A productive weekend.

I hate to see this weekend end...

 We spent a peaceful morning enjoying the sunshine, birds, and collecting rocks at Queen's bay beach.

(Note: The lake level is really low right now.)

                                     Then the weather changed quickly so we headed home.

 I dived into my studio to start my 3rd clay bird project. This one will be a bit smaller than the others, but only a bit.

         I also made some earrings (and a little pug "window jewel")  with the tiny animal beads I bought recently. 

 Taking pictures and listing them takes some time,

 but I managed to list a couple of them in my Etsy shop as well. 

Back to work tomorrow... time to change gears.

Bye bye Big Blue Bird.

As I write this, Dave's on his way to town, to ship my Big Blue Bird, to Australia.

Here's some final photos.

I can't tell you how stressed I get about packing & shipping,

it's enough to drive both of us crazy.

Anyhow, he's safely packed and on his way

to a much warmer home in no time...

Bon Voyage mon ami.

To see how he was made: from the beginning.

Big bird clay figure- in progress photos. Part 5

To see previous in progress photos. Part 4

Well, it's New Year's eve, and I really wanted to finish this bird, so

after a lot of procrastinating, I set my mind to it.

I added highlights to his feet, wings and tail...then painted his eyes.

It's so hard to get the eyeballs "just right", but I think I got it.

I'll take better photos tomorrow (in natural light), and then give him a

couple of clear coats, to protect the paint job. Not sure if I should give

him a satin, or matt finish...

Here's the underside... I carved my signature on his foot.

What a perfect way to say goodbye to 2011, finishing the details on

one of my best clay pieces, ever. (It also reminded me that I have a horse

that's still waiting to be painted- he's next.)

Big bird clay figure- in progress photos. Part 4

See previous in progress photos (part 3)

Here's a peak inside the kiln as I prepare to fire it up.

After a tiring day at work, I was excited to be going home to open the kiln,

and see how my bird fared in the firing.

As you can see, he's fine :)

I ate a quick soup & sandwich to finish the last of the turkey (thank goodness),

then got down to painting.

I always do the eyes last, so he'll be blind for a little while yet, but he's close to

being complete & ready to fledge...

Big bird clay figure- in progress photos. Part 3

Click here to see Part 1 or Part 2

Now that Christmas is over, and there's lots of turkey leftovers to feed on,

I can focus on my big clay bird. He's dry enough to clean-

(sanding, smoothing, wiping the dust away with a wet sponge, touching up details, .)

I usually fire my kiln once I've got enough greenware to fill it,

but I've used all my clay so I'm going to fire what I've got now: The big bird,

a couple of round bowls, a couple of leaf shaped dishes, and a bunch of tiny sun faces.

I spent a good part of today- Boxing Day "cleaning greenware"

and am ready to fire the kiln tomorrow.

This is a major step in my birds' development, firing it into bisque…

a trial by fire- literally.

May the kiln gods be kind to us.

Big bird clay figure- in progress photos. Part 2

Click here to see part 1.

Day 2.

December 18, 2011

(working In the living room).

Still in leather state, after waiting

4 days in a plastic bag.

One wing attached.

I cut a hole in the body, where I'll attach the

other wing. This way the clay won't be too thick

in those parts.

Wings attached.

Here's a short video where I place his eyes on.

He's ready to dry -slowly in an open plastic bag,

so he doesn't crack.

Ready to dry, so I can give him a fine sanding

to smooth out the unwanted bumps. Then I can

fire him in my electric kiln.

Big bird clay figure- in progress photos. Part 1

I've been asked to make a ceramic bird,

to replace one that had a mortal accident.

So I'm taking pictures as I go...

Wed. Dec. 14, 2011

I didn't realize this is all the clay I have. I

hope it's enough! Time to get another block.

Making the head.

The beak, attached to the head.

Here's the head and body.

I've got the basic shapes made, the body, head,

feet and wings. Now to assemble them.

After working on him for about 4 hours, I've got the head, beak, body and tail

assembled. (I've used the feet to hold him up, but they're not actually attached yet.)

It's a good stopping point. The clay needs to rest, and so do I. However he'll have to

wait 3 or 4 days before I'll have time to continue with him.

I'll wrap him loosely in plastic, so he doesn't dry out in that time.

I need the clay to stay in a leather state, in order to add his wings, feet and eyes.

Click here to see Part 2.

Emus in the snow.

Today was an overcast, winter day in the Kootenays.

The clouds hung low in the sky, threatening snow, but my husband and I

went for a walk anyway. It's something we don't do nearly enough.

I guess walking along the highway has a lot to do with it, but there are sideroads,

so we took one and ended up at a dead

end, by a fenced in

field, where there were 3 emus.

Yes, big flightless birds!

I haven't seen one since my kids were small & I took them to the Calgary Zoo. What a treat!

We watched them for a few minutes, and I took a bunch of pictures.

I should've used the flash, but didn't want to disturb them, so all my photos are dark & needed to be edited.

(I'll be going back on a sunnier day, to take some more pictures of these fascinating birds.)

I was so inspired, that I spent the rest of the day/night in my studio painting,

"Emus in the snow".

The challenge was to make a completed painting in one day... unheard of for me.

I ended up making 2 paintings! They are drying right now as I write, and my camera's recharging, so I'll post photos of the paintings next time.

Here they are.

**UPDATE: I'm offering the 1st painting in my Etsy shop.**