spend a little, save a lot!!!!!!

(piggy banks by Gary Rith)
You're probably thinking that in tough economic times you should save for emergencies, and treats! I can help. Go to my gallery, buy a piggy bank and start saving for more pottery.

nooooo, no procarastination, no way.....

So, this morning I installed a scratching post and wee little cat bag and moved the red slipper chair upstairs. Hmmmm, lessee, is it lunch time yet?

pottery in action

(vases by Gary Rith and weeds from the garden)

dishes hanging around in my front yard

(pots by Gary Rith)
My old pal Gordo asked for a dozen mugs with this purple and red glaze scheme, then Kcinnova asked for a bunch of bowls and plates in the same color scheme, so although they are not a matched set, they're actually a matched set.

New Order, Regret, Baywatch, bikinis, beaches, THE HOFF

A nice summery beach tune for today.

Glazing action on an early Sunday morning!

(Mister Pottersblog, his brush, and some pots awaiting glaze)
So, Penny wakes me up very early, per usual, but there is laundry to do, 3 dogs to walk, our cats to feed and catbox to clean PLUS the 3 cats over at the neighbors to feed and clean up after THEN I glaze and soon I have to do the dishes and cut the grass.
Sunday? Day of rest?????? Not for this self-employed house husband. And the filthy house needs cleaning too, as a boatload of relatives arrive at different times this week.
Our cats always go into the kitchen litter box and do a big stinky ______ the minute guests sit down for lunch. Maybe they'll be locked up somewhere for the day (s).

CM's 42nd birthday! Yay!

Mister and Missus Pottersblog's best pal CM turns 42 today, yippee!

post 2900 and go BUY SOMETHING

(pottery by Gary Rith)
Like I was sayin', these things going on sale now at my etsy gallery, YEOW!
BTW, I think I am going to reach 3000 posts before August, and August marks this blog's second birthday. Woohoo!

the heck with it all:

(piggy banks by Gary Rith)
YES, nouveau style piggy banks, looking great! They shall be for sale on my online gallery site later on Sunday. I gotta glaze a load first thing Sunday and since I am up and posting 80s music goodness....
OK, I can't stand my blooger comments, I am returning to unmoderated....

80s orgy: TOTP

Top of the Pops, live Tears for Fears and Frankie goes to Hollywood, Big Audio Dynamite, oh goodness it all makes me SO HAPPY.

comments:

OK, it is hard to figure out how to fight spam AND make sure real people can comment, so I am trying comment moderation where you write your comment and submit it and I review it and publish it. SORRY!

speaking of SPIKE

(frog mug with Spike glaze by Gary Rith, Spike and Emily cats)
I was walking with the missus yesterday evening and saw a real frog, and several bunnies, red squirrels and birds and such, but anyway, it is well know I love frogs.
The NEW glaze recipe called Spike seems potentially very froggy to me, and you can see it well used here, PLUS another shot of Spike's greenish eyes which inspired the glaze name.

MIRACLE FORTRESS!

Maybe lately! Oh goodness, this is the BEST video, BEST BEST BEST. There are 3 people dressing up as dogs and cats and they break into houses and feed and spoil pets, and it sounds so good too.
And YES, they are Canadians, or perhaps Canadiens.

TIKI

(cheap, ripped off tiki, and Gary Rith's tiki mugs)
My pal David came over the other day. He remembered that a year ago I had made some tiki stuff (2 lower pictures) and that I had a classic tiki zombie mug from a garage sale (probably a restaurant before that) and so he told me a story and gave me the cup, top right:
Last summer having had several zombies he pocketed this cup and walked away with it. Despite the fact that he is a prominent local politician (I could link, but I bet he doesn't want me too!!!) and also an Eagle Scout. The cup rode around in his car all year before he remembered to give it to me. Just what I need, now I have a collection of 2!

my Spike in a box

(Mister Potsblog and Penny, Jack and Penny and Spike)

beastie news, chapter 1

(Mister Pottersblog and Tiger)
Oh, I don't need a new kitten, really I don't. Luckily the nieghbors got this little fuzzball AND I get to babysit him this weekend AND they gave me a premium six pack, yeow! How great is that?
But wait, there's more! I was fiddling with clay, and I don't have a picture, but made a wicked cool teaset at Cornell's potshop yesterday AND got out a great firing here at home (some small examples from that firing below) AND the wife made a reservation for me on a trip to Toronto next month to see the Yankees play the Blue Jays. The bus goes up Saturday morning for a 1pm game then back home that day, ticket and bus are pretty cheap for Cornell faculty and staff. HA!
Lucky boyo indeed....

little ornaments and pencil tops

(by Gary Rith)

beastie news, chapter 2

Including beastie in a box. Penny doing a variety of cute things yesterday.

class notes:

Kaisa is a veterinarian and new potter joining my classes. She is already quite skilled and fine-tuning. I don't have pictures today of beginner Lauren's work, but she finished her first pot and made a handle for it and has a nice little cup.

I kissed a girl!

Jill Sobule. My wife loves this song. Dang, is that Fabio in this video?????

feeling froggy

(pots by Gary Rith; and a celebrity guest)
People probably think I am froggy all the time! I adore frogs, and was thinking, now that I have a new pale green glaze (SPIKE!) that something new with frogs was a good idea: lily pads! Then I was thinking 'well, maybe catepillars and leaves too?'.

Penny and Paco the doggo

Paco the STUFFED doggo.

My Bloody Valentine, 'Soon'

Absolutely beautiful.

sad story

(urn by Gary Rith)
I have made memorial plaques for pets, but wondered if anyone would ever ask if I could make an urn for pet ashes. Well, sadly, Mary's cat is ill and will move on soon, and she asked if I could make an urn glazed in yellow with a cat on top of the knob, a very good idea. I was thinking the cat should be curled up and sleeping.

....very lively....

Penny is a very small beagle, but goes where she wants, and then, when I was trying to sort clean laundry, our 14 year old kitten Emily fell asleep on my pile...

deep thoughts with Spike, Q and A and a movie review of Lilo and Stich!

I'll do the typing, but Spike here has some things to share with you:

Susan from Susquehanna asks: "Spike, how did you get a glaze named after you?"
Susan, I have these beautiful greenish eyes, brimming with intelligence and mystery. H*me Depot is considering a new latex paint color called Spike too.

Johnny in Kalamazoo wants to know: "what would you call a power breakfast?"
Johnny, these people I live with don't give me much choice in the matter, to my daily distress. I have to get up on the table and the counter and toss the keys or flower vases onto the floor (REALLY!) before somebody feeds me crunchies around ten. Later on I get some tuna, but I don't consider this lack of dietary control befitting a cat of my stature. Salmon at 3 am would be ideal.

And finally, I saw the funniest and best movie last night about a blue space alien named Stitch that looks and acts a whole lot like a 6 legged cat. "Lilo and Stitch" is classic Disney and superb viewing for both cats and people and beautifully animated too. The little girl is so naughty! The alien is so bad! Ten little claws up out of ten.

more pottery cuteness

(cute little pots by Gary Rith)
Guess what? Hold onto your hat CM, I am gonna share the glaze recipe for Spike Glaze(pale green glaze above) with Ellen, because she helped me. I know, I never share glazes.....

ROCK STAR

By Nickelback, the not-for-little-kids video version. If you like hard rock, as I do, you will have heard this tune on the radio quite a bit for the last year or two. This video takes you around the world, especially around the streets of Chicago, and is filled with star cameos including Wayne Gretzky!



And once you've enjoyed that, watch this hilarious spoof called Pop Star, poking fun at the usual trashy tarts and other celebrity types...

front and back!!!!!!!

(jade glaze looks good on the front of these tests, AWFUL and streaky on the back, plus Penny and Buster front to back or whatever)
Tink's word challenge for the week is 'front and back'. I have been working on a new glaze recipe and this was an example of jade which would look good in some spots, TERRIBLE in others, but if you read below, you'll see how I made a perfect NEW glaze!
Plus, of course, doglets on the couch...

SPIKE gets his name on a glaze

(little pots by Gary Rith glazed in SPIKE celadon and Spike himself)
If you know me, you know I love celadon glazes, roughly described as: a shiny pale green with a little blue and grey in it, which tends to break over edges and decorations, originating in Korea and Japan. I made my first celadon mix 10 years ago, and altered it 2 years ago and named it after my deceased dog Petey. I mixed a different celadon which was gorgeous and striking, and named it after my old cat Sammy, who had bright green eyes. It was a very tricky glaze to use and would often melt off the pot onto the shelf, and the Petey glaze was good and steady, but lacked a little oomph. You see the results of the jade way up top, front and back, a glaze test. Looks good in some parts, awful in others.
SO, I mixed the jade glaze and the Petey glaze TOGETHER and added some of the Sammy parts and added more dark rutile and copper oxide and other stuff, and the first test was awesome--nice and even and not runny and so pretty! (basically, I tossed everything together, all the ingredients and voila!)
These 2 little pots are the first items glazed with a super looking glaze I am naming SPIKE, because it matches his eyes, and he is friendly and reliable and cheerful, like this glaze.