The Squirrel's Finished!

 

I glazed the squirrel, so she's finished now.  She turned out pretty cute, I think, and I'm also very happy with her oak-embellished shawl.  She's all ready for winter weather.

 

There is something so captivating about the sculpting process.  You begin with a lump of clay, pinch here, push there, smooth, and pretty soon you have something somewhat evocative of a squirrel.  From then on, she leads you!  As you work, your hands get to know the subtle differences in the wetness of different lumps of clay and what you can do with them.  Sometimes you have to let them rest a bit, and other times you can push forward.

 

I remember the time, not so many years ago, when I said to myself that ceramics is one thing I would certainly never get into.  How wrong we can be, even about the subject we think we know best about - ourselves!