Just a Normal Day at Art School

I just had a bunch of work come out of the glaze firing. It's pretty swanky. I'm so excited to work and my skills on the wheel have improved exponentially. I've started making bottles. I really like this particular method of glazing the inside and letting it run in drips on the outside. I love the raw material of clay, and I don't want it all to be hidden under the glaze, so I let some of it show. I'll get more pictures up as soon as I can. So much neat stuff to come, and these two little pots are only a taste.

The other night I went up to the 16th floor studio with Emma while she primed her canvas. There we saw Benjamin and Vincent, who were totting plaster and the blue dental mold stuff they use to make molds of your teeth at the dentist's office. Benjamin was going to cast chess pieces while Vincent wanted to make a cast of his face. I've heard of a lot of people making casts of their face. Vincent is the first I've seen use this method.

First he put straws in his nose, then decided he'd rather have them in his mouth. He also put vaseline or lotion or something on his eyebrows and hair and eyelashes to make it easier to remove.

Then the blue dental casting stuff was applied to his face. It doesn't get burning hot like plaster does, but it is more rubbery where plaster is super stiff. So they trade off is "skin safe" for "too soft."

Then a bucket of plaster was mixed up and strips of canvas were dipped in, then applied like bandages to his face, totally covering the dental mold stuff. This way his skin stayed safe, but a hard mold was effectively made.

It took about 30 minutes for it to be totally cured, and we took it off his face. While he chilled on the couch, just breathing through straws, we got him a notebook and pen so we could talk to him. He's a vegan, awesome in every way, and can write really well when he has plaster covering his entire face.

 Here are a few things you should know about this table and these chairs.

1. I found them on craigslist for $15.
2. The couple I bought them from was super nice.
3. Hayley, Rachel, and Julie went with me to pick them up.
4. We took the Blue Line train and the 72 bus to get to the couple's house.
5. You are not allowed to bring a table and two chairs onto the bus.
6. Hayley and Julie each carried a chair. Rachel and I carried the table on our shoulders two miles to the Green Line train through the sketchiest neighborhood I have ever seen.
7. No one was hurt, robbed, kidnapped and that dining set is sitting in my dorm room, serving its purpose nobly. It's so nice to have somewhere to sit and eat, and it was 120% worth it, sore shoulders and bruises and all.

The other night when I was walking home with Talya from the ceramics lab, a woman asked us for directions. I whipped out my phone and helped her (because I don't know the ins and outs of all of Chicago... yet). She was headed our way and we got to walk and talk for a bit. She came here from Colorado. She lives in a suburban area and does surgery on children's eyes (whatever the fancy term for that is, again) and came to the Art Institute of Chicago for some conference. Talya is from Colorado, so they talked about that for a bit. She was so nice and made for some great company home. I hope she made it back to Colorado safe and sound. 


The best times are the unexpected adventures that just happen, no planning needed. :]