Jay Jasper's Blog, page 114
November 15, 2020
Holiday Highlight
– yoda
Double-Sided Chromium Yoda OrnamentShipping in US and Canada Included
This Week At The Studio In Photos
A warmer, rainier morning around the Alchemist’s Studio
Getting things organized for the pit firing
Texture found in the forest
New vases drying!
The forest canopy 
A finished pit-fired piece! More to come!That’s been the week here.
How’s your week been?
November 14, 2020
Don’t Go Chasing Waterfalls: The Rivers and Lakes That you Are Used To May save You From Hell
This week, our story for the raku pottery vase ‘Father of the Sea‘, tells the tale of a Titan who can breathe in water, the Cassanova of the sea, and the only Titan to escape hell. It even shows us how to stay neutral in a family conflict – which can also be its own special kind of hell. So move over Posedion, because before you there was Oceanus!
It’s not an easy childhood, when all the tongues in the known universe are wagging about who your father is. Fortunately for Oceanus, there were only a few beings at that time and some of them didn’t even have tongues.
Just imagine Chaos with a tongue!
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124
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However when your mother Gaia is making as many babies as possible, and your ‘father’ is an over worked single dad, something is likely to fall through the cracks.
And it may be you; and that crack may form a mighty river.
If all that was not confusing enough, there where whispers among Oceanus’ parents, that maybe – in one of her more ‘fertile’ moods – his mother Gaia visited her omnigender parent Chaos.
In spite of all this, Oceanus knew enough to keep these whisperings hush hush. He did not want to rock the boat. There was already enough actual Chaos in the family.
15 Æons later . . .
Oceanus often questioned his brother Cronus’ growing power. Rather than fight him, Cronus gave him dominion of the river at the end of the world.
Little did Cronus know that this would be the river from which all water would come. A fact which came in pretty handy when your name has Ocean right in it. He is not Riverus after all…
As you may remember from a previous story, Cronus would eventually depose his father Uranus, and take his throne. This would be short lived, for Uranus’ son would do the same. Then Cronus and his Titan siblings asked Uranus to participate in quashing the rebellion of young upstart Zeus.
Phew!
Fortunately, Oceanus and his wife Tethys were busy making babies too – in total about 3,000! Unlike his official father, Oceanus was a good dad. In the end this would save him! For all of his others siblings would lose the war against the new gods of Olympus and rather than fighting, Oceanus spent his time quietly making more babies, new rivers and their river gods, and of course the nymphs.
In the end it was the original river that Oceanus was cast down to that would act as a buffer against Tarturus (hell) where all of his Titan rebel siblings would be imprisoned.
Oceanus and Tethys were just glad they heeded the advice of legendary 1990’s Soothsayers TBoz, Left Eye anD chilli.
Not chasing waterfalls and Tethys saved Oceanus from hell!
If you enjoyed this story/vase, you can check out more of them here. All of our vases are for sale. You may also be interested in checking out our home page, which includes many other items for sale that can make great Christmas gifts, for someone you love, or for yourself.
Wishing you a wonderful weekend!
November 13, 2020
Holiday Highlight
– Author Unknown
$75
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By The Book
For more on our first book click here
– on sale for $22 for a limited time only!Shipping Included in Canada and US
$22
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Thursday Throwdown November 12, 2020
It’s vase-to-vase combat like you have never seen before!
How it works: We share two vases and YOU vote which is your favourite! The winner will then move on to the next round to face another competitor!
Last week, Make It Work and Old Soul battled to the death! Your vote has determined that Old Soul has made it out of the ring. Make It Work is back to the costuming department (for now…..)
Get your votes in below!
Make It Work
$88
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The Series so far.
Gorgeous Vases of No Contact Wrestling
Vase Name
Gossip Girl
Phoenix Reborn
Pillar of Atlas
Evangeline
Ogopogo
Iris En Ciel
Original Twin
Kermit The Vase
Haring’s Dance
White Walker
Sobek’s Tears
Mount Olympus
Argus
Draupnir
Grandmother
Old Soul
Make It Work
Wins/Losses
0/1
2/1
0/1
5/0
0/1
0/1
0/1
1/1
0/1
1/1
1/1
4/1
0/1
0/1
0/1
1/0
0/1
what could the battle be this week!?!?
Two vases.
Named by YOU.
Hope Rising in Springtime
$65
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This vase was a . Thank you to winner sherriinsrq for your name and prose!
Hope Rising in Springtime
Right now with everything so uncertain,
It’s wonderful to know we can count on such things as sunrise and sunset. It’s the promise of a new day ahead that gives me hope and encouragement
No matter what the day holds.
Old Soul
$85
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This Vase was a ! Thank you to winner for their name and poem. Congratulations!
Old Soul
For a time I held you
Though you could not be kept.
The rush of your leaving
Left me cracked in ways that cannot
Be seen.
Do not mourn for me, for I
Know what it is to embrace
The deep where the fear of
Desire resides.
Who will be your victor? Be sure to get your vote in BELOW!
Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.I choose this vase as the winner.Hope Rising in Spring TimeOld SoulNameSubmit
Their fate is now in your hands!
We will share the winner (and update from last week!) next Thursday!
November 11, 2020
Holiday Highlight
– yoda
Double-Sided Green with Envy Yoda OrnamentShipping in US and Canada Included
On The Wheel Wednesday
No Matter how many turns there are in the road.
Because around every turn, things look different.
We too become different from the experience. We can learn and grow with each turn that life takes.
Sometimes unexpected things happen. Both good and bad. It is how we respond and allow situations to shape us that defines us.
Idina Menzel knows that you don’t have to be a green witch to defy gravity, and soar in life.
You can learn more about our work here at the studio and what we are all about in just one minute. Check out our introductory video and subscribe to our youtube channel!
November 10, 2020
Vase In Focus
Horus’ mother might have wanted to mention this to him.
The Eye of Horus –
$140
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Revisiting my first pit firing!
More on the 2020 firing coming soon!
What is a pit firing?
It is a pottery firing technique that I have been keen to try for some time. And I will be far from the first to do so. You see this is the oldest known method of firing pottery known to man. Pit fired pieces that have been found have been dated back to 29,000 to 25,000 BCE.
In order to prepare for my pit firing, there was the usual throwing of pots! This is the group I have chosen for the pit firing below:
Pottery pieces for pit firingAnother enjoyable step in this process was a mystical walk on the beach to gather combustible materials for my pit firing here:
Apparently anything saturated in salt has the potential for interesting effects. Thank you beach!
A more physically exerting step in the process was to dig this pit. This hole is about 2 feet deep.
Pit firing holeAfter waiting two days for rain to pass, finally today, I was able to get my pottery and pit ready for firing. I had a small amount of copper wire hanging around, so I added that to two of the pots, and as you will see from the following pictures I also added some oxides. Aren’t the colours pretty? They kind of remind me of some of the colours in the Hindu festival Holi.
Pots in pit for firing.As you can see, I had a pretty roaring fire going. I just hope it got hot enough to create some interesting effects with what I added into my pit.
Pit firing on the go!I slowly waited for the fire fuel to reach an ashen stage so that I could cover the pit.
Today I walk in the steps of the first potters and experience some of the magic of an ancient technique.
