A Late Friday Update

This was intended to post Friday, but it's Monday and clearly that didn't happen.  Sometimes that's just the way it goes.  I had a productive couple of hours in the studio Thursday night trimming and decorating - no throwing.  Here are the results:

Trimmed these lids - I'm not sure I like the feel of the lid on the left.  The more I think about it, the more comfident I am that I will probably not even go through with firing it.  The one on the right is kind of cute though. 

These bowls had been trimmed and slipped earlier in the week, and only needed decorating.   I think I effectively finished them in a manner so that they could work as a set, but they're not identical.  We'll see what happens with that.

Finished decorating this bowl/plate.  It's a fun little shape, and I enjoyed doing the sgraffito on this one.

I think the lids on these two are pretty cute.  I think.  I really like what I did with the sgraffito on these as well - the mixing of two slips creates a pretty neat earth/sky motif, with some arboreal forms between the peaks.  I'm thinking I'm going to try to finish up a batch of little pots/jars with some more intentionally alpine decoration.  They're fun, something a little different for me, and I think they would probably do well with the fall/holiday sales coming up.

I was able to put in a couple hours of throwing yesterday, but it left me feeling more deflated than inspired.  It's been a long, grayish week(end), and that just isn't doing too much to inspire me.  At least I got into the studio and did some work.  I'm not sure how I feel about any of it - there's several bowls I'll end up keeping, and one or two that should probably be scratched now to save myself the trouble - but I was there and I made some progress.  I need to do some heavy throwing this week yet, and then I need to commit myself to getting some of my bisqueware glazed - make sure I'm on schedule for everything.

In other news, I've had Death Cab for Cutie's The Open Door EP on repeat for the last 4 or 5 days and enjoy it immensely.  "Little Bribes" has been on radio for a couple months now, and I am still enjoying it unapologetically.  I used to not be much for lyrics - more into the music, maybe after 20+ listens I'd start to really listen to words - but Ben Gibbard writes (and sings) with such a clarity toward painting a picture that it's hard to miss, and the stories he tells, the pictures he paints, fascinate me.  And don't even get me started on his use of metaphor.  Anyhow, I highly recommend it, or any of the band's other releases.