Help, my world is shrinking!

Lots to look at in my garden this morning, small is beautiful. Found these two tiny insects skating in the bromeliads, and then this wasp guarding her larvae. I'm addicted to macro.

I want to come back as a gannet

A beautiful week here in the Mahurangi, with sunshine heralding the arrival of spring. Took a walk down the Whangateau harbour, the gannets were diving and soaring, coming in close to me, not bothered by my presence. Like they were saying "hey, I'm a mighty gannet, what do I care about you?".  And I felt this to be inspirational, gives life to my soul watching them. Last week also I lost a friend to cancer and this poem was read at his funeral. I saw those gannets with this sonnet knocking on my frontal lobe, it just seemed like serendipity.

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth

And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;

Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth

Of sun-split clouds, — and done a hundred things

You have not dreamed of — wheeled and soared and swung

High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there,

I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung

My eager craft through footless halls of air. . . .

Up, up the long, delirious burning blue

I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace

Where never lark, or ever eagle flew —

And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod

The high untrespassed sanctity of space,

Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

            

                                                                       John Magee

Expect the expected, for a change...

There is a real satisfaction to be had when you pull that finished piece out of the kiln and it actually looks like you wanted it to be. In pottery, there is always the chance that things don't turn out the way you wanted, in fact it's a bloody miracle when you get it right, and I've learn't over the years to expect the unexpected. But no so the case with this urchin bowl.

I am so happy to have it just as I wanted. This bowl was a trick to make and then lost a spine in the bisque firing, actually I think someone knocked it off but no confessions have been forthcoming (thank goodness for PVA). I used 3 coats of a low fire turquoise glaze. Look at that stunning colour.

I get my inspiration from a potter far better than I am, Heather Knight from 

Element Clay Studio.  Heather, you are a ceramic goddess. I'm not worthy.