7 Inch Tall - Blue Footed Booby Bird Raku Pottery Free Shipping

This is a Blue Footed Boobie Bird made by me Nolan Windholtz of Round Tree Pottery. This finished item is seven inchestall & about 4.5 inches wide. I start with a two pound Piece of clay that I throw on my potters wheel. The blank form is kind of shaped like a bottle vase with a large round top. Once I stiffen the item with my hand-torch I cut away about one third of thetop so as to leave a large portion that will ultimately become the head & beak of the bird. I then remove the form from the wheel & set it on its base. Finishing touches are added as I use the scrape pieces of clay to form the feet & eyes of the creature. Very fun to make. Once I dry the item I glaze it using a combination of copper & crackle glazes. Like all my art, I once fire raku my pieces. I use a variation of raku that was taught to me by my friend & mentor Bruce Odell to whom I worked for seven years. I have been a pottery for over thirty years & I still get a kick out of this materiel. Clay is by nature common cheap & lacks any ability to save or transform itself. I find this truth to be particularly illustrative of the Christian experience. in the hands of our God who is the Potter of potters(see Jeremiah 18), we can become beautiful, valuable, & live a life of meaning & purpose. Qualities that have both a present & future benefits. in addition to being a professional potter Nolan, working through faith based organizations, spends several months every year in nations like Uganda. in the spring of 2014 Nolan traveled to Jinja Uganda where he trained three young Ugandans in the craft of wheel thrown pottery. Nolan brought them a potters wheel, built them a kiln & helped them through their first sales event. The three have now formed what is called The Source Pottery in Jinja Uganda. All sales help further Nolan's dream of helping creative people in third world countries develop business of their own. See more at Nolans potters house ministry on Facebook. 7 Inch Tall - Blue Footed Booby Bird Raku Pottery Free Shipping