New mittens for this kitten

Time that I treated myself to two new pairs of gloves! One pair is heavier duty for welding and are insulated, the other pair are fine, light weight leather with high cuffs that I use for plasma cutting. The lighter weight leather is so I can better feel the trigger. Since I’m right handed, my right hand gloves are usually in pretty good shape because I’m always holding some sort of tool. But the left hand glove is usually cooked into a claw shape from all the high heated steel I grab and move!

The temperature finally bumped up above zero today. At 12 degrees ABOVE it felt downright balmy! The shop is now tolerable, just in time for me to finish up the piece I am donating to the KAKM Art Auction. I decided to donate a Sea Otter titled “Treasures From The Sea” because the Otter will be holding cut steel sea stars, kelp, oysters and an original, beautiful, vintage Japanese glass float I got in Homer. I’m attaching the glass float by wrapping the glass ball in reclaimed copper wire. The details will be hand painted in bright enamel paint. I was also able to weld up the cool octopus I was working on. He is getting a rust patina finish and will also have enamel painted sea stars, kelp and a glass float wired on the framework. The pieces are pictured in the studio on the work table getting ready to be painted and have the embellishments wired on. I will probably add some glass beading strung on fine copper wire as well. I like how the light catches the glass beads and shimmers like water when the sculptures are on the wall.

Wanting to feel the creative heat

Primarily as a metal artist working in steel, it was exactly a year ago I dreaded layering up in my Carhartt’s, slinging the frigid 4x8 sheets of steel up onto the cutting table, firing up my welder and plasma cutter and create some art. The concrete floor was as cold as the metal and I could see my breath, even in the heated shop. My creative mind romanced new thoughts of working in warmer “indoor” mediums when the North winds blew and the temps dipped below zero. I had been wanting to work in clay again, especially after an incredible Raku experience I had with Gina last Fall.

Combined with Alaska’s weather challenges that exist in my artmaking and wanting to add some sculptural elements to my steel pieces has lead me back to the medium of clay. I admit, working with a red-hot kiln and feeling warm clay from the earth has always appealed to me. Though it has taken a year to get set-up for the new medium addition to my studio, it has been worth it. I purchased a slab roller this last summer, a kiln this last fall and miscellaneous glazes and clay along the way. With the recent addition of an electric kiln being hard wired with an electronic temperature controller, additional exterior power and professional wiring in the shop I’m ready for the new creative HEAT!

One of the first loads in the kiln will be the clay fish sculptures I made from the press molds created this summer with Bill Sabo. The clay fish and tiles have been on the drying racks for over a month waiting for the kiln install. I’ve included some images from the Sabo-Shake mold making project. Bill is dad to the famous and talented Agnes Barton-Sabo or better known as The New Adventures of BettyTurbo at Etsy. Bill and I made molds using potters plaster and semi-frozen fish. I went on to make various seascape themed tile molds from starfish and sand dollars I have collected over the years and shells I found beach combing in Homer.

I will probably wait until after the New Year holiday when I’m back in the studio full time to have a couple of uninterrupted days for my first firing.