Sunday, August 31, 2008

Canna

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canna_(plant)

If I feel stuck, I go to nature to get some influence or stimulus. I also take very close up pictures. This is a plant I grew from seed and it has been with me for years under somewhat extreme conditions.
We have gophers, I mean millions of gophers, and they eat everything, even trees. OK, maybe it is only thousands. They go for the tender taproot of the tree and then BAM, the tree is dying right before my eyes and the fruit is dropping off the tree. You know those cartoons that you see with the carrot slowly going down in to the ground, I live that.
I planted this canna in the ground in one of my big cat litter buckets with big holes drilled in the bottom of it, and then I planted the bucket in the ground, I leave the top 3” edge of the bucket above ground to discourage the rabbits. I think poverty is the mother of invention. This seems to work. It is so funny and gives me a perverse pleasure to see dirt in mounds, evidence of the gopher, around the buckets and the plant thriving.
It is a beautiful example of reds.

Friday, August 29, 2008

Red



Red is a color I am just getting to know. I did not vibrate with it when I was younger. I find that I am playing with it a lot more these days. This is an example of the Neo-Opaque Red on Cernit, black, gold and copper. I love the way it looks. It makes a beautiful antiquing medium for clay. The color is thick and rich, it works on cloth, leather, air dry clay and many other surfaces. I apply to the baked textured disks and let dry a bit, then rub off with a damp old towel. Sometimes it takes a bit of rubbing.
You can also bake the clay pieces again at about 200 degrees F. for about 10 minutes to set paint.

Check out some of the other great Ne-Opaque colors we carry at the Clay Factory it says it is the Lumiere paint page but do not pay attention to that, Howard is trying to trick you.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

My mom always said "If everyone jumped off of a cliff, would you do it too? Well I guess I would.