March 30, 2017
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Looks Different to Me
I know I've made lots of orbs and some of them start to look alike. But they all look different to me. This one is a repeat of an orb that bit the dust when Sparky sent it bouncing down the basement stairs. It is called Solisphaera helianthiformis. The initial piece was glazed in Atomic purple which is a pale lavender color. It tends to be a thick glaze and generally obscures any fine detail. I used it because I liked the color but it really wasn't the best choice. It had been bumped by a cleaning lady I had at one time and had lost a spike. I was able to glue it back on but I couldn't sell it in good conscience. Someone had liked it so I did another one that ended up in the Student Faculty Show as part of an installation titled "Three Amoebas". It didn't win but a couple people were amused by the title. After the show ended I was approached with an offer to purchase just the Solisphaera helianthiformis piece. I sold it. It had been glazed in Tomato on the surface of the orb and all the spines were done in Red Iron Oxide stain. Which bring us to this iteration of the coccolith. It is glazed in Super T on the surface of the orb with Oribe on the spines. I like the way it looks. It has a more aquatic feel and is lighter. It makes me think that it really could be floating through the ocean waters...
Comments (8)
I'm always amazed by the creatures that live in the in the ocean. I'm amazed by your talent too.
Thanks so much for the kind words! I try to represent my version (a feeble effort) of the magnificence of creation.
I see differences.
I really like the one too. It looks fragile though.
It isn't as delicate as some of the others - I intentionally made the spines a tad thicker than before just because it had been so easily broken...
Yes, I'm amazed by your talent too. It looks like fun.
I enjoy playing with clay... it is a legitimate reason to get muddy!
I think this one is neat but my first thought is 'how do you dust it'? Other than carefully.
Years ago I had a friend get caught up in ceramics, then porcelain so she got a kiln installed at her house. She borrowed my Kewpie doll and made me a ceramic and porcelain one without the copyright on them of course. I was amazed at the size difference.
Clay shrinks when it is fired and porcelain shrinks the most! There was a student that wanted to make fancy light switch plates for her new home. She used porcelain but once they came out of the kiln they were way too small to fit the switches! She was disappointed. You live and learn! As for dusting I don't bother - when they get too dusty for my taste I just pop them in the dishwasher on the top rack (so they don't bounce around) and run them through!!