2011 archive

Gift Bag

Why do I have a picture of a gift bag? Surely it’s not because I ran out of art and wanted to use something as filler. Surely not! I was lucky enough to receive a gift card, and it came in a bag much like this.  The bag intrigued me, so I took it apart …

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Terra Cotta Tiles

With every load, I’ve been adding more small tiles for some unspecified mosaic project in the future.  These I used a glaze I have two bottles of, called “terra cotta.”  How funny–when you put terra cotta glaze on a terra cotta tile, the color looks…terra cotta. I’m not thrilled with them, but I will probably …

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Review: Wishful Drinking

Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher This book is basically the written version of a stand-up comedy/memoir of Carrie Fisher. She talks about being the daughter of famous parents (Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher) about having her parents’ marriage broken up by Liz Taylor (If you’re going to have a homewrecker destroy your marriage, why not …

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Cuerda Seca Bird Tile

Cuerda Seca means “dry cord” and refers to using a waxed cord to separate areas of glaze.  I’ve used a waxed beeswax cord before, and it’s not the best tool.  Better is to use wax trailed from a jacquard bottle, especially wax with stain added, wax which has been designed for this purpose. Since this is the …

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Review: How I Became a Famous Novelist

How I Became a Famous Novelist by Steve Hely Good humor straddles that razor’s edge between what we all know and what we dare not speak of. This novel started out balancing on that fine line very well. The protagonist, Pete Tarslaw, decides to write a novel so he can become famous and show up …

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