My work in 2014 focused on wheel-thrown pots that I carved, stamped and slipped before painting illustrations freehand. Sprigs of rivets and handle receivers were applied on many pots too. The stoneware was stained and glazed then wood-fired them at very high temperatures.  The forms primarily included bowls, tumblers, vases, mugs, and cups. I also experimented with plates since their larger surface areas increase the canvas for illustration. Plates were also experimental this year in determining how I wanted to wad them and where they worked best in the wood kiln. Wall tiles were another surface I illustrated on.

The Buckethead Story grew more complex throughout 2014. This imaginary world became populated by a variety of robotic and live characters. The robotic characters include fish, alligators, porcupine, birds, and plants. The living characters include wetas, spiders, turtles, plants and many bunnies. Many images of turtles floating off in balloons popped up.

Bunnies, both live and robotic, are second only to the Bucketheads in terms of their centrality to the storyline. To understand the role of the bunnies, a little bit of back story is necessary. As life was being extinguished on Earth due to the sun being blocked, humans created a plan to develop food in space. Due to their ability to reproduce quickly, bunnies were sent into orbit in a self-sustaining spaceship along with plants – carrots – to sustain them. Eventually, after many years, one of the spaceships  descended to Earth in a crash landing that released a horde of bunnies.

The good and bad Bucketheads reacted differently to the appearance of the bunnies. The bad Bucketheads collected and caged them and put many to death. The good Bucketheads sought to protect the bunnies by hiding them.

In an unfortunate accident a good Buckethead hid lots of bunnies in a barrel formerly used to store toxic waste. One bunny became a very evil robot, named Bunny Foo Foo who is determined to exterminate the live bunnies, hoard all the carrots, and, bash field mice.

A three-dimensional robotic scavenger bird survived the last firing of  2014. That process has lead to some new sketches for additional sculptures. We shall see…