brown glazes

I rarely use my brown glaze. As a matter of fact, it has been at least 2 years since I have glazed anything brown. I like a bright and colorful glaze, and I have a lot of them. My brown is from I recipe I saw somewhere and changed a bit here and there to make it more interesting, and I named it pecan pie. There is a brown mug from 3 years ago in the top pic. The glaze is full of speckly textures: sort of a dark tan with reddish brown speckles. The miracle was, despite sitting in a bucket all this time, I added a little water, mixed it well and zoom, ready to test. It is a disgusting mess to use--deep blood/brick red that stains everything. Whreas all the all other glazes can be applied at the same moment, you need a seperate session to use this brown, then scrub up the mess, change the rinse water and towels. I think my moose will benefit from this treatment.

PLANET CLAIRE: B52s

Another gem from 'Wild Planet', the awesome tune o' the day 'Planet Claire'. Soak it up baby!

rejected!

Oooph, that hurts. My entry to a teapot show in Chicago was not accepted as they are no doubt foolish and stupid. That's blogging: you share your triumphs and failures. They made a mistake. Oh well, got into a different show, more on that later.
You win some, and you lose some because the judge is stupid.

Wild Planet

The first album I ever spent money on, when I was a teen or pre-teen, was the B52s Wild Planet. What an album. As Kate Pierson said in an interview not long ago, they were just a 'tacky little dance band from Georgia'. BUT, the world NEEDS tacky little dance bands, maybe now more than ever. I may put up 'Private Idaho' every day for tunes of the day, I love it so. What a fantastic video.
Dreamt myuncle was a mobster and I was in training to take it up as a career. probably pays well.

i mean it!

A most taxing day spent on paperwork. How could one application take me 8 hours? Normal people fill out papers every day. I would rather scrub floors. Do I sound like a reclusive flake?
The perfect antidote to small mountains of paperwork: a mix cd of Godsmack and Linkin Park. Quite invigorating. (does the thermometer really say 52???)

of babies and bunnies

There was talk yesterday of bunnies and of course the upcoming Easter/Gary's birthday convergence. Although frogs, pigs, dogs, elephants and bunnies make up the majority of decorations I add, there are maybe 20 total animals I do, including babies. Alyssa had her baby boy two years ago and wanted a yellow mug with a baby on it, and the one she got was definately (I mean, CLEARLY) a boy. For the general population, of course, my babies sit modestly.

big snowy mountain

Dreamt I climbed a big snowy mountain and at the top was a temple for people who worshipped flying saucers.
Which ties us to this video by Brand New Sowing Season 'Yeah' for tunes o' the day. Stay with it, it goes places.

a break in the action

Labrador retrievers are nuts for cold and snow, even if their papa is a bit chilled. Yes, it is still piggy time.

now THIS is cool

Some things are so awful they are wonderful. I wonder, could I make a tiki mug?
This example courtesy of a blog I stumbled upon.

YOU MAY FIND YOURSELF!

(little bunny, version 5.0 by GR)
Tunes o' the day, Talking Heads 'Once in a lifetime'. You're welcome. I know it is just what you needed today.
Dreamt of my great-grandmother. She was tough and generous and a whole lotta fun. My dreams have changed direction lately, I find myself back to having fun and productive dreams, Saturday night for the 2nd night in a row I spent the night making pots. Can't get away from it, right?
I made my first little bunny for either a cup bowl several years ago, and it was pretty simple, then I improved it, there was more evolution, and now yesterday I was fiddling around and have this fellow, at least the fifth version. Just in time for EASTER shopping. The year of the pig is behind us, time to look ahead to bunnies for Easter, which, and mark this on your calendar please, is April 8th, better known as MY BIRTHDAY. April 8=my birthday and Easter. Thank you. Well done.

when the student is ready, the master will appear

OK, this is my last shot at celebrating the lunar new year of the pig.

inspiration

It is NOT.

the year of the pig and my checkbook

I am no dummy, so I just loaded these 3 items for sale at my online gallery at ETSY and the yellow guy sold before I even loaded the rest. Tee hee!
Listen: don't get left out, shop with me for all your year of the pig supplies.

sonic youth and the year of the pig

Little Emily kitten looks most luminous here in the sunshine. She is quite excited about year of the pig, as she is quite a piggy little cat. Let's just say that she snacks between meals.
Sonic Youth and 'Kool Thing', maybe their BEST EVER and everybody needs to watch this video, esp. Gordo, celeste and Mrs Potsblog. Mona, where do you stand on Sonic Youth?
OK, this guy better get to work, and clean the bath and kitchen too.........

a petite photoshoot in preparation for the year of the pig: Gary making piggy mugs

sugar bowls

(by GR)
Dreamt I was making elephants. I shall be doing just that shortly. It is very difficult, getting out of bed in the winter, when it is so warm under the covers and two cats think you should stay there all day.
Videos disappear every day, but here's a little New Order for breakfast.

13 comments in my absence

I am gone for a couple of hours, and return to find a gratifyingly large number of comments about boot mugs and unicorns. BR, by the way, and please tell him if you see him, gets the prize for 'NON POTTER MAKES THE CORRECT GUESS' about how the unicorn mug below was made.
OK, these Chippewas of mine are the model for the boot mugs below. Tough as nails, handmade in Wisconsin, waterproof. My mugs may be blue and purple though. This is a very odd direction, and I should remember to ignore Alan's ideas in the future.
As a matter of fact, there are many things to make this weekend and the lady of the house sez she will take many pics. Time to get back on track, back to making PIGS. Sunday marks the Chinese New Year....of the pig.

whoa, this is the real thing!

Who is this lady, with the skillful unicorn mug and even a trilobite mug? All kidding aside, there is some awesome work here.

this is where my wife says:

(3 boot mugs made by Mr Potsblog)
'these are awful!', although she says I have done them well. Hard to please everybody, right? I imagine a little mouse scurrying across the toe or maybe...

LOWBROW: not this potter's cup of tea

Truly, I am a guy now who, for better or worse makes boot mugs. This is an ancient and awful tradition, which I have no respect for. BUT, as a person is sometimes surprised to find: I am good at it, just as I am good at making unicorns. A person is surprised by these previously unknown talents.
Mona says I post a lot. I do. It is easy. My studio could be better heated, and I work in there with 2 shirts and 2 fleece jackets PLUS a wool hat. It is awfully cold, and my hands are in and out of water. I get some work done, then run out here to warm my hands at the keyboard.

stein mit spurs

I look at the stats for sitemeter and see that nobody reads this blog anymore, not even my parents or wife. Just me and my cat, and even he visits it while asleep. Obviously the reason is the unicorn virus, mentioned below, and this new assault on good taste, boot mugs, and even worse, boot steins. I tried to put up a nice picture of a piggy mug I made yesterday, and this hideous thing came up instead.
(OK, none of the above is true, although it is a hideous, yet oddly appealing stein)

the dreaded UNICORN COMPUTER VIRUS

Sorry, potsblog has had one of those nasty viruses where ceramic and other unicorns pop up here and there. I wish I could stop it, but what can I do? This thing has sort of a cute and appealing look.
Dreamt last night that me and the missus spent good money on good tickets and got to the hockey arena which was empty and after awhile we realized we had gone to the wrong rink and missed the game. Sigh.

HENRY ROLLINS: ILLUMINATION

A must see video, for everybody to enjoy, The Rollins Band, 'Illumination'.

Tee hee: a heartfelt letter from Henry Rollins to Ann Coulter

Henry isn't just another punk knucklehead, OH NO! Gordo's sick, everybody needs a laugh, so here's Henry Rollins in a heartfelt letter to Ann Coulter. Somebody had to write it!(golly, I love youtube...)

the front door disappears

A little shoveling today, then back to the pots. The plow dumps all the snow from the street in front of our house. The road is clear, which is a plus. We got maybe 30 inches yesterday? North of here they are getting a lot more.

bootylicious

OKAY, br, made a bigger boot mug, but I think it may not be big enough for that pint of stout with head, so let's go a size or two bigger today.
Mags, the moose look a little spotty. I need to improve the brown this week.

LISA LOEB VS. HENRY ROLLINS

I was listening to this nice little tune by Lisa Loeb the other day but it was somewhat quiet and sweet so I tuned in The Rollins Band, at the other end of the spectrum. What can I say? Lisa Loeb is smart and cute, she plays her soulful guitar, and Henry Rollins is the punkiest guy out there, and angry about something to boot.

So, dreamt of making pots all night and awoke and DID NOT want to get out of the toasty little bed. But I did. And shoveled for a couple of hours. That coffee is well earned.

SNOWED IN!

Sometimes the net works, mostly it doesn't, and now the phone is DEAD. The neighbor loaned me his snow blower heheheh...

this morning in NY

..like the Crocodile Hunter said 'it's a whopper'

last year...

...when we lived in New Hampshire

LOVE IS.........

Sammy and Emily have been together 12 and a half years, and are a typical married couple: she walks by and he swats her on the head, he is asleep and she jumps him and bites his neck, she is having a drink, he hisses and whacks her and wrestles her out of the way...you know, typical married couple. Here is one of those quiet and loving moments today, they are having a little snooze and cuddle for Valentine's Day, Emily has her little paw on Sammy's.....awww, so cute.

Dreamt I was teaching high school in a shopping mall, ugh, I am so glad I don't have to work out of the house.

Hey, speaking of LOVE LOVE LOVE here is the Smithereens and Suzanne Vega in a rather wonderful duet 'Lonely place without you'. I want ALL OF YOU to watch this awesome sweet video, from around 1990, when the Smithereens and Suzanne Vega were at the height of their powers...by Gawd, she's so beautiful and her voice!!!!!!!!! The Smithereens are still together, and have a record of rather excellent Beatle's covers coming out this winter.

So, the missus and I have a bonus day here together ;^)

DSL DOWN, SNOW IN PILES

Just got off the phone with tech support, 35 minutes of my life: POOF! He told me what I knew was true, last night till this am the system was (technobabble), basically being electronically rebooted or something. OK, up and running now.

So far, 14 inches of snow, 20 more may fall by midnight. Just another day in paradise. Everything is closed EXCEPT Cornell where Mrs Potsblog works, including Cortland State and Ithaca College, but I told the missus the heck with it. I see various neighbors out there snow blowing, I am hopeful that if I don't go out to shovel, one of them will take pity on me and blow the drive.

in the realm of the absurd

My pals Alan and Gordo insist I should make boot mugs. Gordo has one like the glass one pictured. OKAY ALREADY!
I started thinking of the shapes involved, and so I made a little igloo and a little cylinder, they dried halfway, and I put them together with a handle. I kept on going, too, so don't ask: I added a tongue and laces and the side bits and details, but I thought it looked dumb, so simple it is, and it looks OK so far. One is tempted, of course, to make a converse high top, or take something like this and put a little mouse on it somewhere or.................

some groceries, some peanut butter, 'nuff to last a couple a days

Strapping the sled to the 2 labs and heading out for coffee, peanut butter and beer. I shall be prepared: 24 inches or more of snow predicted.