Raku

Just got back from "inner circle" drinks with S, K, and friends. This has been a monthly ritual since March, and they're a riot.

Heavy weekend, with a full day tom and church and pottery on Sunday. Raku firing comes by mid-August, so need to make more pieces in time for this. Apparently, raku is more suited to more sculptural pieces, lending it a very modern, industrial feel. The combination of extreme heat and a rapid temperature drop after the sawdust bath leads to some very interesting reactions in the glaze, giving it a metallic finish more suited to darker glazes.

Glazing class in 2 weeks, which I'm looking forward to.

I can't believe how many things I've got on at the moment - I've been pretty flat out at work for the past two weeks, on top of all the other personal projects in the air - am quite proud of the fact that its all juggling pretty well

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Last weekend I saw 'Dollhouse', directed by Lee Breuer for Mabou Mines. I couldn't decide at first whether I liked it or not, and after some further contemplation, I decided I did. Completely exxagerated and over the top (very 'avant-garde') with 6-ft tall women paired with midget men. Quite an overwhelming production, leaving one with the same type of disbelief/stupor as per Moulin Rouge (those of you whove seen it with me when it first came out can attest to this feeling). It is an assault to the senses, much like the Vagina Monologues were - scandalizing you with both the theme (a woman being depersonalized within a domestic setting) and the staging (frontal female nudity, a dwarf's butt, a dead woman on stilts, Santa Claus on ecstasy). I'd highly recommend it.