Natsumi Soseki, creepy?

 

Maneki Neko, Lucky Cat, first became popular about 100 years ago. 

 I had a request to make something for the 100th Centennial of Natsume Soseki's death.

I showed it to my children, "creepy"  was all they said.

But isn't is a little creepy to have a cat running around your neighborhood writing everything down?

 

With this last thing done I can put away my paints and put up my walls.  It is time to turn my studio into a gallery.

frames

Frames are always a challenge.  Every year I seem to design make a different kind of frames.  This years painting were unique so it is natural to make new sorts of frames.  With less than 2 weeks till my show opens, it is certainly frame time.

 

I have used urushi and most of the other materials before, but this was the first time I used kiri wood to make frames, the tall rectangles in the center.  The paintings were done on 100 year old wood recycled from Japanese buildings, using kiri wood seemed natural.

Second Fireing

Trying another ceramic firing.  I am starting this time with a "candle burn"  to warm more slowly, but even a single candle is pretty hot on my little tin box.

 After a while with the candle I turned up the fire, charcoal mostly, deep coals, and flared it up from time to time with thin softwood for extra bursts of heat.

after an evening I set it all aside to cool overnight, and was happy to find nothing had exploded or even cracked in the kiln the next day.

a sample of the results, still warm

 

Burning the ladies

 

It is a magic world.  Mix a little dirt and water, make mud.  Squeeze it, dry it scratch and scrape it into a form, then put it in a fire - it turns into stone.  What materials are in the mud?  What temperature the fire?  For how long?  How much oxygen do you allow in to touch the clay?   Materials.  so much fun. 

I have burned ladies in America.  But this is my first time in Japan.

First the ladies:




raw dry clay

 

in the tin can with a bed of wood chips and torn up test papers

 

 

start the fire

 

inside had just enough oxygen to make charcoal

 

after the fire

 

the smaller one came through it fine

 

the bigger gal needed a little Elmer's

 

I am not making tea cups for the queen.  For my work I like the older materials and methods.  I love the feel, the color, the weight of these ladies that come from a low fire wood burning technique.  I have tried electric and gas kilns.  There is no comparison at all.

The next question is what to do with these ladies now that they are done?  I had thought to put them into my wooden boxes, but that was long ago, before the idea of the inside paintings came along.  Now... who can say.  And with any luck I will have one more burn before October's exhibition.