Prison

I was working on getting ready for a trial and wondering how on earth I was going to let a jury know just what being inside a prison is like when an image flashed into my head. That's how this piece came about.

I leave it to you to figure out why this represents a prison. Perhaps your interpretation will be far more interesting than mine and it's certainly as valid as mine.

Sometimes, the theory goes all wrong

I wanted to try a saggar firing. A friend said she has been using flower pots as saggars. Unfortunately, not all commercial flower pots are created equal. The ones I chose won't withstand firing to Cone 03.

I had used copper, steel wool, and oranges in assorted combinations in the pots.

I nearly cried when I opened the kiln door. As bad as I felt about having my work destroyed, I felt even worse about destroying two pieces one of the grad students made. I waited until the rest of the class and my teacher arrived before unloading what was left of the flower pots.

Not a single piece inside any of the pots was broken!

Unfortunately, I was under the impression that terra sig could be put on bisqued clay. Perhaps it can, but it can't be done on the clay I'm using. And so I have instant antique pots.

If I ever do this again, I'll try throwing bowls with lids from high fire clay and using the bowls and lids for saggars.

Saggar Buttons

Bowl with steel wool

Bowl with copper

Bowl with copper

Peace

Jim's New Boxers

These are Jim's newest boxers. Love the exercising pigs.

Butt ugly, but the handle feels good

No, this is NOT a great mug. It's ugly. But.... the handle actually feels good in my hand. From this mug, I learned that I need to put U-shaped handles on mugs. That's what feels good in my hand. I learned that a wide handle isn't always a bad handle. I learned that Ghost Ranch Blue really will flow. I dipped just the edge in the glaze thinking it would make a nice little stripe. For once, this glaze actually ran on one of my pieces.

Little dual clay pot

Oops. The glaze ran - something I work hard to avoid. More crackles.

Dual colored bowl

I took some mason stain and wedged it into the clay. Then I took a glump of stained clay and a glump of unstained clay and smooshed them together. Then I threw this pot. I had to scrape off the top layer on the outside to see the swirls.

I wasn't that wild about throwing this dual clay. The stained part was dryer than the unstained part so it felt strange when i was throwing it.

I'm not sure why the glaze crackled. It may have been because someone opened the kiln too soon.

I lived in my head because it was safe

If I stop feeling, I won't hurt

That's a marginally effective approach and I don't recommend it. The hurt is still there, but with enough willpower, I can convince myself that I don't feel it.

I'm a good person. They hate me.

I am a good person, yet my mother hates me. Why? Haven't a clue. Yes, it is her loss. It's my loss as well.

If I stay quiet, I'll be safe

What to do with the bowls I threw. They aren't the right size for food. I decided I'd glaze the inside and write on the outside. This one says: If I stay quiet, I'll be safe.

I think that if I put the hurt inside the bowl, I can dump the hurt out and won't feel it any more.

Yes, I did grow up thinking like this. It probably saved my life.

Blankie

I needed to take a break from emotional art work so I thought I'd do something just for fun. Turns out this is emotional art work, too. I got out the reversible quilting book and learned how to do a reversible, quilt as I go type quilt. Then I proceeded to put an almost noticable dent in my stash of leftover fabrics. I had originally intended to make a quilt for use when taking a nap on the sofa.

When I was a little kid, my grandmother made me a quilt from all the leftover fabrics she had. I would look at the quilt and think, there's my blouse. There's my stuffed toy. There's my pajamas. This quilt I just finished is like that.

The quilt is a fabric version of comfort food, hence it's my blankie. And.... it's more emotional art.

Brand New Veggie Garden with Ceramic Pots

The crops are planted. Here in Southern New Mexico, it's warm enough to get the tomatoes and peppers in. The peppers are sweet and should turn from green to red. The tomatoes are a slicing variety to be used for sandwiches, marinara sauce, and salads.

The circles in the center of each photo are not stepping stones, they are an old, and hopefully good way of keeping plants watered. They are ceramic watering pots. The unglazed pot is buried in the ground and filled with water. The glazed top keeps the water from evaporating. Because the buried pot is unglazed, the water seeps slowly through the pot and waters the roots of the plants. That's the theory, anyway. We're about to find out if they actually work. One pot is made from the red clay body we use in class. The other three, as well as the lids, are made from EM 200.

The garden was planted and the pots filled on Wednesday. The red pot was empty today and the three white pots were only slightly down. I'm not sure if this is a property of the clay or if that part of the garden was particularly dry.

In one of the shots, you can see something that looks rather like fat grass. It's NOT a weed. That's some garlic that Jim put in a few months ago.

Where we are, the ground is probably 95% sand. Great drainage but horrid for trying to grow anthing. Last year, Jim laid out the rail road ties, filled in with bags and bags of potting soil, and welded up a fence for the garden. We live in the desert and have lots of rabbits which come and eat anything that grows. The only way to have a garden is with a sturdy fence.

Newest Sculpture Experiment

This is the most recent sculpture experiment. I dipped the piece in harder celadon and did a second, shallow dunk in ghost ranch blue. For every other student, ghost ranch blue runs to the point of nearly flooding the kiln. I thought sure that the ghost ranch blue would run and make lovely color designs on the piece. Nope. That's the extent of the running. I've no idea what I'm doing that keeps this glaze from running.

For the ceramists reading this, I used B-Mix, fired cone 10 reduction.

Adventure

While I was on the cruise, I spent some time most days sketching. I'd go up on the top deck, and I'd sketch whatever I happened to see. One day, I happened to see a sliding wood panel on the bar. Slide the panels to one side, bar's open. Slide the panels across the bar, bar's closed. Of course the panel had a port hole - this was a cruise ship.

I thought about that port hole and thought about how some people look out the window and peak at adventure. Some people go out and seek adventure.

I thought some more, and came up with a design for a ceramic box. The back side is the sun jumping out of the ocean first thing in the morning. Sunrise is remarkably fast on the ocean.

May you go through life seeing and finding adventure.

Translating Born On The Wrong Side Of The Blanket

In case you're not familiar with the phrase, it was a polite way of saying something quite rude. The current legal phrase for those born on the wrong side of the blanket in New York is "non-marital child." Prior to 1993, the proper legal phrase, and it was used in the statutes, was "bastard."

I'm Not There

Some people see the illusion that's externally imposed. I refuse to live that way - and I'm not there. It's a bit hard to read in the photo, but it says: Born on the wrong side of the blanket, who would find her precious?

Where The Fairies Dance

One day last fall, after an enormous amount of rain, I saw a toad stool growing under a Mexican Bird of Paradise in my back yard. I took a photo of the toad stool and sent it to friends. My former Spanish teacher wrote back that toad stool was her new English word for the day and that it reminded her of fairies. That's why I named the piece Where The Fairies Dance.

That's Clever!

Here's the purse I made for That's Clever! I was one of the artists chosen in Las Cruces to be on the show. It took nearly four hours to film what will probably be about six minutes of fame. The show will air later this summer.

Peaceful Cable Socks

I've been playing around with cables and Peace Fleece. Here's the result.

In The Creative Zone

We took a Hawaiian cruise, and for the first time in 30 years, I actually relaxed. I spent some time most days sketching. I worked out design problems with a quilt and some design problems with wearable art. I came up with a design for a ceramic piece.

This is me sketching on Fanning Island. I found an interesting piece of coral on the beach and wanted to sketch it. I had no idea Jim took this photo until I downloaded the camera onto the laptop.

Ceramic Buttons on the Vest

These are some of my ceramic buttons. These are from high-fire clay and the glaze was fired at ^10 in a gas kiln. I thought I was going to get something else, but these were a kiln surprise. Then again, kiln surprises are what make working with clay fun.

Close Up Of Details of Vest

I used a generic vest pattern, and played with stitches. For the life of me, I can't remember what I did to get this pattern, but I do remember that I had fun doing it.

My Latest Vest

I started playing around with some yellow Peace Fleece, some funky yarn from Unravel (where I have my work for sale) and some hand-dyed yarn I bought at the Renaissance Faire.

Wood Buttons

Jim has been busy the last couple days. Now, he's working on making wood buttons. If you're interested in buying any of his buttons, please contact me at debthuman@zianet.com.

Jim's Latest Needle Cases

Jim spent the day making needle cases. All but the one he made for me are for sale. The one he made for me is a special size - just perfect for my felting needles.

$20.00 (USD)

If you'd like to purchase a needle case, please send me an e-mail at debthuman@zianet.com.

Artful Socks

Cotton and acrylic. The foot is made from cotton.

$60.00 (USD) plus shipping.

If you're interested, please e-mail me at debthuman@zianet.com

Peaceful Socks

Both pairs are made from Peace Fleece, a wool/mohair blend. Peace Fleece is wool that's made from a combination of fleece from sheep raised in Maine and sheep raised in Russia.

Hand wash cold water, lay flat to dry. DO NOT PUT IN THE DRYER!!!

$60.00 (USD) plus shipping.

If you're interested, please e-mail me at debthuman@zianet.com

Artful Socks

Wool, rayon, mohair and cotton. The foot is made from cotton, so it's a remarkably comfortable sock. These are tube socks and will wear longer than socks with heels in them. In hand knitted socks, it's the heel that wears first. With tube socks, you simply rotate the sock, and there's no heel to wear out fast.

Hand wash cold water, lay flat to dry. DO NOT PUT IN THE DRYER!!!!

$60.00 (USD) plus shipping.

If you're interested, please e-mail me at debthuman@zianet.com

Jim's Needle Cases

These are Jim's latest needle cases. All are for sale and each is $20.00 (USD). To order, please contact me by e-mail: debthuman@zianet.com.

Yard Art

When they grow up, they will be solar powered fountains. For now, they are yard art.

Kadish

Regardless of our beliefs, death touches all of us. We all lose people we love and we all will die. We all experience loss and sorrow - no one is immune. This piece is named after the Jewish prayer for the dead. The pieces on top of the box actually fit into holes in the top of the box.