Crows, not Krakens

We had to clean up the hall after Tuesday, so I only got one lesson to work on the horn. Still, though, I managed to finish the border. There wasn't any yellow glaze left, so I had it be a Night's Watch horn instead. The rim is without glaze, and I've carved the first line of the Night's Watch oath near the top, between the border and the rim.

*******

"Night gathers, and now my watch begins.
It shall not end until my death.
I shall take no wife, hold no land, and father no sons.
I shall wear no crowns and win no glory.
I will live and die at my post.
I am the sword in the darkness.
I am the watcher on the walls.
I am the fire that burns against the cold,
the light that brings the dawn,
the horn that wakes the sleeper,
the shield that guards the realm of men.
I pledge my life and honor to the Night's Watch,
for this night and all the nights to come."

Soon...

 Almost done now... I gotta say, knotwork is bloody hard! anyhoo, I found out thanks to Anisha that I can draw it on first, then carve. Not much else to say...

...and Carver was her name!

I printed out a template for the knotwork today, and I've been doing my best to follow it. I got about halfway round this lesson, and I feel like I'm really getting the hang of it now! Anyhoo, I'll also adorn the "body" of the horn with another knotwork of some sort, most likely one of the pictures. Shields are courtesy of Bethesda Softworks.

Reslipping

I spent about 3/4 of an hour trying to burnish the horn today, before simply coating it in slip again. It didn't work as I'd hope, and I think I'll simply have it be matte. Besides that, I tried to draw some knotwork on graph paper, and I gotta say, it's still pretty hard! Anyhoo, not much else happened, besides a visit to the dentist right after class.

Black slip

I've tried a bit of carving now - Celtic knotwork is flipping hard to do! - And I've got an idea for what to do to make it more successfull. It's simple, really. I just copy down the template onto a paper, fasten it to the cup, and trace with a knife.
Anyhoo, I covered one of the cups in black slip, as well as the drinking horn, and rubbed a spoon over the horn for the last bit of the lesson.
Yes. I rubbed the horn with a spoon.

Take the bull by the - No, wait, wrong place.

Started proper work on clay today. Begun with a good deal of experimenting and some brainstorming, then just started making something. The end result? a drinking horn. It's unembellished as of now, but I'll be carving it a bit when it's dried up some. I also made a pair of little cups that I plan to carve with Celtic knotwork, something like the pictures on the left. And then I made a clay ball. Yes.

New unit - clay

Not much done today. Got some criticism on my drawing, then we watched a slideshow about clay containers. I sat rubbing a bisc-fired cup the entire time. So... Interesting feel....