Come, Persephone

  Come, Persephone,

With your paint-pots and brushes:

Stipple the fields with flowers,

Dot the branches with bright blossoms,

Streak the Spring sky with pale pastels.

You are the one who paints the eyes on the pansies,

And the lines on the lilies so the bees can find their food,

And the blushes on the rosebuds.

Without you,

The bearded iris would have no smile

And the black-eyed susan would be blind.

Come, Persephone:

The world has rested too long

Under Winter's snowy cloak.

Come bring your brushes and bright colors

And dress us in the shades of Spring again.

We invoke you, gracious maiden of freedom and beauty:

Join us now.

~ Elizabeth Barrette, Invocation to Persephone

High Diving Giraffes

 A I has been around a while, y'all!

Remember this fun video from 10 years ago!

Well, perhaps it was just animation - but really!

Dancing

 

You may have noticed a gap in my posting here anything having to do with art...which is the purpose of Alchemy of Clay, aka this unique blog. I've not been feeling like producing/creating. Indeed I've focused on getting this old body to keep on keeping on.

So for Sepia Saturday this week, I went through some old photos of dancing!

****************************

Yes, I missed my chance for brides and grooms. So here's my favorite if I'd published one. My son, Marty and his new bride, Barbara (several years ago)

*************************

Then I turned to art (because my photograph folders had no dancers)

How about a Klimp kiss?

Painting by Cheryl Braganza

Painting by Aleah Chapin

Degas loved ballet dancers

"She moves the stars." Angela mia Delavega

Today's second quote:

**********************

Sharing with Sepia Saturday this week.

Dragon 4 in the works

 

 She's dry now, and waiting to be bisque fired. We shall see, since there may be some cracks. The slab was too dry as I worked with it, cutting or tearing pieces. I'll try to have construction happen right as the slab is rolled next time.

A process

 Clay comes in a big bag. Heavy. Plastic which keeps it from getting dried out and hard.

Cut some off and then wedge it down (to make sure no air bubbles are in it)

Roll it through a wonderful slab roller device, where the clay becomes thinner and thinner each time.

Then cut, tear and assemble any way you wish.

So besides dragons (more on Number 4 in a minute) I needed some new orchid flower pots.

In process...

This is as the clay is drying, at it's most fragile stage before being bisque fired to cone 06...about 1300 degrees F.

If I want to stain or glaze it, I then can do that before firing it to cone 6...(2330 F) quite a bit hotter, which vitrifies the clay such that it will be food safe, or in my case, hopefully mold safe.

I may add color in some places. Haven't decided yet!

I did make 2 other flower pots, smaller. They are now finished bisqueing.

The Ugly Duckling Baby Dragon

 

Matt Bronze Green glaze applied, and hopes that the bare clay will be sort of a tanish color against the glaze

Instead, it's an orangish color with very muted greens. I don't like that the body construction became more evident, so his little legs are almost invisible.

My conclusion is that the ugly duckling baby dragon just got uglier!

Today's quote:

Try not to expect perfection when starting out on a spiritual path or attaining inner peace.

Another vase

 This is the second vase which is at least 4 years old, since I quit the studio in December before COVID hit. No idea what was ahead but I felt I'd done as much as I wanted to at the time, in clay.

I gave away many of my pots to friends and relatives in the last 4-5 years. But my house is still full of them. Thus I will go back into retail sales again soon.

This simple squat pot looks great with a few or a lot of posies in it. It was glazed with the same techniques as the little bottle vase I posted earlier.

Today's quote:

No matter how dark the cloud, there is always a thin, silver lining, and that is what we must look for.

WANGARI MAATHAI