Throwing

I've been thinking about the simliarity between throwing and Aikido.

Both take time, lots of time, concentration and a great deal of effort.

They both require years of gentle refinement.

They both require care and sensitivity.

And whilst there's a great deal of repetition, there's always something new in the repetition, something unique and slightly unexpected

They are both frustrating, tiring and leave your body with odd aches.

But they both have moments of beauty, just occasionally, just moments, that keep you coming back for more... little breaths of something other worldly

Back to pots

I've been getting back into throwing recently. Just took a bunch off to be fired so glazing next weekend hopefully.

Been talking to jem about decoration and glazing...

The discussion was around decoration being like make up - there's nothing worse than over done makeup, makeup should be about highlighting the form, bringing out the features just ever so slightly - decoration on pots is the same.

Then there's also the car duco analogy. Cars are so shiny that you can't actually see the forms and it's all lost in lots of shine.




So finding a way to bring out the form of the pot and minmise the shine...

If only I didn't have to glaze them at all....

Bonsai

I'm baby sitting a couple of dad's bonsai

His are the two on the end - a beautiful morten bay fig which is very old, and a much younger pine grown from seed mum and dad collected at lone pine!

Just have to keep them healthy until they get back from the beach....