& Lazy Summer Days">Clay Whistle & Lazy Summer Days
It’s the lazy days of summer and right about now, I’m hearing a lot of “Mom, I’m booorrredddd!” What to do? My clay production has slowed down considerably, perhaps due to the heat – though I feel perfectly acclimated now. I only notice it’s hot outside when I happen to pop into an air conditioned store where it’s icy cold. Or maybe production has slowed down because I’m trying to come up with activities to keep my 9 year old from spending too much time in front of the computer screen and TV.
We’ve been trying to go on a lot of field trips including the Titanic exhibit at the Denver Museum of Science and Nature – which was fascinating. We’re going to follow that exhibition up with a trip to the “unsinkable” Molly Brown House right here in Denver. We’re also planning the great American vacation that will most likely rival one of Griswold’s. Yep, we’re going to go camping and will visit Mount Rushmore in a week or so!
Meanwhile, my daughter and I pulled out Ceramics for Kids by Mary Ellis and made our first ever clay whistle. It was a collaborative effort. Originally, we both attempted to make one but we could only get one to whistle, so the other ended up in my scrap bucket. I made the body and my daughter decorated the whistle into a turtle. It’s currently in the bisque kiln, along with my effigy doll head, feet and hands.
If you would like to see how to make your own whistle, visit Chris Henley or Dwight Bartholomew who have some wonderful tutorials available on their websites.
To step it up a bit, visit Kenji Ogawa who makes beautiful ocarinas, or clay flutes. He has also mastered the art of playing the ocarina and even has an mp3 available on his site if you’d like to hear beautiful music being played with an ocarina.
Have a good week everyone,
