I got the octopus love bad. I see them every where. I can feel them. I even feel my arms and legs fluidly spiraling when I practice tai chi. Strong and so soft…. at least I aim for that. 

I made this last night. The mermaid’s hands were tantalizing close to touching the octopus’s arm but as it was drying their touch moved from almost to not quite. I know when they are red hot in the kiln they will finally decide how to connect…. or not. It will be out of my hands. 

and I like that. 

I like that when I set up  a connection in one of my bowls, the drying and firing process has the final say. Once two porcelain elephants placed together in the kiln found each other’s trunks and they spiraled around in the red heat. As they cooled they became inseparable. 

I wonder why this little bumble bes saw fit to land here? Seems a lot of serendipity goes on when I make elephants. Who would have thought a bumble bee would feel so safe among a herd of elephants? It stayed for quite a while. 

But back to seeing octopuses everywhere… I’ll fire these next week. I imagine that their arms will wave and dance all around in the kiln and come out different. Their arms are out of my hands. And stay tuned for the surprise ending of the love story between the mermaid and octopus….

These are not octopuses. They are images of our brain neurons! Maybe octopuses are the brain neurons of the sea…. Octopuses are so Mind blowing!

Here are a few pieces that have gone to good homes this week ~ 

A Menorah specially made for a wedding gift.  

And a pitcher. All porcelain, which I still love working with …  And today I had the idea to make Octopus Imaginaries. I am so into them these days. Here’s a look at more of my opcopus explorations so far.  

Yarn bowls, because I love to knit too. 

Into the land of Octopus. I just stopped into the bookstore for a quick look when this title caught my eye. No, it was bigger than that. It grabbed me and jumbled me until I decided that I needed to take this home with me. 

I somehow knew the Octopus and I had things to talk about. I went back to the studio and had an Octopus on a little bowl before lunch time. 
And today they have found their way up onto my porcelain yarn bowls. I am struck by their impossible grace. I don’t think I could even make an awkward octopus. Their tenicles just seem to flow as if they are in the water where they really belong. 

They are so flexible they can slip through a tiny hole yet have a terrorizing and easy strength. Tai chi in water. Ah yes. See? Octopus is already teaching me new things. I just know we will become good friends. And I haven’t even started to read thie book yet. 

last Friday I spent all day making iLuminaries, keepers of light.  

I have become fascinated with the translucence and elasticity of a special kind of porcelain. It is a pure, warm, alive white. And when lit with a candle inside they turn golden. 

As usual I discovered these while just playing around with an idea. I am reading, with a wonder and fascination I cannot explain, Edmond De Waal’s new book on porcelain called The White Road. He writes of his quiet yet passionate journey into the long history of porcelain. White Gold. He talks of it’s qualities of translucence and openess and its ability to maintain its strength when stretched out to its thinnest limits, there, light can pour in and out. I know … this sounds like a life lesson ~  

… and who doesn’t need a little Light when the sun goes down ~ 

I’m thinking that this specimen is going to be 2 dresses in one. See how Great this looks Inside out?! If I am feeling especially creative and funky, I can just wear it Inside Out and if I happen to slip it on the ‘wrong’ way one sleepy morning, no matter, what the heck!In one of Josh Bennett’s knitting classs at my first Vogue Knit Live conference, he talked about a sweater he designed with a beautiful fair isle collar knitted inside out … intentionally! Being the sort to like that kind of knitting blasphemy, I took to that idea …
Ya! Why Not I say!
This is not to say that the Front side is absolutely Glorious!
I will be wearing it the ‘correct’ way a lot I imagine
Knitting slows me down in a good way … so I say ~

Slow Down and Knit
Look at things Inside Out

im over here today