In 2006 I took an Illustration class in the evenings at the School of Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.
One assignment was to create illustrations for a selection of Ian McEwan’s “Us or Me” from the New Yorker. I created the pen & ink drawing below, of the argument scene, when the men are fighting over the ropes of a rogue hot air balloon.
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A few months later I recreated the painting by carving into a ceramic bowl I’d thrown. It’s one of my favorite bowls, although it sits in the cabinet more than it should, to keep it from breaking.
In person, it’s a lovely robin’s egg blue. and the finish on the glaze is almost velvety. I really enjoyed carving that rope pattern into the clay. I should use that bowl more.