Tammy Vitale (2nd from left) at closing, Heron’s Way Gallery, September 30

I got my camera back today when I loaded my show out of Herons Way Gallery and redid my screen for the month.  I was lost without it!

I am taking a break from trying to asphyixiate (how do you spell that?) myself with patinas in the studio.  It got so bad I finally opened the garage door and am wishing I hadn’t quite had that cookie for lunch (orange chocolate. Absolutely delicious.  And too rich.)  Here’s what I was doing (on the right) – decided to finish all these masks in a patina, something I haven’t done in a long time.  Now I can’t remember why.  The bronze (which is showing green in this picture that isn’t actually visible to the naked eye) is luscious.  I’m not even sure I’m going to put anything else on them.  I’ll let you know tomorrow when I show you the finished pieces.   Possibly because it’s been a very long time since I’ve done any masks at all.  But after my session with Dianne the other day, and now that I have my tools for making eyes for Philippe Faraut, I see a period of mask making.  I can hang them in the trees outside if they don’t sell.  Maybe take pictures of them in the trees to encourage people to imagine these spirits in their own yards.  Some time people’s imaginations have to be encouraged a bit.

Also as promised, here are pictures of working on the mask that "popped" in the kiln – her forehead came off.  Air bubble.  I haven’t finished her yet, still have one step to go, but you can see the progression in the photos:  forehead broken; pieces set in place; mask glued back together, silver spray in place.  When she’s finished, she will look just fine.  Using patinas has several advantages.  If the piece is glazed and blows in the kiln, pieces of glazed clay glue themselves to other work in the kiln.  this is not good.  And there is no way to fix a blown glazed piece that looks right.  Those pieces go into totems (so all is not lost). 

With patina or stain, you fire the naked clay.  If it blows, you can glue it back together.  Stain or patina and finish and more often than not, no one will ever know the difference.

Her name, by the way, is Lady of the Night.  Which is an English translation of an Aztec goddess whose name I cannot say so I decided to just stay with the English.  I wish the names would give pronunciation guidelines.

She is heading toward looking like this (right), another recent mask, Mage. Although, if I can pry some turqoise patina out of the old tube of Rub ‘n’ Buff, I want her to have some of that worked in over the eyes and maybe in the surround.  And I was in Michael’s today and didn’t even think to pick up a fresh tube.  Rats.

thought for the day:  Art is good.