Sunday, May 9, 2010
Stay In Touch
I am working with a designer named Roy to create a new website for Snowday Ceramics that incorporates a blog and online shop together at www.snowdayceramics.com. It is still in progress, but I have started writing some blog posts there (as well as a test post or two). You can also “Like” or become a fan of Snowday Ceramics on Facebook, or follow snowdayceramics on Twitter.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Toolympics
I was happily using one of my favorite clay tools recently and started composing a blogpost solely for it. And I guess because the Olympics just ended I thought about giving it a gold medal. And then I started thinking of other good tools I have, and figured I would round the whole idea out with bronze and silver too.
So, here we go. The Bronze goes to the hand-held Wire Cutter, which is not only useful for turning your big chunk into many little chunks, but also is indispensable for getting your finished pieces off the wheelhead. Honorable mention goes to the wire cutter attached to the wedging table at a 45 degree angle. Because when you are faced with a 25-pound cube of clay, there is no cleaner, better way to dissect it.
Silver goes to this Wood Modeling Tool I may have picked out of the lost and found, but has proved itself to be perfect in so many situations. I use it when I want to clean up the base of my thrown pieces before cutting them off the wheel, and also find it extremely useful as a modeling tool when attaching handles. I have used it so much in fact that it is starting to wear down to a perilously fragile point and I was never able to read the name of the company that produced it, only faintly impressed on the side, and thus haven't been able to buy any replacements.
Gold goes to the Fettling Knife! Oh, fettling knife. You might try to cut through a clay slab with an xacto or a plastic butter knife, but I think really, the fettling knife has the best dimensions for the job, with its slim, long blade that is sharp, but not overly sharp. Its narrow rounded tip can get into corners where most modeling tools can't, and if you have a glaze drip, this is the best thing to shave it off. I even keep one around the house to open the mail.
There are so many ingenious tools out there to help artists work with clay, now I am sorry for the ones I've left out (sorry, tools!). But while tools by definition are specialized for certain uses, it seems I have a particular admiration for tools that are reliable doing multiple jobs. Like Olympic All-Around gymnast Mary Lou Retton. Or Decathlete Bruce Jenner. The Fettling Knife is like the Bruce Jenner of clay tools.
So, here we go. The Bronze goes to the hand-held Wire Cutter, which is not only useful for turning your big chunk into many little chunks, but also is indispensable for getting your finished pieces off the wheelhead. Honorable mention goes to the wire cutter attached to the wedging table at a 45 degree angle. Because when you are faced with a 25-pound cube of clay, there is no cleaner, better way to dissect it.
Silver goes to this Wood Modeling Tool I may have picked out of the lost and found, but has proved itself to be perfect in so many situations. I use it when I want to clean up the base of my thrown pieces before cutting them off the wheel, and also find it extremely useful as a modeling tool when attaching handles. I have used it so much in fact that it is starting to wear down to a perilously fragile point and I was never able to read the name of the company that produced it, only faintly impressed on the side, and thus haven't been able to buy any replacements.
Gold goes to the Fettling Knife! Oh, fettling knife. You might try to cut through a clay slab with an xacto or a plastic butter knife, but I think really, the fettling knife has the best dimensions for the job, with its slim, long blade that is sharp, but not overly sharp. Its narrow rounded tip can get into corners where most modeling tools can't, and if you have a glaze drip, this is the best thing to shave it off. I even keep one around the house to open the mail.
There are so many ingenious tools out there to help artists work with clay, now I am sorry for the ones I've left out (sorry, tools!). But while tools by definition are specialized for certain uses, it seems I have a particular admiration for tools that are reliable doing multiple jobs. Like Olympic All-Around gymnast Mary Lou Retton. Or Decathlete Bruce Jenner. The Fettling Knife is like the Bruce Jenner of clay tools.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Wintry Mix
Happy New Year and happy winter! I am emerging from a post-Holidays hiatus. A light, dry snow fell yesterday. I like how when it first started snowing the wind blew it into wispy, whiskery streaks along the street.And how it created a halo glow around this
piece of string.The last snow here in Philadelphia was in December- we got a crazy 23 inches or something. I had to go to A Very Kensington Christmas at Greensgrow Farms the next day, and I woke up early to dig out the car, got stuck trying to drive closer to my house to load up, but eventually, finally, made it. However, I was one of the only ones to do so that day.
I had been at this event the previous weekend, though, and it was great! A Very Kensington Christmas is InLiquid's holiday sale at Greensgrow Farms, a really cool urban farm and nursery in the Kensington neighborhood in Philadelphia. People were coming by throughout the day to pick up their CSA share, Christmas trees and wreaths, and shopping at our tables for gifts.
Greensgrow was also selling soups and-- get this-- chestnuts! which were actually roasted on an open fire! I could not resist. Have you ever had one? They can be difficult to open, especially when they are charred, the leather skins get brittle. Then there is a furry layer which is funny and soft, but it tastes bitter so you need to 
pick that away as well. And then, if your chestnut hasn't crumbled apart by this point, you have a brainy-textured nugget that tastes sweet and roasty, with a powdery and creamy texture that ends up melting in your mouth.
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