Bunny on My Bed

 This is Momma Bunny.  Really original name, I know.  She looks a little wicked with the red eye going on.  She is an outdoor bunny who should really be a house bunny.  I used to have my bunnies in the house until I got allergic to them.  It's a shame.  She is an adorable bunny, very well behaved.  Sometimes I think she is a dog.  She loves to be petted.  Momma bun got to come inside today to get her toenails trimmed and to get a summer home in the basement where it is cool.  I tried to but her on her back and nestle her in the pillows to put her in a bunny trance for the procedure but she wasn't having any of it.  So I just gave her lots of nose rubs and gently pulled each foot out from under her and trimmed her nails.  She did great.  What a sweet bunny.  Nose kisses!  I brought her daughter in for the same treatment.  Not so good.  She is a super nervous bunny and she peed on the bed.  I at least got some of the longest nails trimmed.

Oh, I just want to hug her and love her up!  All this is part of my preparations for going away to Summer Arts at Fresno State.  I'm heading out in the morning.  I am going to try to get on the rode before it gets too hot.  I got to borrow a lap top from a great friend of mine so hopefully I will be able to post some images from my class, Clay as a Medium for Sculpture.  There is an incredible line up of artists who will be leading the class and I am excited to see what they have in store for us.  Better get my beauty rest.

Laying Down on the Job

 The office assistant doesn't think much about all the paperwork I spread out for her to work on today.

 

What?

I need to do my nails first.

Don't mezz with the offeece assistant!

I am warning you!

Hey, how did this pencil thingy get on MY bed anyways!

Ok, gotta go see if I can get those pots to load themselves into the kiln.  Wait, they need to glaze themselves up first!

Photo Lithography on Clay

Blogging seems to have taken a backseat to the gorgeous summer weather.  Of course, it doesn't help if I keep forgetting to take my camera to the studio with me when I go.  I've been riding my back to the studio which only takes a couple of minutes.  I actually wish it took longer.  There are so many flowers in bloom that it is an olfactory experience everyday.  Tonight I had to ride around the circular drive that goes around a huge magnolia tree just so I could keep smelling it.

I have been experimenting in the studio again.  This time it is photo lithography on clay.  Here is my very messy little setup.  I'm using a sheet of plexi underneath the ink.  I could have used glass but we have lots of plexi in the plaster room.  Just cleaned it up first.  My ink is linseed oil mixed with Mason stain 6600.  I have been watching the demo on Ceramic Arts Daily by Kristina Bogdanov.  It is a great demo and I finally had to try it out for myself.  I wont go into great detail here.  Kristina does a much better job.

Here is my printing plate.  I xeroxed this super cute little batty image for my test.  The plate is set into water and water is flooded over the top and then sponged off.  The wet paper repels the ink while the toner attracts it.

Here I am trying to roll the inked brayer and take a photo at the same time.  Not such a great idea.  I almost didn't notice that my plate was rolling around the brayer. After inking the plate it gets flooded and sponged off and then inked again.  One more flood of water to wash off the excess ink and it is ready to transfer.  The plate gets gently lifted by the corner and is placed image side down onto soft leather hard clay.  The transfer is left to sit for a minute and then burnished with the back of a spoon or soft rubber rib.

Pulling back a corner for a peek.  I actually could have placed the corner back down and burnished some more.  I didn't quite have all the detail I wanted but I was too impatient to see the image.  Also I have been having a hard time with the paper sticking to the clay and tearing so I thought I might try to peel it off sooner.

Looking pretty interesting so far.

Ooh, Ahh!

Ta Da!

Definitely go check out the link for more info.  I also have been reading the photo litho transfer method in Maureen Mills' book Surface Design for Ceramics.  What is interesting and different about her technique is that she uses polyester litho plates instead of paper.  This sounds more durable and I think I might try it.  The paper sticking to the clay will burn off but I want to layer images and I don't want the paper bits to get stuck in the way.  Who knows?  I need more practice and maybe I'll get the technique down better.  But it would still be fun to try the polyester litho paper because you can put it into a laser printing and print the artwork directly.  Has anyone else worked with this technique?  I'd love to hear any tricks or tips you might have.

I Really Do Make Things With Clay

The last week and a half has been a blur of cleaning up the ceramics studio at school.  I was beginning to wonder if I ever made things with clay but last night even though I was tired I made myself sit down and make something.  My friend  was making some cups with dimples in them and I liked them so much I stole the idea for these bowls.  I did tell her first that I was stealing the idea.  These are made out of some aged recycled clay but they still got some cracking on the dimples.  We just whipped up a new batch of recycle yesterday and I really tried to get some good plasticity going on.  I hope it worked.  I haven't tried any of the fresh stuff yet.

What I really want to make time for is some more hand built sculptures.  Here is a sneak peak of what I was starting before we got so crazy busy cleaning.  I am pretty pleased with myself for making these and I am loving how they turned out.  I am so accustomed to throwing on the wheel but I completely hand built these with slabs.  Yeah for me!  I'd like to get some more made before I head down to my month long stint at the summer arts program at Fresno State.  Well, I best be gettin' to bed.  I've got about another 500 pounds of recycled clay to mix up tomorrow.  Thank goodness I don't do it all myself!  Night, night, or good morning by the time many of you will read this.

A Day Well Spent

Today was a busy day and in the middle of it I am not sure if I specifically noticed that it was a good day.  Now at the end of it all I can sit down with a sigh and appreciate all that I got done and the fun I had.   Lots of ceramic work got done, the kiln shelf cleaning kind.  Errands, paperwork and phone calls and then back to the studio for more work.  After all the work was done we had some girl time.  The school studio has three Lockerbie kick wheels outside that no one uses.  We had cleaned the patio earlier and had the place all to ourselves so music, throwing, good conversation and good laughs ensued.  Then we all decided we needed to head off to the Farmer's market for some dinner and frozen yogurt.  Ah yes, it was a good day.