some chinese guy hacked my xanga!!

OK, I've made John's SG 12 oil spot glaze and the cover glaze for it that has the poetic name of 215.  I mixed up some Bailey's Oil Spot glaze and tomorrow I'll make the Chinese Crackle to go over it.  I'll select vessels to start glazing and I'll do a cone 10 oil spot glaze firing this week.  The pictures should be dazzling.  I hope they fire well. I hope they come out beautifully.

I packaged Chris Garcia's Leopard Lady mug -- she looks beautiful 

She's already mailed and on her way.  At the post office I ran into Steve Bohle and so then he came over and got his mug and gave me $40 for it!

Now the only mug I have yet to deliver is Robert Speake's mug.  He will come pick up his mug and his jug on July 12.

ok now I've got to get to the pottery studio because I've got stuff I need to work on.

much love

DJ

Well, its been a good year.  We had a great Christmas in Florida.  Linde came and we were all soOOO happy to see her - Grammie and Grandpa especially.  She lost her iphone flying out -- but by a miracle of Radioshack we were able to replace it with another iphone for around $70 bucks. It was a $350 phone.  I am so glad!  She was really happy also.  We were all embraced by a lot of love this Christmas.  George's mom is amazing and awesome. She gives out so much love all the time -- its no wonder George is perfect!

I am anxious to get home and get back into making pottery. But we'll be here a few more days. I think we are going to go to Universal Studios -- but I don't know when.  I hope its not today because I've been up for about 2 hours and I'll need a lot more sleep to make it through the day at a theme park.  I don't really want to go -- and I'm not sure if the kids need me to go with them.  Anyway -- we'll see.

I am going to hit the hay now.  I'm tired.  Just wanted to write something here, because facebook does NOT suffice for journaling -- and I've had this journal a long while now.  Maybe I just need to keep a private journal somewhere that's not out in cyberspace, so I can write all my rambling musings without any worry about other people reading it.  sometimes we just need to write things to process what we are feeling, and sometimes those feelings need to be kept private, because they hurt too much and we don't want to have to explain to others what we are dealing with.  We just want to chillax and let the feelings settle down.  of course, by "we" I mean "I."  But it is a human trait -- so saying "we" is still valid. 

good night 

no one will read this anyway.  no one goes to xanga any more.

ps I love Solo antivirus -- Bitdefender sux

NO HOME SHOULD BE WITHOUT ONE

Ode to Kimchee
by ME

O russet cabbage in earthen pot
left in the ground to ferment and rot
Thy soggy leaves caress my rice
with reeking love no words suffice
in telling. Yes thy floppish frame,
intent on some hellacious game,
in chopsticks held, attacks the nose
with odor close to overdose.
no one forgets the rancid reek
or cayenne slobber on the cheek
But o -- regret the sloppy move
or bump or inadvertent shove
that puts thy crimson leaves from mouth
to clothing somewhat further south
No soap, nor occidental care 
can redress the stain that lingers there
though faded, it will still remain
though I may wash and wash again
o kimchee, though I love you much
I know not why you treat me such.

On clayart, an email list I belong to, there is a running thread about what influences the potter.  Many people there have been potting for decades, but I have only three scant years to my craft.  So I cannot claim to be so good a potter as to have "influences" from those long schooled in its arts.

Yet, when I thought about it, the very medium itself was a mind-blowing experience when I grasped the awesomeness of a plasticine soft mud that through my efforts, could change into virtually anything I could imagine and craft.

The clay itself influences me -- the smell, texture, feel of it.

Every  potter I see leaves an imprint on my mind.

I love Acoma Pueblo pottery.

I love Kumano pottery. the guy is insane. He fires his kiln to temperatures identical to those inside a volcano!  His stuff looks like living stone
http://www.osakaprints.com/kumano/content/kumano-sales.htm

Conversely, I love the ethereal perfection of Miyamura
http://additionsstyle.blogspot.com/2009/10/artist-to-know-hideaki-miyamura.html

Mesoamerican pottery enthralls me.

The more I think about it -- what "influences" my art -- honestly,  its not so much influence as inspiration.

I have had to process a LOT of data since I began pottery so late in the game -- at age 55.  Many here have been working with clay for decades. I've only been at it for three  years.

The three dimensional aspect of clay blew me away -- the infinite possibilities of each piece from start to finish -- that in and of itself created an absolute addiction to clay

I began to collect images of clay as a screensaver  for my computer -- it was the easiest way I could compile a slideshow study to run through my brain and absorb the awesomeness of clay under the fingers of thousands of different clayists (somehow, artist does not suffice, nor do the words potter or ceramicist),

I have over 2 gig of images collected from everywhere. Not just images of finished art -- but images of kilns and firings and happy potters smiling over spinning clay,  pictures of studios and hand made brushes and people glazing, greenware and bisqueware -- every aspect of this all encompasing artform.

Glaze chemicals themselves are an inspiration, mystifying in their inert powderiness, which, when mixed, leaves behind their dull cocoon and explodes into an array of volcanic color as they embrace and seduce the vessel they cover.

The awesome elemental forces of clay -- earth, fire, water, air -- all delight my deepest paganess despite its veneer of 800 years of Christianity in my Celtic lineage.

In once sense, I have no "influences" -- no pedegrees pompous or otherwise -- in terms of emulation. I am simply trying to learn the craft through repeated, careful, joyful pursuit of a simple objective.

In another sense, everything from the river and ocean where I live, to the sunsets that billow over me, to the colors and textures of life -- they all influence and leave their imprint on my mind. I, in turn, try to leave their imprint on my clay.

much love
DJ

My wild and crazy girl turned 21

photo composed by her brother of sunset off our back yard on the San Jacinto river (taken last summer)

photo taken by a friend on our front porch (taken last fall)

photo of her at Cheong Pyeong imitating a close friend. Can you tell who is who? (taken in 2004)

piloting our pontoon boat on Lake Buchannon in Texas (taken Aug 2007)

taking care of orphans in Africa (taken fall of 2008 in Zambia)

Harry Potter Harry Potter Harry Potter (we waited at WalMart til midnight to get the first edition of this book) (taken whatever year that book came out)

with her sister, riding tube pulled behind pontoon boat on Lake Buchannon (taken Aug of 2007)

in the fires of Hades on Halloween, greeting newcomers to Hell (taken whatever year she served an internship in hell learning how to be a demon)

swinging at the speed of light into the Rio Frio (taken in 2005)

truemy jumping 40 feet out of tree into river below (taken in 2005)

Truemy cut and pasted into Venice -- actual portrait shot taken by friend in 2008

Well it was a wonderful birthday.  The ribs cooked all day and came out delicious and falling off the bone.  The cheese cakes and carrot cake were outrageous.  So good! But the best was the company -- Kyle and Helen and Jin showed up, and Lalo, the guy who is doing the saltillo for us in the den.  Unfortunately, the saltillo still is not here.  It's getting a little strange.  It's been a month now and no saltillo but we've been charged for it.  We ordered it from Jesus and I know he is trustworthy.  Can't say the same for his shippers.

I may get back more into xanga rather than facebook.  Facebook is like highspeed blathering -- like meaningless life at warp 10 -- combined with an outrageous number of absolutely useless and annoying apps.  I prefer xanga.  No one reads it.  It's chill.  I can have music and make my background and page however I want.  People I've known forever who operate off the beaten track post comments now and then.  And I can write peacefully -- not just a 250 word blurb that describes my life.

Which, by the way, is awesome.  I'm loving doing pottery.  I bought some midrange clay to try out at the ceramic store yesterday or the day before -- its called buff.  I threw a bowl with it for Helen to see how the wheel worked.  She thought it was so cool.  The clay was very soft and centered and openen up easily.  I did not wedge it -- I think it needs it to get a bit of the moisture out.  I really love having saltillo for wedging tiles.  They work so well. I'll try throwing more of the clay tomorrow.  I've got to go to the college studio to give Jen a piece of mine to put in the Vice President's office.  They want artwork from students in that office.  I've got a ton of photography that I can offer some piece of -- I'll have to find out if they want it framed -- cuz I don't have no framed pieces! 

I want to start getting up some of the photography from my one man show in February.  That was a great success -- seven exhibits and over 100 pieces of work up.  Yeah, I was definitely proud of that show.  I should take all the pieces and make a musical video montage out of it so people who could not see the show can experience it.

so much for today.  I just want to think some and relax some and get a good night's rest.  I am so glad I gave my son a very good birthday.  His wife really helped a lot too, to mobilize everyone for the event.  She planned it from the get-go and even "fundraised" to friends and family to get him a nice giftcard at New Egg. She is the true orchestrator behind my son's wonderful birthday, and I was the true cook pushing people to clean up the kitchen so I could work. Everyone pitched in to make this a wonderful, successful event. My son had a great day.

much love

dj

Today is my son's birthday.  I made three cheesecakes last night.  I've got 20 pounds of BBQ ribs cooking, and the carrot cake is in the oven.  People will start arriving this afternoon for the pah-tay! Yaaaay for birthdays!