Friday, September 21, 2012

The Need to Make

So, here I was, excited to have the house to myself: Doug is away today and I was planning to get So. Much. Done. in the studio. Yeah, well.

I left my clay and most of my tools in the car. Grrr. I have a little clay - about 25 pounds - so I will make what little I can with that, and focus on things like butter dishes that are more labor- than material-intensive.

And, we get a bonus inspiration post this week, because what I am really dying to make is soup tureens.I've been looking a lot at antique silver and silver plate tureens, mostly from the 18th and 19th centuries. While clearly functional, they are also almost ceremonial in attitude: special occasion vessels. I want to make something with this feeling: a piece that proclaims the occasion. A potential heirloom, if I may be so grand.

I want to make tureens so badly I could almost make them out of my very will. It's a terrible tickle, like needing to sneeze, with my brain. I just have to preserve this deep inspiration until Doug gets home, with the car and my clay, and I can hole up in hte studio for the rest of the night.

2 comments:

Newfoundout Potter said...

Hi - the tureen on the bottom left reminds me of a ceramic one that I saw in a museum in Prague. It was made in the early 1600's and was like a cabbage head, with carved cabbage leaves. On the lid was a little cabbage worm. It was amazing that people hundreds of years ago - when life so different - still thought the same way we do today. If I was making a cabbage tureen - I would put on a cabbage worm also.

Unknown said...

I know that tickle, too! I have found that if I let it fester a few days the images in my head clarify and I'm better equipped to dive into something new.

I can't wait to see what you come up with!