Extreme Craft

Reinventing the Wheel

I thought you might enjoy this ad for the tres "Whole Earth Catalog" ad for a DIY "Volkswheel" pottery wheel from a 1978 issue of Ceramics Monthly.  Marketing isn't quite what it used to be.

Weave!

 

I've been looking at a lot of fiber art and weaving in preparation for the Era Messages exhibition in Portland.  I was tivkled to discover this video about recent discoveries by Toyota in the field of weaving high-tech carbon fibers for use as auto parts.  Is it just the Vicodin talking, or is this the most hypnotizing loom ever?

LINK via Gizmodo

Horseshit? You Be the Judge

Here's another of my favorite "finds" from the pages of Craft Horizons.  I found this little gem in the June, 1971 issue.  Aside from the fact that the process sounds absurd, there was something about this "George Gladstone" that made me a little suspicious.

When I did a little bit of searching for "Horseclay" on the internet (Google initially asked me whether or not I meant "horseplay"...but I assured it that I did not), my suspicions were confirmed, and I learned that the author was none other than Clayton Bailey, ceramic prankster sans pareil. 

Here are Bailey's instructions from his website:

This collection of test tiles demonstrates Clayton's discovery of Horseclay, and explains his Internal Combustion Ceramic process:

1. Mix together 50% pulverized Quarter Horse Manure and 50% Clay.
2. Add water, and use the clay immediately. Prolonged storage will cause sprouting of the seeds in the manure.
3. Ignite the object with a flame when it is thoroughly dry. (Works best in an insulated kiln chamber.)
4. The fired object is light and porous. The honeycomb structure of the fired clay makes Bare Hands Raku possible.

Ah.....bare hands raku.  I suspect that the original letter was written in the early early part of April.  Do all of my suspicions mean that you shouldn't rush out to the pasture and start experimenting with "self-combustible" ceramics?  Don't let me stop you.  I'll let you know if I unearth any responses from earnest Craft Horizons readers.

Glass Clown

Question.  When is John C. Reilly going to star in a Dale Chihuly biopic?  Surely I'm not the only one thinking this.

Ilene Marries Mr. Wright

So....I brought you the gingerbread Falling Water cake earlier in the week, but I just found a photo of this little gem that my friend Seth rolled out for his wedding in Atlanta last week.  His groom cake was a delicious Fallingwater replica.  No surprises here, it actually looks more structurally sound than the gingerbread cake.  I'm sure it's much more edible, too!  Mazel tov, Seth and Ilene!  May your relationship have way fewer structural flaws than Wright's building.

PCB of Good Cheer!

Ahhhh.  The holidays are fast approaching.  I'm currently buried under a mountain of semester-end grading, but let's pause for a moment to think about two of my favorite groups of people... geeks and creative reusers.  This lovely person combined both of them in a beautiful holiday wreath that is probably gracing the door of an I.T. department somewhere.  A very lucky I.T. department.

Don't forget!  1000 Ideas for Creative Reuse makes a great holiday gift!

LINK via Neatorama

Kicking Butter

I was chatting with Kate from the Society for Contemporary Craft in Pittsburgh yesterday, and she mentioned that she had read my entry about the Ndomikong Suh Subway sandwich sculpture.  She mentioned that she had seen a report about the above butter sculpture at the Ohio State Fair featuring Joe Thomas from the Browns and Chinedum Ndukwe from the Bengals.

The kicker?  The whole 500+ pound butter sculpture is part of a campaign to get kids to lead a healthier lifestyle.  That's fitness I can get behind!

LINK thanks Kate

Not Just Another Meathead Jock

Oh man.  Football season is just around the corner.  I just ran into this wacky video of an artist constructing busts of Nebraska's own Ndamukong Suh and Clemson's C.J. Spiller out of Subway sandwich fixins.  Love the baked bread pads and olive hair.  Gotta carbo load for Fall camp!

LINK 

From Wurst to First

One of the best things to hit my inbox during Extreme Craft's summer vacation was this "Wurstkoffer" (sausage carrying-case) that my friend Astrid sent me from Germany.  I managed to miss this during its first go-round on the internets a couple of years ago, and I figured you might have, too.  Enjoy...and fire up your BBQ while there is still some summer left.  Vegans--send me your best tofukoffer image.

Kiss My Boots

I just ran into this photo of some fabulous duct-tape surgery that was conducted on the costume boots of Paul Stanley of Kiss.  Kudos to Gil Kaufman for snapping this candid photo.  Way to man up and problem solve, Star Child!

via BoingBoing