When the going gets tough, dragons gonna get going....
WRITE TO ME! garyrith@yahoo.com Come see me! Open studio HERE! November 25-26 (11-4 each day); Aurora Art and Design, daily until 12/24; Cooperstown Art Assoc. daily until 12/24; Ellis Hollow Community Fair, 12/10;
December 10, Little Red Wagon at the Space at Greenstar.
All material on this blog unless stated otherwise is copyright Gary Edward Rith 2016
You may recall that fine film classic NAPOLEAN DYNAMITE. How could you forget it? Golly I've memorized it.
For some reason uncle Rico eating steak at the counter came to mind late yesterday evening--one of the subtle jokes through the movie. Of course, he eats steak in nearly every scene, but anyway, it was a mistake for a vegetarian of many decades to think of uncle Rico eating steak…because I found myself dreaming that I was at the table with him as he ate.
For medical reasons I have been anemic for about ten years and I am careful to chase iron at every meal and eat insane amounts of spinach….but I have had these revolting steak dreams once or twice before. I will be certain to add spinach to all my meals today…..
In other news, I made this bunny egg for the helluva it. Would hold maybe ten jelly beans or a diamond ring comfortable…it is small. But cheerful, right? And very timely, with Easter on the horizon….have a great day!
This blog is all about ME, right? Sorry but true. SO you will be interested to hear that I just awoke from dreaming that it was my 50th birthday (not there QUITE yet) and it somehow became a city-wide block party (I don't, um, live in a city…). Can you imagine, a huge street festival just for me….
in other news, some new mugs out of the kiln yesterday, and have a merry unbirthday yourself!
Some people complain about daylight savings, but gosh, I LOVE it. As an early riser, believe me, we are already getting plenty of early daylight, and I love being able to walk the dog after dinner for half the year. Starting TODAY!
A small popped outta the kiln the other day….I called the wife and asked her to choose a flower from the florist on her way home…just one…
happy Sunday to you!
A Canadian friend is surprised when I mention we are already seeing mosquitos. Me too! But it is super warm lately, and in the rains Thursday a million frogs showed up everywhere and got flattened on the roads. Peepers were all over making their spring-ish sound….. It is a month early but I won't complain…
So I was dreaming last night that I worked for a large Downton Abbey-type place as their bunny wrangler. They had a lot of bunnies. The 2 big smart ones (beagle size! spotted too!) led a breakout of all 13, and I was on the chase….I found the 2 big ones with a few followers and had to get help rounding up all the smaller ones…this was quite a serious and complex task….
This time last year it was below zero and snowy up here. 73 yesterday! Flowers, frogs and bees everywhere now….with mild temps for the foreseeable future. Much as I love it, it is more like late April than early March, after a winter where I didn't even shovel snow: SPOOKY.
Anyway, these tasty dudes just came outta the kiln…..
We have particular needs for the dog and cat water dish. Not too big, with high sides. One of them is up on the edge of the bathtub (don't ask….but it is what they like!), but our guys needed a new one in the kitchen. So I made one with dogs and cats on the outside and a nervous fish on the INSIDE. Because when you're a potter you do whatever you want….
There is a bowl in our kitchen, grey blue, shaped like a half globe, and the wife claims it is her favorite. I feel like I need to listen to the masses, so I think I should make many more of them…some with shells indeed….
A week ago I dreamt of a shark swimming around the inside of a mug…I thought it was a pretty amusing idea so i made some. Sure, I have put sharks on the bottom of mugs and on the handle, but never on the side, for that swimming around in your tea look…..
have a great weekend!
OH MY I love turtles….I mean, except for snappers, they are friendly and mind their own business, right? Wouldn't it be great to travel with your own warm and cozy house?
We have had a HALF winter. Half the days warm, half wintry. Today is a good example: 40s overnight, but 20s and snow expected the rest of the day. The last 2 days were mild, and we have been seeing ticks every March, and sure enough, we saw our first deer tick March 1, ARRRRRGH! Gosh I hate those.
ANYWAY, you can tell I sculpted these on very cold days. My hands are very susceptible to cold and throwing pots is a cold water thing, even when you try to use warm water, it is still a cold studio and cold day, etc…but sculpting is NOT cold. So I made these 2 jars, or sugar bowls or stash boxes….YES, the column opens up and you can fill up the inside, like with your secret stash of cash for emergencies….
You have seen me make the pig flying a plane before but you haven't seen me make a rabbit pulling a rabbit out of a hat yet, have you? Have a great day!
SO, these came out of the kiln Sunday and because there were 2 and I wanted to spoil myself I gave one to me. I mean, I don't yet have a mug with a raccoon on it!
-slice 3 medium sweet potatoes thinly with a sharp knife, make 3 even piles
-mix about 1 1/2 cup of ricotta with some spice, like oregano and garlic (I make a vegan mix of tofu, nutritional yeast, soy milk, soy sour cream and fake cheese mashed together, but do what you want)
-lay one sliced sweet potato down to cover the bottom of the dish, then blob on half the ricotta, 1/3 of the tomato sauce next, then the second sliced sweet potato, cover with the rest of the ricotta, another 1/3 of tomato sauce then the last layer of sweet potato, cover with the last of the tomato sauce then sprinkle a ton of cheese on there
I was dreaming last night, 2 biggies: in the first, Abe Lincoln was running for president and he did a stunt: he jumped off the Washington Monument and landed in a tiny little barrel of water. WOW. I'd vote for Abe! In a second dream, I was my adult self back in fifth grade with Mrs. Gilbertson, maybe my favorite teacher. She was good. The class exercise was tough for my (nearly) 50 year old self: she was going to tell a short story which we had to listen to and record on paper, later recopying it neatly and with correct spelling and grammar and edits. I know we never did anything like this in class, but it was HARD listening to her speak and writing at the same time, being accurate and all that, and my handwriting has always been crappy.
ANYWAY, so I wake up now and yesterday's warm 50s has been replaced by 20s, wind, and snow cover. Maybe an inch or 2, what is up with THAT? I saw bluebirds yesterday! Sure, it is common for us to have snow through April, BUT NOT THIS YEAR!
So, as the Woody Allen expression goes "If you're not failing a lot you're not doing anything very innovative. I have been fiddling with a different type of handle, to make mugs and teapots with handles that are vaguely bamboo-ish, or at least a little botanical-ish. I reclaimed the clay from the first efforts (FAILS! But learning experiences). Now I have 2 good mugs and this teapot, SCORE! Can't wait for them all to be fired, plus other new ideas….and in other news, I was inspired to take a mug's worth of clay and see what long necked vases could be made with the same amount. I was, of course, amused to see them tower over a mug of the same weight….
have an awesome day!
I admit it, I live far outside the mainstream, hanging around the home studio in Ithaca, which has been called the most liberal town in America.
It is also true that my wife has said I am a positive person. I am like, REALLY? Maybe it is true, after all, we will be out walking in 15 below zero weather and I will marvel at the pretty peach and pink sunrise….
But I have to say, there is no way I am positive about everything, no way.
I have a friend who thinks (really!) that Trump is just running to make Hillary a shoo-in for the White House in November. I don't think there is any way that is true, but it is very amusing. The truth is I see the pickups with rebel flags driving past and wonder WTF is up with America? Maybe nothing new. After all, what happened to the millions of Indians who were here in 1492? And how about all the Africans brought here in chains? I am a Quaker with Mennonite ancestors--2 groups killed and persecuted in Europe, but who thrived here. So, it is easy to look at both sides of the American coin, BRUTAL for some, welcoming for others.
The fact is, there are times when the collective psyche is brutal and crazed, and a lot of American republicans seem to be following the footsteps of Germany in 1933--a hateful bully steps onto the stage and they welcome him with open arms. Like lemmings leaping to their demise off a cliff….I can only hope that Hillary has an easy win.
In other news, speaking of crazy, I have heard the name Adele but listen to rock and roll stations, and just like Beyonce, Kesha, Taylor Swift, Brittny etc, she had never crossed my path, never heard their music. Until yesterday. GOOD GOLLY WHAT IS IT PEOPLE like about Adele and Trump? Are they all flipping' CRAZY?
MY RADIO station, WITH, had an interview with the Cowboy Junkies yesterday, and they were talking about the crazy video another band did, friends of theirs. It is so good, so sweet, crazy but not CRAZY!!!!!
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