Jay Jasper's Blog, page 136

Getting Naked in March, But I Have to Finish Some Renos First!

First and foremost, I would like to apologize for not being as present on my blog as of late. There have been things happening, but to be sure I will be following up with your comments and getting back to a regular routine this month.

Spring is nearly here and I have been trying to finish up a few little reno projects around the house. This includes a re-imagining of my mantle place, because every home needs a heart and for our ours it will be the hearth.

This is how things looked before:

And this is where we are at now:

I am hoping to complete this project very soon, which also includes new base boards and a crown moulding. What do you think of it so far? I am hoping it and the shelves I plan on installing along the sides will be a suitable showcase for my raku pottery vases.

I am also excited to announce that I will be making my own tiles for the space around the fireplace insert, and soon we will be adding tiles to our site available for sale.

I will also be experimenting with some naked fun this month – naked raku, now with ferric chloride. I am looking to create a special vase to honour my lovely furbaby family members. If all goes well and ‘The Alchemist’ has not lost his touch, I hope to be able to offer these vases and urns for people who would like to honour their pets. So if you are interested, start a collection of their fur when you brush them!

“I asked for catnip, kitty treats and a foil ball, but all I got for Christmas were these stupid antlers”

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I am still contemplating a colour choice for the centre protrusion. What do you think would be a good colour for it?

Transformation

Before

We all start as raw clay and in time are shaped by the potter’s hands – transformed into something beautiful.

After

Little did we know, all this time, we were the potter.

What’s one thing that you would like to change about yourself or the world?

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Home

From Nova Scotia, Canada to you: I threw this vase with our shared home in mind.

Where in our world are you coming from today?

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Hmmmmm….

Which one could it be?

“A Potter’s Dream: Myths and Legends” collects stories across cultures and centuries, adapting them to his pottery with wit, love, compassion and joy. “A Potter’s Dream: Myths and Legends” is a decidedly modern take 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.

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“Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter.” – Yoda

These two were purposely fired with the Vase of Attraction

In celebration of Yoda and all that I have learned from him, I have created these 2 Raku Yoda pendants, which were intentionally fired with the Vase of Attraction

Yoda has many great quotes on a number of topics, but I find there is always something deeper to what he is saying

You can get one now for $25 including shipping or at least until they head off to a galaxy far far away! Do or do not, there is no try (but DO send an email to us if you have questions).

Name That Vase – February 2020 Edition

Hello and happy February! Welcome to the month of love and also to my monthly feature – ‘Name that Vase’.

For those who are new to this feature, ‘Name that Vase’ is where you can suggest a name, create a story, poem or prose for this raku pottery vase. Consider this your chance to be inspired, a writing prompt or a creative cue. You can, or if you are feeling nostalgic,that started what has now become a monthly tradition for our blog and readers.

I am also excited to announce that I have been interviewed in a podcast about my pottery and we talk about the Name That Vase contest and how it got started! Thanks to the talented Alissa Head of The Just Craft for speaking with me. I had a great time speaking with her! If you are curious to listen in, here is the podcast episode!

Back in Name That Vase land, this month we have a very special vase for your naming, but first we must announce last month’s winner Doree with their name and poem. Congratulations Doree!

Antediluvian

Sunken treasure
Speak to me
Your shell is cracked
But the shape
Stands clear
Beauty
Be it in the eye of the beholder
Your glamor
Does not stammer
As you waltz your waltz with me
Take a bow
A fleeting moment
And see

Antediluvian

Here is our vase for February:

Please add what you think the name should be for our February vase and any associated poetry or story in the comments below. I look forward to reading all your great ideas.

Don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter so you don’t miss out on knowing which name we have chosen for the vase and to keep up to date on other happenings in the studio!

Superbowl!

P.S. May hold nachos, but not dip.

Revelation and Celebration! The Vase of Attraction 2019

In November, I shared my desire to collaborate with you on a vase that would use our dreams as fuel for the raku firing.

And it is today that I express my gratitude for your involvement and we celebrate a vase that our dreams have created together: our first ever Vase of Attraction!

You can see more about the project in the video below!

You can subscribe to my youtube channel here!

Included in this firing were some special pieces of jewelry that you can purchase here to have your own personal piece of this project.

In the coming year, I will continue working on other collaborative art projects including the Healing Vase in Fall of 2020. If you would like to collaborate with me on that, please add your requests for healing here.

I have also decided on one more annual collaborative art project that I will do each year, bringing the total to threee. But what will this vase be called? Stay tuned to find out. I will be announcing the details about that project next week!

Thank you again to all those who have participated! May we manifest our dreams in 2020 and beyond! You can stay up to date on all of our creations, project, exhibits and special offers by joining our community and subscribing to our newsletter here.

Green is the colour of life, and the heart chakra, chosen for this piece in hopes of manifesting of our heart’s desires

How do you think our ‘Vase of Attraction’ turned out for this year? Let us know in the comments below:

From Flames Come I!

I am a little excited to share with you some new pieces and an exciting announcement! Watch out tomorrow morning because we have finally fired the ‘Vase of Attraction’ and will be posting a firing video and pictures of it then!

In that same firing we fired some new jewelry with the ‘Vase of Attraction’. These pieces will be posted on the jewelry page shortly for sale. If you can’t wait because you need some bling to go with your ‘Nu Shooz’ you can purchase directly from this blog post with our new handy shopping cart feature.

Fresh from the kiln

These steampunk pieces are hard to photograph, but have a beautiful effect that actually makes them sparkle under certain lighting.

Raku Steampunk Gear Pendant 1
$25





Raku Steampunk Gear Pendant 2
$25





Raku Baby Yoda!

All the way from Arvala-7 and through the flames of raku, I am a little more than excited to present to you these handsome ‘baby’ yodas! Or is it Yodi. Knows nobody the plural, for there is only one Yoda! That we know of anyways.

Intergalactic Yoda Pendant
$25



Raku Jade Yoda Pendant
$25

And here is a prototype for a Tree of Life, for a little taste of the spring many in the Northern hemisphere are looking for. We also have a couple Buddha’s and a Ying-Yang necklace from this firing which will be posted soon!

Raku Tree Pendant
$23

If you want to make sure you stay up to date on all of our latest news, creations and special offers, you can subscribe to our newsletter here!

It’s also the end of this post which means it is time to ask that very important question. . .

Do you also have trouble spelling “jewelry/jewellry/jewelleree/julery”?

If not, what words get you?

Aquatic Anthropic

The ocean has long infatuated mankind with it’s mixture of the familiar and the unfamiliar. Over 80% of our planet is covered in water and that water is home to all sorts of wonderfully colorful and exotic animals!

As humans, we have a funny habit of applying our worldview to others – indeed, we approach the animals of the ocean in such a land-driven way that we tend to name those animals land-related names (sea cow, sea urchin, sea anemone, sea lion, sea monkeys!)

We adapt our landlubber perspective to the sea rather than thinking what it is, as itself. We tend to do that with a lot of things, whether in the ocean or otherwise. Just think of the sound and color spectrum we perceive vis à vis that of other species. How we experience the world is not how all beings do.

The seahorse, as seen by humans.

So while we as a species like to name things in our image, it is in celebration of these animals in the largest environment on earth that we have created our own raku seahorses! They are great for hanging in a window, on a wall, over a bed, in a washroom, at a cottage – wherever you like.

You can even call them underwater horses, if you like. In our case, these underwater horses are hanging in the air (confusing, we know).

These little raku creatures will swim their way into your heart and for a short time they are available for $40 including shipping in the US and Canada! That means that you are able to celebrate along with us all that makes us landlubbers tick – whether it’s naming ocean things land names or not being able to hear ultrasonic frequencies like our cat overlords (Chairman Meow wrote that).

If you had were to rename “seahorses” to a non-land derived name, what would you call them?