Cup #26

Cup form makes way for a triple twist...an unleashing!.....

Cup #25

Twisting handle vine on simple elongated cup...splits begin to open up from the base....tiny bud twists emerge on either side of the base...

Cup #24 (another angle)

Twisting and oozing...oh my!

Cup #24

More fun twisting the handle vine....and an effortless final twist at its end. The cup form elongates and a tiny twist emerges between the petals.

Cup #23

The shift to a squared off handle vine creates edges which invite a twist (a new twist!)...large petals bodily embrace the cup...a middle of the night thought of Georgia O'Keefe resolved the question of how to fill the space between the petals...

Cup #22 (two angles)

The cup bulges into the tip of the spirals as they move up from the base and down from the spiral handle...a tightly coiled spiral is caught in the loop of the handle. Cut outs in the base occur in relationship to the spirals. The shape of the handle has shifted from rounded to squared...stimulating some new possibilities!...stay tuned....

Cup #21

Simplicity urges....A small delicate handle vine loops and forms a nesting place....

Cup #20

A dearly beloved little cup...why?...it's all just there...

The Tools

Tools always awaiting me on my decorating table, left to right: 2 wooden sticks, one with a little thicker tip than the other used to smooth and seal the seams of attachment such as handle to cup and to deepen incised lines. Next, my little wooden handled knife purchased in 1975 for 99 cents in a grocery store in Marshall, Texas under the toutalege of my mentor, James Sanders. It's tip has worn from pointed to flat as it has worked as an extension of my hand to incise lines into at least 20,000 pots over 35 years. Next, sponges that smooth bumps and re-wet handle and cup so that they stay moist together as I work to join and sculpt in the dry air for hours. Then, a wooden stick that opens the splits and defines the folds and peels back the clay to create edges. Last, my exacto knife that carves out sections of clay in the base and makes clean cuts when needed.

Cup #19

Yet another variation on a theme....but something is brewing and a change is urging but not quite there....

Cup #18

Fingered root of the handle vine clutches and joins....bulging folds spread upward as they emerge from the seed in the base petals...

Cup # 17

More variation on a theme...energetic handle vine turns back on itself and moves past a draping leaf....seeds tuck....the base petals curl more deeply in, split in half, allowing a seed to emerge.

Cup #16

Subtle splits at the base disappear into the cup....elongated handle vine drapes to the side inviting a thumb to rest....

Resurection Morning

Deep howls in the night
and then it begins
ushered by birds
proclamation in song
a slow rising to light
a dimming of dark
awakening to life
eternally.

...julia livingston

Cup #15

The cup itself splits open revealing folds that open into the base....The edges of the split curl back....The handle vine loops, twists, and moves towards the split.