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.

Christmas greetings for my family

Merry Christmas to my dear sister, and family

You know,

I wanted to send you a card and some presents, but I didn't.

I want to give you some long, warm hugs and kisses, but I can't.

It would be nice to visit and chat for hours, but is hard to do.

Instead, I'm making this blog for you.

It's not showy or fancy, no casting or crew

but it's real and it's me...

and the best I can do.

(I hope this translates properly)

Hungarian:

Boldog karácsonyt kedves húgom, és a család

Tudod,Azt akartam, hogy küldjön egy kártyát, és néhány ajándékokat, de nem tettem.Azt akarom, hogy néhány hosszú, meleg ölelést és puszit, de nem tudok.Jó lenne meglátogatni és beszélgetni órákon keresztül, de nehéz megtenni.Ehelyett csináltam egy blog az Ön számára.Nem mutatós vagy fantázianév nem casting vagy ha a személyzetde az igazi, és ez nekem ...és a legjobb, amit tehetek.(Remélem, ez azt megfelelően)

Finnish:

Hyvää joulua perheeni

Tiedäthän,Halusin lähettää sinulle kortin ja joitakin lahjoja, mutta en.Haluan antaa teille vähän pitkä, lämmin halauksia ja suukkoja, mutta en voi.Olisi kiva vierailla ja chat tuntikausia, mutta on vaikea tehdä.Sen sijaan teen blog sinulle.Se ei ole näyttävä tai fancy, ei valu tai miehistönmutta se on todellista ja se olen minä ...ja paras mitä voin tehdä.

(Toivottavasti tämä merkitsee kunnolla)

*******************

This year we are keeping the holidays simple and economical...

It's our 1st Christmas as empty nesters, and weird, since Eric won't even be

coming home, so we decided to take advantage, and save ourselves some time,

stress and $. So, no tree, no decorations, a few little gifts and a nice turkey

dinner with Jeff & Meagan. Looking forward to it tomorrow :)

Here's some photos of us, taken this year...

Eric and me...

Taken the morning he moved to Richmond... it's only

9 hours away...

Jeff & his new truck

Meagan's new Jeep.

Spike turned 13 this fall...

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Some funny holiday links of music & videos:

I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas

Carol of the Bells- Claymation (one of my favourites)

Jingle Bells

The Grinch song

Who put the dick on the snowman?

The Big Bang Theory- The best Christmas present

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation- (my favourite scene)

Enjoy the holidays:)

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.

Ainsworth Hot Springs

There's something very special about having a relaxing soak in a hot spring, especially one with a cave and hardly anyone there.

Virtual tour- Ainsworth Hot Springs ...

Awesome views... outside, and in... I finally brought my camera out,

to get some photos from inside the caves.

(Something I've wanted to do for years.)

However I didn't expect so much condensation,

so only a few pictures were good enough to share,

but here they are.

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.