More little birds

My hand sculpting almost always ends up involving birds. So nothing has changed in that department. Out of the kiln came these creations last week.

We are getting a hand raised major Mitchell cockatoo. We got to visit the babies on the weekend. I took photos of course.

Something to blog about

It's been very quiet in here while the kiln has been broken. Thanks to Jayne for fixing the kiln - yay! This is where I would insert a picture of Jayne headfirst in the kiln if a)I had thought to take a photo at the time or b)I could actually draw. So now I have something to blog about.

These two bowls thrown on the wheel are only noteworthy for their mistakes learning possibilities. Bowl 1 teaches me that the glaze must not be too thick and when sanding I must make sure the item is dustfree before glazing. Bowl 2 teaches me that the use of wax resist to create a speckled bowl has potential but requires further attempts (maybe the outer glaze was not thick enough.)

Last month Jayne suggested everyone in the Mildura Pottery Club give her one of their pieces of pottery to enter in the local Show. I was amazed to hear that I had won first prize until I went to the Show to see for myself. In actual fact everyone had won a first, second or third in various sections, thus lowering my sense of excitement. All the same, I shall be displaying my card next to my pottery.

Zone out now if you are not interested in random bird photos I have taken recently with my new digital SLR.

Baby plumhead parrot bred in our aviary.

 

Topnotch/crested pigeons in our back yard. Thanks to my son for editing out the garden hose in the foreground. (Something I need to learn all about in the next holidays.)

Close up of "Tom" using my macro lens, focusing on his eye. Tom is a kakariki bred in our aviary.

"Missy" having a bath. Missy is a young crimson rosella. She will lose her green and gain more red and blue as she becomes an adult. This photo was taken from outside the cage so the wire has caused the slight foggy look. I will learn to edit that in time.

 

Teenage magpies hanging out in our yard. They actually had a sort of "play wrestle" on the ground at one point.

A willy wagtail having a bath in our yard. If you see the photo in a larger frame, the drops of water are visible.

"Jasper" having some downtime in a hollow log. He is my young male crimson rosella.