Triangular ceramic box

Was over visiting a family friend's place recently, and saw this:

It's something I made in university. After I fulfilled all the requirements for my Honours Degree, I needed (essentially) 2 more classes worth of electives. So, I took a condensed ceramics class in the summer, partially because I've done all kinds of ceramics work before so it would be easy, and partially because it's a heck of a lot of fun, and after packing my schedule to complete my degree in just under 1.5 years, I figured my final class/credits should be enjoyable :)

The project requirement was to make a slab box, which means rolling (with a special roller) out thin sheets of clay, cutting them into geometric shapes, and scoring/wetting the edges to build a box. Generally this works best when you use 90 degree angles

Every person in the class built a square/rectangular box, maybe 2 or 3 put a lid on theirs.

Since I'm never satisfied (well, let's me honest... it's that I'm not interested) in boring/status quo things like that, I built this odd little triangular box/dish which is wider on the top than it is on the bottom (so, no 90 degree angles were used) and sculpted a fancy little handle for the lid.

 The lid sits in place on three extruding triangular pieces, so air is meant to get inside.

...and because I do like making things look nice, I angled the points so it fits softer in place, and pressed three triangular impressions on the 'feet' of the lid and also inlaid them with glaze.


It was kind of fun/nostalgic to see this sitting out on display, and nice to know she liked/likes it enough to keep it out.


I know I've got more pieces, but they're in boxes, tucked away to survive the next time I move.

Really cool reflective cups/saucers

Since Alcar, my longest writing buddy, sent me this link (watch the video, seriously), I'm sort of taking it as a challenge... (even though I'm positive those geometric designs are decals, not hand-painted)...

...to make my own...

(ignore the hideous tablecloth -> it's simply to protect the table)

Step #1:

...we'll see how step #2 goes tomorrow...

I haven't decided whether to paint the saucer with lustres or with regular paint... hmmmm... will sleep on it. Measuring and drawing on the design took about 2 hours because, like the piggy bank that I painted a 10 point lotus on, measuring for a 14 point design is pretty darn hard.

I need to stop quadrupling the work, especially when I'm only playing around/experimenting with something new.

...my life would be easier if I wasn't my own worst enemy...

Amazingly fantastic porcelain beasts

I'm definitely anti-clutter, anti-knick-knack, and anti-anything-that-requires-dusting, but these little guys make me want to re-evaluate my position on the matter. Here are pics of a couple of my favourites :)

If I had an extra $2000 lying around...

Oh my goodness, you have to check these out, and be sure to scroll down the page. Here's a couple as an example:

...and this is what they look like with the light off:

I really can't believe these are just layers of water-colour paper cut out with a light behind them!

There's a video showing the artists making one of these here.

SO COOL!

I think I like 'A Drop in the Ocean' and 'Where The Giants Roam' the best...



These, by another artist, are gorgeous too.

...and another amazing artist who works three dimensionally with paper...

New scribble

Since I'm trying to re-strengthen my hand now that the nerves are less restricted, I've been sketching a few little cartoons/drawings.

Here's one I'm pretty pleased with :) ...even the 10 minute Photoshop job to throw in some colour...

And no, I didn't draw the Seahawks logo... I just edited one I found online.

I've said before, when I've posted little self-sketches on my writing site, that this is my default drawing style. Yes, from all the years of life-drawing and animation classes, I can draw in many different styles, but this is the one I developed as 'mine'.

Sure, it's not super wow-worthy/impressive, but I like it. It's simple, focuses on shape, the silhouette against the white-space is interesting (if you delete the green framing oval), and it gives a light/laid-back feeling.

I inked over the sketch with a micron pen before scanning it into Photoshop, but I really do prefer my original pencil lines... they give more of a sense of movement/emotion. I find the Micron pens make sketches a little more stilted/cold because you're tracing an original drawing.

One day I'd love to play with a WACOM tablet... but for now, it's pretty low-tech ;)

...and I love sketching. The mechanical pencil I use I've had since my animation-school days. The lead is thick, about 1/8", so you can get a really diverse variety of line thicknesses, and it comes in different hardnesses. I usually use B or B2. B for cleaner/thin lines, B2 if I want more range in thickness and a sketchier feeling.