Pottery of the morning

And so yesterday I was blessed with a little time and so I grabbed a piece of clay and made this!  I like to make pretty organic shapes as a rule, so this was an attempt at a more somewhat geometric piece.  It is fairly big, and not exactly what I had in mind.  I can't seem to get away from my natural curvy forms.

Oh well, I like it!  It is a great way to start the day!!!  Now I have to get going on an oil painting, too, not that I don't have a couple more major irons in the fire now!  Winter does bring me some interesting challenges.  BRING IT!!!

Playing in the mud- P ot D

There are FEW things in this world that I like better than throwing on the potter's wheel!  It instantly soothes me, relaxes me, and engages my entire being.  I can throw simple things like nobodies' business, and I can center a chunk of clay in a heartbeat.  This is, of course, because I center about a million pounds of it for my students!  When they are learning the wheel techniques, I let them work at it for a good long time, so they practice, then towards the end of the session, I will center so they have a chance to practice the rest of the process as well.  I am delighted when kids get that glow as they figure out that they indeed CAN do the hardest part of it themselves.

It is also VERY interesting to see the kids who turn out to be natural throwers!  They surprise the heck out of themselves when they find that with a little instruction they are able to sit down and conquer the basics in only a few sessions.  FREQUENTLY, it is the students who might struggle in other areas of their day, either in art or other classes.  However, you don't have to be a "natural" to succeed.  I was really not a natural, I took 5 semesters in college and I never became as skilled as many of the potters that emerged from Richard Joslin's Ceramics classes at UW-Eau Claire!  But I loved the process, the feeling, the results of the day- so I practiced and practiced and practiced, and in the end, that is how you become competent.

It is difficult to not be a show-off sometimes when throwing- the kids think the whole process is so amazing to see that I have to resist the urge to take 10 lb of clay and do something fancy with it.  I want them to make simple shapes first, so they can really get the hang of the basics. I forget how beautiful and magical it is to see that clay transform from a ball into a symmetrical form that can change shape at my whim. And this is not about me, so I demonstrate the simplest of shapes, things that they can achieve during their first attempts, sometimes with a little assistance in centering.  So after the kids are cleaning up and I have a chunk of clay on my wheel and prep time is looming in front of me, I will sit down for a little clay therapy.  This is what I did on Friday-

What you can't see well is that the lip is not perfect, it is a bit lopsided and off- balance, which by the way IS my choice.  I could have neatened it up with no problem, but I love that tension of precision and flaw and the goo that is on the side adds to that juxtaposition.  Sigh.  I kinda want to do it again!  Like maybe on Monday!!  :)

I could go all psychological and talk about how throwing is metaphor for life- it takes practice sometimes to work through the hard parts,  little flaws in it making results infinitely more interesting, that you can try to control it all you want and sometimes, something you really want collapses,  how sometimes things you don't THINK are going to work out at all emerge into something really great..... and you always have a chance to throw another piece of clay on the wheel and start forming something new.  You can always expect the unexpected and with a little work, you can indeed make something interesting and unique!  But that seems a little deep for 6 in the morning!

And this IS my Picture of the day!!

Find some JOY today, sometimes it just takes a little work to create it from the goo!

Potter's wheel and play......

Certainly a double meaning!  HAHA. There is playing on the potter's wheel, which I indulge in occasionally

Playing with clay

 and there is the PLAY which I am beginning work on.  Which means also, kids, that I have been blogging for almost a year!  Hard to believe, it seems like so long in some ways and in some ways like I have just begun.  But my first posts were for the makings of the play "Honk" (Against my better judgement)   (<-that is a hot link- click it!!) last year, and this year it is..............

We have purchased the rights to this particular design for advertising!

Feed me!!

FEED ME!!!

FEED ME!!!

 Who... I mean... what did that plant eat last night? 
 Uh... about a million Japanese beetles. 




You have perhaps an explanation for this?
 No, but if you give me a minute I'll think of one. 

Baby Audrey

I love parodies and this play is so much fun.  We are going to be doing some way cool things this year. AND I have a mostly new crop of awesome stage hands and scenery painters.

I have sort of  "before" pictures here.  We are just beginning, we have stripped flats and stretched muslin.  Painted broad swaths of color and are just beginning to work on the outside scenes.  Some construction needs to be completed yet (not my job!) so interior design will begin next week.  Fortunately we have rented puppets, so that is an enormous job we didn't have to do!

Painting day 1!

Busting through!

Good bye, striped wall paper!! Bon voyage!

And she handles those giant flats with no problem at all!

Did you stretch that canvas from center to edges??? NO?? Do it again!!!  lol

Try not to even think about this!

Props in waiting....

This is what the stage looks like every night when I close up shop.... quiet, dark..... waiting for the voices of awesome singers and the activity of students who love what they are doing. Whether through singing, acting, painting or working behind the scenes.  This is the ultimate collaboration, the culmination of many people's skills, strengths and dedication.  The adults not only teach the kids; we become their friends- people they can trust. People who can pull the best out of them, even when they are tired, hungry, crabby, sad or just 17 years old.

 Here is the Mad Art teacher doing one of her favorite things ever.  I have noticed that I do occasionally refer to myself in third person these days, must be because of this blog!

I try to find a few moments every couple of weeks to throw a little on the wheel- I love it so much and the kids like to see me do it.  It kind of makes them get excited and want to try more.  I spend a lot of time centering clay- I have triceps of steel!

JOY!!!  I think I'm going to sneak in another session next week!  I do have to introduce it to my beginning art students!  :)

And on a completely different note- we had an impromptu accordion concert the other day-- long long story, doesn't matter why.  One of the boys owned the instrument and let the other one goof around a little bit with it.  So funny!

sorry for the blur!

I just never know what my day will bring!

Until next time, find your joy!