The one that didn't make it to the kiln.

I will show you another old photo, today. This actually didn't make it to even a kiln... She became too dry and brittle. When I placed her on the shelf for firing, The body broke from the ankle completely. She was Siren.

Because of my inexperience, I have broken several pieces before firing. I made special crates for them, but I think they became too dry. Jane, the tutor, suggested that I should try paper clay before summer, so I bought one sack at Hatfield although I haven't got round to try it yet.   

I would like to challenge a bird-style Do Goo again. Upright free standing birds are very difficult to make because they only have two feet, and heavy clay makes it unbalanced. Apparently, in reality, feathers are very light and they are actually much smaller without feathers, so, that's how they can stand upright. We live with a chicken, three parrots and one owl finch; we are truly 'bird people'. One day I would love to make some of them.  

Siren, 5th March 2011

Born in the year of rabbit - appendix

Who is the odd one out in this group photo? Difficult? Ok then, I will show the next photo. Ta-da!

Now, can you tell who is the odd one out? Yes! The left rabbit. 

His character started as a joke. While I was making rabbit girls, quietly I was imagining what if a real rabbit wears this rabbit suit? In my head, this character became alive. He behaved a bit like an old Disney character like Donald duck or Mickey Mouse.

Appendix I

Then, I made one. He is titled 'Born in the year of rabbit-appendix I'. He, it turned out, was my funny button. I giggled and laughed out loud alone in our dinning room late in the evening as I made him. It must have been a spooky sight! He became more and more active in my head, so I made appendix II and appendix III soon after.

Appendix II

They were on display in Open House. Our dear friend, Margarita seemed delighted to hear my explanation for these characters. She said 'Oh, I see! I was wondering why rabbits are wearing monks' frocks!'

Appendix III

 

How I made the first rabbit girl.

January 2011

Mike found this old image from our photo archive. I was making my first rabbit girl last January. Every evening after dinner, I made something. It was so absorbing that I couldn't hear anything. Hours had passed before I became aware of passing time.

At the time of the photograph, I was not sure if I make the bottom part of her body. But I wanted to show her immaturity, so added a baby-like bottom. I even slightly bulged the derriere to make her bottom look like wearing nappy.

A baby bottom

Front

Failure... A big one

I wanted to make three more rabbit girls for Open House. The story of rabbit girls started with my friend who was born in the year of rabbit in 1963. I developed the idea from there by making girls born in the year of rabbit in 1975, 1987 and 1999. The youngest girl went to NZ with our friends. So I wanted to make another girl for 1999 to replace her.

To complete the story, I also thought I would need to make a baby girl born in this year as a rabbit baby girl, too. One day, however, I saw two ladies walking past. One of them was expecting a baby very soon. She had glowing expression on her face. At the moment, I decided to make a mother who is carrying a baby girl who will be born in this year, the year of the rabbit.

Obviously every story needs an end, preferably a good one. Alas, this one didn't go well.

This is the image taken before firing. They were decorated, waxed and glazed at home, waiting to be fired in a kiln.

Before

And this is after firing. A couple of kilns had been a bit dodgy this autumn. My girls went into one kiln, but it didn't get up to the temperature, so they as well as the rest of its contents were moved into another kiln, which seemed to have went to too high temperature. The result was white glaze melted and became clear, and stuck on a shelf in the kiln.

After

Back to rabbits

This is sally. She had been in ceramics course with us for a couple of terms last year. She has made wall tiles for her kitchen. When I started making the second or third rabbit, she came to the glazing room where I was, and lifetd her two fingers up above her head, and moved another hand in front of her nose like a rabbit's nose. She also made funny sound like an animal sniffing around at the same time. This got all of us in stitches. She is a professor in law.