Octopus's Garden Bowl

This is a B I G bowl for me,  as you may know I always have a hard time centering the clay. Anything beyond 3 pounds is such a challenge, sometimes I can, sometimes I can not, nowadays I am practicing with close to 4 pounds. This bowl will have had required at least 6 pounds, so I did something different, I made it with a slab of clay that later I slumped it on a mold. The process is slow, very different from the fast spinning wheel.

I did it because I have an idea on my mind, I wanted to make a big bowl with the "Under the Sea"  or "Octopus's Garden" theme, something big than can make people look at my table in future shows. Before I started the decoration process I realized than I have never had so much space for drawing, empty spaces scare me. I start thinking on my regular characters, jelly fish, octopus, fish, somehow it didn't seem enough for so much space,  I started to think on marine images and one image came to my mind, a turtle!!

Why a turtle, well, I should have started by telling that I have a friend, her name is Rhonda, she is a marine biologist and most of her work consist on  rescue turtles, of course there are more, something about the marine currents, the waves, the weather, the tide, the wind... it is quite embarrassing but sometimes I can not fallow her, I blame it to my lack of English words concerning marine biology, but perhaps I would not even understand it in Spanish either. Marine Biologist, get so passionate about their jobs, that I feel bad to interrupt them to ask silly questions, I get the big idea and I am happy with that. When I talk to her I feel a renew optimism, not everyone is evil, maybe not everyone has sold their souls to devil in exchange of money, prestige or fame. I am a pessimistic, I have no faith in humans.

However, I do remember a time when I was younger and really wanted to make this world a better place, I worked and volunteer in a couple of organizations back in Lima, but then, I found out the corruption, the personal interest and get into the conclusion that we are doom. But when I see Rhonda, and read her daily post on FB I feel better knowing that there are still some people working for us, protecting living creatures and their environment, Rhonda is one of them, isn't she the best!!

She works very early fallowing turtles paths, saving their nest, and much more, if a turtle needs help she will never  say: "Too bad, its 5 pm, I am out of here". Bad thing is that this wonderful people are badly paid, even worse than teachers, they don't receive paid vacations, or sick days, or retirement money, nothing, just good bye was nice to have you here, isn't it horrible!!

Thank you Rhonda for being there for the turtles, and for be my friend!