When You Think of Maine...

What do YOU think of?  For any people, my out of state friends and family included, the first thing that comes to mind is probably moose....and then it's lighthouses.  I was contacted by a gift shop in Kennebunk that typically sells beach themed items and asked if I had anything like that.  Well...I didn't.  So I started playing with my new extruder, which led me to play around with sculpting... So of course the first thing I make is a lighthouse sculpture!!  hehe  Better to go big than go home.  Afterwards I made some cute little trinket plates..  

Back to the lighthouse.  I wish I would have taken more photos during the process of me sculpting it... but alas... before and the first after photo will have to do. :)  If you have been following my blog for a bit, you know that there are 3 steps to the handmade/handbuilt ceramics process.  First ya make it....then ya bisque fire it (1900*-ish F.  Cone 04 for the potters out there).  Then it gets glaze fired (2200*-ish F.  Cone 5/6). 

So the photo to the right shows the stage of just having been constructed on the left.  And on the right is the post bisque firing with underglaze/glaze added to it.  The lighthouse itself was extruded (yes, I have a hollow cylinder extruder die.. LOVE IT!! :) ).  Then I added all the little "stones" one by one.  Let me tell you what.  It was a PITA!  haha.  And then the tall grass that you can see around the door?  I used my little handheld extruder and attached each "blade" individually.  Again...a PITA!  haha.  But I love the attention to detail.  I can't wait to see what it looks like when I pull it out of the kiln!  The intention is to put a light in it so that it is an actual lighthouse.  :)  I will either update this post with the finished product, or just write a new one... Haven't decided yet. :)  Here are some more "beachy" themed items that have had a clear glaze coat applied and loaded into the kiln.  Will be happy to see the finished product of these too!