I spent a good part of last week getting upset at the plaster lathe. It makes me feel very unskilled. The last one I showed was the wrong size and too bubbly, so I ran around looking for concrete dye to do another, because I had run out of it, and made another, which fell off the lathe while I was working. Extra fun. The next one I got scared of it falling off like that again, and didn't put enough soft soap on to make it release, so it's just stuck on there. Nothing doing about that. I started to try again, and learned that india ink is great for dying plaster, and that I'm getting better and being less bubbly about it... I wasn't used to mixing plaster as heavy as it needs to be for the plaster lathe, but I was getting better at it.
So, You know how people tell you that "winners never quit, and quitters never win"? I disagree so much. I think sometimes it can be valuable to give up on things when you realise that they are taking you in the wrong direction. So, I had a good tutorial with Geoff yesterday, in which we re-evaluated, and decided that the ceramics were't where it's at, and I went down to talk to the wood working department to have them turn some holders for my engraving. Horray for outsourcing - and learning to ask for help. Which I am bad at, and need to learn to do more often.
Now I must order blanks, beech, birch or sycamore, and ask for help making them into something nice.
I'll come back to slip casting later and try it with a simpler form.
