Old Dog New Slick

I made a house call today to the home of  one of my biggest  sculpture collectors (thank you Cheryl)  to spruce up one of my dog junk sculptures. He was a bit crusty from being in the sprinkler often, while doing his job of greeting guests outside the front door. A little wire brushing and a new coat of  spar varnish and he was looking like a young pup again. I called him "Beamer," when I made him, because he was cut out of an old I-Beam with an Acetylene Torch. The ball is steel, the nose is a trailer hitch and the butterfly on his spring  tail was cut from a stainless steel shelf. The ears are an antique hinge. It was fun seeing him again. He shares yard duty with several other pieces of my  sculpture.

Beamer

"Garden Lady". Old lawn mower and other parts.

John "Hoppin Good Listin". (hoppin' on one leg and listin' to the side) one legged, left handed guitar picker. All antique parts.

Weathervane made with antiques that were important to the collector.

Long Dead Fred In Progress

This is a jug about Long Dead Fred.
With a stone for an eye
and a tree in his head.
He might be sneaking 'round under your bed.

Scared yet?

No???

Well you ought to be !

Midsummer Moon and Maddening Tree Frog Racket!

The usually peaceful country evening is now filled with the deafening cries of thousands and thousands of lovesick Tree Frogs. They start at sundown and croon all night. Luckily, we have the windows closed. It's noisier than New York City (without the gunfire). They will settle down in a few weeks and the only sounds in the evening will be coyotes, owls and whiporwills.

Not Saying It's Hot Here But.....

Not saying that it's hot here, but... I had to take the socks off the clothesline before they spontaneously combusted! (Maybe it was just the sweat fumes.) 102F.

Raku Troll Finished

Raku Fried Troll Face Jug  Fired in Skorch, my handmade Raku Kiln.

See other post for details and story
HERE Corky Troll In Progress

Skorch, My Raku Kiln

Sultan of Sauce

 Freshly  harvested, home grown vegetables and herbs and  the "Sultan of Sauce"  

The "Sultan Of Sauce" prepares to do his magic.

Fresh onions, peppers, tomatoes, squash, garlic, basil, oregano, rosemary, and Thyme 

All simmered slowly. served on a bed of pasta, and topped with cheeses. Accompanied by fresh garlic bread and all on a handmade plate.

Now I remember what I like about Summer!

Corky, Troll in Progress

I named her Corky, because of the cork in her head. I could have named her Horny, for all the horns, but didn’t want the image of a horny troll in my brain. (Oops! Too late!)

Trolls are not very appealing to humans but on the Troll beauty scale (10 being gorgeous and 1 being monstrous) Corky is an 11! How do I figure this ? Well, Janine Turner, Cindy Crawford and Julia Roberts only have one “Beauty Wart” each, Corky has about 40 of the little beauties!

Legend has it that if a human gazes on a Troll that is rated as a 1, all of their childrens children for 10 generations will be born naked.

Harvest and Box Turtle

Today's harvest from the garden, green beans, tomatoes, peppers and okra. The menu possibilities are almost endless.

I found this box turtle in the studio  happily munching on the cat's food. I took his mug shot and put him outside in the shade to continue his (or her's) pilgrimage.

Perfecto

" Perfecto, Magnifique !!!"
On Ebay. Only one more day!!! (click here)

Whatever this guy is cooking it must be just right. He has sampled it with his wooden spoon and declared, "Perfecto"! His snobbish demeanor marks him as, "Maestro" of his realm. (I’ll bet he'll get his own cooking show!)
He is made of clay shapes that are hand turned on the potters wheel and sculpted from stoneware clay . He's pretty cool from his pinkie toes to his wild hair and snobbish expression. . The glazes came out really nice. The insides of my jugs are always glazed with food safe, lead-free glazes. He is high fired and fully functional. 

Shotgun Boogie Man

(For sale on Ebay Click here)
"Shotgun Boogie Man"

Using something destructive in a creative way.
Hand-thrown stoneware. Gently sculpted with a 12ga. shotgun.

Process Photos 
(Not the jug that is shown above. For demonstrating the process only)

Boogie Man sculpted and covered with a red clay slip. The jug must still be quite damp throughout. Dry clay simply disintegrates when shot. (Think Skeet Clay Pigeons).

After a single shot from about 40 feet with #4 shot.

The trick here is not to aim directly at the jug. A full head-on shot would probably blow him away. You need to aim about 16" from the jug. One side sustains the most damage. The intact side adds structural strength for firing.

The Ballistics of Shooting Clay:

Forget what you know about how bullets act on animals or people when dealing with clay.

Clay at this stage is more like a liquid than a solid body. When the shot hits the clay it created a back-splash that looks more like an exit wound.(Think about dropping a rock into a mud puddle). The exit side has the smaller and less jagged hole. Since there is nothing inside a hollow pot to distort the shot and it has slowed since entry, the exit wound is small. Thicker parts like cheeks noses and horns are distorted most and size of the entry is much greater than on thin parts.

Blasted Cactus (sold years ago) click pic to enlarge.