient to placate his need to build, to create, to... To make the world just a tiny bit better.
He pondered on this thought as he set the pottery laden bat aside on a shelf and reached for a fresh one. As he scooped a handful of clay and began the rhythmic motion of wedging, the thought stayed. "Why is it, exactly, that I come out here in the cold of winter, or the heat of summer, and do this, over and over and over again"? It definitely was not making him rich. Oh, there were those who purchased his work, to be sure, a mug here, or a pie plate there. Even once in a while, when he felt silly, he would make a piggy bank from a straight sided wide bottle form, finishing it off with a cork "snout" in the neck of the once bottle. These always sold, eventually.
Nor would it glean him great acclaim. Not that he wanted it. The rhythmic motion of the wedging had done its work, the clay was now smooth and uniform. As he firmly slapped it onto the wheelhead, all these thoughts moving through his mind, there in his cold, barely heated workspace, he thought also about his beginnings with clay. The outlet was one that had challenged him many years before. It had gone from painfully difficult, to marginal, to decent, to... well, less than adept, in his estimation. For one should never feel that one is as good as one can get at anything. But good enough that others were willing to pay him to teach them what he had learned. As the thought of his students and their fledgling abilities came to his mind, it brought both a smile, and a sudden realization. The need to create had been planted in him. And like He who had planted the need, there was coupled with it a desire to teach others, to help them to be more, to... to help them, as one had long ago helped him, to make the world a tiny bit better.
The clay was moving with his hands now, smoothly, as it should. The smile stayed, and the feeling of gratitude remained deep. Gratitude for the ability that had been won through trial and difficulty, and for the newfound understanding that was his. The new form was taking shape well in his hands. As the hope sprang that he was taking shape well in the hands of another.
As the now comppleted thrown pottery form was pulled free on it's bat from the bat pins, there was a definite sense of accomplishment. Not that he was attached to the piece, it may destroy itself yet, as pieces were wont to do. No, just the simple act of making was sufficient. To see the formless blob of clay be shaped and turned into a vessel with function and purpose was sufficient to placate his need to build, to create, to... To make the world just a tiny bit better.
He pondered on this thought as he set the pottery laden bat aside on a shelf and reached for a fresh one. As he scooped a handful of clay and began the rhythmic motion of wedging, the thought stayed. "Why is it, exactly, that I come out here in the cold of winter, or the heat of summer, and do this, over and over and over again"? It definitely was not making him rich. Oh, there were those who purchased his work, to be sure, a mug here, or a pie plate there. Even once in a while, when he felt silly, he would make a piggy bank from a straight sided wide bottle form, finishing it off with a cork "snout" in the neck of the once bottle. These always sold, eventually.
Nor would it glean him great acclaim. Not that he wanted it. The rhythmic motion of the wedging had done its work, the clay was now smooth and uniform. As he firmly slapped it onto the wheelhead, all these thoughts moving through his mind, there in his cold, barely heated workspace, he thought also about his beginnings with clay. The outlet was one that had challenged him many years before. It had gone from painfully difficult, to marginal, to decent, to... well, less than adept, in his estimation. For one should never feel that one is as good as one can get at anything. But good enough that others were willing to pay him to teach them what he had learned. As the thought of his students and their fledgling abilities came to his mind, it brought both a smile, and a sudden realization. The need to create had been planted in him. And like He who had planted the need, there was coupled with it a desire to teach others, to help them to be more, to... to help them, as one had long ago helped him, to make the world a tiny bit better.
The clay was moving with his hands now, smoothly, as it should. The smile stayed, and the feeling of gratitude remained deep. Gratitude for the ability that had been won through trial and difficulty, and for the newfound understanding that was his. The new form was taking shape well in his hands. As the hope sprang that he was taking shape well in the hands of another.
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