Trimming Through the Night

I'm tired.

I trimmed three of the four vases for Julie, and finished two of the rockets. Most of the evening was spent carving the surface of the rockets. I used my favorite carving tool, a Kempler widgie, the one with the wooden handle, arrowhead shaped blade, and curved scraper on the other end.

The first rocket was the first one that I had thrown of the set. I kind of lost inspiration half way through, failed when I tried carving something new onto the surface (a set of grooves going perpendicular to the direction of flight on the belly), but pulled it out in the end. It turned out chubby, and wimsical. It has three engine bells.

I spent more time with the second rocket. I integrated the trim around the cockpit window with the top fin, and added and interesting louvred vent on either side. The belly is classic blue whale, which is asthetically pleasing. The second rocket has a single engine bell.

The biggest issue that I have with the rockets is that the chucks I threw are a little small, so the rockets aren't as stable as I would like them to be.

I wet the last rocket body down, wrapped it in plastic, and placed it in the damp box. The vases are in the damp box as well, upside down so the foot of the pot can dry without being damaged, and wrapped in plastic to allow Julie the chance to turn them into dragons.

Julie took some pictures of her dragon pots, and I posted one here, and some of the rest to my flickr site. I've also posted a few more pictures of rockets, and one of Julie's woven clay baskets:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/55587536@N00/

My trip out of town has been cancelled, so I'll be in the studio again tomorrow.