Tag: bird flute

What I Learned at the Ceramics Congress

I spent the weekend at the Ceramics Congress, which is an international multi-cultural multi-lingual ceramics arts festival that’s all online. It was awesome.

Here’s one thing I learned, in a workshop by Julissa Llosa Vite from Peru (as in, actually from Peru. That’s where she was teaching from. Did I mention “international”?): How to make a bird flute. I’d made ocarinas before, but had never quite figured out the voicing, i.e. the bit that makes the sound. It was always a hit-and-miss thing; after lots of fiddling, some worked, some didn’t. This time, it worked right off the bat!

Trying out the bird flute, still wet/leatherhard. (Behind me on the studio wall you can see my one-and-only self-portrait from, umm, a while ago. The advantage of painted self-portraits over videos is that you can make them look flattering. So this is me, the way I look when I’m at work and not planning on having anyone watching me.)

Life, the Universe, and the Ceramics Congress. I think I’ll go carve some feathers on that bird now.

PS: The next Ceramics Congress is going to be at the end of November. If you’re at all interested in clay, check it out – the tickets start at only US $10!

PPS: If you want to learn how to make a bird flute, too, wait a few weeks, and Julissa’s workshop will be uploaded at the Ceramic School where you can purchase a ticket to watch it.