...Keep on Keepin' on...

Well all, this week isn't too exciting in the world of ceramic drum blogging. I am just working away, finishing things up, trimming, and drying them out for firing.

So there's been lots of progress, just not too many new exciting pictures or updates to accompany it.

Here's what I do have, some fun pictures of what became of my first to frustrated attempts at throwing an udu drum in one session yesterday.

My First Two Attempts at Throwing an Udu Drum

...not so successful on the first go around...

Combining exhaustion, with looming deadline stress, and a time crunch doesn't make for the most mellow symbiotic throwing relationship I usually try to establish with the clay Goddess.

As I had to simply stop before I ended up in tears (haha, just being dramatic), I am going to go up to campus on Monday to make my last drum. I am hoping it will be a relativelty large udu, if I can manage it. Monday is my last wet clay day, so hopefully I am able to throw it that day, and as it will be fairly even, it should be easy and relatively quick to dry.

The Finished Silhouette of My Two Piece Wheel Thrown Drum!

I narrowed the base of this drum where it connects to the bowl, and straightened it out. And I carved a simple shape into the base.

I accidentally trimmed through in a thin spot, near the connection of the base and the bowl, but luckily the clay was thick enough, and still retained enough moisture to make a successful repair.

I am planning on firing all my drums in one session, in the small Skutt kiln, as soon as possible. I still have a lot of work to do once the first firing is done in regards to glazing and the stretching and lacing of the skins, so I'm drying them pretty fast at this point.

I feel on track as of right now, but am definitely aware of the fast approaching end of the year that is quickly sneaking up on us. So until next week, because I need to get back to work,

Cheers!

I've Built the Percussion Section!

Here come the drums!

It seems I am in full swing production mode lately, and I've really got some great momentum going. As of this afternoon, I have five djembe silhouettes that I've attached together.

There are many more visuals this week, as promised, so here's what's happening!

First Hand Built Drum!

Here is my first hand built drum with the finishing touches completed until after the bisque firing.

I brought the profile of the top rim in by quite a lot, and added the carved cross hatching so the hide has something to grip onto.




I also burnished the bottom rim, and repaired a hairline crack in it, which happened when a clumsily knocked it against the table, oops.

*Great Ceramic Tip: I repaired the small crack utilizing a technique Gem proposed, using a combination of slip and mashed up toilet paper for added structure. I squished it into the crack with a wooden tool, let it dry, and refinished the surface. It worked great!

  Marbled Drum!

I went up to campus today, an extra day this week to work in the studio, because my marble drum was in desperate need of attaching, and definitely couldn't wait until next Wednesday. 

Here is the surface of the marble drum after I have scraped away the top layer to reveal the marbling,
and then burnished the surface to a fantastic buttery soft texture and sheen. I may add some simple carving,
then finish the exterior with beeswax after firing.

Here is the two separate prepared pieces of the drum before I worked out exactly how I was going to go about attaching them.

It was almost too much past the leather hard stage of drying, but with some damp paper towel, and a little bit of time, I was able to get the clay malleable enough to attach the bowl to the base successfully...well at least thus far.

Here are some details of this pretty lil' number!

            

 They Made It Out Alive!

Here are my monkey drums, and they survived the kiln intact the first time around!
Now all I have to do is wax, and glaze them with a clear coat, then back in they go for round two.

Beads Galore!

Here are the beads I made to be attached with strings to the small handles on either side of the monkey drums.

I used the grey clay and the marbled clay, and then carved into some, and burnished others.

 Two Part Wheel Thrown Djembe!

Here is the first wheel thrown djembe

I tried in two separate parts which I later attached together.

The shape still needs some more refining, which I will do on the wheel, 

then...well, who knows for the surface design?

One Piece Wheel Thrown Djembes!

Here is the first wheel thrown drum I attempted. 

It is thrown upside down, and has a wide bowl openeing.

I decided to leave an aggressive throwing mark on the surface as the design,
and haven't decided how I will finishing glazing it quite yet.

This is the second one piece djembe I threw on the wheel, and I am quite happy with the silhouette of it. I used the techniques from Chris Scamehorn's video in the making of this drum.

All I have to do is let the dry a bit more, and then trim and finish the inside of the bowl and the lip.

I plan to use some interesting carving and/or glazing techniques with the finishing of this drum.

Udu Update!

I decided I am going to use the plastic ball I was discussing in my last post as a slump mold, and then cut it out after. I can then use paddles to form it after a trap air inside it. Or, I may try throwing one or two piece udu drums on the wheel, possibly using the same air trapping shaping technique.

But man, plastic beach balls of the appropriate size I need for my udu drum mold are harder to find at this time of the year then I thought. The only thing I came across that wasn't a giant beach ball size, were Disney character covered, and $5 a pop! Ridiculously over priced for something I'm going to purposely pop shortly after purchasing anyways. I'll just have to shop around a bit more.

Until next time, take care while I get my hands dirty! 

Cheers!

Holy Hides!

Well, this was a very interesting and productive week in the world of drum making!

This week started with a call from John, the very generous drum maker, elder, and member of the Cowichan Tribes in Duncan, who was kind enough to source and prepare a full back deer hide for me. It came from his nephew in Port Alberni, who as access to the hides through his hunting business. He picked it up for me, and prepared it by removing the fat, most of the hair, and curing it for me. But let me just tell you, it was a very interesting experience.

Arriving at his home, my friend Rhiannon and I were greeted by his witty customary prank when strangers arrive at his doorstep, of cracking open the door, eyeing you up and down, and saying "No fish today!" Then laughing, and opening the door with a kind smile, and inviting you into his home without hesitation. It happened just like this the very first time we arrived, unexpected and awkward on his doorstep. He then promptly took us into his kitchen to show us a technique on unfreezing a salmon he was preparing for dinner.

We were then lead into his backyard, and shown to a shed that was constructed of tarps, and surrounded by, well, dismembered parts. The entire interior was lime washed white with the curing concoction and fat from the animal skins, there was a pile of deer hooves; legs still partially attached, just to the left of my feet, and buckets filled with wet hides all over the floor. He then reached, with gloved hands, and certainty into a bucket nearest the door, and pulled out two hides, before handing the third into the black garbage bag that I was holding in my outstretched hands. Let me inform you, the smell was a lot less then I would have expected, considering the circumstances, but it most definitely wasn't pleasant.

It is now triple bagged, and in my freezer until I need it. At that time, which I am a bit nervous for, I will have to rinse it very well, remove the remainder of the hair, and soak it overnight before stretching it over my drums. It's all very exciting, and something I have never done before, so it's going to be a new experience for all of us!

First Hand Built Slump/Hump Mold Drum!

Here it is, almost done, minus a bit of final tweaking around the rim lip 

which I want to bring in a bit. 

I really want to accent the burlap texture on the outside of the drum, so I am pretty sure I am just going to fire is as is and accentuate the shape with a simple black band in our licorice gaze. As I final step, I will seal it with beeswax.

Goat Skin with Hair!

This here is the skin I was lucky enough to find at the Chemainus Thrift Store.

I believe it is a goat skin, and it still has the hair attached!

I may use it to stretch over one of my more decorative drums, and leave the hair intact. 

Although, I'm sure it won't resonate much sound.

I have also seen a technique where after it is stretched, you shave the top part of the drum, and leave the hair around the edge.

Something like these here, but more simple on the tying technique.

Gorgeous! 

I thought I would also post a few pictures of this beauty I am borrowing for inspiration!

This is the first ceramic drum I was ever introduced to, which my friends purchased on our annual trip to the Oregon Country Fair!








Unfortunately, because of an impending critique for the ceramics class I share the room with, it was also a very busy week in the ceramics room, which didn't really give me the time or space to document my progress as thoroughly. So I'll make sure to put up some extra pictures of what I've been up to in next weeks post.

I have been working on my wheel thrown drums, which I am trimming and drying to leather hard at this point. I was also able, with great success to throw two drums all in one piece! The silhouettes are both quite different, and very interesting. It was so quick and easy, I am going to throw a few more this coming week.

I am working on my marble drum, and have scraped away the outside layer of clay to reveal the beautiful marbling below. I then burnished the exterior with a stone, which gives it a luscious and touchable texture. I will finish it with some simple carving once I have attached the bowl to the base.

This coming week I am also going to start work on my udu drums. After talking with Scott, I decided with his suggestion, to use rubber balls as molds for these spherical drums. I have a few ideas on how to do this which include plaster casting the ball in two parts, using it is as a one part hump mold and removing the ball later, or using it as a slump mold in two parts. Experimentation is necessary!

Until next time, cheers!

Refining, Attaching and Throwing this Week

Well this has been a most productive week for me in the ceramics room!

I spent a few days of reading break up at the campus, and it was like having the school as my own private studio, and I was able to get a lot accomplished. I have finished up my first project, the monkey drums, and now that I have worked out the majority of the kinks (thus far at least), am in full swing with the construction of my djembe drums.

Monkey Drums!

Here are all four of the monkey drums! I am really happy with how they turned out,
and I enjoy the chunky hand built character and quality they have.



I made one smaller matching set, one single long handled larger drum,
and one double handled larger drum.



 

These are the matching pair of smaller drums, which I used an opposite red and black slip trailing technique, that I then scratched into on the handles.

This is the two handled slightly larger drum. When I attach the hides on either side, I may seal some clay beads inside,  turning it into a sort of rattle drum!

 I carved into the exterior of the entire drum, creating a very interesting and tactile texture.

This is the larger long handled drum that I used a combination of black and green slip on, 

which I then carved a Navajo inspired pattern into.

Slab and Slump/Hump Mold Djembe's!

Here is my first larger hand built djembe with the base and the bowl successfully attached!

It fit together like a dream, and a simply used the access clay left around the opening to join it on the inside. I then inverted it overnight, and stuffed it with plastic bags so it didn't sag or collapse.

I used my plain paddle with a piece of burlap wrapped around the outside to achieve the texture on the outside of the drum, and plan to finish it with a simple glaze that accents the beautiful aesthetic. 

The marbled djembe drum has been beaten out with a plain paddle, and is in the process of drying to the leather hard stage so I can attach the base to the bowl. I have also decided to try angling the bowl of the drum so that it sits at a slight angle facing the player.

I have started throwing a few djembe silhouettes on the wheel, and have two large drum bowls, and one base so far that I will attach. I was also inspired by this video by Chris Scamehorn to attempt to throw one drum in a single go. I hope to have a total of two hand built slab, slump/hump mold djembe's, and two wheel thrown djembe's.

Cheers until next week!