The Big Weekend

As far as ceramics go, I am taking the weekend off. I haven't been at the studio since yesterday. I did a lot yesterday though, and I am done with my project so I really have nothing to do unless I wanted to throw a few pots. I made two glazes and unloaded two kilns yesterday. I call that a productive day. I guess I could show off some of the drawings I have been doing in the meantime... I finally got around to drawing the smoking picture of Mel Gibson. It was such a dramatic photo that I had to draw it:

I drew this with ink and used a black colored pencil for depth. I don't like smudging and I don't like erasing. This is my favorite way to draw portraits-- just black and white with dramatic contrast and shading. I want to do more of these... and maybe along side with some mushroom sculptures, I will do it this weekend :) I drew a funny expressive portrait of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, but the face is so disturbing that it doesn't really resemble him. It looks just like the photo, but the photo doesn't even really look like him. I should draw a different photo of him.

     This is the moment. The legitimate moment when the guy told me to lay down so he could thrust a giant needle through my ear. I just thought that this photo was perfect-- notice how I am already smiling. I was so excited. I think I even smiled while he pierced it...

     And this is right after he put the stud in the new hole and cleaned off the blood...

Hmm. Big news-- I finally got my helix pierced. It took me long enough to make a time to get it done. The weird thing is that I wasn't necessarily afraid of the pain, but I am more afraid about the healing process and risk of infection. It didn't really hurt when he pierced my ear, but I could feel the needle going through. It was weird. I must be somehow messed up if I can handle the pain of piercing without wincing-- and I'm stupid enough to reach through a flame shooting out of a kiln to take out/put in a brick. If you think about it though, the flame is hottest at the source, not where the flame is visibly orange.
Well... I made a hat last Sunday in a couple of hours that is pretty cool. I call it my happy hat:

And that's all for now. I just really wanted to share it ;)