Your Choice, Allan

Candide · Post by **Candide** » Fri Nov 26, 2004 9:22 pm

This is in replacement for the very nice mug I was making for you, but ruined.

Which would you like?

- Sake cups
- Fountain
- Lidded jar (tan, narrow neck; could also be used as a vase)
- Lidded jar (blue/white/black/green; cylindrical w/nice lid, but has "jaggies" (glazing flaws) inside)
- Vase (blue/red/temmoku colors, showing the "magic of the kiln"; rather small, better for a bud vase)
- Casserole (blues & greens, nice shape, but has chipped lip)
- Decorative vase (terra-cotta; deep-blue exterior; "flower" lip; too small for most flowers)
- Large, Decorative vase. (Nice shape - narrow neck; black w/ white inscriptions; has a very "Navaho" feel to it.)

Pick your top 2.

Allan_ecker · Post by **Allan_ecker** » Fri Nov 26, 2004 11:23 pm

Whoa.

Um, what's a fountain, and how big do you mean by "big" vase?

I mean, is it, like, huge? That might cause problems moving.

This is a really cool gesture you're making!

Candide · Post by **Candide** » Sun Nov 28, 2004 9:58 am

allan_ecker wrote:Whoa.
:
:
This is a really cool gesture you're making!

Hey, it's what I did for Jennifer. Besides:
a) I like your work;
b) I like you;
c) It gives me an excuse to throw more pots.

allan_ecker wrote:Um, what's a fountain, and how big do you mean by "big" vase?

I mean, is it, like, huge? That might cause problems moving.

A fountain is one of those things that squirts water out of itself. You can see many of them in Rome.

:gryn:

None of the offered pieces are larger than 1/2 a cubic foot. The so-called "large" vase is prolly about 10"x10"x6", certainly not larger.

And the fountain is more like 6"x6"x12" when assembled. The basin's a bit larger than your average cereal bowl. The tower, from which the water gurgles and runs down, just about fills the bowl. That means the water occasionally splooshes out the top and over the edge of the bowl. To rememdy that, you can use the enclosed river rocks to "break up" the rivulet out of the top. Or you can buy a cheap, large bowl for the tower and use the basin for a cereal bowl.

I'm still trying to get the whole fountain thing down. It's hard enough to get the clay to do what I want it to. (The spout on my latest teapot is thick enough to block gamma rays.) It's even harder when "what I want" is conformance to hydrodynamics the workings of which I myself am none too clear on.

Aaaaand that, bois & grrrls, is why those ceramic "zen" fountains either (a) are cheap and don't work; or (b) are handmade and expensive as all hell.

I'd say that, of the choices I've given you, the casserole and the two vases are some of my best work. Those 3 turned out more or less exactly as I planned them. The others ... well, the glaze didn't do as I expected. (The tan lidded jar was supposed to be green, and the other lidded jar looks very nice, but had those glaze flaws (the matte glaze I used wasn't well-mixed enough and made the surface "lumpy").) The casserole's my favorite, but is now redundant. The lid I made for it was soooo huge, it overwhelmed the set. So, I made a larger casserole of similar shape and an even better-matching color scheme.

So, make your pick.

Allan_ecker · Post by **Allan_ecker** » Sun Nov 28, 2004 11:19 am

I think I'll go with the large black and white vase and the Saki cups.

Whoa, it's like, freeware pottery barn.

Thanks for a truly cool gift!

Candide · Post by **Candide** » Sun Nov 28, 2004 6:32 pm

Okay!

I'll set them aside for packing & mailing next weekend.

(At my new job, my group is facing a 12/3 deadline. My mgr. has asked us all be in early & stay late. Since my 2hr commute to/from the tip of Manhattan makes that infeasible, I'm staying with relatives in Queens this week. Incommunicato 'til then.)