Today, my Brazilian mentee taught me about #ovenbirds or joão de barros, birds that build nests of #clay. But it’s not just clay, it’s essentially cob—clay and straw together. It makes me wonder if this is where humans got the idea for cob & adobe.

PBS LearningMedia

Animal Structures: A Nest Made Out of Mud | PBS LearningMedia

Learn how male and female red ovenbirds work together to build nests made out of mud and clay in this video from NATURE: Animal Homes. Their jobs a...

#birds #naturalbuilding #earthworks #NaturalBuildingMaterials

I live by an art school that doesn’t have a #ceramics program, so sometimes students seek me out for mentorship. I had a lot of fun and learned so much from these two today. I’ve mentored kids from the US and Thailand, and now Hungary and Brazil. It’s a really cool way to get to know (and hopefully influence) the upcoming gen since I’m #childfree.

This is one of my favorites from the last batch I made. The black is from a manganese-rich clay my friend gave to me in New Mexico, collected from the mountains. The red is also from a NM clay, an iron-rich charcoal gray clay we spotted on the roadside outside of Taos. The dark burgundy diamonds are painted with clay from a beach in Puerto Rico. Lots of memories wrapped up in this piece. #clay #pottery #ceramics #WildClay #handmade #HandmadePottery

"So my work is always trying to celebrate the achievement of Africans and the contribution that Africans have made – not just in Africa, just through world culture generally. Some might call it, you know, 'deconstructing the canon'. But I think it's important that all of our voices can be heard and registered." Yinka Shonibare’s debut African solo show highlights hybrid nature of identity

RFI

Yinka Shonibare’s debut African solo show highlights hybrid nature of identity

Renowned British-Nigerian visual artist Yinka Shonibare is celebrating his first solo exhibition on the African continent, at the age of 62 – a...

#YinkaShonibare #art #AfricanArt #Nigeria #Madagascar #BlackArt

It’s only because of #clay and #gardening that I have any interest in #geology. My neighbors are building a carport and workers had to dig 4’ foundation holes to start, exposing layers of earth I hadn’t seen before. First observation: absolutely no clay! Already knew that. Second observation: the tan sand is most likely from the Appalachian Mt erosion that formed most of #Florida land. Top layer is topsoil, gray with decomposed organic matter. But that bright white layer…

New batch of ollas coming down the pipelines. The repetition of creating these simple forms is grounding, calming. If you haven’t seen my previous posts on these #SustainableGardening tools, check #OllasByOsa. #pottery #ceramics #gardening #irrigation #AncientTechnology #WaterConservation

I don’t make many plates, for no good reason, really. For a potter, it doesn’t get much more gratifying than producing a stack of wares that people will use time and time again to nourish themselves. Spirals and radial patterns mimic so much of the natural world from galaxies to sunflowers to primal representations of the sun. #pottery #ceramics #handmade #beautility #FunctionalPottery #crafts

I’m at the point where I have to pause my workflow to maintain my #ElectricKiln. At a time when we’re fighting for the #RightToRepair, I just want to mention that #Skutt kilns are designed not only to be easy to use, but also easy to fix. I’ve replaced relays & thermocouples with ease over the years. Not trying to be a product endorser here (in fact definitely buy a used kiln if you can find one) but Skutt products always make me wish that everything was designed this way. #ceramics

If you’re in #Toronto or #NYC this magnificent film is coming your way. We just saw it yesterday evening as part of Sarasota Film Fest. “River of Grass,” a film by #SashaWortzel is an ode to the #Florida #Everglades past and present, told through the prescient writings of Marjory Stoneman Douglas, and those who today call the region home.

RIVER OF GRASS

RIVER OF GRASS

#environmentalism #documentary #indigenous #BettyOsceola #womeninfilm #WomenMakeMovies

I finally got around to converting one of my favorite clay samples into a decorating slip. This was an epic find, on the shores of #CapeCod in the summer of 2023, one of the most beautiful deposits of #WildClay I’ve seen: A small fresh water spring carrying #clay down a cliff onto the beach sand below. I made a small cup with the unprocessed clay and at cone 5, it turned out to be self-glazing. The ocean salt and iron (both fluxes) encourage this effect. More in the #alttext.