Glaze Test Tiles

I've done a whole bunch of test tiles so far - and it's a good thing I did! Out of all of these tests, there are probably only about a half-dozen that I really like and would use on a full-size piece. I've got another batch of test tiles in the kiln right now, which needs to cool down for a few more hours before I can open it. Hopefully there are some good ones in there, too!

Heap of Bisqueware

I've been throwing lots more pottery since the last time I posted about it. But as I've been burned several times now with glazes that didn't come out the way I wanted, I decided not to glaze any of this stuff yet. I'm going to make and glaze a whole bunch of test tiles, to see which glaze combos come out nice. That's a lot easier than spending a lot of time making a pot I like, only to have to the glaze look bad and essentially 'waste' the pot.


Godzilla Woodcut

A friend turned me on to an artist on Etsy called "Woodcut Emporium". He does Japanese-inspired woodcuts of pop culture subjects - they are pretty cool. I ordered the one you see at left - a Japanese coastal scene, but with Godzilla in the bay. I built a custom frame for it too, and tried to stick to the Japanese-inspired style.

CRT2019: Medieval Times

Our last stop on the trip before heading home was dinner at Medieval Times in Dallas. They give you a 3 course dinner (which you can only eat with your hands!) and you watch a medieval tournament with jousting, sword fighting, horsemanship, etc. It's all choreographed, and was really entertaining. It was very dark in there and we took almost no pictures, but Carter did take this one (fuzzy) panaromic shot of the arena.


CRT2019: Museum of Science and History

In Fort Worth we stopped at something called the "Museum of Science and History". We weren't really sure what to expect, but decided to give it a go. Turns out is geared to much younger kids than Carter, so we didn't stay very long. But Carter did try out this bed of nails that you can lie on.


CRT2016: Cameron Park Zoo

We had planned to stop at Cameron Park in Waco, Texas for a walk around to stretch our legs. When we parked though, we saw signs for a zoo. So we decided to check it out - even though we'd already been to two other zoos on this trip, and one is usually my limit. But surprising the zoo at Cameron Park was the best one we saw this trip. The enclosures were really well designed - they didn't look like cages. They used natural features to disguise the fact that the animals were in captivity - similar to how they do it at the San Diego Zoo, if you've been there. For example, all of the lemurs and gibbons were on big islands in the middle of a pond, with no fences or glass around them. It was very cool, and the animals seemed to like it as well - they seemed very calm and happy, as no humans could get right up close to them.


CRT2019: Peter Pan Mini-Golf

Austin has a kitschy old mini-golf course that we decided to check out as we passed through. It was full of old-school sculptures and features, and was pretty cool and funny. Unfortunately, we forgot to take any pictures - so I borrowed one from the internet.


CRT2019: Texas Bluebonnets

Texas is known for their bluebonnets (it's the state flower), and in the Texas Hill Country (if you catch them at the right time) they line the highways in thick carpets for miles at a time. We didn't see any along the main highways, so I thought we had missed them. But the clerk at the hotel told me about a great spot to see them, and even drew me a map. He said they were the best he'd seen in 20 years, and they didn't disappoint. I wish we had gotten some better pictures, but this one is pretty cool and will give you an idea of what it was like.


CRT2019: Enchanted Rock

Another cool place Lori and I used to hike in Texas. Enchanted Rock is a giant pink granite dome that rises over 400 feet above the area, and you can hike to the top or on a long loop trail that goes around it. There are all kinds of amazing formations along the loop trail, where weather has eroded away some of the granite. Definitely a cool hike.



CRT2019: Lost Maples State Natural Area

Lori and I used to hike and camp in this park a lot when we lived in Texas - this was probably my favorite spot to hike in the area. A lot of the wildflowers were out, including the one you see below, which is called an "Indian Blanket" flower. The big rock you see is called "Monkey Rock", and looks like a monkey's head. We also saw this cool little orange millipede, and some strange sort of cactus.