Groundhog inspired

[smkie]

The nose stations and nose bowl are for my Mother who is visually impaired and keeps misplacing
her glasses which have clear frames. I thought these might help her to remember to put them in the
same place each time. I will take them to her today and see how it works.




THis groundhog was a little test. I still need to glaze his apple and do another firing, or paint it, I have 't decided. I want to make Hyia a teaset for her birthday with a groundhog on the top and for the handles of the teacups. Didn't want to make it until I saw if my idea would pan out or not. Very pleased with the way it came out.

[Renee750il]

I love, love, your groundhog

[Moth]

The little groundhog came out fantastic

[smkie]

THank you!!!! I hope what I have in mind translates out well for her tea set. A little tea pot and a couple cups, the bowls hopefully will have that cracked surface that I have come up with. I will have Mr sitting on his behind with his feet forward like a little kid eating his flower like the first time I saw him. Put Mrs. As the handle looking up to see..she should be the teapot handle. and then the twins the orphan and Uncle carl can be the handles on the cups. That fingers crossed is what I want to make her for Christmas or her birthday. SHe loves the groundhogs as much as I do. THey have been practically a part of the family this summer. It's cold in the mornings now and we also have had rain so their food sources are back, with new lambs quarter, dandylions, mushrooms and such so they don't need us like they did and that's a good thing. I don't want to make them dependent. Hyia loves tea sets and it's all kind of settling in my mind how I want to do it. I had to do a test guy tho to see if the iron oxide and reduction would turn the clay into the fur as I had guessed it would. I am just staining the little apple. I don't think it needs to go through another firing for a blush of color there. THe orange mason stain I got for MHMR vest worked out just right for the carrot. IT is hard to get a really good red in a high fire gas kiln, plus those glazes are thick and might have bubbled up over his feet. I used a black slip to color his pawpaws. If the glaze had bubbled over it would have ruined the whole piece. I try to stay "true" to the medium and I really don't like to add paint, but ah well.

THe groundhogs stood up on their hind legs to see if there was anything on the table and I thought that curve would work out great as a handle It's next on the workbench so cross your fingers. SHe doens't know. SHe saw this one and said "oh Nana you ARE going to make me one aren't you? " I said "I dunno.Lot of things I need to do.; ) now that school has started I have a chance of making this a surprise.

[Renee750il]

Can't wait to see the tea set. Hyia will be thrilled beyond words. That will be something she will love her whole life.

[smkie]

now he has a little red apple. I am going to have to try out some different mason stains..I really like the red touch.

all done.

[Baxter'smybaby]

I'm absolutely in love with this little guy!

[smkie]

He does make me want to hurry up and do the other poses. I am taping up the pics now. THanks Bax! (((HUGS))) I will miss them when they hibernate. Only one today, and not until late in the afternoon. IT was so chilly this morning, I thought I hope the orphan isn't an orphan and I wrong about him. I can just see the others in my mind all curled up like puppies.

[skittledoo]

As always, you do amazing work. I still have one of the bowls you made me for a Secret Santa gift exchange when I first started up on Chaz. The other two I had from you ended up broken which was so upsetting (I didn't break them... roommate did accidentally). The bowl I still have intact is one of my favorite bowls that I have around here. I'd really like to learn how to do this kind of stuff one day, but I'm not sure I have the time and patience right now to learn.

[smkie]

I feed my dogs in them every day. Zoom was going to do something something about a specialty feed store and that was when I made up a dozen. I haven't thrown on the wheel in years, tho if I had one, that would be a different story. It takes a long time to learn, and you suck for a discouraging length of time, but if you keep at it, eventually it becomes second nature. It's the firing, the dust, the mess of supplies, the need for kilns, that makes it a pia. But it's apparently my medium of choice because I keep doing it. Nothing good comes easy is what you have to remember when you start out. You have to have a lot of passion for doing this. It isn't for the easy going. And it is beyond clutter for tools. I say this because I have to work hard to keep any kind of sense to my work area and try hard to stay within it and not let it overwhelm my home.

A police officer was searching my car when I first moved here because of my thinness and location they just assumed I was a crack head. I was asked if there was anything sharp in my car...uh..needle tools, broken pottery in the trunk, I have no idea..my son got one of my needle tools stuck in the back of his heel that had fallen out of my toolbox once when I was coming home from the guild. He has never let me forget it. I told the officer sorry, but probably and I have no idea where. Needle tool is a steel needle in a metal base like a pencil. I am forever losing them or breaking them. It really makes me miss light easy clean mediums like watercolor...ahhhhhh paper. Nice clean un dust ridden paper. THen there is the fact that anything can go wrong at any point. Not so much for me now, but the learning curve is vicious, just don't count on anything until the final firing. ANd people ask you how come that stuff cost so much. Insert rolled eyes. The saying at the guild is it takes 7 years plus one day of doing it 8 hours each to become a potter.