Grass fed animal poo is very good for retaining heat and insulation...it's kind of like charcoal, I guess. I don't have a horse or a free range cow, but I do have a rabbit and, really, without a second thought I ran into my son's room and emptied the rabbit's litter box into a bag and dumped on top of the tablet I had placed in the barrel.
So, guess what? yup...it bisqued. It was very low fire, but enough to change the molecular structure of the clay (there's no water left in the clay).
I have also been messing around with words. It's weird, close to two years ago, I was messing with words in paintings and in clay, but because I was in school and the instructors were terrible, I was forced not to go any further with it. The paintings from the last post are what I wanted to do with words in paint--still have plenty to work on those to do. The text on this tablet is what I was thinking about before. What's weird, I should get to the point about the weirdness, is that I had completely forgotten about using words until a few months ago. I think it was mentally beaten out of me so well, that I forgot I had even thought about exploring it. Even a few months ago when I saw my first actually decently done text on canvas, I still wasn't thinking about my own ideas. And then the artist asked me if there was a way to put text on clay, how that could be done, etc. STILL, I was blank. And then, about a month ago I was screen-printing on t-shirts and Holy Shit! what have I been forgetting??? God, my memory is horrible. Or maybe it's just when a thought is disrupted or even shot down, I shut that thought off completely. Rejection is a bitch, I guess. So screen-printing it is! I'm using some super basic chemicals, not even combinations. I think I will start adding some flux or something into the mix and see what happens with that. I don't know if I am going to continue using words. It's been done, and is being done exceptionally well by a select few. I don't know if I have anything to add to the mix. My words are mine, though, so that's a good thing. But it was worth taking a look at...and I can continue with the screen-printing.
And I threw a bird in there too. He came out with some beautiful color and a broken foot. I can fix the foot and will end up putting him on a stand. Laughing Gull.
And here are some pics from a quick trip birding. This first one shows, in the distance, the beginning of the Cascade Mountain range(east). It's strange how on some very cloudy days they are crystal clear, when normally, we can't see them from most places in the valley.
Really sweet pic of a Brown Creeper.
Chickadee, of course.
Golden-crowned Kinglet.
The area we were in (I was with a friend) is this reclaimed farmland. There's a boardwalk for most of the trail because during the rainy season everything fills with water (valley floor--flood plain?). The majority of the trees are Alders...somebody said they like the water, but many fallen trees with shallow roots prove otherwise.
And the moss is amazing here. I know I've said it before. But there is just such a huge variety. And such weird configurations.
Coots!!
The last picture is from the view on my way back into town. That's the coastal range (west). Much closer and almost always visible.
I think I'm done sharing now. I hope you are doing super well. As always, when there's a gap in time between conversations, I miss talking.
Love to all and all to love,
Beth
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