from earth and sky

Butterflies seem like heavenly creatures as they drift by.

Their tumbling through my garden makes me remember those who have passed off earth and sea, as William wrote in his beautiful cursive  in this autograph book from 1882.

Sometimes when I see one, I feel a presence; my mother close by

or my dog running in the sky

It makes me happy to be reminded of them.

of my friend flying through the wildflowers like a bird

To know as long as I am here and remember them, they are here too.  Loved.

 

October with its glorious color and changing light is the perfect time for these musings don't you think? 

Wishing you a wild and happy Halloween~

xx

julie

gold dust

I've always wanted to add gold embellishments to my pottery. I think growing up in California exposes you to gold fever. So there is a brush stroke here and there on the porcelain cups above. Can you see it on the tips of the bird's wings?

Cup backs. These are slab built porcelain.

I panned for gold when I was ten. I remember the little particles of gold dust glinting in the sun.

This is my husband's ancestors from Sutter Creek , California. Gold Rush country.

I visited this house and met Gramps standing up in back on the right. He was 97at the time. I was 20. They had chickens coming in and out of the kitchen and an ancient orchard out the back. The floorboards creaked like a chorus of frogs. I loved it there.
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They came out in the 1840's not to strike it rich in mining, but in logging. All those miners needed wood for houses when they struck the mother lode.

The dog's name was Sampson.

An old plate with gold paint next to a beaker.

These are porcelain, so they are light.

My plans for these cups. The instuctions for using the gold are:

Immaculate brush only used for gold. Apply gold to finished piece in its own firing. These pieces were fired three times.Wipe down a glazed piece with rubbing alchohol.

Cleaning brush in the special solution to keep the brush supple. It goes on red, so its easy to see your strokes.

Fire at 018. Which is about 1377 degrees.

A vase shape where the flowers spill out nicely.
my first bud vase!
I'm hoping there is a pink butterfly out there somewhere.
Also did a couple of cups the old school way!

xx

julie

juliewhitmorepottery.etsy.com