Women IV, raku wall sculpture, hand made, slab built by Tammy Vitale

I’m hoping that the watercolor effect on the skirt butterflies translates via these pictures.  It is the prettiest wash of color I’ve ever gotten from raku.  You can see the white on this started to crackle but not much.  I think I underfired it a bit and wonder if I would still have gotten the wash on the butterflies if I had overfired it (which is what you need to do for good crackle).  I think the wash would have gone to copper.  For all you out there who have trouble with copper – let me know.  I’ve got it down.  (I say this in writing and the kiln imps will take note and I may never ever get copper again, but I’ll risk it).  Does anyone out there know how to take flash pictures minus the glare?  If I take non-flash, I get blur.  Any suggestions?

Today’s post title, Titles, Titles, Titles, comes from the fact that I can never think of something to name the post at first and yesterday I forgot to name it at all.  Big Sigh.  Some creativity needed here.  I will try harder (after today)

I have to apologize to those of you who may have clicked over to myspace to read about stories and spider webs.  I typed the whole long thing and tried to post it and when checking the links, erased the whole thing.  I just could not repeat it.  And never got back to it.  My bad.  Sorry.  Will try again today and see what happens (must not have been right for releasing..everything happens for a reason).

Leah over at Kat’s Paws is doing some gorgeous work based on stories.  Check out today’s, November 27th, post which I can’t get to link and here (oh how I want this one!).  She captures the essence of what I worked on in my studies – how story underlies everything.  Her work is amazing (not to mention she is the creator of Art Everyday Month/AEM – see, unbeknownst to all of us participants, she is a Hero.  Are any of you watching that show on Monday nights?  Love it.)

Meanwhile, Terri at Tinker’s art has named the unnamed raku torso from yesterday and gotten herself a word tile  and clay tag for thanks.  She explains that in the photo she can see an owl (tufts at the shoulders, eyes at the breasts) and I can see it in the photo but not the actual piece.  She says owls remind her of Athena (they are Athena’s bird) and so suggested: Athena.  Which fits because when I presented the name to the piece I got no resistance (regular readers have heard my tales of woe – write in indelible ink a name on the back and if the piece doesn’t like it I will never remember that name again….so I take the precaution of presentation.  In this case, accepted.)  Thanks Terri!

Shopping today for office furniture for Husband and for me.  We are reordering the house to live in for now.  Maybe in the spring we’ll try again to sell.  Meanwhile, here’s what we see every evening at sunset out the front window.

I know that the red is caused by pollution, but it’s gorgeous anyways.  It reminds me to stop and breathe and enjoy what’s going on out there in nature whether anyone notices or not.  It reminds me to slow down and pay attention to the really important things, like realizing that we are human and need breathers (which is why we all slow down in winter – or am I the only one?)

Finally, here’s my contribution for AEM (Art Everyday Month).  Pages 11 (Live, Love, Laugh) and 12 (Cinnamon which is a last line from a longer poem).    It’s a reworking of an earlier AEM piece.  I likes the basic piece and what better way to keep it than to put it in the altered book?  I have been thinking lately about the cover and how to finish it.  I wake up thinkin:  what will my piece be for today?  It’s fun.  I’m always thinking about "what’s next."  Will I stop after November?  I sure hope not!

thought for the day:  The hero is not "above,"  looking down on human endeavor; she is often confused, living in the flux.  Therefore, she does not try to eliminate all suffering and pain, but to affirm life in all its manifestations, and through this affirmation to transform it.  Carol Pearson and Katherine Pope, the Female Hero in American and British Literature