Ugly Fish, drying; hand made ceramic wall sculpture by Tammy Vitale

I now have a school of Ugly Fish.  If comments from yesterday’s post and first Ugly Fish sighting are any indication, they are a great hit.  And fun to make.  So I made them.  I now have 11 I think.  I had 3 more cut out bodies to finish but it was past 9 pm and I had to stop because I was tired, and there’s no point trying to create when you’re tired.

I had a very productive day – dare I lay it at the feet of starting Finding Water with morning pages, and, yes, my first artist’s date?  I guess only time will tell.  But lookie what all I accomplished yesterday (maybe simply because I had been clearing "stuff" out of the way all week both physically and mentally):

More Wylde Women who have permutated into a final pattern, I think.  Each will have a saying.  I will need to have stamps made specifically for that.  I have a few commercial but they are not enough for a full line and the long run.  They have a pattern rolled  across their arms.  And they have movement – each is now posed.  So the original prototype was just that:  the initial idea.  And it will the only one of it’s kind ever made (except for the 2nd one which is waiting for whomever helps me with a story line).  Or ticket design.  I’ll send her along to whomever can tell me, very specifically, how to make retail tags for my lines of work that make sense in terms of time spent and room and amount of information and size that makes sense for a final piece that will be no bigger than 12 inches tall.  Is there a software program out there or one built into Microsoft Office?  Anyone?

Designed medallions for jewelry making.  Saw a very cool necklace in a fashion magazine and decided that I could make one like that.  Since I have a nice credit from The Bead Boutique, I’m making the medallions and then will make a few necklaces and try to sell them, or just leave them as an example and sell the medallions.  Tricia, the owner, has already offered me that and encouraged me to make beads (which, if small, take too much time to be profitable, and since I’m not normally inclined toward beads, they would have to be profitable.  If I’m normally inclined and want to do something – it doesn’t necessarily have to be profitable.)

As I mentioned, I took myself on an artist’s date.  I had a bit of discussion with myself over whether or not it really was an artist’s date since the end result will be for retail, but decided since I browsed the store, perused the books, played with ideas and only spent $13 it was   a real artist’s date.  The remnant material, beads, ribbon and lace ends, wire and Spanish Moss (also for Wylde Women) will go toward creating yet another new line:  Shadow Wymyn.  That name was born when I was emailing Dianne and went to write: Shawymyn instead of Shaman….it morphed all by itself.  I am so into this mixed media line….this is an example of not necessarily profitable.  I made faces for 4 Shadow Wymyn (which I have a terrible time trying to type – my fingers get all tied up in knots) and can start on the bodies sooner while I wait for drying and firing.  Am also sort of waiting  for Dhyana to bring her raku ware so I can fire it and we can have a grand session of raku this coming Friday.

Played with Megan a bit late last night.  Managed to break her arm.  Her shoe is not gluing to her leg…in other words, I am encountering difficulties.  But at least I’m trying something new here.  If nothing else, I will learn what doesn’t work and in clay there’s definitely something to be said for that.

Don’t forget to visit Create a Connection for my guest column for Sunday Creative Challenge.

thought for the day:  All "making," whether in the form of spell-casting or of the reasoned technical construction of a machine, is an externalization of inner powers or conditions and as such their  visible, outward form.  Every tool, every instrument and machine is only a practical application..of "inherent" laws, laws of one’s own body rediscovered externally.  All basic physical and mechanical laws such as leverage, traction, bearing, adhesion, all constructions such as the labyrinth, the vault, etc., all such technical achievements or discoveries are pre-given in us.  Every invention is primarily a rediscovery and an imitative construction of the organic and physiological pre-given "symmetries" or laws in man’s [sic] structure which can become conscious by being externally projected into the tool.  Jean Gebser, The Ever-Present Origin, tranlation by Noel Barstad with Algis Mickunas