All hail the ceramic snowmonkey!! This is not what I had in mind when I started work on a new fountain the other day.

There’s no creative endeavor that truly succeeds without a certain reckless abandon. I’ve probably experienced this type of insomniescent, manic energy more with pottery than with any other act of genesis… this includes song-writing, dabbling in fiction, essaying… and even science.

There are an almost limitless array of plans for fountains in my head at the moment. Fountains that support fish. Fountains with trailing wildflowers. Raku fountains. Massive, honking garden-sized fountains.

The problem is that reckless abandon is a chancy guide when you’re crafting a compound object that weighs in the neighborhood of 100 pounds.

I’ve had a vision for a slightly asymmetrical, cascading design kicking about in my head for some time. Several early models failed because of mechanical flaws… or because the design was too fragile, and collapsed when I tried to move it into the kiln.

I think I’ve worked out most of the mechanical issues. Having a large basal catchment is key… I’ve also started using slabs as supporting trusses within the structure.

So- thinking that I was now primed to receive libations as the fountain god, I spent a morning bashing out the following components on the wheel…

-       Basal pedestal
-       Catch basin
-       Slab (for structural, supporting elements)
-       Two globes as water basins
-       Two smaller globes, nested inside the larger, for water-loving, trailing plants

Bit of a ramified process (which is part of the fun)

However, I was less Entish than I should have been (treebeard fans will follow the reference). 

Thus, the final assemblage came out A) more symmetrical than I wanted, and B) a bit top-heavy.

I really want a certain organic integrity in these fountains. Slate-carven riverbeds and urchin-etched tidepools are what I’m after. Frosty the snow-fountain misses the mark, I fear.

On the plus side, I think that this model should function beautifully. I’m hoping to plant watercress in the planters- maybe a few wayward plants will soften the aspect. A coating of glaze will probably help too.

Or… I could just plant a dwarf spruce or two and embrace my inner Burl Ives.

Anyhow, my resolution for future fountains is to never build without a detailed sketch. In many cases, in fact, I think I’m going to build maquettes (scale models… see the special features on the Lord of Rings DVDs for more information than you’ll ever be able to process).

Spontaneity is all well… but I think I’ll leave my extemporaneous work to objects of ten pound and under from now on.