From June 7th to July 2nd I was teaching summer enrichment classes at the high school I work for. These were not really a big deal, just something to keep the kiddies busy and out of trouble for a while. There were three classes a day, each class lasting 2 hours. Personally I thought 2 hours was a bit long for each class considering most of the participants were incoming freshmen and had the attention span of...well, freshmen. I was teaching three classes: a drawing class, an illustration class and a ceramics class. While they were not terrible and the extra money was nice; these classes mainly served as a reminder as to why I do not want to teach anymore.
During that time I did manage to get some stuff done in the studio. My wife wanted a piggy bank for a friend of hers. Not having much time to sculpt a traditional piggy bank I went with this type of bank instead. This is not, however, what she had in mind, so I guess they will be finished and put up for sale some time. I did enjoy making them, though, and if I can get rid of these I will probably make more. Along that line, what are everyone's thoughts on putting a hole in the bottom of the bank to retrieve the money? I have a hole in the bottom of these, but it seems that I could save myself the trouble of finding stoppers and making sure they fit right by making the hole on top a little bigger. Not huge, mind you, but big enough to get the money out relatively easily. Thoughts?
I have also been playing around with bowl forms, trying to find one that I like. I think I finally got one; now I just need to work on throwing it consistently.
A short time ago I also purchased another motorcycle. I have a Honda 450 (Oscar), which runs decent and such; but I quickly outgrew it and was looking for something bigger. Lo and behold, I stumble across a Yamaha XS850 Special. It is an 850, so it is a good step up from the 450. It has a nice big 6 gallon gas tank, good for long hauls. And it has an interesting 3 cylinder set up (as opposed to most bikes with 2 or 4), which I thought was cool.
Sure, it needs a little work, but for $400 it was hard to pass up. So slowly over this summer (and probably into the winter) I am going to be giving it a good working over to get everything in proper running order. I do not have a name for it yet, so any suggestions there would be welcome.And finally, what has been eating up most of my time lately is this.
A week and a half ago my wife quite unexpectedly went into labor 4 weeks early. Thus on June 27 at just past noon our first child (Noah) was born. Pretty cool stuff. Even though he was a month early, he was fine. No stay in the NICU or anything. They watched him for a few hours in the nursery to make sure he was breathing ok, but then he stayed with us in the room until we went home. Noah has been getting a good deal of my attention as of late, so I have not been in the studio in a while. I am going to try to get in there later today, though, to get some teapots started. Now, however, I think Noah needs his diaper changed. Ah the joys of fatherhood.
Tschus.-Rob
ROB!!!!! NOAH! Congratulations my man, fantastico!
ReplyDeleteCongrats! The first is always the most exciting one...make sure to have lots of fun with him!
ReplyDeleteGrats on the beautiful baby! I just wanted to say maybe the tops of the 'piggy banks' can lift open to get the money out. Regular size hole to put the money in and no hole in the bottom. That way you have a 'bank' that can stay covered on your dresser but easy to put the money into and get it out. It doesn't have to be Fort Knox just an attractive alternative to a jar (that's what we use).
ReplyDeletecongrats on the bambino! let the wild rumpus start. bowls look good, i was in that world all week.
ReplyDeleteA few comments:
ReplyDelete1. Possible name for the bike - Johnny 3 Balls
2. Piggy Bank Hole - I was also going to suggest that you simply make it like a lidded bowl or pot. This would require a bit of self restraint on the part of the saver, therefore it would obviously make a terrible Christmas gift for my wife.
3. Noah is goofy looking. I am reminded of some old saying about apples and trees...
Thanks for all the comments & whatnot. I like the idea of making the top of the bank a lid. As Mike said, though, that would require a bit of restraint to keep from dipping into your stash now and then. I'll just have to try it both ways to see which works best.
ReplyDelete