TAMMY VITALE

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Mask_jade_ice_w_driftwood_full Mask_jade_ice_w_driftwood_detail_2

Mask:  Jade Ice, hand made ceramic wall sculpture with driftwood and semi-precious raw stones, 20"t x 7.5"w, $145, by Tammy Vitale

Here’s Jade Ice in her final iteration.  Am really liking what adding a piece of wood does with these masks (see first iteration here).  I like the energy of the moving line of the wood.  Usually I take pictures with a plain backgroun, but I decided that she would look really good on the office rug (inherited from my parent’s house – it lived in the dining room for 50+ years); I love the colors of this rug!  It looks like jewels around the mask.

Today is raku day – at least glazing if not firing, but probably some firing.  Raku mate Dhyana is coming over.  The last kiln load had raku pieces for both of us:  mine are masks and I have some Women from about 6 months ago.  She has rattles.  Of course it hasn’t rained much lately and I was concerned about fire hazards but then it rained last night and now I’m concerned about finding dry material to fire with (pine needles and leaves).  It’s never perfect.  But always fun.

thought for the day:  A thought is harmless unless we believe it.  It’s nout our thoughts, but the attachment to our thoughts, that causes suffering.  Attaching to a thought means believing that it’s true, without inquiring.  A belief is a thought that we’ve been attaching to, often for year…Thought are like the breeze or the leaves on the trees or the raindrops falling.  They appear like that, and through inquiry we can make friends with them.  Would you argue with a raindrop?  Raindrops aren’t personal, and neither are thoughts.  Once a painful concept is met with understanding, the next time it appears you may find it interesting.  What used to be the nightmare is now just interesting.  The next time it appears, you may fin it funny.  The next time you may not even notice it.  This is the power of loving what is. Byron Katie, Loving What Is:  Four questions that can change your life.

3 Comments

  • what are these big green eyes watching ???did they tell you ?

  • Tammy, I really think you are right about the driftwood adding a wonderful motion to the work. I really like this mask a lot!

    So, I have this huge pile of driftwood on my front porch that was collected on Pacific coast beaches over the years by my mother in law. Interested in any? A lot of it is old redwood burls.

  • The patterned markings on this mask face, remind me of tribal tattoos, like the Maori.

    The rug does make a beautiful background.

    I'm becoming increasingly curious about your kiln/firing techniques – I'd love to know more about the process. The one time I was going to a raku bowl-making workshop, I ended up having to take the person I was with to the ER (they tripped in the parking lot, breaking their elbow), so I ended up missing the whole thing. I love the sheens of the different colors I've seen in raku pieces.

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