Studio Saturday

With only a week to go till the Open Studio, most of my studio activity has been of the sifting-and-sorting variety - contemplative rather than active.

It's a good opportunity to have a clear-out - not necessarily of work, but of all the objects and appurtenances that accumulate around the making of work. Even after just six months, my workspace is cluttered with useless things. Here I can be ruthless!

A week ago I was still thinking of making last-minute pots

but by the time what's on hand had been looked at, there seemed to be enough for a varied display. Not everything was 100% perfect, so I kept thinking about how to make the most of the imperfections - eg, those breakages could be enhanced with a little kintsukuroi-type mending...

Forgotten items emerged -

The glass of the beads makes areas of glaze

Adding pins and staples

 Groups formed -

 The pots started talking to each other -

 not always amicably....

 Could my woodblock prints be incorporated in the "staging"?

The most exciting development is the arrival of  bling  - a tongue-in-cheek nod to kintsukuroi - on slightly chipped and otherwise unwanted items. Judiciously used, of course - the price of gold (23 3/4 carat) being what it is, less is more -

Before - paper-clay pots from a few years ago

After - "precious pots"

The home studio is getting a bit of a turfing-out, in search of other ceramic lilies to gild and repair, not necessarily in that order -