the Timekeeper

A barn owl will roost in just about any old building it feels comfortable in. In this case the barn owl has set up housekeeping in an old abandoned clock tower. You can read the backward Roman numerals on the inside of the clock's stained glass face.  I thought the play of the "wisdom" of the owl  with the limited "inside of time" was just too much fun to leave alone.

Looking for opinions

I'm going to be creating a line of tiles for children and so I'm trying to draft the ultimate authority on kids. Their mothers. For all you moms out there I'm seeking your opinion on what would make a great design for your kids. I'm looking for ideas for boys and girls and nursery applications. As my way of saying thanks I'm going to be awarding one contributor a complete set of the tiles.  The value isn't all that great but I think it would be cool to own a set of handcrafted tiles that you had a hand in designing.
All your ideas are welcome.  If you have any questions or want to give me you suggestions I would appreciate your comments.
Thanks, John Beasley

The Dragonfly Foundation

I'm not sure how many people are aware of the really great work this little organization does.  The Dragonfly foundation tries to make the difficult time a sick child spends in treatment a bit easier, they also help families of extremely sick children with the things that seem to fall through the cracks. I have had the opportunity to meet the co-founders and both are great ladies. If you are looking for a way to contribute to children or to help others, please consider these great folks.www.thedragonflyfoundation.org

The Original Night Owl

This is one of my first designs where I wanted to blend my sculpture with the cuenca method of using colored glazes.  The owl is a Great Horned Owl, the same I imagined when I was a kid camping in the woods near the tiny town I grew up in.  Owls in general have proven to be a popular subject, but the Great Horned Owl seems to be the most recognizable.  The original sculpture was created in hard microcrystaline wax.  The same wax used in bronze lost wax casting and occasionally jewelry.  The Original Night Owl goes well with my 4"x 8" "Timekeeper" barn owl.

The design that wouldn't let go.

Normally when I start out with an idea I that want to sculpt I will begin with the pose.   If I'm doing a 4"x8" tile the balance will be totally different than if I'm working on a 6" tile or a large panel.   I'll draw the design many times and in different scales before I get it right. However in the case of The Koi and the Dragonfly the idea haunted me until I finally sketched it out and sculpted it.  This idea came full blown into my head and the final sculpt came out almost exactly as I had envisioned it.  (this is very rarely the case.)  Only later did I research the meanings given to the Koi and the Dragonfly as individual animals.  It was really cool.  The Koi stands for strength of character and courage, perseverence and individuality, the gold koi also stand for good luck and prosperity.  The pose was important as well, the koi should always be swimming upstream as that stands for overcoming adversity.  The dragonfly is similar, standing for power & agility, elegance & grace and seeing beyond human limitations.  I guess I had to create this design.  Let me know what you think.
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