Making stuff.

The creature hit the road.

My collector, who became an instant friend in 1986, way before she started collecting, moved into a new home four months ago. It’s anybody’s dream house, though a bit isolated for me: someone who only like ceramic creatures, not real lions and bears.

I posted about the project before as project 4. I didn’t post in process, and in fact, didn’t take many pictures because the creatures just look so odd without their heads, and heads are built last. On several, I had to cut off heads and adjust them several times.

This project started with no plan because as usual, I didn’t know how I was going to build a 3D object from a 2D image. I build them from the bottom up with what potters call “the coil method,” one perimeter layer at a time.

The creatures were designed to fit into existing custom shelving: 16 h x 21 w x 13” deep, except for the hare at 32” high. And then I had to factor in the size of my kiln, six-sided shelves, 18” widest in a round kiln. I had to cut off a few tails, and in the case of the hare, fire its head separately. I miscalculated the owl and had to fire it upside down.

The raccoon required a major alteration because once it was made, the tail looked, shall we say, completely inappropriate. So, what to do with the tail? The solution: drape the tail over its leg. Obscene raccoon avoided!

Last Thursday, I wrapped the creatures in bubbles and headed to Carmel. And here they all are, ready for placement.

Knowing my friend, I’d guessed that she’d want to move them around the property, so we played for a while.

Across the hillside and up the mountain, real creatures hide.

Hare on a shelf.

I walked around the new house to find some of the work that’s arrived from the old house. So fun.

Lastly, all the horses’ heads are still in a box, ready for installation soon.

Now back to my writing projects. Visit again soon or share and subscribe.