#iam-adreamwalker

[jbbartram-illu]

I have a question! Or more like, asking for your opinion. There's this studio I went to last year to learn some throwing, and I love it, and I want to do more, but I've been /very/ disappointed with the glazes... It's the first studio I went to regularly, but I've done a lot of sculpting before, and never with such results. It seems to mostly be with the clear glaze : bubbles, pile ups forming and going milky white, slip shifting and slipping under it during the firering... I'm sure I fucked up the application on at least some of them, but some other were glazed by the studio owner herself, and I'm not the only one this happened to. I'm thinking the clear glaze is shit, but I also worry the slips are poor quality too. It is a budget to go back there, and it would give me access to a kiln but I don't know anymore... I worry the studio owner's glazes and slip are just shitty? Did you ever have issues that seemed to be localized to one place / one specific glaze, or maybe I'm just being a bit paranoied because I'm sad my pieces didnt come out as I would've wanted them to?

Hmm, this is an interesting one ! I don't feel 100% qualified to answer this, as I'm very much at the beginning of my glaze-journey (& currently only use pints of ready-to-use glaze, as I don't have the know-how or space to mix my own), but it does sound like something might be going on?

There are definitely a lot of chances for glazes to get weird, whether the issue is application, the quality/specific mix of the glaze in question, or the many variables inherent in firing pieces, and it might be best to find a polite way to ask the studio owner what she thinks happened?

I generally find potters (who tend to be VERY used to things going topsy-turvy since ceramics is such a weird, almost alchemical practice even for people who know what they're doing!) are happy to troubleshoot/get into why a specific thing might be happening (honestly if there was bubbling I'm surprised the studio owner didn't talk to you about it already, as that's definitely an issue with either the glaze or the firing).

Again, I'm still very much a beginner when it comes to the world of glaze troubleshooting, but from this brief description it does sound like something is going on & is worth at least asking about in a 'hey I'm just curious as to why this happened since I want to learn more about the glaze/firing process' way!

P.S: I'm still working on answering all your lovely asks! I had to put everything but pottery aside for a sec so I could get one more little batch into the kiln this Friday, but am looking forward to getting back to my inbox now, as there are some really fun Qs in there :)

[ishtar0110]

Cinderella - Sleeping Beauty - Beauty and the Beast.

This is awesome!!

cinderella marries the prince

and it’s… fine. The prince is great! They’re in love, he’s very sweet and passionate, writing her poems and songs, giving her anything she wants. The time she spends with her husband is great.

but cinderella is not royalty, her family was noble but she never spent time in those circles. She’s used to being busy, she’s used to cooking and cleaning and mending. There are hours, days, where she has nothing to do.

time passes. cinderella learns the fancy lady type of needlework. Learns to ride horses. Reads a lot.

as is normal for royalty at the time, they travel and are hosted by nobles or stay at castles owned by the king. But even that variety begins to become routine. The prince is distracted, there’s a lot of young women living and working on their route. Daughters of nobles. Younger and prettier with soft hands that have never done a day’s work.

cinderella needs something to spend her time on, and there’s a part of her thinking a couple-only trip might get her husband’s attention again, so she suggests making an old castle that’s fallen into disrepair their “project.” It was built in the time when castles were made to be defensible, so it’s quite sturdy, but it’s overgrown and secluded. The prince doesn’t know why his family stopped living there either. A hundred years ago it was their summer home.

so they go. And they work. And for a while it’s great! But when they leave for winter cinderella’s husband forgets her once again. cinderella resolves to make the best of her life and stop worrying about a man who has gotten what he wanted from her.

summer comes again and this time cinderella goes alone to the old castle (minus staff, of course, but cinderella manages to narrow it down to only repair workers and one maid). She can cook and clean and mend again, but this time it’s her own choice. She is happy.

this summer they make more progress on repairs. The workers say that most of it can be salvaged, except one tower that’s been completely overgrown with vines and briars. It will have to come down, eventually, but for now it can be safely ignored.

cinderella has more free time now. The old castle has a surprisingly untouched library, though time and moisture have damaged many of the books. Behind a collection of greek poetry cinderella finds an old diary. Very old, in fact, at least a hundred years. It’s rude to read a diary, of course, but whoever wrote this is long dead, and cinderella is bored, so…

from the description of activities the author looks to have been nobility. Maybe even a princess. She’s sensitive and sweet and smarter than she seems to realize. If circumstances had been different cinderella wishes they could have been friends…

after the summer ends cinderella returns to her husband. He’s spending a lot of time with a young musician and cinderella can’t even work up the energy to care. She does some research about the castle and the family she’s married into, finds out the name of the princess who wrote the diary.

aurora. Cursed and forgotten. She died young, they say, in a plague that also took out the castle staff and her own parents. Luckily they avoided a succession crisis, but not so lucky for the dead.

time passes. cinderella goes to the old castle again and again, even out of season. Soon enough all that remains to be done is the old tower, and the builders say they should tear it down and fill the gaps before it gets cold.

one night cinderella is restless. The princess from the diary had been fond of that tower, and cinderella is far more attached to a dead woman than she ought to be. She gets out of bed, reads by candlelight, and finally goes to walk the empty halls.

she finds herself going to the tower. Pushing past the vines that don’t seem so troublesome really. They almost part before her. The stairs are perfectly intact, the door at the top is already cracked open. As if she should have done this years ago, cinderella steps into aurora’s bedroom.

she’s as beautiful as the stories say. And sitting under her hands, crossed across her stomach as it rises and falls, is a book of greek poetry.

years later, people will tell the story of cinderella as a cautionary one. Don’t seek above your station. Don’t marry for prestige. After all, a girl who grew up as a servant once married the crown prince, and disappeared after only three years. She ran away, they say, she couldn’t handle the lifestyle.

two old women who run a bookshop together agree with the lesson. Marrying for the wrong reasons never ends well. It’s best to wait for someone you have things in common with, shared interests.

or, failing that, the more linguistic of the two says, wait a decade or ten for someone to fall in love with you from your diary.

her partner laughs and hits her with the socks she is mending.

[kirikiri1]

My very first 'commission' (all money goes to Food Not Bombs, not me)! For @iam-adreamwalker 🖤

Episode 9 - A Father's Love

"I looked at the walls, and noticed that they were covered in shelves, each of which contained glass jars, full of what I would later learn was formaldehyde containing a single heart."

[xloveyouanywayx]

Tag 9 people you want to get to know better!

I was tagged by @sidsass, thanks!

favorite color: Such a simple and difficult question at the same time. I want to say pink, and all the different hues it can take!

favorite ships: Harry/Ginny, Percy/Annabeth, and then my OCs Hayley/James.

lipstick or chapstick: Both I think. Chapstick by necessity although Burt’s Bees ones can be tinted and these look really cute. And lipstick for when I feel like being bold, and strong, and unapologetic! 

last song: Why Am I Like This - Orla Gartland

last movie: How To Train Your Dragon 3. I’m still *__*

currently reading: I haven’t really read anything for fun in a while. I’m currently listening to Percy Jackson 4 - The Battle of the Labyrinth in audiobook if that counts.

tagging: @wanderingsofanillustrativemind, @hufflepuffandthings, @akasora, @galaxyspeaking, @iam-adreamwalker, @marvelousmsmarvel , @mollyraesly, @ronweasley, @viria, and anyone else who wants to do it :)

[lookatthatotp]

iam-adreamwalker replied to your post:iam-adreamwalker replied to your post “Canada is...

T’inquiète, je suis là pour 3 ans au moins!! ^^

YESSAAAH!

[jbbartram-illu]

Hey hi hello!

I’m a big fan of your work, I bought a small raven witch from you, which I love and cherish, and I was wondering if I could ask you what kind of tools you’re using for your sgraffito?

I’m getting back into ceramics myself, and I just got a little jackalope cup back from the kiln, where I tried to sgraffito détails in my slip, but the cobalt was meltier than I anticipated and it covered most of them. I think I need to work on my application, but also that a thicker line might help, and I was wondering what you were using?

You can check my stuffs at @unnamedartist-portfolio if you want, and if you have any advice, I would be so honored to hear them!

Hope you have a fantastic day! :)

Hello @iam-adreamwalker! My apologies for taking 500yrs to reply to this - I've only just now found the time to take some better photos of my sgraffito gear.

These are basically all of my sgraffito tools, but you definitely don't need this many (I just have a pottery-tool-buying PROBLEM). My core tools are the ones to the left - the two pointy sticks & the two carve-y guys. Both of the wire loop tools are by Kemper, and I'm not 100% sure the brands of the sticks. The colourful set is from Xiem and is nice if you're doing a ton of sgraffito work, because it offers so many options for carving! I especially like the round-loop tools for carving feathers.

Here are some close-ups of my main tool gang:

I especially like the darker-brown stick tool because its point is slightly rounded, making it easier to scrape the slip off the surface of the clay vs. just making a deeper line that won't be as dramatic (more on technique later!).

Speaking of rounded-tip tools, I just realized I forgot my other favourite, a core tool that could replace the lighter-wood pointy stick in my Most Important Sgraffito Tools ranking - the ball-ended, double-sided stylus! This thing is a tiny powerhouse and, like the more rounded point on the dark-wood stick, it gently draws the slip off the clay rather than gouging:

Next up, slip! I'm not sure what you were using as your colour layer, because you mentioned that it ran/moved on the surface of the clay, which my stained slip doesn't do. Did you mix glaze into the slip? Or were you working with a powered pigment?

When I'm making coloured slip, I use a powdered pigment called Mason Stain, which can be used to dye slip, clay, and clear glaze bases (eg. to make translucent celadon glazes). I use a couple different brands, but it's all called Mason Stain.

If you're a sensible person you can find proper recipes for mixing the slip and the stain, but I honestly go by how it looks - I add it to the slip a few spoonfuls at a time, mix, and see how pigmented the slip looks. If you want to really make sure the pigment is well-mixed you can get a stick blender from a thrift store or attach a mixing head onto an electric drill (something I'd like to upgrade to as the stick blender is SUPER messy & hard to clean out), but I mostly just mix it really well with a stir stick.

Once it's mixed, I keep my slips in these little self-sealing glass containers from IKEA, which stop it from drying out too fast (I tried keeping slip in regular jars & it turned into a rock...you definitely need a container with a rubber seal on it!). You'll still need to add water here & there, but it can sit for weeks without too much concern.

My slip is a little thick & gloopy, so I usually brush two layers of slip onto the leather-hard sculpture, letting each dry before I put on the next coat, and I let it dry until it's no longer at all tacky before I start carving (otherwise things WILL smudge and it WILL be terribly messy.

Finally, technique! I did take a look at your blog & the sgraffito project you mentioned & one thing I noticed was that your scratch marks were very deep and didn't reveal much clay under the scratched-away slip. This is an easy thing to have happen, especially if your slip/clay/both are still too wet or you're putting too much pressure on the carving tool.

My best tips for remedying this are:

Make sure the slip isn't at all tacky to the touch & that the clay underneath is leather hard.

Go very gently at first! It doesn't take much to scratch the slip away and you can always come back and take away more slip/make your carving area deeper if you want to, but you can't put the clay back!

Use the carving tools at an angle to the clay (somewhere around 45º ish, this is not a hard science), not perpendicular to it - this will stop you from stabbing straight down instead of scraping. If you've ever done linocut prints, think of the angle you hold the linocut tool at - sgraffito is generally a pulling-towards motion vs. a pushing away one for lino, but the angle is important either way!

Having even just a small variety of tools (eg. my core 4-5 as shown above) will also help, as you'll have options for line-weight/how much slip a tool takes off.

Phew! I sort of got carried away there, but I hope this was helpful?? If you have any more questions (or if anyone else does), please don't hesitate to ask! I'm still planning on making a proper sgraffito tutorial/series of tutorials, but need to find the time for all the filming/editing that requires.

[xloveyouanywayx]

4, 7, 8, 9, 24, 29, 35, 37, 52? :)

4. Have you ever had a penpal? I can’t remember. I guess maybe in middle school? But of the top of my head I’d say no.

7. What’s your favorite word? You know what? I have never thought about it. One word that I use a lot and means a lot to me is “kindness” so maybe that one?

8. Do you play any instruments? No. I took piano lessons for 10 years but never really got into it. I wish I had stuck with it. But who doesn’t?

9. What is your favorite color? Pink, and all its variations.

24. What is your favorite scent? Spring. And I know it’s a cope out because that include the smell of flowers blooming, grass mowing, rain on the asphalt, sun on your skin, first ice cream of the season, coffee at the terrace of a restaurant...

29. What is your dream job? I’ve never dreamed about working. But a dream job would include some level of autonomy, contact with people, education, research, some time outdoors. And I guess I’m describing my current situation... Good for me!

35. Do you have any hidden talents? I can wiggle both my eyebrows and do that weird thing with my pinkie.

37. What is your favorite thing in your bedroom? My bed. For. Sure.

52. Do you like bugs? Ew, no. I try not to get scared but brrr.

Thanks @iam-adreamwalker for your questions, it was fun!

[lookatthatotp]

iam-adreamwalker replied to your post “Canada is wonderful please come and visit me!”

Quand tu veux, je suis déjà sur place!! ;)

Oh yes! Malheureusement, je n'ai pas d'emploi, donc pas d'argent pour prendre le train ou pour remplir ma voiture d'essence pour me rendre à Montréal, mais je déménage près de la ville cet été donc on aura plus de chances de se rencontrer au semestre prochain! (Tu seras encore à l'Université ici??? Si non, je dois trouver un moyen d'emprunter de l'argent à quelqu'un pour te voir avant que tu partes!)

[lookatthatotp]

I've been tagged by iam-adreamwalker

Always post the rules: Answer the questions the person who tagged you asked and write 11 new ones. Tag 11 new people. Message the people you’ve tagged to let them know that you’ve tagged them. ( suck at making up questions...) Questions!!

(Please forgive me if I am incoherent. I am really hungover. So hungover I'm beginning to wonder if this is real or I'm in a dream...)

1- How was your day?

Well it was awful and also really good! It was good because I discovered the power I have over straight boys. It was awful because I'm so hungover "it feels like someone's taken a piss on my soul."

2- Where do you see yourself / do you want to be in 10 years?

Oh... I would love to be involved socially. I want to go against social injustices and try to break the harmfuls ideas implanted in our society. I want to live in a beautiful city and do a job I love. I don't know yet what my career will be but I hope it's something I am really passionate about and would do in my free time if it wasn't my job. I want to be a really good artist. In 10 years, chances are I will improve greatly! Basically, I don't have precise plans, but I want to be happy. I want a simple fulfilling life and I want to help other people have the same. 

3- Fandom?

Do you mean favourite fandom? Or Fandoms I am part of?

Fandoms: Sherlock, Doctor Who, My Mad Fat Diary, New Girl, The Mindy Project, OUAT, Pushing Daisies, Secret Diary of a Call Girl, Dair (*sobs*), Sherlock Holmes in general.

The Fandom: Sherlock probably. I could go into lengths about how much I love Sherlock Holmes, and Johnlock and the potential of the BBC interpretation to become one of the greatest love stories if not the greatest. I love the fandom because we analyze everything, have the best theories, write beautiful metas, make beautiful fanart... I just love it!

My Mad Fat Diary is also really important to me, but I don't really know much about the fandom because I don't interact all that much with other fans.

4- Favorite time of the day?

Coming home, taking your bra off and putting on a pyjama!

5- Favorite movie?

There are so many movies I love... But I'll go with Imagine Me & You, which is a love story about two women, not a lesbian story! It is so beautifully done and has bisexual representation and I just love it ok!? If you haven't watched it, you're missing out!

Also, Third Star.

6- That song you can’t get out of your head?

Recently there's I Wanna Be Yours by Arctic Monkeys and Stolen Dance by Milky Chance.

7- First thing you do in the morning?

On week days, I eat and make tea before anything else. On weekends, I go on my laptop.

8- How did you end up on Tumblr?

One of my friend was running a hipster blog and insisted that Tumblr was the best thing in life so I eventually signed up. At first I was reblogging beautiful photographies and look at me now: discussing social issues and obsessing over fiction.

9- On a scale from regular people (1) to Alice in Wonderland’s Mad Hater and king Aerys Targarien’s love child (10), how crazy do you think you are?

Sherlock Holmes.

10- A question that should never be asked to you?

idk.

11- Come on, those questions are stupid, let’s give up everything and go to …(place)….. to …(activity)…… (Example: And go to Island to raise squids)!

Let's go anywhere to disconnect from reality! (Go skydiving, rock climbing, walk in cities, discover lovely shops, learn new things, be happy)

[xloveyouanywayx]

I've been tagged by iam-adreamwalker

Always post the rules: Answer the questions the person who tagged you asked and write 11 new ones. Tag 11 new people. Message the people you’ve tagged to let them know that you’ve tagged them. Questions!!

(please forgive me for my english.)

1- How was your day?

Long and exhausting but really nice. Thanks for asking :)

2- Where do you see yourself / do you want to be in 10 years?

As lame as it might sound, I want a stable job, I see myself married to my actual boyfriend and with at least a kid. I also think I might be living in the US, that would be great!

3- Fandom?

Harry Potter

4- Favorite time of the day?

Bed time. Definetly. That moment when your day is over, you're in bed and you enjoy the warmth of your blanket before falling asleep. 

5- Favorite movie?

I'm not sure. I think I would say the King's Speech. Or maybe Harry Potter, all of them.

6- That song you can’t get out of your head?

All of me by John Legend. I don't know why, it's been in my head all the time these days.

7- First thing you do in the morning?

I look at my phone. Yeah it sucks, I know.

8- How did you end up on Tumblr?

I wanted to ask a question to an author from ffnet and I got stuck.

9- On a scale from regular people (1) to Alice in Wonderland’s Mad Hater and king Aerys Targarien’s love child (10), how crazy do you think you are?

I might be a 6. I'm pretty sane. I think.

10- A question that should never be asked to you?

Why do you like Harry Potter. You wouldn't be able to stop me.

11- Come on, those questions are stupid, let’s give up everything and go to …(place)….. to …(activity)…… (Example: And go to Island to raise squids)!

Come on, those questions are stupid, let's give up everything and go to Florida to forget how cold the winter was in Wisconsin.

My questions:

1. What is that one food you could never give up?

2. Would you rather be a happy cow or a sad human?

3. One thing you wish you were good at:

4. Three words that describe you best:

5. What would be your superhero name and your power?

6. What is the theme song of your life?

7. The thing you would be ready to spend thousands of dollars on:

8. The most stupid thing you've done recently:

9. The simple thing that would bring you the biggest joy:

10. The thing you love most about yourself:

11. The nicest thing you've been said:

I tag:

eashelson

akasora

annbonnyblr

personnably-healer

marvelousmsmarvel

viria

burdge

bitchimafakegenius

francisdevalois

galaad-westchester

[lookatthatotp]

iam-adreamwalker replied to your post “iam-adreamwalker replied to your post “the thing about canada is that...”

Hors de question! Maintenant que j'ai vu en photo, je veux voir en vrai et je t'embarque avec moi! Pis comme ça, tu pourras prendre toi même les photos sans orignal ou élan dedans!! ;)

YES! C'est tellement beau! Aaah j'aimerais aller voir tout... Si seulement c'était possible de juste partir et voyager. Mais ça prend de l'argent eh!?

[lookatthatotp]

iam-adreamwalker replied to your post “the thing about canada is that this is in ottawa but so is this”

Where the hell is the second one in Ottawa and how on earth could I miss it?!

i have been mistaken! it is the ottawa river but the ottawa river is massive ok i never said anything please forget this post

[lookatthatotp]

iam-adreamwalker replied to your post “woah… i’ve just watched videos i made while i was at the lowest and...”

Alors tu devrais être fière des progrès que tu as fais!! :D

J'en suis fière aussi. :) Mais c'est quand même fou de voir à quel point j'étais bas alors que je ne le voyais pas tant que ça quand j'y vivais. Je savais que ça n'allait vraiment pas mais de me revoir, maintenant que je me suis distancée de la situation... C'est bizarre. J'ai le visage vide et un rire faux et juste... je ne sais pas. On ne dirait pas la même personne!

[lookatthatotp]

iam-adreamwalker replied to your post “i want to buy colour lenses to cosplay sherlock but what colour are...”

http://www.colorlens.fr/lentilles-serie-crazy/213-lentille-couleur-multicolor.html Bon, je sais, c'est probablement des fake, mais je ne pouvais pas m'empêcher, pour le clin d'oeil… ^^

omfg! the only thing closest to benedict's eye colour tbh...

[lookatthatotp]

iam-adreamwalker replied to your post “i finally know what omegaverse is and im a bit confused as to how some...”

Nan sérieux… J'ai fini par me renseigner plus précisément hier soir exactement… (Et j'ai eu à peu près la même réaction ^^) Coïncidence? Je ne pense pas...

Hahaha ouais! Je comprenais jamais rien! Et personne voulait m'aider, ils étaient tous "tu n'as qu'à chercher sur google" euhm... ouais, tout ce que je trouve c'est des photos d'hommes enceintes, de pénis gigantesques et de bestialité... J'ai enfin compris en faisant plus de recherches et wow... je ne sais pas trop quoi en dire hahha c'est vraiment pas ma tasse de thé mais bon, j'aime des choses que d'autres pourraient trouver bizarre alors je suis qui pour juger? Chacun à ces kinks!

[lookatthatotp]

one of the real struggles in my life is when words are the same in french and english because

how am i supposed to pronounce it??? do i fake an accent or do i say it like i would in french??????????