Another Year

Today was my birthday. I had thought it was going to be dull and lonely, but it turned out much better. The day flew by. So many people sent me their love. I just want to say, Thank You, one more time, for all the wonderful wishes! I am truly blessed with the Best Family and Greatest of Friends. I know this is going to be a Excellent Year! And thanks to my best friends in Tahoe, Jennifer Haereiti & Te Kanawa Haereiti, for a delicious Basque dinner and great conversation. I tried Rabbit for the first time, it tastes like turkey.

So another year begins. I am looking forward to the rest of 2010. Wonderful things have happened so far and I just know that the second half with be even better. Things with my pottery have been coming together lately and I'm very proud of the work I've been creating. I've spent some time creating gifts for several of my cousins who have wedding bells ringing.

I've made several very nice Flower Pot sets. I have been experimenting with the shape, size and color of these groupings. My favorite of all sets is the one I recently made for my Cousin and his Bride. I chose to use a chocolate brown glaze and a crystal glaze called Outer-space. I think the combination is beautiful and I look forward to using it again in the near future.

I enjoy the challenge of creating flower pots with saucers attached. When you throw a piece like that you have to center the clay in two different locations and then pull out a bowl and a saucer. It's also challenging to trim the pot. You have to find a way to put drain holes with out gouging the saucer. I'm getting pretty good at throwing these type of pots and I just love it. I love the shape. I love that the saucer is attached. This particular pot is my new favorite, mostly because of the glaze that I used. It is called Fantasia and it has shades of blue, green and cream all mixed together.

Another style of flower pot I've fallen in love with is a square planter. I saw a video on Ceramic Arts Daily that showed how to create this style of pot. I've taken what I've learned and created my own designs. I really like the look of this particular square planter. I took a swirl stamp that I had made and pressed it all over the slabs of clay before I assembled this pot. I think it just looks so fun. I also love the color, I used a glaze called Organza-Orange.

I look back over the last year and see how much I have learned and how much I am loved by my friends and family. I look forward to taking what I have learned and transforming it into something that will take me through the future.