Tuesday, January 2, 2007

SACRED SHARDS: Tools 1

Most of my pottery work, to date, has involved hand building small objects. I've collected an unwieldy assortment of small sculpting tools. So, last year, as a birthday gift to myself, I made this tool roll from scraps of a canvas painter's drop cloth. The design is my own, customized from the features of other tool rolls I've seen in stores.

I personalized it with hand written phrases and mantras composed from my experiences working with clay. I wanted to capture in words the elemental magic I feel as I work.

"Simple tools of transformation . . . hands, mind, imagination."
©2007 Kay Pere - Effusive Muse Publishing

"SACRED SHARDS"
"Artifacts of the Spirit, uneartherd to tell their stories"
© 2007 Kay Pere - Effusive Muse Publishing

"Fire, Water, Wood, Stone / Earth, Air, Silver, Bone"
©2007 Kay Pere - Effusive Muse Publishing

It stands on it's own. The ties that secure the bundle when it's rolled up can be tied through a loop on the opposite edge to make it stand for easy access to the tools.

Pottery is a messy business. Before beginning to cut and sew, I machine washed the canvas in hot water and dried it on high to remove any shrinkage. The writing is permanent, done with a brown sharpie marker, tested on scraps for washability before beginning on the final piece. When the time comes that my tool roll is unrecognizably caked with clay, I can throw the whole thing in the washer, minus the tools of course.
©2007 Kay Pere - Effusive Muse Publishing