Cavy Fire Studios Posted August 8, 2015 Report Share Posted August 8, 2015 Okay. As many of you know, I lost my beautiful black English lop rabbit, Thanatos, back in February. Well...I think I am ready to make his urn. The grief was just too heavy for me to do it any sooner than this. But, I'm kind of having a brain-lock on exactly how to go about it. He wasn't neutered, so when he was feeling, uh, "romantic," he'd let off this eye-watering stank that reeked of serious onions. So, I called him "Onion Butt." As such, I want to make his urn an onion. I think it is fitting for him, and definitely one of a kind. I would like to throw the bulb part on the wheel, and handbuild the green leafy parts. I'm not sure if I want to make the bulb out of terracotta and slip it vertically, to mimic a mostly unpeeled onion's lines, or if I should use whiteware and paint onion textures with underglaze. The terracotta fronds would have to be slipped and underglazed, too, but whiteware would skip that step. Onions are also round, and round things don't hold still. Maybe I could use the fronds for stability...I don't know. Any insight into this project would be very, very appreciated. I've never made a ceramic vegetable before... halp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldlady Posted August 9, 2015 Report Share Posted August 9, 2015 sorry for the reason you are making this onion. it is good to remember our furry friends and making an urn is a good thing to do. i think you can just modify the bottom so it sits the way an apple does, with a depression in the center to allow bumps, or feet to hold the onion upright. it doesn't need roots like a real onion has, just a solid base to prevent tipping over. onion tops are just pointy things, right? mine come from the supermarket so i know nothing about them. however you make it, i know it will be lovely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benzine Posted August 9, 2015 Report Share Posted August 9, 2015 Maybe check out Hsin Chuen Lin's videos, on how he creates pumpkins on the wheel. It's the same basic idea. I've been meaning to try it myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rakukuku Posted August 9, 2015 Report Share Posted August 9, 2015 sorry you need a bunny urn. I used to make garlic keepers by making two squat pinch pots and putting them together so the air is enclosed. then shape gently. add leaves and let it firm up. poke a little hole somewhwhere so air can escape. eventually when its leather hard make a cut so it opens and has a lid. works pretty well. again, condolences on bunny. pets rock. rack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Fireborn Posted August 9, 2015 Report Share Posted August 9, 2015 Maybe check out Hsin Chuen Lin's videos, on how he creates pumpkins on the wheel. It's the same basic idea. I've been meaning to try it myself. ^^ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cavy Fire Studios Posted August 9, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2015 Thank you, Benzine. I'll have a look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flowerdry Posted August 9, 2015 Report Share Posted August 9, 2015 Guinea, I hate to break it to you but onions don't have fronds. I think little feet...maybe even bunny feet..would be cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeckyH Posted August 9, 2015 Report Share Posted August 9, 2015 Guinea, I hate to break it to you but onions don't have fronds. I think little feet...maybe even bunny feet..would be cool. Looks like you've never left one too long in the bin. They will sprout long green leaves. They do have little roots, so I suppose you could make a foot ring of thin strands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldlady Posted August 9, 2015 Report Share Posted August 9, 2015 big,fat, fuzzy bunny feet on an onion body sounds special enough for the special place he has in your heart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cavy Fire Studios Posted August 9, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2015 Okay, okay, so not "fronds." I don't know the correct term, as I am not well-versed in onion anatomy. I mean the green stem things that grow up out of the ground. Sorry for the watermark; this is the clearest example I could find. Geez, gotta be such a killjoy... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denice Posted August 9, 2015 Report Share Posted August 9, 2015 Onions have roots when you pull them out of the ground maybe you could do something with them. Denice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Fireborn Posted August 10, 2015 Report Share Posted August 10, 2015 If it was me, I wouldn't worry so much about all the technical sides, and just put your heart into it. It is a very important pot to you, if you get all caught up in the technicality of an onion, its going to take away from the joy you get in creating it for your special rabbit. You make beautiful work, just follow what you have already been doing and go from there. I am sure Thanatos will be looking down on you appreciating every second of your love for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benzine Posted August 10, 2015 Report Share Posted August 10, 2015 Yeah, I do think the pumpkin throwing process, will give you a good start. Do that, add the stems on with hand rolled coils, and there you go. Not to pry Guinea, but how did you cremate your bunny? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cavy Fire Studios Posted August 10, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2015 There's a place here called Eternal Paws who did the cremation. They are such nice people and said I could trade cremations for pet urns...that's very honorable for a poor artist like me. Thannie's ashes are priceless... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterH Posted August 10, 2015 Report Share Posted August 10, 2015 A few pix of sculptured onions, in case it give you some ideas. http://www.artparks.co.uk/artpark_sculpture.php?sculpture=6490&sculptor=charles_a__johnsonhttp://www.stajcar.com/Sweetness.htmhttp://www.stajcar.com/Vidalia%20Greens.htmhttp://www.kirwenart.com/Gallery/SCULPTURE_GALLERY/pages/Onion.htm I quite like the chunky shoots of the first, and the horizontal format of the next two. Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Fireborn Posted August 10, 2015 Report Share Posted August 10, 2015 I love that first one. Not sure how it would translate into an urn, but its really neat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benzine Posted August 10, 2015 Report Share Posted August 10, 2015 I like the first, third and fourth. Really like the coloring on the third. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugaboo Posted August 10, 2015 Report Share Posted August 10, 2015 Sorry to hear you are having to do this but I think your idea is lovely. I would make an onion and add little bunny feet, your work has a quirky edge to it so think the little feet would work well. T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterH Posted August 10, 2015 Report Share Posted August 10, 2015 I love that first one. Not sure how it would translate into an urn, but its really neat. Just off the top of my head, I'd have the opening at the bottom, making sure that the ashes are in a sealed plastic bag. Then time to start looking at piggy-bank closures. Maybe something like this: http://www.ebay.com/bhp/piggy-bank-plug ... although getting one big enough might be an issue, and too big might not hold the weight of the ashes. Finally a page on urns, with some nice twist-to-lock lids. http://www.herwheel.com/writing/restinbeautyinfo.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Fireborn Posted August 11, 2015 Report Share Posted August 11, 2015 That article was a great read. Ty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GiselleNo5 Posted August 11, 2015 Report Share Posted August 11, 2015 I'm sorry about your bunny. My Foxy died two years ago and I still can't bear to give her hutch away even though looking at it makes me sad. I called her HunBunBunnyBunnyBunnyBunnyBun (said very fast). Much harder to translate into a memento! I think it could be charming to make an onion with a subtle bunny face hidden in it. You know, the stems could be ears and the onion doesn't have to stand straight up, it could be tilted a bit so you can sculpt the roots and create a flatter side for it to sit on. The basic form could be either pinched or thrown, either would work. Also ... you did say he was Onion Butt ... maybe add a tail instead? Whatever you make, I want to see it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cavy Fire Studios Posted August 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2015 I think I will just make a plain onion, but everyone's ideas are lovely. :3 I will be writing his name and birthday on there in my best font, and the day he went to Rainbow Bridge. I just feel that this needs to come from within me...And seeing anything that physically resembles him just hurts too much. That is why I scrapped the idea of making a sculpture of him as his urn...it would be just too hard. The onion is truly Thanatos without having to literally be a copy of him, you know? I just needed some structural ideas on how to go about making it. This is a special project and I really want to get it right.♥ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterH Posted August 11, 2015 Report Share Posted August 11, 2015 Re: plain onions. If you do an image search for onion face pottery you get lots of hits. https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=onion+face+pottery&prmd=ivns&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAUQ_AVqFQoTCNzNqe28occCFYrUgAodZ0sCmg I'm not a fan of grotesque faces, so don't like most of them. However they show many alternatives for handling the body/lid join, and providing minimal 'shoots'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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