Something Old, Something New...

When we were kids, we used to go out to Sebastian Inlet so that my mom could go fishing with her friends.  I was too little to go out on the jetty; if I fell in, either I'd die by drowning or being dashed against the rocks by the rough Atlantic.  They set out five-gallon buckets in a row with nylon cord strung up between and I wasn't allowed to cross that point.  Instead, I spent time combing the beaches for shells and rocks with holes in them.  I loved them before I knew what they were.  Some people call them hag stones or witch stones; wearing them would give protection and looking through them could reveal hidden identities or peer into the world of Faerie.  Cynthia and Sheila helped me make a necklace with the stones I collected with some of the nylon cord.  I called it my "necklace of power" and pretended that I understood the language of mermaids and fishes when I wore it.

Years later, I am revisiting this form.  I love the organic shapes and the stringing versatility of the pieces.  I've made them out of porcelain and they have a magical, musical quality to them.  I'm curious as to how this will translate into my work and how I'll finish them off.  I thought about throwing them in the tumbler for a silky, matte texture... much like those original stones.  Maybe glaze them with a clear glaze?  Or finish them off with some wax?  I am smitten with the bone-like quality of the white porcelain.  Or maybe coat them in PMC slip and fire them again?  I don't know exactly what I'm going to do with these pieces, but I feel very, very good about them.