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| Rhonda the Cake Angel! |
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| A cake fit for a 101 year old, made by Rhonda and Mark. |
It is That Day again...., and I have decided to take the initiative this time and declare that it is my one hundred and first birthday. I may indeed stay 101 for a few more years, as I think that this age has considerable advantages. Whilst time has certainly left its mark upon this body, I am now beginning to receive compliments about how young I look for my age!
Friends Rhonda and Mark (who have appeared in other places on this blog) took the initiative and organised a celebration to mark this sudden welcome advance in my ageing process, and we were treated to an evening of karaoke music, a ukulele accompanied singsong (karaoke unplugged!), and frivolity. I even managed to grow my hair for the occasion, a task that consumed a whole ball of string and an hour or so of my time..., and became Hairy Potter for the evening!
It is chilly here at the early hour this morning that I am writing this and I have discovered that the shoulder length string wig does add considerable warmth!
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| Hairy Potter! |
A gift that my dear Laura arranged for me was a new, and very lovely Ukulele. I have been frustrated for years by an instrument that has been very out of tune with itself due to being poorly made, and it is just wonderful to have a Real musical instrument that looks great and plays beautifully. I have already started to extend my repertoire away from the usual ukulele fare, and am finding that Thomas Morley's "O Mistress Mine" (from Shakespeare's Twelfth Night) sounds good picked on it.
Anyway, I start this new year thankful for wife, friends and family (my mum and dad are doing really well considering they are parents of a 101 year old, but I'm not sure if my sister will appreciate being 103 by association!!! :)
Potting...
A lot has happened since I last posted about pots. I have successfully completed a tile commission and the glug glug jug commission, I have also glaze fired several bird jugs and bowls, and have put some more crystalline glazed pots through their glaze firing and their reduction firing. The reduction firing finished at 11.40 last night, so those pots are currently in the kiln cooling.
In a moment I'll post some photos on here, but I first want to say that I'm thinking of the people in the USA that I have "met" through the blog. What with the Eastern side of your country being shaken up a few days ago, and now a hurricane, it has certainly been quite a time, and I hope you are OK.
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| The thrown fish jug wouldn't glug... not enough room for air in the tail, but Sammy the Silent Sardine made a very useful glaze tester. |
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| The larger coil built fish jug glugs beautifully when water is poured from it, and the people that commissioned it are pleased with it. Really fun to do this, and I hope to make more variations on this theme. |
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| I'm pleased with this one, and like the way the copper glaze worked so well with the slip beneath it. There are also areas of chun blue glaze that I used to give a bit more sparkle and variety. |
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| Chun glaze over dark iron glaze, and it is really nice when that glaze combination works and gives blue! You can see our shed and Post office reflected in this... me too! |
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| An iron red glaze that I have been experimenting with. This gave a pale greenish line where thin over raised decoration, which contrasted well with the red where the glaze was thick. |
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| Always nice to have a hand made bowl for breakfast or for soup, and it is satisfying to make something that a person will use. |
Comments
Poor silent sardine, he deserves to be in a story book.
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Thanks for that! Yes the silent sardine should have an epic tale composed for him.. I might just give it a go! P:)
I love the silent Sardine ....and the glaze on the blue tall jug.
Maybe Ginger could write the 'Tail of the silent Sardine'lol
I thought of you when I saw a glug jug for sale in my favourite second-hand/antiues shop in Hay on Saturday.
I have done that for a while-- telling new folks that I am older than I am for just that reason.
I look really worn for 72 but for 82, I am not bad.
Love you Ukulele. I had one when I was younger. They are such fun.
Your glazes on the bird jugs are gorgeous. Wish we could hear the fish glug.
Hi Tracey,
I am enjoying being 101 already, it is a much better age than most of the ones that I have had before, and may last me for quite a long time!
Hello Angie,
Ginger is fast asleep after an exhausting morning climbing around on the roof and sunbathing on the ridge (which takes quite a bit of concentration to avoid rolling off!). When he wakes up, I will ask him nicely if he would consider putting paw to pen and composing a story... after all, it could earn him some tins of gourmet catfood!
Hi Lyn,
I'll definitely bring the string wig out on special occasions (or if the weather is really cold), it was great fun having shoulder length hair for the first time in my life, and I'll do my best to find another 101 years too!
Hello Gwynneth,
I'll definitely keep playing with the glug jug idea, it was fun to make, and they are amusing to hear in action. Apart from the damaged one that my client showed me, I'd never seen them before.
Hi Patti,
What fun that you also had a ukulele and that you are creative with your age! I'm certainly going to treasure all the compliments about my good looks and physical prowess now that I am 101!
Hi Judy,
I did hope to record the glugging jug before it was collected from my studio, but didn't quite get round to it in time, which was a shame, because it was really amusing hearing it in action. I'm just going to have to make another one! Glad you liked the bird jug glazes, I don't always use slips under glazes, but did this time, just a simple white one, and it really helped.
Hi Linda,
Thanks for that. I thought I would try a photo at the top of the blog for a change, and it does freshen it up a bit! Next project will be tabs and pages!
How young you are with your blond hair !!! Thank you for your nice comment on my blog, it was so difficult for me not to sell this summer, just a few pieces, anyway people often told me about my pots : how beautiful !!! It should be nice to eat with these kind words.
I love your new banner on the top of your blog and the lovely pots and Glou glou jug so well glazed, bravo !!! My prefered one is the chun glazed over dark iron glaze.
Best wishes to all
My 'tonsure-look' is well past it!
Father Abraham
Yes indeed, for an evening at least I was blond and youthful again (in an ageing rock star sort of way!!).
It is so hard having to stand and smile all day at a market table and not sell much... or anything! You have our sincere sympathies. I have done such markets a few times, and they can leave scars on the soul! On a happier note, there is something special about chun glaze when it works, it is mysterious like looking into a rock pool on a sunny day. Quite different to a cobalt blue glaze.
Good to hear from you, Happy Purrs from Nigella and Ginger!
The great thing about a wig from a ball of string is that "tonsure" or not, a shoulder length head of hair is there for all for just the investment of a therapeutic hour or so snipping and knotting!
Thanks for the "belated" version of the birthday greetings, at 101 time becomes more flexible somehow and every day is worth celebrating!!