Glazing of New Design

I'm pretty excited! Spent yesterday doing a max glazing spree utilizing my new spray booth! What a tremendous difference it makes for me.....staying warm and not fighting any of the elements to say nothing of my glazing position being in close proximity to my studio sink. Ahhhh, how much I appreciate this!

Shown in the pic is a rustic type wall piece which will ultimately be a raku clock. I've just finished glazing it and you can see the darker areas which have been masked out from the glaze. Those areas (border and cave goats) will be blackened by carbon during the raku firing process which will happen TODAY!! This is one of several clocks......a first for me and I'm eager to see how the finished piece comes together. The surface of this piece mimics a rock/cave wall surface, so should have an overall blend of ancient/contemporary......a combination that really appeals to me.

Stay tuned! Will be posting pics of new work soon!

Horses, horses!

This post is all about my love of/for horses.......something my parents were told "I'd grow out of" when I got past my teenaged years! Well, guess what? That was a very long time ago and I'm still goofy over what I consider to be the most expressive, incredibly beautiful creature on God's green earth! I don't own one at present but enjoy including them in my ceramic work. Also, I'll be exhibiting my work in Feb. (11-21) at the Arabian Horse Show in Scottsdale! Soo looking forward to immersing myself among such beautiful animals! I especially love the "Freestyle Liberty" class where the horse is turned loose w/o saddle or bridle or halter.....to run, rear & do whatever it pleases......absolutely breath-taking!

You can see more of my work on the link provided and if you like what you see, please become a "Fan"!http://www.facebook.com/pages/Paonia-CO/Raku4u-by-Shekinah-Clay/328036630436

Featured on Front Page of ETSY!

Excited to have been featured on the Front Page of Etsy! Here's what the whole listing looked like.

Raku......raku.....simply love the process and the serendipity results!

Etsy Buy Handmade Raku4u

Nicolysan Art Museum Show & Sale-Casper, WY

Raku Ceramic Art-Shekinah Clay-Booth Shot

I've just returned from showing at the Nicolysan Art Museum Show & Sale in Casper, WY. Was a beautiful show......wonderful art and a great location at the Museum. Was happy to be a part of it!

First Raku Firings of '09!

We had a beautiful day here in SW Colorado yesterday and hubby & I fired up the raku kiln and processed some pottery that had been "waiting in the wings" for their final coat of glorious color. If you are wondering what raku is, you can learn more about it on my website: http://www.shekinahclay.com/ &, once there, click on "about raku". There you will find pictures of an actual raku firing along with explanations of the steps and a link to wikipedia for more info.

It's a captivating process......and when I first began doing it (about 14-15 years ago), I was rather intimidated by the FIRE. As time went along though, I actually began enjoying working with the FIRE as much as I enjoy creating the pottery! Seeing the interior of a kiln at 1800-1900 degrees is a fascinating thing....it appears "alive" and has a beauty of its own.

One of the many great things about raku is that it always yields "one of a kind" results in coloration because the pieces are handled individually and each one has its own relationship with the many variables which cause the coloration. I can glaze two pieces identically and get two VERY distinctly different results!

Felt very good to be back in the raku firing saddle again!

Story of the Guardian (Sentry) Horse

I just listed "The Guardian Horse Raku Vase" (http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=19070490) and here's the STORY:

When I was barely into my teenage years, a horse was on the top of my "want list". I worked at whatever jobs I could and saved every penny toward my goal until THE day came & a beautiful dapple gray mare became my own. Since all my savings went for the horse there was no money to buy a saddle for awhile, my first riding experiences were bareback.

This first horse of mine was a nurturing soul partial to women & girls (fortunate for me!). I wasn't a good rider yet & in one of my more serious tumbles from her back while cantering, my body slipped sideways & under her belly. I thought it was all over for me, but this wise old mare of mine came to a screecning halt and nearly sat down on her rump allowing me to crawl out from under her unscathed. Whenever I fell off of her, she'd stop and wait patiently and, if I could read her at all, I'd say she seemed concerned if I was ok or not....almost as if I was one of her very own offspring. In a sense, she was an incredible GUARDIAN of this young and often foolish girl.

So, any of my work having to do with "Sentry or Guardian" horses is in homage to my very special dapple gray horse "Blue".....I'd probably never have survived my early horse experiences without her!

When Life Gets Hectic...

"All true artists, whether they know it or not, create from a place of no-mind, from inner stillness". ~Eckhart Tolle

....and, for me, when life gets hectic and there's alot on my mind there's no greater place for me than my studio. More specifcally, there's no greater place than having my hands in clay. Something about the creative process is a soothing balm....very much like an ethereal connection outside of myself. Yesterday, I was in the studio throwing pots on the wheel and all of life's concerns were suspended for a time.....my awareness focused on the silky feel of the clay spinning on the wheel, the form that took shape under my hands. I am not a "production" potter.....I never try to produce the same thing twice.......rather, I set out to "throw a pot" and in the making of it, I simply allow it to "become" what it seems to want to BE......guess this is the reason I tell my hubby "I have 'new kids' in the studio"!

From a place of "inner stillness" emerges a new creation.....