The Most Essential Ingredient For Making Pottery

A pottery class, how fun. I've been wanting to do that for some time now.


I had everything I needed:  Clay, cutting tools, potters wheel, water - all these are essential ingredients for making the perfect piece of pottery (and so I thought).


First of all, everyone starts with a piece of clay which then has to be kneaded in order to eliminate as much air as possible and to evenly distribute moisture throughout the clay.  After kneading it should be formed into a tight ball.  You know what I am talking about if you have done it.  Those are probably the easiest steps in the entire journey of pottery. 

It must be said that potting is a skill which has to be learnt and in the process of learning there will be many failed attempts which won't make it to the high temperature kiln at all.

To have all these ingredients moulded together require an added ingredient - patience - something I lack oftentimes. 


Remember, we can always pick up the clay, knead, reuse and start go all over again if it didn't turn out the way you wanted it to become and when you really come to think about it - not many things in life give you that second chance.  


And how ever pathetic your piece looks right now, don't be easily disheartened, you can always give it a new identity by brushing on a nice coat of paint later when it comes out from the kiln!  Here you go - another second chance to relive it!   


Isn't pottery encouraging?  

A Prodigy of Sand Art

Most kids love to play with sand, love to play with water, and love combining the two even more! 

This particularly girl must have enjoyed playing with sand more than anybody else.  And she did it exceptionally well too.

I sincerely invite you to watch this 8-min video showing an astonishing piece of art called Sand Animation.  It has got to be one of the most soothing yet dramatic piece of work to be marvelled at.   It's just magnificent. 

The Bunny In Its Simplest Form

Two black dots and a cross have been the shorthand for a rabbit - a bunny whose very simple features are every bit as familiar as Roger, Bugs, Peter or Thumper.

Chances are, even if you haven't read the books, I am sure you recognise her face. 

Every time you see her, it’s like running into an old friend and I thought I knew this bunny well but...I don't. 

Miffy has stayed pretty clean and simple in the last 55 years (huh, that long already?) and I bet many (myself included) thought she is Japanese, but no, she is Dutch!  How could you have missed that piece of clue - the orange outfit. 


And here's the ultimate discovery in time to welcome the year of the rabbit:

Miffy's Mom and Dad, being a little older, have an extra line on their crosses - that will be a wrinkle wouldn't it?


A fine example of simplicity at its best!

A Font That's Truly Yours

Can you still recall some of your mates' handwriting back in your school days?

I remembered some of mine were envy of the crowd who possessed the most neat and recognizable copybook style of writing, while some, on the contrary, carried a very recognizable flair. 

Whatever style you have, it's unique and says a lot about you.  Despite the widespread use of word processing and emailing, there are still instances where you'd prefer to deliver or receive a hand-written note isn't it?

Pilot - the pen maker has come up with something really wicked - an app which I think ought to have come out a long time ago.  They have a free web service that can transform your own handwriting into a font you can use to send out personalized emails.

I guess apart from your old schoolmates, none of your friends who you came to know in recent years would have seen your scribbling. 

Take a look at this short video which shows you how to actually go about it. You'd love it. 

Cool Pencil Sculptures

For most of us, pencil is just a tool used for drawing and scribbling and I bet many of you might not even have one easily within reach these days.  

I do.  Call me old-fashioned but I still quite enjoy the exercise of sharpening my pencils to my liking, certainly not to the extent of Artist Dalton Ghetti's work of art though  - which really amazes me. 

It took Dalton about 2.5 years to complete his best-known work, "Alphabet" above - a set of 26 pencils with each letter of the alphabet carved into the tip of the graphite.

A crooked brain he is, but aren't they cool or what?