Iunno, man, maybe like six chickens worth?

Worst homework advice I ever got: “Just write something. Bullshit if you have to.”

The advice-giver was rather miffed with me when I interpreted this as, “When in doubt, produce word-salad.”

But like, what the hell else was I supposed to do? No one else ever seemed to get that words are fucking hard. It doesn’t matter if I know the answer. Knowing the answer isn’t the same as composing a sentence to show people I know the answer.

Anyway when I showed my parents the fruits of their super-useful advice, I got yelled at for being glib and ended up turning in nothing again.

Thank fuck for most of the GED being multiple choice.

 

Writing has also gotten much more difficult since I went on Xyrem, which increased my social anxiety about tenfold. And while I don’t miss having to corral myself from ambien-dialing the internet, I did manage to make a few actual friends by way of wandering into chats while loopy as fuck, when I probably would have said nothing otherwise.

Anywhooo, my point is, despite this thing being here now, who knows if I’ll end up using it regularly? Certainly not me.

 

Eating at family-by-way-of-my-sister’s-married-to-one-of-em. (And also we’ve known them forever.)

They are very very good cooks and the food is beautiful and also I do not want to put any of it in my mouth.

Cept these biscuits. The biscuits are OK.

(They’re kinda like the cheddar biscuits at Red Lobster, only they didn’t rise as much because iffy baking powder.)

 

Also, tired. Or, maybe not tired, just heavy? Like someone’s cranked up the gravity dial, but I’m the only one who notices.

Except, not really, because Colin’s parents have a Saint Bernard, and he definitely notices too.

His name is Hank, and we’re both flopped out in a darkened side-room going, “Uuuugh, gravity.”

 

Things happened. Many things!

My sister bought a house in Minneapolis. I am invited to move in with her, and am preparing to do so.

Pros: Proximity to both my sisters; no longer living with my mom; I can bring the two cats that I inherited from a family friend.

Cons: Cities stress me out; Mandi is keeping her girlfriend’s big, loud, hyperactive dogs; I can’t bring the cat who is My Baby, because he is an outdoor cat and not used to traffic; moving sucks, especially when you’re moving from a relatively-rural situation (that you would like if not for the company) to a city you don’t know.

That might look like more cons than pros, but no longer living with my mom is a huge pro, as is living near my sisters.

 

Yes! That is another for the Pros list! ^x^

 

It’s a pretty suburban-ish sort of area, so it might be relatively tolerable.

Unfortunately, my comfort zone is calibrated to assume about half an acre of old-growth forest between me and the nearest neighbor, so, still kinda riding the trepidation train over here.

 

I got picchurs!



Cat who is My Baby at his most Regal



Cat who is My Baby at his most Potato

*edit* Bear with me, still working out how best to resize phone images.

 

OK I’m gonna post some pictures of the ceramics I’ve been making, because it’s a thing I have been doing that proves I actually exist, and this is still a bit novel to me.

Spoiler: kitty pitcher

Still working on glaze thickness/opacity on these.

Spoiler: flower bowl

I used the exact same underglaze for every petal on this bowl. Copper carbonate’s kind of trippy to work with.

Spoiler: pony mug

Experimenting with multiple glaze types and underglazes. Also, drawing ponies.

 

Spoiler: kitty mug

First one like this I did. I have another one waiting to go into the kiln now.

The blue underglaze I used for the eyes didn’t quite work out. Still experimenting to see if there’s a way to apply the cobalt carbonate so it doesn’t run like a mofo.

Spoiler: turtle mug

First experiment with multiple layered glazes in close proximity. Result: 1) Temmoku and yellow salt come out very turtle-colored; 2) If I want an orange that allows underglazes to show up, I’m going to have to work for it.

Spoiler: betta cup

Came out too dark to make out the details. Cobalt carbonate was layered too thick and overwhelmed the black underglaze; also, not applying wax resist between the white glaze and the green celadon didn’t do any favors. I have another like it waiting for the kiln where I tried some variations on that order.

(^ The lighing makes this look yellower than it is. Actual color looks more like the exterior.)

 

oh my mum would love that pony mug
...
sorry that's probably a weird thing to say but my mum's been collecting like. abstract/surrealist/naive horse models and decorations since i was wee so i'm used to spotting things for her lmao

 

Actually, it’s kind of nice to hear someone might like something I’ve made.

... She might have to wrassle my mom for it, though.

 

Guuh.

Finished glazing second-to-last mug today, most of the work there consisting of trying to fix the screwups I made last time I messed with it... tried to start the last one, but ended up just staring at it for like an hour, because I couldn’t think of what I wanted to put on it.

For a while I was thinking I’d do a butterfly, but like, zoomed way in on the face because, bug face, yeh? But I couldn’t find a reference photo that spoke to me.

Eventually I decided that my brain just didn’t want to Art today and threw it in, but kept thinking about what to draw... options I came up with beyond butterflies include- capybaras with ducks; turtles like before only more turtle colored; or Moar Ponies.

... Actually I might end up doing ponies again. They were weirdly easy to draw on that first mug. It seems my ill-spent youth has committed Draw a Pony to muscle memory.

 

Thanks for the push, bug face is hapen. ^x^

Spoiler: bug face 0#0

*edit* Also, here is a fish in progress:

Spoiler: fish

 

Also, stuff came back from the kiln today, so I have 4 exciting new mug fails to show off!

Spoiler: bear too dark

Less back/temmoku, more kaki/red art wash next time.

Spoiler: more kitties. composition needs work. got timid on the exterior.

2 more to go.

 

Spoiler: i swear it’s an octopus.

Lost detail due to excessive underglaze application, and I forgot to get a pre-glaze picture. :(

Spoiler: Betta mug, second attempt.

Better than the first, but still indistinct. Evidence mounts for temmoku being too runny for detail work.