Jay Jasper's Blog, page 99

When you wake up from a dream and realize it’s not actually 30,000 years ago

Pit fired pieces have been found have been dated back to 29,000 to 25,000 BCE!

What was life like then? We have some ideas, but it definitely involved pit fired pottery!

In fact, it was considered a great milestone in the development of civilization – in part because people were tired of drinking their wine out of wooden buckets. Pit Firing is the oldest known method of firing pottery known to humans.

Revisiting my first pit firing!

Revisiting my first Pit FiringAs part of a celebration of the neat things that make us human (and An over all update to the website)

The Pit Fired Pottery Page (yay alliteration!) has been updated with some wonderful new photos – like the one below – by Peter Reid Photography.

$88

See more pit fired vases herenow for the celebration!

The first person to buy a pit fired piece will receive a thank you gift along with your vase! I’ll pick out something cool for you, because this is my first time selling pottery fired with this technique, but it’s definitely not my first time firing pottery this way.

Looking forward to sending a pit-fired vase to it’s new home!

Don’t want to miss out on seeing all the latest deals? Sign up for our Newsletter today.

A ‘Great Pottery Gift Basket’ For You

We are doing one BIG give away this year!

And not only can you win, but you can help determine how many things go in the prize basket! To participate, all you need to do is sign up for our newsletter here:

As our newsletter audience grows, so will the number of pieces of pottery I add to the basket!

One lucky winner will receive what I hope to be a grand haul of pottery!

We will start things off small, with this tiny piece below:

Starting off with a tortoise in the race may seem to be a foolish strategy, but remember, in the end
they were the one who won

And maybe you will too! Sign up for our newsletter today for your chance, and you may win this gift basket, with which your help will be full of great items!

Submit a form.

Don’t worry if you’ve already signed up – you are already entered! Please feel free to follow us on our social media (top right of page) and share the contest so we can add even more pieces of pottery to the gift basket.

🤜 Thursday Throwdown February 2021 🤛

Welcome to this Month’s Battle Of The Vases!

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 time, Mother of Dragons and Phoenix Reborn battled to the death! Your vote has determined that

Mother of dragons has flown the cave!Mother of Dragons – $240
Shipping included in Canada and US
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
Hope Rising In Springtime
The Eye Of Horus
The Eye of Balor
Electra
Mother of Dragons

Wins/Losses

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0/1
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1/1
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1/2
1/1
4/1
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With the heat of the phoenix set on high, we are going to move from one parental figure to another!Father of the Sea – $124
Shipping included in Canada and US

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!

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! Phoenix Reborn – $80
Shipping included in US and Canada

This raku vase’s name was chosen by Mandy Lewis-Houston during , who explains it as follows:

I would call it “Phoenix Reborn” for several reasons. First is a little on the nose since it’s Raku and forged in flame. The second is because, if I read your blog properly, this is the first work you have finished since your sad loss. Lastly because July has been stupid hot for almost everyone everywhere so this could be a lovely harbinger of cooler times since it’s out of the flames and hopefully so are we all.

Thank you so much Mandy for your touching suggestion. I am really drawn to this name and feel like she has captured the essence of this piece on many levels. You can check out Mandy’s artistic works on her website here.

You may read more about my recent experiences that caused me to choose this particular name here – “Working Through Grief.”.

Who will be your victor? Be sure to get your vote in BELOW! Their fate is now in your hands!Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.I choose this vase as the winner.Father of the SeaPhoenix RebornPhoneSubmit We will share the winner (and update from last Time) next month

See more raku vases.

Libraries: Making Shhh Happen! #IReadCanadian

As part of #IReadCanadian

ISBN thinking about being an author and wanted to share that my first book, ‘A Potter’s Dream: Myths & Legends‘ was purchased by the Strathcona County Library! Thanks to the staff at the library for adding my book to your hallowed halls!

Thinking about this geeky kid who hid in the library and got lost in the stacks.

That kid never imagined their book would be in one! One library today, who knows how many in the future! No holds bard!

If you’re not booked with too much other reading and want to get your hands on a copy of my book, you can do so here! But if you are just here for the puns that is okay too! You can subscribe to our newsletter here for more of them and to keep up to date on all the goings on in the studio, special events and offers.

And if you want to encourage your local library to get a copy, send them this link!

A big thank you to libraries everywhere!

On The Wheel Wednesday

Wide and small, or narrow and tall. The beauty lies in the details. What details are you choosing to focus on today? sometimes a shift in perspective can make or break your day. What is one thing, feeling or thought you are trying to shift in your life? Let us know in the comments below and help inspire others!

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! And don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter here. Once we hit 500 subscribers, we will be doing another giveaway for some of our beautiful pottery!

Studio Update

BRRRR!

We have been dealing with some freezing rain around here lately so what better way to heat things up than with some warm and colourful jewelry!

In fact, the jewelry page has been updated with new pictures and new pieces, including the new Intergalactic Buddha pendant seen below!

Intergalactic Buddha
$25
Includes Shipping In US and Canada
Jewelry not so much your thing?

If you are looking for a fun distraction

You are invited to take my quiz
“Which raku pottery vase are you?“
by clicking here

Transitions

One of the More curious times in the creation of raku pottery

Is the change that occurs during a glaze firing. Beforehand, we set up the firing scenario to be in the best possible situation to reach a certain result, but once the kiln and reduction containers are closed

it is up to the fates.

It is with this in mind,
that we bring you “Transitions.”Subscribe to our YouTube Channel to make sure you don’t miss any of our videos!“Beauty is the moment of transition, as if the form were just ready to flow into other forms.“

– Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Myth of Family

In 2019, before COVID would stop these sorts of things, I had my first solo pottery show “The Myth of Family” at Oxford Riverside Gallery.

On this Family Day, I wanted to give those who were unable to attend the opportunity to have an inside look at the show. Below is a short video that highlights some of the pieces in this exhibit, and will give you a feel for the gallery.

Art Exhibit – ‘The Myth of Family‘ – A Showcase of Raku PotteryI am pleased to be able to say that the night was a great success, and a number of these pieces have sold!

I want to take this opportunity to thank all the lovely souls who took the time to attend and view my pieces. You helped make this moment special for me!

I would also like to acknowledge the professionalism and hard work of Mathew at the Oxford Riverside Gallery for the opportunity to show my work. Your knowledge, insights and help were incredibly appreciated!

Let me know what you think of the video and which piece was your favourite in the show in the comments below.

You can also view more of my vase creations here.

When Breakfast Is Late But You Are Really Hungry And A Regular Omelette Just Isn’t Going To Cut It

I have a confession to make. 

I like eggs.  Scrambled, fried, eggs benedict and even the cosmic egg!  Maybe you have figured out what I had for breakfast!  You might be wondering what a cosmic egg is? 

The Brahmanda
Available – $138
Shipping Included In US and Canada

Click here to see more paintings like the one in the background of this photoThe cosmic egg

Or world egg is a common mythological component of many cultures and is usually involved in a creation story.  “The Brahmanda” is the name of this raku pottery vase.  The Sanskrit term Brahmanda is derived from two words – ‘Brahma’, the Hindu creator diety, and ‘anda’ which means egg.  Not only is the idea of a cosmic/world egg a part of Vedic mythology, it is common among many other cultures and civilizations like the Norse, Greeks, Phoenicians, and Egyptians and even among modern scientists.

Modern science has resurrected the concept of the cosmic egg.  Our version of this ancient myth is that all the mass of the universe was compressed into a gravitational singularity prior to the Big Bang.

I find that this vase has a very galactic feel to it, with it’s hues of blue and metallic, and textural components.  What story does this vase make you think of?  Or what does it remind you of? 

This vase, and many others, are featured in our first book
“A Potter’s Dream: Myths and Legends.”

You can see more of our vases here.

Mugshot Monday

“A leaf fluttered in through the window this morning,
as if supported by the rays of the sun,
a bird settled on the fire escape,
joy in the task of coffee,
joy accompanied me as I walked.”

– Anais Nin Mug 13 $35

Shipping Included in US and Canada

More mugs can be viewed here.

If you don’t see one for sale in the colour you like,
please contact us and we can work with you directly.