Studio Time!

Though I didn't get very far, I did start to underglaze the piece I just finished, the two-headed Janus calavera. So far, it feels very spring-like to me, what with the yellow sweater (which I'll add chartreuse to as soon as I get a good 3-4 coats of yellow and deep yellow underglaze on).

The calaveras are all female--or have been until now. This one, I'm not so sure of. I think the eyed-side is male, maybe? Or at least not so clearly female. The un-eyed-side is definitely female though. And she definitely has the upper hand in the piece.

(Don't ask how--or why--The Brain decides these things. It just does.

I also, yesterday, started to work on this piece. It doesn't look like much right at the moment--it's very plain--but you can make out where it's headed, what with the hourglass aspect to the figure. It's coil-built, as usual.

This is the back of the piece (as indicated by "back" written on the newspaper I'm building on, since sometimes I lose track).  I put the bow on the back because the sculpture is going to have crossed arms on the front and I didn't want it to get too busy up there. After I took these pictures, I put the breasts on the front (duh, obviously they're on the front! haha!) and built up a bit around them. I hope to get it as far as the shoulders or even possibly the neck tomorrow, but then it will have to set up a bit (probably over the week) before it will be able to support the arms and head.

Dave was in the studio, too, this afternoon, and we took a break for a wee little field trip to the local clay supply store. It was a strange trip, because we saw an artist we know but whom we haven't seen in a decade or so. She's been doing the same work--the same piece, basically--over and over (it sells hellaciously well, so you really can't blame her for doing it, especially when she's one of the few artists making a living at it). Anyway, we said hello but not much more than that.

We bought two boxes of clay, some glaze, and a handful of tools, including a Xiem tool that I think I'm already in love with. They make such great, useful, high quality tools. I wish I could afford one of everything they make.

We checked out, came home via the giant, fizzy drink store, and I got to work. Dave programmed the kiln, which we're firing tomorrow. Hooray!