Lockdown Day 9

I struggled to know what to write today. Maybe it's wearing a bit thin, this whole 'stay at home' business. Or maybe I'm just tired after another night shift. So I scrolled through my photos for a while looking for inspiration. I came across this guy, who made me smile, and so I decided to post about something that makes me happy.

This is my monster pot! For my daughter's birthday last year, we took her and two of her friends to a local pottery shop for a play with clay day. We all made monster pots (yes, I totally joined in, wouldn't you?!) It was super fun and they all turned out great, each with major personality. I'd highly recommend doing something like that for a birthday party.

Here's mine just after I finished making him. When it slumped a bit and then cracked up the top it was a bit of a worry, but then I realised it actually enhanced it. And that was the whole point of the monster pot, imperfections were better!

Then we waited a few weeks while they dried and were fired. That's always a bit nerve-wracking, will they stay in one piece in the kiln? Ours did!

The next step was to colour them. We used a watered down black pigment to colour the 'skin' and rub it into all the cracks and crannies and then bright colours to highlight the features. The shop glazed the coloured bits for us and refired them for us and then they were all ours. 

My guy now sits on my windowsill in my studio and collects scraps and threads for me. He never complains, doesn't shed fur, and doesn't need feeding - the perfect studio pet!