Blog Favourites

My favourite blogs I discovered this year are:

ad sinistram - an enlightening blog criticising very intelligently the political and economical circumstances in Germany and the rest of the world from a left perspective; and

HellOnHairyLegs - sharp-witted angry thoughts of a young feminist, who is able to tell a lot of truths in very few sentences.

I highly recommend you to read them! Both writers are very aware of iniquities and social imbalances and I admire them for their ability to raise conciousness and for not giving in.

With this in mind I wish you a very Happy New Year!

Gift Wrapping

I rather enjoyed wrapping presents for Christmas this year. I wasn't very satisfied with the first ones I decorated with some doodles, but then I remembered the gift wrap ideas I saw at Bugs and Fishes and was inspired by the paper snowflakes. (Look also at this lovely winterly curtain!) I changed it to square designs that look quite folkloric in my opinion and used almost 30 year old gummed coloured paper, that has a backside like stamps. (As you can see, I never throw things away! I'd like to know if something like this still gets produced.) It still was incredibly sticky and worked really well and I had fun like a little child!

Glowing Windows

I hope to get rid of my dull fatigue now that the days slowly are getting longer again as winter solstice is behind us in the northern hemisphere. I need more light! I want to come out of hibernation. The sun was out today and yesterday after a long row of unpleasant grey and dark days and I squeezed in some crafty tasks by making some Christmas greeting cards and wrapping presents. (Does this count? I think so.) There isn't much happening at the moment on the muddy side of life but I'm also terribly behind with posting photos of my finished pieces.

unlit

Here is my tea light house in an attempt to arouse some Christmas feelings (which I lack completely so far). I'm pretty satisfied with the house, but it wasn't a good idea to leave off the chimney I originally wanted to add. The roof gets quite hot very fast and may even crack. I recommend to everyone who intends to build something that should hold a candle inside to make holes at the top.

lit

Merry Christmas, my dear readers, and to everyone who doesn't celebrate it (and is lucky to avoid the madness) have a great time too!

More Texture, More Glass

I've been extremely tired and uninspired all week. Nevertheless I tried a new texture that I cant wait to see glazed.


In class I challenged my patience by intricately arranging my glass in this carved pattern. I used the finest grain of my blue shards for the petals. It took ages and I hope everything stays in place during firing.

Texture, Glaze and Glass

In class this week I mainly proceeded with the work on the second of my textured bowls. This time I applied the glaze with a brush in the parts that catched air bubbles and remained unglazed after dipping. Afterwards I sprinkled tiny shards of green glass over the surface and also added some glass beads. Looking at the picture now I think to myself I should have used more glass. I also would like to try this texture with glaze only.

I sorted my smashed glass by size together with my father. We sieved the shards so they are easier to handle when I need big ones or small ones or tiny ones only. I carry quite a heavy assortment of glass in different colours and sizes with me when I go to class and sometimes I wonder if I'm the only one carrying around glass shards in her rucksack. You should hear the sound it makes when I move fast!