Management Team, Part VI: Doni

Doni, or Adonis, is Dora's brother.  We're not actually certain of the genetic reality of this, although some of her markings are exactly the same color and pattern as his and their gait is very similar; regardless of the biological facts, they came into the family at exactly the same time from the same place and are the same age, so what else would they be?

His is the longest tail I've had on a cat, which means he's got long legs, too.  He's probably rangier than Rameses but not as bulky.  Doni is definitely a very photogenic fellow and, like most cats (which are amongst the most self-aware animals with whom I am acquainted) he knows it; but he's not hung up on himself.  He's actually quite an affectionate guy and probably the most relaxed personality we've had in the house in quite a while - maybe in forever.  Doni is the antithesis of Meli - very little gets him going; he's very engaged in what's going on in the house without having to get into every little thing all the time.  Where Dora gets wound up about the birds, Doni can become a bit (for him) excited when there's a squirrel in his yard.

He is extremely attracted to food.  All kinds of food.  He has been known to attack containers of quick oats, and bagels, and granola bars.  So he apparently has a special taste for carbs.  We do keep him on a strict diet as we don't want his long, lean frame to run to fat.

All around, Doni's a pretty special guy.  Which is why I sometimes tell him he's downright "adonishing".

Management Team, Part V: Dora

This is Pandora Grace Diane, or "Dora" for short.  She came into our lives about 1-1/2 years ago, back in July 2009.  I had lost Gus and Isis within less than 10 days of one another the previous March and had thought I might get a kitten or two the next Spring.  I had a speaking engagement at Stone Cottage Gardens in Gladwin, Michigan, run by my good friends David and Mary Moore.  They have a lot of outdoor kitties that folks have dumped on their property; they do the best they can (they're both deadly allergic) in terms of feeding and vet care, but it's a challenge.

Back in July 2009, they had had a number of litters and Dora was among the kittens.  I actually met Doni, whom you will meet next week, first, but it was Dora to whom my heart went out.  When I met her, aged about seven weeks, she had a severe upper-respiratory infection, with her entire nose caked with mucus so she couldn't smell anything, and so was not eating particularly well.  I spent some time cleaning her up and treating her with some silver nitrate Mary had on hand but she was very sad nevertheless.

I decided I would take a kitten home.  But to decide between Dora and Doni was difficult, if not impossible.  Then I thought about the environment from which they were coming - highly social, outdoors, in the country -  and the one to which they would be going (especially as they would both have to be quarantined until their health stabilized)  - isolated, indoors, in the city; I decided to take them both.  My friend Theresa Dearhamer had made the trip up to Gladwin with me; she had the dubious privilege of carrying the two kittens in their carrier on her lap all the way back to the Detroit area.

The "kids" went to the vet on Monday, two days later, and we started to treat them.  Interestingly, although they had prize-winning ear-mite infestations, neither had any fleas.  The upper-respiratory infections were the biggest challenge, especially with Dora, but they both began to recover and then flourish.  When I let them out of their "room", Dora was the first to begin exploring, so I named her Pandora.

She is also the sweetest cat I've ever known.  It seems impossible for her to do anything that is not adorable, including (believe it or not) having a hairball.  So, I named her "Grace" as well, for her grace of spirit.  And she is a great hunter (she brings the mousie back to me so I can throw it again - when we play "Throw" - "Fetch" is a *dog* game) - so I named her Diane as well, which also happened to be my Mother's name.

Because Dora *is* so adorable, we have added a new word to the English language:  "Pandorable".  And she is, thus far, universally acknowledged to be so.

Management Team, Part IV: Rameses (the Great)

This is Rameses (the Great).  His middle name, Enkidu, is in honor of his predecessor, Agamemnon Gilgamesh (or "Memnon") whom we lost back in 2005.  (You'd have to know your Sumerian epics to get it - time for a trip to Wikipedia!)  He joined us at just less than four months of age in June of 2005, about two months after Memnon left us.

Rameses is the most intelligent cat I've even known - and I've known quite a few cats in my time.  I heard somewhere that most cats will only memorize a couple of "routines" (dog people know them as "tricks"), partly because a cat will not learn something if it doesn't feel doing it is in its best interests.  "Training" a cat largely consists of reinforcing behaviors the cat already expresses.  In Rameses's case, he's memorized five or six routines, some of which he executes at the snap of my fingers.  He's figured out how to open the toaster oven and pull out the rack, so I can no longer store anything he might consider tasty in there.  (My friend Catherine very helpfully asks me from time to time if he's figured out how to get in the microwave; thankfully that has eluded him thus far.)  He knows what doorknobs are for and how they work and, if he had opposable thumbs, I'd be in for a world of hurt with this guy.  (There was one time when I think he did manage to open the bathroom door when he was done eating his breakfast but there hasn't been a repeat occurrence, so we're keeping our fingers crossed that was a fluke.)

I've also realized that Rameses has some self-esteem issues.  Even though I give him lots of positive reinforcement (because, honestly, he's very handsome and healthy and lets me give him belly rubs, which I really missed after Memnon passed - among many other things), he does seem to be a bit of a bully with his brother Alex and sister Princess Nur.  (NO ONE messes with Meli.)  So, I'm working on positive experiences and using some different techniques to correct his less than desirable behavioral traits, an approach with which we are seeing some modest success.

But he is handsome, and affectionate, and very social, and has a great sense of humor and is very intelligent - so I'll take the package on this one, too!

Other news - had a great time at the Detroit Garden Center's ("DGC") Winter Gardening Series.  With the support of the attendees, Black Cat Pottery will be able to donate more to support the DGC and its programs than ever before.  Remember:  Make a purchase from Black Cat Pottery between now and the end of March and mention the Winter Gardening Series and 10% of your purchase will go to support the  DGC and its programs.  Also - got the call from Chicago Botanic Garden - and I'm in for the Antique and Garden Show in April!  OMG - that's less than 10 weeks away!  I gotta get to work!

Management Team, Part III: Princess Nur

Princess Nur joined our family a week after Meli Topaz. They actually had lived in the same house, along with our cat, Isis, who left us almost two years ago. Princess Nur is a lovely black and white tuxedo but, despite the rather masculine attire, she is every inch a lady. She is our acrocat - she eats on top of the refrigerator, leaping effortlessly from the floor to the stove, to the microwave to the top of the refrigerator. Actually, I've been making her jump from the microwave to my shoulder to the fridge so we have a little "thing" just the two of us can do; she puts up with that quite gracefully. I also call her my "Package Cat" because she's just the right size for holding in my arms and giving scratches and rubs, which she loves.

Princess Nur has had a tough time; she lost her best friend, Agamemnon Gilgamesh ("Memnon") in 2005 and she's never really recovered. She tried to become friends with Gus, who tolerated her but her feelings were, by and large, unrequited, so I've been trying really hard to fill the gap. She's thoroughly sweet and keeps me company every night. I don't think I could get a decent night's sleep if I didn't have at least one cat on the bed (and the more, the better!)

Don came over and spent many hours shooting pottery yesterday. We got quite a lot accomplished, with the help of our supervisory staff (mostly Rameses and Doni). We've nailed down the dates for the Hanging Bird Bowl Workshop at Firebrick Gallery and Pottery Studio in Rochester - three Tuesday evenings, starting March 15 - we'd love to have you join us! Go to the Firebrick website (firebrickgalleryandpotterystudio.com/workshops.html) for more information.

Lots of snow coming, or so they say - be safe!

Management Team, Part II: Meli Topaz

Please meet Meli Topaz, also known as "Her Imperial Highness" to all inferior beings, which are, actually, all other beings. Meli (which means "Honey" in Greek, because she has naturally honey-colored highlights for which Jennifer Aniston would pay thousands of dollars; she is capable of being very sweet; and she "sticks" to me in a very non-klingon way) joined us in August of 2001. We're not certain how old she was and, besides, you never discuss a lady's age, right? So we just say she is "mature" and leave it at that. Meli is a long-haired tortoise-shell kitty. She is certainly beautiful; everyone says so and, let's face it, if you're just plain beautiful it's no longer an issue of vanity, right? It's just a fact and you live with it, no sense in false modesty.

Anyway, like many "torties", Meli has what is commonly called "Tortitude" or, as I prefer to describe it for the uninitiated, extremely rapid-cycle bipolar disorder. You never really know when the toggle will go from "kiss" to "kill" (it never seems to go the other direction with these rapid changes in mood). It doesn't help that she has a severe digestive disorder - I'm willing to bet there hasn't been a day for a very long time that she has felt genuinely well.

It's for this reason that Meli is one of my heroes. She's got a tough row to hoe but she sticks with it, giving me kisses (nose kisses are especially rare and treasured), grooming my hair and just generally keeping me on the straight and narrow. I couldn't do the things I do without her help. Thank you, Meli.

Management Team, Part I: Alex

I thought it was about time everyone met the the folks who are really in charge - because, let's face it, I certainly don't do this all on my own. I have a crack Feline Management Team of six superior cats. Over the next six posts, you'll have the chance to get to know each of them just a little bit (because no cat tells all of its secrets - even to its favorite human)!

This is Alex, or Alexander Ulysses for those more formal introductions. Alex was under the yew tree in my backyard the day I moved into my house in June of 1995 (there was a bowling ball under there, too, but I didn't find that until later). He is, by far, the best house warming gift a girl ever received. We pegged him at about a year old at the time, so he'll be 17 this year. He's all black except for little patches of white on his chest and belly, plus quite a bit of gray earned by having to supervise, well, me. He's a very sweet fellow, spends a lot of time with me in the studio (my students will attest to this). He looks quite distinguished in this photo; he's actually quite easy going.

Been busy working on the bird bowl project - have almost 8 of the 35 trees done. Had a great time at the Detroit Garden Center Winter Gardening Series on Saturday - Janet did a great job, as always. I hope you can make it this Saturday as Suzan Campbell and I will both be doing programs on Native Plants, a big topic these days. And Black Cat Pottery and Notable Greetings products will be for sale, with 10% of your purchases going directly to benefit the Detroit Garden Center and its programs.

Thank goodness it's starting to warm up - it was pretty darned cold this weekend (the coldest so far this winter); I'm glad to see it warming up!

Wall Pocket

Finally getting to my blog post for the week. It's been crazy - as always - but very good. I had a great time during my visit to the west side of the state. Spent some quality time with Laurie of Nature Connection of Kalamazoo (and our good friend, Linda from upstairs), talked long into the night with Julie (and had wonderful Indian her husband, Bob, prepared for dinner; how could they know I love Indian food?) and got some fresh air tromping around my friend Cleve's property, followed up by a delicious meal and artist talk for lunch. Not to mention a great time with the Calhoun County Master Gardeners - what a great new facility they have there at the Leila Arboretum, and what an enthusiastic audience! No wonder I was bushed by the time I got home Wednesday evening!

Been crazy in the studio, fabricating over 100 Deluxe Baby Daisies (don't ask) and more really cool wall pockets and platters; don't worry - you'll get to see (at least some of) them. And the big deal is I finally plunged into the huge Hanging Bird Bowl glazing project - 210 bird bowls, not to mention Mini Leaf Bird Feeders, Trivets and Spoon Rests, Toad Houses, Fairy Houses, Leaves and Wall Pockets. Five down; 205 to go!

And speaking of Wall Pockets, I thought I'd follow up on last week's post on the new Wall Pockets I'm doing with the Wall Pocket style I've been doing for a few years. Both of these projects are great because they require minimum tools - no fancy molds or cutting shapes; just a flat surface, some newspaper and a punch or two.

After rolling out the clay, I tear it to a shape that tapers to the bottom; I try to gear the size of the piece I tear to the size of the leaf (or leaves) I'll be using on the top. I lay this first piece, which will be the back, on a flat surface (I use shelves intended for a small kiln - perfectly flat and I can load them in directly if I need to) and punch a hole in the back to take a nail for hanging. Then I tear another slab of clay, wider at the top than the first piece, and, after scoring and slipping the two legs of the "V" it makes, I attach it to the first piece with a cone of newspaper to give it some support and create the pocket. I take some more clay, create two tapering coils and apply them to the top of the piece near the two legs of the "V" and squoosh them together so they look like twigs; you can apply some texture to these to make them more "woody". Having smoothed the remaining clay slab with a metal kidney (and here's a new tip - after using the kidney to get out the impression of the slab roller's canvas, go over the surface with your clean rolling pin to really get it smooth), I roll the leaf into the clay, cut it out, score and slip the back and apply it to the pocket. The wall pocket illustrated here uses Swamp White Oak (Quercus bicolor) so I made some acorns using cut-out tools (use a slab and a round punch to get consistent sizes for the acorns; I apply some texture using burlap and use a rosette-shaped cutter for the cap; attach the two using slip) and applied those as well. The key here is, again, to dry the piece with the base of the "V" facing the fan, if you're trying to dry it more quickly (or it may crack, fatally).

Glazing is rather complicated, a seven-step process. I use a solution of Burnt Umber for the twigs, taking the excess off with a damp sponge to get some variation in the surface (Steps 1 and 2). I use a second stain or oxide for the leaf, using the same process (Steps 3 and 4). I do put ladybugs on these and use Amaco's HF-165 (Scarlet Red) or HF-167 (Clementine) for the wing cases and HF-1 (Black) for the spots and head (Step 5). I then use wax resist over all these surfaces (Step 6). Finally, I dip to glaze, removing the excess glaze on the waxed surfaces with a damp sponge. I fire to Cone 6 with stilts. These pieces are usually water tight but sometimes the clay does weird things and creates gaps.

Hope you're keeping warm out there. We had our first big snow (finally) this week and it was great to get out and make some mounds for the Christmas trees I've scavenged; I have my own mini-forest now and I love it!