pharminatrix

According to the trusty time stamp, it's been about a year since my last confession. Which is weird because it used to be rare to let a day go by without a peep. Lately, it's most often a post by catvalente or bombasticus that brings me back to the fold.

Actually, this time I'm back in a research capacity. Livejournal is a wonderful thing insofar as it never lets go. And as I gradually add images of artwork past to my *ahem* brrrraaaand! newww! website (donk-de-donk-de-donnnnnk! That's a trumpet. Could you guess?) it seems that the dates of execution are now all ablur. But Livejournal remembers. And also? I miss you guys. Whoever's still here, you got some hugs flying at you like mynocks. Duck!

My next mission is to get that XMLRPCCHSXX hookup so my new stuff gets posted here too.

Oh, and I'm also learning firsthand about shared hosting oversell. Never go with "unlimited" because the amount you'll see? LIMITED. Wordpress may be a big old hog of something, but I'm caching and minifying all over the place; I checked my usage stats and what I've concluded is that FUCK THIS NOISE. I'm switching. Thumbs down, Daddy-Go.

pharminatrix

So I've been elsewhere. It happens. Colonizing the web not-here, etc.

Oh, and signed up for classes this semester at SVA:

Tuesday night: 6:00 - 10:00 PIMP MY SQUIRR-- I mean, PHP/MySQL

Thursday night: 6:30 - 9:30 Illustration basics.

This is the part where I get to break down and master whatever it is that makes a picture tell the story it needs to tell. I've spent years obfuscating, so it won't kill me to harness whatever skills may come. Stay tuned.

What freaks me out about aging isn't getting old. It's how time accelerates. It's dizzying how weeks slip through me, and it's not like I'm not already chronically challenged. Hmmmph!

Kind of obsessed with typography. As in, have accounts at fonts.com and Typedia. It all started with Thinking With Type, which is awesome and you should read it if you a) haven't b) are interested remotely in graphic design. Elements of Typography = also awesome, but I haven't finished it yet so I have to maintain more reserve. Survey says aces, so far. Also, that was a lie. Typography obsession belongs to web design learning curve. It happens when you have to make sense of what's out there vs. what can actually be used, and how.

P.S. Wonder when LJ will stop using deprecated tags. Oh, LJ, you taught me such bad habits.

pharminatrix

When I feel
like waiting in front of the puppet theatre, no,
rather gazing at it, so intently, that at last,
to balance my gaze, an Angel must come
and take part, dragging the puppets on high.
Angel and Doll: then there’s a play at last.
Then what we endlessly separate,
merely by being, comes together. Then at last
from our seasons here, the orbit
of all change emerges. Over and above us
then, the Angel plays.

—Rilke (trans.)

Angelo flies into an apoplectic rage, and orders Niccolo's pursuit and destruction. But not by his own men. It is at about this point in the play, in fact, that things really get peculiar, and a gentle chill, an ambi- , guity, begins to creep in among the words. Heretofore the naming of names has gone on either literally or as metaphor. But now, as the Duke gives his fatal command, a new mode of expression takes over. It can only be called a kind of ritual reluctance. Certain things, it is made clear, will not be spoken aloud; certain events will not be shown onstage; though it is difficult to imagine, given the excesses of the preceding acts, what these things could possibly be. The Duke does not, perhaps may not, enlighten us. Screaming at Vittorio he is explicit enough about who shall not pursue Niccolo: his own bodyguard he describes to their faces as vermin, zanies, poltroons. But who then will the pursuers be? Vittorio knows: every flunky in the court, idling around in their Squamuglia livery and exchanging Significant Looks, knows. It is all a big in-joke. The audiences of the time knew. Angelo knows, but does not say. As close as he comes does not illuminate...

— Thomas Pynchon, The Crying of Lot 49

pharminatrix

1. New laptop.


2. Soup = 1 whole roaster plus 4 thighs+drumsticks (there's a perpendicular universe now, populated by dancing squads of genetically hyperclocked Rockettes) = our best yet.


3. Toast in love is hard to draw.


4. All the kids are ga-ga for fedpunk. Pass the comlink slinky.

pharminatrix

iphisol

He stands up nervously and asks her to look at his ridiculous art, and the part he's gluing to the wall right now says "SOMETIMES WHEN I CLOSE MY EYES..." and the huge block of boring self-important regurgitated text beneath includes such chestnuts as "you are both the author and the..." whatever the grimblefuck, and elsewhere it says NOTHING TANGIBLE OR PERMANENT IN THIS ROOM, okay? I can't wait to meet the undergrad Theory Survey professor that took this kid's virginity, because he did some fucking damage.

Taking my easel and writing good checks.

pharminatrix

I got to keep some of my recent pottery batch around for household use. And through use, I get to learn whether they count as "functional." It's one thing to be a cup-with-handle, but another thing entirely to be a cup-with-handle that feels comfortable when grasped or held. Also, I enjoy my coffee/tea far more when it doesn't involve burning the top layer of skin off my lips. In other words, rim thickness should be a crucial consideration in the making.

I still gave some as gifts; salimondo, for example, was in dire need of coffee cups, and so he got a set of three.

I spend extended periods chez lui, so I get to use them too. The cups scored high on aesthetics. We both dug the iridescent glaze effects, and I noted how easy they are to grasp by their handles, which means I finally zoned in on correct proportion. The rims could be thicker. I have to wait a few before sipping unless I want to my tea to taste like burning. There are other considerations as well. I dipped all three cups in the same two glazes and fired them to Cone 6 oxidation. While roughly the same size, they vary in form and surface, and I layered the two glazes differently on each cup. The iridescent flow results from the overlap reaction and consequent flow. I used Indian Summer, a warm pale yellow opaque matte glaze and Oatmeal Satin, a semi-translucent off-white satin (not quite glossy but shinier than matte). Because I wanted the surface to be food-safe, I applied the Oatmeal Satin over the Indian Summer where applicable. Unfortunately, where layering occurred on the rims, the glaze ran so the matte glaze was exposed. Now there's no poison here, but matte glazes are porous. This means they're harder to clean and keep clean. Luckily, Himself cleans meticulously and claims the look is worth the extra cleaning effort. It's nice to make it from week to week without a poisoning on my hands so this story ends well.

As per freaking assignment, I came down with the flu just after bringing home the second batch. For me the flu means lots of hot tea and night-time TheraFlu. It also means that I grab the first clean cup available and keep washing it. This happened to be one of the new ones, but one I couldn't sell or give away because of the glaze weirdness. I call this a mistake of second-guessing, which caused me to wipe off a swath of glaze I thought too thick. When the cup came out of the fire, I found the matte sheen of oxide-stained bare clay body gaping through the substantial wound where the glaze had been wiped.

Since the rims remained intact, however, the cup was safe for drinking. And in drinking hot liquids from this cup every day for a week, I fell in love with it. The cup opening is a squarish oval, or a rounded diamond if you prefer; because of the altering of the traditionally circular opening, the rim curves in a way that invites drinking. No drips! And the handle? Wide enough to hold comfortably, enough room to grip it firmly, and with optimal leverage. I have a New-Friend crush. Seriously. So, recap: the flu still sucks but now I have a new favorite cup.


Cross-posted with changes from Teabrush Pottery

pharminatrix

50 g Lithium Carbonate
1000 g Strontium Carbonate
3000 g Nepheline Syenite
500 g Ball Clay - Old Mine 4
450 g Flint (Silica)

Plus colorants:
250 g Titanium Dioxide
250 g Copper Carbonate

Lithium Carb 1.0 %
Strontium Carb 20.0 %
Neph sy 60.0 %
Ball 10.0 %
Flint 9.0 %

Plus colorants (added to the 100% base):
Titanium diox. 5.0 %
Copper Carb 5.0 %