Clay Time

This summer we've enjoyed going to a local pottery place and painting objects. To say we "painted" these pieces is deceiving. The paint is really glaze. There is a plate at each table that shows you the fired color and number that goes with it. When you glaze your work the color can look very different from the fired look. It is a great place to go anytime of the year.

I went with Sarai two weeks in a row this August. The first time she and I were the only two home. We took a friend and spent over 3 hours working on our pieces. The following week I took the four girls: Marita, Sarai, Carmen and Rachel. Marita had spent a few days with us and was looking forward to painting pottery.

Rachel painted a monster. Really, I painted 2 1/2 coats of purple onto the monster! You need to put 3 coats of each color in order for it to have the best result.

Carmen worked on a winged pig.

Marita worked on a mug that has legs!

Sarai made two pieces. A mug that looks like a root beer float

and another that she is still working on, her zebracorn. That's a unicorn that has zebra strips.

Here is the bowl I glazed. I was trying to make something that would match my kitchen. I began painting on bunches of grapes and realized that I had 6 bunches. It was a coincidence that I could write every one's name on a separate grape bunch. Inside of the bowl it reads "My Wonderful Bunch, Dancy 09". This is the finish product.

The day before we did this we found a great lake with water slides. I didn't get any pictures to share of this adventure though. It is called Breezy Picnic Grounds. It is a nice family run area. There are only three water slides, but it's still fun. The part of the lake that you can swim in is very clean. Rachel enjoyed the lake. She brought her snorkel and found treasures. She discovered a lifeguard's whistle, many rocks, and saw an orange and white fish. I think she found a sun fish. It was swimming around my legs! Marita, Tobin, Sarai, and Carmen came too. The older teens just sat and read much of the time. They did however "play" in the sand and make a sand castle in preparation for the beach week!