Jay Jasper's Blog, page 12

Sometimes There Is Literally No Way To Escape The Hot Seat

Forged Seating

Tells the tale of one of the most hard working gods of Olympus, a goddess who sat down and almost never got back up, an arranged marriage orchestrated to bring peace to Olympus, and one very unhappy bride.

Today we explore the story of Hephaestus and one of his more seemingly regal creations – a throne for Hera – with our raku pottery vase ‘Forged Seating‘. It will of course be another complex tale of mischief and mayhem.

$68
Free Shipping Included In US and Canada
A Complex Relationship

If you think Oedipus had a ‘complex’ relationship with his mother, imagine being cast out of your family home, away from all those you love for the simple fact that due to a physical disability and birth defect you were considered too ugly to live amongst your god like family.

If your name was Hephaestus, you’d know this story all to well. But while in the realm of the mortals he did not let his personal history get him down. He worked hard in his forge and his creations became revered by mortals and gods alike. His work became coveted by all.

Have a Seat, Mother

Fuelled by his popularity and skill (and some resentment that likely burned hotter than his forge), he decided to make his ableist mother a special gift that would appeal to her vanity. After all, how could such an important goddess resist a throne forged by the most talented artist of her time.

There was an unexpected surprise in addition to the throne Hephaestus made his mother. Hera would discover that once she sat upon the throne her son made her that she was unable to get up. Perhaps a fitting turn of events for a mother who rejected her son for being born with a birth defect.

Two Birds With One Stone

If you have read many of these stories, you will know that Hera and Zeus had a very complex relationship (insert link to other vase story here). It was more than likely that Zeus probably enjoyed an affair or two while Hera was trapped on her new throne. But eventually, he would need to find a solution to Hera’s sticky throne problem, if only to stop her complaining.

Zeus himself could not free Hera. So he needed to find a way to appease Hephaestus. But what could he offer a man who could make almost anything he wanted?

Meanwhile, As he pondered this problem . . .

The chaos of Olympus grew as a result of many of the gods fighting over the hand of the most beautiful goddess of Olympus, Aphrodite. Realizing that he could quell the chaos, free his wife and appease Hephaestus all by offering Aphrodite’s hand in marriage to our forgey friend, that’s exactly what he did.

This union would prove to bring misery to both the bride, who would be unfaithful to her vows and the groom, who would once again be consumed with vengeance. But for Zeus, this would keep Aphrodite in play, as one of the many women he would pursue.

The moral of the story? Perhaps revenge is not a dish best served seated . . . or forged.

What did you think of our vase story today? And of this raku pottery vase?

Please let us know in the comments below.

You can check out more of our raku pottery vases and their stories here!

This Week At The Studio In Photos

Welcome!

Here is what the world
looks like from here this week! Harvesting black currants for wine A spot of light on the forest floor When a tree falls in the forest Flowers blooming on the chocolate mint Back to the soilAnd That’s been the world from here.

How has your week been?

A Controversial Secret Plan To Save The Earth

Since the early decades of the 20th century

Writers, artists and futurists had dared to dream of what life might be like on Mars. These dreams were informed by science that was evolving quickly.

This raku pottery vase is called ‘A Morning on Mars‘ and as you can see this art piece evokes what a Martian landscape might look like with it’s hazy iridescence.

A Morning On Mars
$120
Shipping Included In US and Canada
But what would a morning on Mars really be like?

Like Earth, Mars is tilted on it’s axis and thus experiences day and night. It’s day is slightly longer that here on Earth – 24.6 hours. Because Mars is further from the sun, the light received is less than half of that here on Earth. One would be able to see Earth and the Moon from Mars, though they would appear star-like, much like Venus, our ‘morning star’.

As we Earthlings

Inch ever closer toward putting a person on the planet, one can only hope that we treat that planet better than the one we are on now.

And doing it before the cats do us in. Chairman Meow is taking the earth (ie the sculpture “Meltdown“) for cats to take care ofSo they say curiosity killed the cat. Curiosity hasn’t met Chairman Meow.

You can see more of our rake pottery vases here.

What do you think of our
raku pottery vase ‘A Morning on Mars’?

do you think humans should
colonize Mars one day?

Do you think Chairman Meow’s Secret controversial plan will work?

Flower Friday

It’s the summer here on Canada’s east coast

And one of my favourite parts of this time of year are all the flowers around the studio! So I wanted to share some of them with, you, my readers!

A hosta flower (and bee!) Clematis flowerWhat’s blooming near you Today?

Rest

A poem by Laura Ding

If the mountain seems too big today, then climb a hill instead.
If the morning brings you sadness, its okay to stay in bed.
If the day ahead seems heavy and your plans feel like a curse,
There’s no shame in rearranging; don’t make yourself feel worse.

A snail among the currants

If a shower stings like needles, and a bath feels like you’ll drown,
If you haven’t washed your hair in days, don’t throw away your crown.
A day is not a lifetime, a rest is not defeat.
Don’t think of it as failure, just a quiet, kind retreat.

Summer evening

It’s okay to take a moment from an anxious, fractured mind.
The world will not stop turning while you get realigned.
The mountain will still be there, when you want to try again.
You can climb it in your own time; just love yourself til then.

A slug rests“Within you, there is a stillness and a sanctuary to which you can retreat at any time and be yourself.”

— Hermann Hesse

🤢! This Milk Is Sour! 🤢

Our Prologue

‘Argus‘ tells a story that could have been a script for the Real Housewives of Olympus! It tells the tale of betrayal, a jealous goddess, a many eyed monster, a beautiful reward and livestock. Okay, maybe livestock is not be a common feature on the ‘real’ housewives … YET!

A Humble Priestess

When your father is a cult leader and you’re a woman in the ancient world, your career paths are very limited. It seemed almost natural that Io would end up as a priestess in her father’s cult in Argos dedicated to Hera. She may have thought she was in the land of milk and honey, but all that would change when she was the one producing the milk.

A lustful God

When you’re an ancient god there’s so much to keep you busy. Watching down on everyone, maybe paying a little extra attention to the younger and prettier women, can sure get the hormones flowing. And Zeus wasn’t just any god. He was THE god. And when he saw young priestess named Io in a temple dedicated to his wife he knew he must have her.

You Know Your wife is My Boss, right?

We often think of workplace harassment as a fairly modern development, but Io would have valid reason to disagree. Io worked as a devoted priestess at Hera’s temple. Zeus was Hera’s husband. Do you see where this is going?

It must have been no easy task to say no to the head honcho god, but Io did. She refused him over and over again. Of course Zeus grew tired of this, so he convinced her father to throw her out through his Oracles.

Meanwhile, Back at Olympus

No one knows exactly how Hera found out that her husband was once again lusting and chasing after someone else. A mortal no less! I’d imagine she was sitting around with some of the other goddesses and one of them ‘let it slip’ that her husband was up to his old tricks.

Whichever goddess let the news slip, must have known that Hera could become viciously jealous. #frenemies.

This ain’t the county fair!

Right then and there Hera would have summoned Zeus immediately. And knowing Zeus, he would take his time getting there, he must have had some idea what was in store. You know the other goddesses would wait, glued to their seats for the impending events about to unfold.

Straight away, Hera wasted no time once Zeus arrived. She demanded Io be brought before them. And once she was? Hera immediately turned her into a cow. Talk about Hera ‘milking’ the situation.

Rightfully concerned that her husband would not let this end here, she had her loyal servant Argus keep an eye or a hundred on the now bovine Io. Argus was literally a monster with 100 eyes, and the namesake of our vase.

If goddesses wore hair extensions, this is when Hera would flip her hair satisfyingly.

A womanizer gets a case of conscience

Hera was not wrong about Zeus not letting go of the mortal of his desire. Perhaps his role in the transformation of poor Io into a cow impacted his conscience. Or maybe it was he still hadn’t gotten the girl after all this trouble?

Zeus decided to send messenger god Hermes to kill Argus, which he did by enchanting him into a deep sleep by playing his flute and then smiting him.

But Hera knew! And prior to the smiting she had all of Argus’ eyes transferred to the tail of a peacock. She told all her friends it was to honour his loyalty and thank her friend.

Did I mention she had a chariot pulled by peacocks?

Next time on ‘As the Pottery Wheel Turns’

What is going to happen to our bovine friend wandering around trying to find her way back to Greece? Will she be able to retake her human form, or will she be relegated to a life making ice cream for the gods? And what of our Greek ‘adonis’ (no not that Adonis) Zeus? Will he help poor Io to restore her form and finally get the girl?

What do you think of this vase and the story that goes with it? Next time, Io gets her own vase, so be sure to stay tuned! And if you want to read more vase stories, be sure to check out our raku vase gallery! It’s full of them.

Chooseday

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less travelled by, A closeup of The Minotaur’s MazeAnd that has made all the difference.” – Robert Frost We actively create our
lives through our choices.

May we create beauty, love and life.

“All My Jewelry Has Stories” – Eva Green

Did you know that we make jewelry?

(and a lot of other stuff too actually! click here to see)

Yep! Each piece is individually made by hand here at The Alchemist’s Studio and
has its own unique story!Intergalactic Yoda Pendant – $28
Chromium Parenthood Pendant– $28
Vase of Attraction Buddha – $28 They make great gifts
and
shipping is included in the US and Canada!Raku Copper Blue Buddha – $25
What kind of jewelry do you like?

Much more is available over on our
jewelry page!

If you have questions about a particular piece of jewelry – or any of the work we do – please get in touch.

I hope your week so far has been kind to you and that you’ve been kind to yourself.

This Week At The Studio In Photos

Welcome!

Here is what the world
looks like from here this week! Relaxing on a summer‘s evening A fairy hideaway? Late evening in the Alchemist’s Studio garden One night of raspberry picking! Ending the week with some time at the beachAnd That’s been the world from here.

How has your week been?

Grey

Though grey,
the sky is always blue behind the clouds and In time, the clouds will also pass. Beauty is in front of us “If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.” – Frances Hodgson Burnett