Winter is never the best time in the studio, it is cold and the work dries very, very slowly. My slipcasting moulds take longer to dry out and everything slows down exponentially. Also, working through the Tasmanian winter makes my fingers feel like they are going to fall off. I am counting down the days until I leave for Kalgoorlie (45) which means I have about four weeks to finish making all the rewards for my pozible supporters.
Now is not the time for distractions or panic.
Which is why there are dinosaurs in my studio.
The dinosaurs make me smile and keep me from panicking.
They also give me a chance to defrost my fingers as I daydream about ceramic dinosaurs and fossilised bits and pieces.
I work best t0 a deadline.
A deadline gives me a clear timeline for my tried and true work schedule.
Which is procrastinate, procrastinate, daydream, daydream, panic, work furiously, then collapse.
I am planning on collapsing dramatically at the foot of a Gormley sculpture in the middle of the outback, so I still have plenty of time now to work furiously.
Here is some detail of one of the Sclerophyll cups I am making for seven of my kind supporters. Notice the dinosaur in the background helping to keep me focused?
Here is the raw Urban Decay cup, one of two I have made for my supporters as well.
The slightly tricky thing with the kind of work I make, is that a lot of it breaks as I am making it.
Some of my processes are a bit vigorous for the materials I use, there is potential for disaster in every step, so in order to balance out the disasters, I make much more work than I will need. Hence my forward scheduling of my previously mentioned collapse in Kalgoorlie, where I shall be able to recover nicely afterwards in a SPA in the lovely room provided by my generous sponsors Rydges Kalgoorlie Resort and SPA.
From disaster, comes opportunity and as I stuffed all the bits back into the broken cup, a new idea popped into my head, so ever the creative opportunist, I tidied up the jaggedy bits and put the broken cup aside to be fired.
Today I shall make the rest of the sclerophyll cups, after I have walked the bouncing bundle of chewy mischief that is Monty.
The other day I wondered why Monty was being so quiet.
A quiet puppy is as bad as a quiet toddler.
I peered through the bedroom door into The Spouse’s shed and lo, what did I spy?
Monty likes to be up high it must be a Kelpie thing.
He likes to look out the window.
Here Monty is not looking out the window, Monty is pretending to be invisible.
He needs to work on his invisibility skills.
The Spouse puts his boots up on the bench to discourage puppy nibbling.
The Spouse needs to find a safer spot for his boots.
This is where I am at, my dearest internets, completely surrounded by dinosaurs, puppies and work.
How are you all going?
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Love the dinosaurs! And I like that broken cup too.
The spouse will definitely have to find a better hiding place for his boots!
I remember when my dad looked after our Mad Max while we were in motels during our move from Melbourne to Adelaide. Dad allowed Max to chew his old slippers and I told him off when I found out. Dad said, “but they’re just old slippers!” and I reminded him that any dog, no matter how smart, will not know the difference between old slippers and your newest best shoes. Dad saw the sense in that, but it still took months to break Max of the habit.
Love, love, love your sclerophyll cups. And Monty of course.
Naughty pups are fun, and exhausting! Your Monty is adorable.
I am working on a deadline here as well. I will be so glad when this coming week is over.
Everything is better with dinosaurs.
Sorry to make this about ME – BUT I SEE MY CUP. LOVE IT!.