Bourbon and Archery

arrows missing their mark
a mellow glow
a smile greets the setting sun
glancing shot off the lawn mower
feigned anger, I loose another
it's not about accuracy
this is my time
the recurve and me
an arrow shatters another glass jar
making me laugh
sitting in the darkness now
in the grass
bow on my lap
the Makers hits its Mark
and the moon smiles

Surviving The Flames!

Some of the survivors of my first firing. I dug a couple more out of the ashes after I took this picture.

THE SACRED PIPES

I thought adding a photo of the GREAT ERNEST BORGNINE was a classy move on my part.

The Kiln

 This was my first attempt at making clay pipes. Actually it's my first attempt making clay anything, also this is my first kiln ( I have some experience with polymer clay). I thought about buying an electric kiln (for about a second) but that just didn't seem right. Too sterile for me. No real heart and soul. Real flames lapping and licking at my creations, that's what I wanted. What I needed! It all started this past winter when I was kicking around the idea of making a wooden pipe to smoke some tobacco. Someone ( Sir Robert Williams) suggested making a clay pipe. That sparked a frenzy of pipe making. I had (have) no idea how to make a pipe . I didn't even know what kind of clay to use. I bought some clay at a local craft store and made 30 of them.  I set them on the shelf and waited for spring and the snow in my backyard to melt. Once the snow melted I bought some cement blocks and a few bags of sand from Home Depot and built myself a kiln. I had no plans other than building a square box to hold heat and fire. I used patio blocks and sheet metal to close up the top, once the fire died down.  I buried the pipes in wood shavings and some scraps of wood left over from all the oak and maple battle hammers I made over the winter. I started the fire around 10 am on Saturday. At 9pm that night it was still putting off heat, so I left them in overnight to cool off gradually.  Sunday morning I eagerly open up the kiln and dug out my treasures. To my surprise they all turned black. I assume this is due to massive overheating! Who cares. Anyway, about half of them didn't make it. But half did, and I love them! They are my children. I can't wait for my next firing!