"Lunar Tide"

[David DeCristoforo]

The form is very "Steve S-ish" and very well done. The transition into the lid/finial is as sweet as it gets. The color is... well, it's blue. How could you not like it? The man in the moon is great. Not sure how well it fits with the form but it is certainly unique and very well done also. Two questions. Is that a self portrait? And what kind of clay did you use? I played around with FEMO for a bit and have thought, from time to time about making oddly shaped finials from it. This could open up a whole new direction. All in all, I like this a lot.

[John Keeton]

Thanks, David. The moon is done with Apoxie Sculpt - a two part substance similar in use to JB Weld. After kneading it together, it is very tacky for about 10 minutes or so, and that is the time to adhere it to whatever you are using as a base.

Then, for about an hour, it is very similar to very wet clay - almost too easy to move and mold. The next stage is the best time to get detailing. You have about 3 hours of time before it sets and fully cures in 24 hours. It can be tooled after that with drills, lathe tools, etc. Apparently, one can mix a 1:5 portion of oven bake clay with it and retard the cure. You can also stick it in the freezer and this will halt the cure for several hours. I actually did that with this piece in order to break for supper.

The best feature is 0% shrinkage. The first moon I did with air hardening clay cracked badly and pulled from the wood - not good!

Dan, I find it hard to not "move on", but I may revisit the painting of the moon. It may need to be while I have the airbrush out for another task.

[Tim Rinehart]

Very nice John, I like it. Your time on design shows again, and the elements look great. The blue, the black and that wonderful figure and finish.

Wonderful and a bit whimsical...well done!

[Harry Robinette]

John
I think it's beautiful the way it is. the pieces all come together in to a really great piece and I can't wait to see what else you come up with.

[Tom Hamilton]

John, another two cents worth: to my eye the moon is too large by a hair and the curve of the moon closes too much. Maybe just past 180 degrees but not as closed as that one. That said, it is beautiful, attractive and certainly a new frontier.

Price it like the masterpiece it is. You can always come down, never up on price.

Thanks for sharing, Tom in D'Ville, thinking I've got to try some of this stuff.

[Rick Markham]

Super cool John! The moon man and color are perfect! My vote is you continue on this journey, and I look forward to seeing the next piece

[Harvey Ghesser]

A very beautiful but also very surreal piece, John. Along with the shadowy coloring, I almost expect the man in the moon to become animated.

[James Roberts]

WOW! What a cool piece. As usual your form and finish are exceptional and I love that color. The "Man in the Moon" really sets this piece off. Is there anything you don't do and do well?

[Dick Strauss]

Maybe a little more fading from black back to blue is in store for your "man". The black moon rim going to blue in the face seems a little too stark when everything else fades from one to the other. I like your idea and it is extremely well exectuted.

[Roland Martin]

You are a man of many talents, John. The blue dye on this form is as good as blue gets and the finish is excellent also. I would'nt change a thing with the man or the moon, a very unique departure from the standard finials. I very much like what you've done here and always anxiously await for the next phase in your remarkable art forms.