Jay Jasper's Blog, page 13

God Is Ugly (& Crafty)

‘Hephaestus’ Forge‘ tells the tale of a master craftsgod, known for his skill and cunning, a most ‘ungodly’ appearance, a war thwarted by an arranged marriage, an unfaithful wife, and an inspired girdle!

Hephaestus was the Greek god of fire, craftsman, forges, artisans and a number of hot crafty related things.

So put down that glue gun & read his tale $94
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Hephaestus had powerful parents!

Zeus, his father had a problem on his hands. Many of the male deities wanted to marry the beautiful Aphrodite. Their fighting grew more and more problematic for Olympus. To finally put an end to the quarrels for her hand, Zeus arranged a marriage for her with Hephaestus.

It was his ugly appearance that inspired Zeus to choose him, so that the match would not inspire jealousy among other male deities. It was also his ugly appearance and a lack of love in the match that caused Aphrodite to have many affairs with both gods and men. The Dom Deluise type with a club foot was not for her.

See more pictures of ‘Hephaestus’ Forge’ here.

Tired of the humiliation, one day Hephaestus created a magic net, which he would use to catch Athena and the war god Ares in bed together. He would bring them together before the gods and thoroughly humiliate them among their peers. Poseidon felt so sorry for them he convinced Hephaestus to release them and paid their fine for the indiscretion.

Maybe Hephaestus should have ‘borrowed’ Aphrodite’s credit card and visited my website!

In his forge on Olympus, Hephaestus would go on to produce many of the gadgets and equipment of the gods, like Hermes winged helmet. He had also made Aphrodite’s girdle which inspired love and passion, which perhaps worked a little too well

Move over Victoria’s Secret. They don’t make girdles like they used to.

What did you think of ‘Hephaestus’ Forge‘ and our story today? If you enjoy our stories and pottery, don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter here to keep up with what is happening in the studio.

You can also take our ‘Which raku pottery vase are you quiz’ here, and see what vase and story you get!

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!

The meadow, looking up the hill A hosta flower Hogweed flower in the meadow Clematis Rose A wildflower growing near the raspberry bush Autumn is incoming with each leaf turning into a flowerWhat’s blooming near you?

And which of these flowers are your favourite?

Thorsty Thorsday

The word Thursday is derived from Old English Þūnresdæg and Middle English Thuresday (with loss of -n-, first in northern dialects, from influence of Old Norse Þórsdagr) meaning “Thor’s Day”. It was named after the Norse god of Thunder, Thor.

And so we have Thor’s Day. (Thursday)

So what day could be better day than that of Thor to reminisce about ‘Thor’s Veil,” which happens to be the name for this vase.

Thor’s Veil
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“Thor’s Veil” tells the curious tale of cross dressing gods, an attempted force marriage, a missing hammer, giants and a wedding you will be happy you missed. Thrym, a giant, stole Thor’s hammer and would not return it unless he was allowed to marry Freyja. What was Thor to do? Dress up as a bride of course with Loki the trickster in tow as his handmaiden. Giants must have bad eyesight as they bought the disguise regardless of the many jokes from Loki alluding to the brides manliness. I guess Thor was no RuPaul.

Our story ends with Thor killing his groom and all the guests in attendance.
Good thing he did not have to go through his wedding night with a giant.

Ouch. That would probably hurt.

A number of these vases are also written about in our first book, “A Potter’s Dream: Myths and Legends” which collects stories across cultures and centuries, adapting them to our pottery with wit, love, compassion and joy. “A Potter’s Dream: Myths and Legends” is a decidedly modern take (as seen above) on the traditional topics of pottery, healing, community – and what it means to be human – all interwoven with the magic of raku and stunning pottery.

Happy Thor’s Day!

Lunacy!

“Stay wild, moon child.”

– Riitta KlintIt moves the tides and affects the frost. It gets coyotes and werewolves howling and has inspired myths
around the world. It’s the moon!So Today We
celebrate the moon The Moon Tarot Mug
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in all its wonderful lunatic inspiration. What is something you
love about our incredible moon?

See more mugs here

This Magic Girdle Will Leave You Breathless. Here’s the skinny.

This ain’t your average ad for a girdle

But in case you came for a ‘hot pic’, please see below:

The raku process. Sometimes too hot to handle.

Princess Admete wanted it, Hercules laboured for it, and Hippolyta almost never took it off. Today’s vase story tells the tale of an ill thought out gift, Hercules charms, early woman’s liberation, and a wedding.

The cause of all of this?

A magic girdle.

Most people would not even consider a girdle as a gift for their daughter, particularly if you are the father. At best, it’s creepy and a little insulting, at worst it’s a great way to let your patriarchy flag fly. I think Hippolyta’s father Ares could have benefited from the help of a personal shopper.

Ares gifted his daughter this ‘magic girdle’ as a symbol of her ‘dignity’, which is really ancientspeak for virginity. Not cool dad!

Perhaps Ares could have appreciated some Spanx!

‘Phew, now I don’t have to suck in my stomach’

Needless to say for someone’s whose name means ‘let loose,’ a girdle was not a great fit. I am sure she was waiting for just the right bra burning-esque moment to liberate herself.

Raku Vase – Hippolyta’s Girdle

That moment would come when news of a visitor started spreading around the Amazon kingdom. He was handsome, he was a hero, he was Hercules, heartthrob of the ancient world. It wasn’t too often that such an eligible bachelor was so close.

Hippolyta decided to visit Hercules on his boat. She was so impressed by him that she gave him her ‘magic girdle’. It just so happened that retrieving it was his ninth labour. This was very convenient for Hippolyta, because she finally got to take off that allegedly magical, constricting girdle.

This is where the real magic began. Hercules, in a good mood because he thought his David Lee Roth like charm won the day, introduced her to his friend Theseus. The two fell in love and would be later married.

Maybe that’s the magic of the girdle.

The only was to find true love in yourself and others is to take the thing off – If you want to.

What do you think of this story and vase?

Swim

“Promise me you will not spend so much time treading water and trying to keep your head above the waves that you forget, truly forget, how much you have always loved to swim.”

Tyler Knott Gregson

No longer treading water

We are very excited to share a video with you that we’ve created to highlight a vase shrouded in aquatic mystery.

Welcome to:
Atlantis – the third piece in the Primythical series.

If you have a spare minute and 37 seconds, we would like to invite you to watch the video below. We also invite you to check us out on youtube and subscribe to our channel should it resonate with you.

Now on to the video!

Welcome To Atlantis.if you are not able to access the video above on youtube in your location, I am including it here on wordpress as wellWe would love to hear your impressions and thoughts on this piece and this video!

What do you think?

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This Week At The Studio In Photos

Welcome!

Here is what the world
looks like from here this week! When the path is lit, follow it Hanging out at home Saskatoon berries are nearing ready! An insect resting Atlantis has come up from the water! A moment of being to start the next week with reverenceAnd That’s been the world from here.

How has your week been?

From The Depths Of The Flames An Island Emerges!

Well -rather an artifact – to be factual.

This week we unveil the third piece

In our series ‘Primythical‘- Atlantis’. If you would like to read more about how this piece was made,you can click here. You can also view our first two pieces in the series here, in case you missed them.

A summer bouquet in flower inserts graces the raku pottery vessel ‘Atlantis’.Today our work tells the tale of Atlantis.

For some it is a mythical place, and for others a historical place lost in the veils of antiquity. It has inspired art, literature, television, cartoons, and movies. Even Atlantis is not safe from a Disney makeover.

If you have ever heard of Atlantis, you have one man to thank for it – Plato. All of our other accounts of Atlantis in existence stem from his writing. But where did Plato hear of Atlantis? Some say from Egyptian records, others say it was a fictional place used as a mythical metaphor invented by Plato himself.

If Plato’s telling was a matter of history, Atlantis was already over 9,000 years old when he told his story. He had claimed Atlantis fell out of favour with the gods and was swallowed by the ocean for making war against those on the other side of the pillars of Hercules – including Athens.

Many disbelieve the Atlantis story because it would place organized civilizations much earlier than previously thought. But recently tools were discovered on Crete that are 130,000 years old, so who can say what is untrue? Maybe one day we will find Atlantis or some other underwater city and we’ll be trying to read hydroglyphs!

For now, and maybe forever, the truth of Atlantis will remain a mystery.

I wonder if Plato knew his brief writing of ‘Atlantis’ in his dialogues would outlive him to this day? For there are not many today who have not heard of Atlantis.

What do you think?

Is it possible Atlantis was a real place? Finding AtlantisLet us know in the comments

And be sure to let us know what you think of the latest piece in our series ‘Primythical‘! Have a great day!

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!

Life up close – Do you see the insect? A single lily growing wild among the blackberries A meadow from above A cool afternoon near the tidal riverWhat’s blooming near you?

And which of these flowers are your favourite?

Dye

“The soul becomes dyed with the colour Red Goblet
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of its thoughts.” ~Marcus Aureliuswhat colours are your thoughts today?

Click here to see more colours to dye your soul (in a good way!)

Hope you have a lovely multicolour day!