Just Cruisin'...

 So, this was a very fast, frustrating, but productive week in the ceramics room!

Last week started with a trip up to campus on Monday for my last wet clay day, which I hoped would be the day I was able to throw at least one udu drum in a single session on the wheel. Well, that didn't go as well as planned, and definitely not to the scale I had hoped for. The upside is that I did manage to come away with one small drum.

Here it is, after I threw the bottom bowl part on the wheel, then coiled on the neck and lip.

Here is my udu after I let it dry out a bit, put it back on the wheel to trim in, and then carved and applied black slip in a simple design.

All I have to do now is cut out the hole in the side, and carve into the slip in a few more areas. 

I ran into someone very interesting this week, while shopping for an old bin at a thrift store in Duncan to wash the deer hide for my drums in, who overheard my conversation with the sales lady about my drums. Her name was Lanna, and on top of being interested in my drums, she also gave me the name of her Aunt, Florence James, who is an Elder at VIU, and who just recently made a drum herself with a Cowichan Tribes drum maker.

I emailed Florence, and she was kind enough to pass on the bits of wisdom she had learned while making her drum, and also a prayer to bless each drum with. It also turns out the Cowichan Tribes drum maker she had learned from was her brother, who just so happened to be the same John Crocker who prepared my deer hide for me!

The prayer she told me to bless each drum with is,

"I would like this drum to have a voice; 

please Creator, give it life!"

Marble Darbuka!

 Here is my marble darbuka drum with the final carving detail around the bottom rim complete, and a high sheen finish achieved by various burnishing sessions.

After a bit of research I did into burnished surfaces, I did find that it is essentially a low fire technique for raku or cone 18 firings preferably. Therefore, at the cone 6 firing my drums will be receiving, I am not sure if the smooth burnished finish will stay around. It will just have to be a surprise! 

Wheel Thrown Drums!

These are the two djembe drums I threw on the wheel with the rims trimmed, ready for drying.

Carved Two Piece Wheel Thrown Drum!

 

A Few Fun Extras!

Here are two adaroble pudgy mugs inspired by one that I bought at the Oregon Fair last summer, that unfortaunatly broke a few months age.

The top is narrowed to keep in the heat, as well as accommodate a cork stopper that acts as the lid. It is on a piece of cord that hooks around the hande so you don't misplace it.

 

Here is a bowl I made with a simple carved pattern around the rim.

Here is what I like to call my tiger egg bowl. It was made with the intention of pouring eggs in mind, and well, I'm sure you can figure out where the tiger inspiration came from.

This also functioned as a test to see how the black slip reacted and existed with the red-bodied clay 

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I took my deer hide out of freezer this weekend, and it is currently thawing on my front porch, so I can get a better look a what I'm going to be working with. I can also assess whether or not the hide was already scraped clean of the smelly fatty layer by John Crocker, or if I have to do a bit of that myself.

Cheers, until i have pictures of the deer hide!