heaven...

this is my kind of heaven!!! 

Liebermann Pottery in Johannesburg.

i absolutely LOVE this place, 

 and i start hyperventilating as we get there! 

there are stacks of gorgeous, colourful pots, 

chickens running around and dusty treasures... 

right up my alley. 

i could spend a whole day there and come home with a truck load of pots!

going away was really good. 

Joburg is intense and beautiful, especially in spring and full of little gems like these. 

this is my dream potting table and one day i will have a big messy one like that. 

PS: we did come home with a boot load of pots... 

how could we resist! 

the last king

remember my "king" ceramic project ?

there were clay delays, 

life delays, casualties...

but i finally collected my last King

here he is: 

"seek only the truth"

(he is the sixth king but finished seventh :))

and my "seven King" project is now complete

how cute are they all together? 

makes me ridiculously happy! 

PS: i am not doing ceramic this year 

- i need to focus on painting

- our 90 something pottery teacher is now only teaching one class a week

- i miss it terribly

last Royalty for now

Mr. Will

fifth chakra, "surrender personal will to divine will" 

Grace: Counsel

Shadow Passion: Spiritual Gluttony

soon i'll hopefully be able to introduce you to the last 3 Kings! 

more Royalty

Mr. Love

fourth chakra (No 3 isn't finished yet...),

 "love is divine power"

Grace: Fortitude

Shadow Passion: Wrath

Royalty two

this is Mr. Power, 

second chakra, "honor one another" 

Grace: Piety

Shadow Passion: Greed & Vengeance 

Royalty

so here is the story behind my ceramic Kings. 

the 4 finished Kings, the other 3 coming soon (hopefully!)

i've been a Caroline Myss fan for a very long time. 

in her book "Defy Gravity"

she delves deeper into the 7 chakras, 

the 7 graces, 7 shadow passions;

their link to health,  to spirituality and to how we "do" life.  

my chakra "map"

i wanted something tangible to help me grasp the concept

and remind me daily to be mindful of how i conduct my life. 

and that is where the idea of the Kings came about.

i set out to hand build one ceramic King per chakra. 

four of them are now finished, 

let me introduce you to the first one, 

 Mr. Tribe:

first chakra: "all is one" 

Grace: Reverence 

Shadow Passion: Pride & Shame 

highs and lows

the lows... 

remember my last two kings about to go in the bisque firing

well i was SO disappointed to discover that

Mr Knowledge didn't make it... 

he was the last king i had made, i was rushing towards the finish line. 

i wasn't as thorough at making sure there were no air bubble

trapped in the clay. 

i got complacent and impatient... 

the goal post moved once again... 

i swallowed a big piece of humble pie and went back to work.

art making/creativity is such a metaphor for life isn't it? 

kingdom

my "kingdom' is still a work in progress

 and i am getting closer to completion, 

slowly but surely...

the last two kings, 

Knowledge and Wisdom (in the photo below)

were put in the kiln for a bisque on thursday 

(i hope they made it...). 

i've had two casualties so far... 

(one of them is the tall one on the right above, his one eyes exploded) 

i'm in the process of glazing the rest of them, 

i'm nervous about this part because 

the glaze is such an important part of a piece, 

it can literally make it or break it esthetically. 

 fingers crossed ;) 

i'll keep you posted! 

mini kingdom

my kings are coming along, 

taking all sorts of shapes... 

there is a deeper story behind them, 

i will tell you more once they are all done. 

the 4 on the left (above) have been bisque fired and survived;

the two on the right are still raw, i hope they make it.

 i had one casualty so far. 

i'm making seven of them.

one more to hand build

and then the scariest part, the glazing. 

glazing can make or break a ceramic piece

and it's definitely not my forte or my favorite part.

but so far i am in love with them! 

Foxy Lady

playing with acrylics and inks 

 on some air drying clay medaillons i made... 

so far my Foxy Lady is my favorite.

happy weekend you all! 

xxx

Royalty

let me introduce you to the "secret" pottery project 

i've had going on for a while:

my first 4 Kings... 

all still in progress, 

there will be another 3

7 Kings, like the 7 Chakras...

a work in clay but also a spiritual exercise for me. 

i love the way they all evolve 

and 

take on their own personalities.