In an effort to create a small memorial to my sister who passed last fall, I made gifts for my generation of cousins and kids who knew her. My inspiration was her generosity and thoughtfulness--she had supported me through the years by always giving the right gift! For example when we got married and I took on the role of housewife she gave me an index box full of her hand written recipes for meals that have served us well throughout the years.
When we moved to the country and began farming and raising our own everything, she bought us a pressure canner to use in preserving our foods. I still use it 40 years later and think of her every time. When I started to work she bought us a crock pot so I could prepare dinners while away from the house.
So I thought about the individuals in the family and tried to make something that would be significant to each person.
The first thing I made was a stein/tankard for my cousin in Florida. He's been having some issues with alligators so I made an image of him as a conquering hero:
I love serendipity and in this case it happened again! I had decided to make a stein so for several days I pondered and thought and tried to picture what I wanted. For no reason at all I went up into the attic of my studio and while there I happened to see a box of things wrapped up in newspaper. Casually I lifted one of the items and uncovered a stein with a dancing couple on it. There he was, my conquering hero! Take away his dancing partner and replace her (sorry, lady) with an alligator. Thanks to the internet it was easy to find an image of an alligator and a slab of clay soon morphed into the vile creature. From there on the creation made itself so to speak, and with Amaco underglazes and Coyote Clear glaze overall, I was in business. It is rather heavy so next time I will make the cylinder thick and carve away the shapes to lighten the load.
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For my closest cousin, (our moms were in the same hospital room and I was born just 13 hours before she was, so we've been like sisters/twins all our lives) I made a vase. She is a Garden Club queen and over the years has won numerous awards for her displays while at the same time serving as one officer or another for her local club. I couldn't think past a vase for her and I hope it will serve her well. It is painted while damp with slips made from the same clay and which contain colorants. One is 3% manganese dioxide; there are two layers of that, then three layers of a slip containing 3% copper carbonate. The sprigs were applied when the pot was leather hard, then after the bisque it was all glazed with Coyote Clear. I enjoy the black and brown specs which are caused by the manganese.
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For my niece and nephew we searched through the photo album and found this picture of my sister straightening nephew's tie while niece is waiting in the background. I made a decal of this image using an HP laser jet printer then applied the decal to the glazed piece. Another bisque firing and the iron in the ink adheres to and becomes part of the glaze. I chose to use the decal on cups glazed with Coyote Pistachio Shino in hopes that the sepia of the decal would match the effects of the shino in color.
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For my cousin's husband who makes maple syrup in the north of New York State I made a pitcher. As I told him, I hesitated to make a pitcher to be used for his precious liquid as there is always some lost on the inside of the vessel, but the idea would not leave me.
When the pot was bone dry I went to my maple tree for a donation of two leaves and used them to trace around to make the design on the side of the pot. The stem was my own invention. I painted the shapes with shellac which serves as a resist, then sponged around the surface to lower the level of the surrounding clay thus making the leaves and stem stand proud of the surface. The handle was a pulled and twisted technique learned from Robin Hopper. After the bisque firing, during which the shellac burns off, I stippled Amaco Liquid Underglaze orange onto the shapes then glazed the whole pot with clear.
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I had no photos of my nephew's friend who helped take care of my sister in the last months she spent with them so I made a drawing of a clematis bloom and took a photo of the humming birds outside my dining room window. In Photoshop I maneuvered and manipulated them into a single image then printed them as a decal. Again the sepia blends nicely with the edges of the shino glaze.
I have found great pleasure in making things with a specific individual in mind. These were especially meaningful to me because I also had my sister in mind while making them.
...if a friend be with us, what need have we of memorials?
Thanks for visiting, this'll be all for now.
