Early Resolutions

Wow

I just finished have a big old clean-out of my studio; the place where I've been making claywork for about 25 years.

Amazing what you can accumulate......

Like twidgets that might look good on a ray gun.

Or a piece of beautifully oxidized copper tubing that might have possibilities for a handle.

I won't mention the amount of driftwood I've stocked up on
or round beach rocks and shells....


It's just as bad in my house. So these last 10 days or so, I've been sorting, grouping, pricing, advertising and hosting a big sale of things I probably will never use.

One must close one's eyes, extend the hand and arm, and drop whatever it is in the "For Sale" box. Ouch!

I realized that I was holding onto a newly designed  lid here or a teapot there that didn't fire right but had a great glaze. And the reason why these were hanging around is because I wanted to remind myself to try it again.

 (Palm to forehead) I Can Take A Picture of It and transfer it to a page labeled "Reminders." Much more sensible. And a heck of a lot less space.


But I did have a happy trip to the bank.


Next:  Thin out those image files and "those-stacks-of--articles-I-need to-read!!!

One of my passions is collecting shells. Even though I don't live in Florida, where I understand people fill garages with them, I have accumulated a good selection.

They are my favorite subject for drawing. Beside that, I have often thought about putting my own  claywork in a drawing.

This is a little bowl that is long gone from my inventory, but at the time, it made a very good background for these small shells referred to as "Blood Mouths" because of their vividly red lips. The drawing is done in colored pencil on a light blue paper.

Blood-mouths* are often mistaken for cone shells, but they are really conch shells, common to Guam, where I collected these and first started diving.

*Strombus luhuanus.   Also known as the Blood-mouth Conch, this sea shell features a dark brown columellar and a reddish inner lip. This animal lives in colonies and is This seashell is common to Western Pacific on sand to 5 fathoms.   Measures approx 1. 5" - 2".