Update

Thought i'd post some shots of greenware before the bisque and glaze firing!

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Last Friday, my daughter and i went to Idaho Falls which is an all day trip. Funny, how when a "routine" is altered, it later takes several days to get back into the swing of things. However, the trip was most productive!

Have been in the cobalt slumps for a couple of months recently. The fresh air and change of venue, by itself, would have cheered me up!
Walked into Michael's on a whim.
And my old creative spirit jumped into action. Amazing! It was like an old friend who i haven't seen for quite some time came to visit. My "friend" arrived in the silk flowers aisle.

As you know, glazing isn't only a matter of getting oxides together in the right combination to achieve a specific color, but is also having a decorative idea when the right color is achieved. So far, my decorative ideas haven't translated well to pottery. While detailed Chinese pottery fascinates me, it isn't a technique i wish (at this time) to acquire. Would rather accomplish an impressionistic style. Not a hodgepodge of jumble-ization. Rather an impression of say, a field of flowers.
And here were all these silk flowers.
One could dip these into glaze! Apply a "design" to pots.
Produce the impression of Spring! Totally ignore the two feet of snow still remaining on the ground outside!
Creative child went wild. Bought so many flowers that the car's trunk overflowed.
Joyous enterprize.

Next, we stopped at Barnes & Noble. Told my daughter we'd only be there for a moment. Two books were on my list and it wouldn't take long to find and buy them.
However, B&N had a whole shelf of pottery books.
Another aisle contained art design.
Located books on Japanese Ink Painting in another aisle.
And further along discovered Celtic Patterns.
It was only a few hours later when we left B&N.
Headed for the car. Trying to find space for the books. No room in the trunk. It was full of flowers! And so, we filled the back seat with the books.
Joyous experience.

Thought i'd done enough "shopping" for the day, so tagged along with my daughter in her endeavors. Which led us into a store not normally on any of my agendas. A sports equipment store.
What a mistake! x If not spending any more money was the object, i should-a waited outside! x But then, the likelihood of me spending money in a sports store was highly improbable. Until we walked past the outdoor smoker's aisle and creative child sprung into action.
A meat smoker would produce a reduction atmosphere, wouldn't it? If it uses wood chips, then conceivably one could burn a fire in it. . . . Or douse the environment with salt (which i've been dying to try) for those beautiful salt glazings.
And ok. A full-blown fire in an electric smoker might cause a bit of a problem, but surely there are gas smokers? While trying to locate the gas variety, stocked the cart with wood chips and sawdust.
Found sausage stuffers. Another ah-ha! moment . . . .
Need a pugmill. And i'll bet this will work perfectly.
The clerk, Joel, who came to help me clean up the mess scattered all over the floor, entered willingly into the illusion that we had entered another realm. He was now working in a pottery supply store instead of the sports equipment enterprize in which he normally functioned. Joel had imagination and together we had a merry old time!
But it cost me a bundle of money . . . .
It's actually a financial blessing that Id. Falls is too far away to traipse to on a daily basis. This once a year adventure was a pocketbook buster.

Ah sure now an' we're home.
And you know what i've been doing.
. . . . . . Arranging flowers.
. . . . . . . . . . Reading books.
. . . . . Stuffing clay into sausage stuffers.
. . . . . . . . . Practicing Japanese ink spots
. . . . . . . Adapting Celtic designs to fit pottery motifs

Yep! It's hard to get back into the swing of a routine after such an adventure . . . .
Here's to imaginative days when our creative child plays
Chae