"Pottery 102, part 2" === Later === Athena finished building the edge up just a bit higher. What sat in front of her was a shallow clay structure that resembled a small wok. Deftly she smoothed her creation inside and out, until both were smooth and cool beneath her fingers. She picked up one of the small designing tools and started making small strokes on the inside of her "bowl." She would dip the tool in the water every once in a while to ensure that her markings were smooth. "Wow," she said in barely an audible whisper as she looked over at Keylor and his creation. Keylor continued to work in ignorant bliss to what was going on around him. He had continued to work diligently on his pottery, not noticing he had picked up the pace. By now he had raised his creating another 16 centimeters. The pottery was not looking more like a vessel the neck narrowing to 10 centimeters in perfect circular form until the symmetric shape change to abstract. Above the top of his perfectly fo! rmed symmetry is began to flair out in to an oval more or less, with one side extending out, turning in to a well shaped pouring lip. Keylor paused and looked over his creation, waking form his half trance. He glanced over to Athena and her plate, which seemed to be more uniform than his last look. He pointed to the plate, "Ah much better, that should fire with little problem." Athena smiled as her fingers continued the finite detail they were doing. She looked over at the colonel's work. Keylor looked back to his creation and remarked, "Well it is a pitcher, of sorts. Even though this is antarian clay, it seemed to scream '~Terrian Greek pitcher'." He smiled and looked over his progress so far. "It's beautiful," Athena replied admiring Keylor's pitcher. She took the moment to stretch again and to wiggle her fingers to maintain dexterity from the intricate designing she had been doing. "Do the colors speak to you as well," she asked as she observe! d her work. With her head slightly cocked to one side she consider the artistry that was in front of her. Keylor chuckled, "Well only if they are LOUD!" he winked with the reference to bright colors. " But to answer you, yes in a way. To me every object has to be what it is, now that it has formed itself into something recognizable I will figure out how it wants to be decorated." He then looked over to Athena and her platter. " And what does your platter say to you?" She thought for a second as she looked at her work and then replied, "A million things," as her thoughts seemed to drift off. "Huh." He smiled and nodded. "Well, I hope its not confusing you with all that chatter." Athena took a small palette mixing some of the colored glazes to make others colors. She added the color glazes to the marking she had made in the bowl carefully and painstakingly. It didn't look like much when wet but Athena knew when it had dried and was hardened it would! look much better. She covered another yawn and smeared the clay mark on her right cheek to cover a larger spot with the back of her hand. She gave a cough to cover the fact that her stomach was growling as she cleaned out the brush she had been using. When her stomach had stopped, she picked up the small tool she had been working with and cleaned it on a soft cloth before starting on a design on the outside of her dish. Keylor carefully inspect his pitcher, after fashioning a handle for it, he reached out for some clear glaze. He opened it up and stuck a wide brush in it and stirred it up. Within moments he was gingerly applying a thin coat of glaze to the exterior of the pitcher. Once he was done he removed the pitcher from the wooden board and placed it in the kiln he had acquired. Keylor closed the kiln door and set the temperature. He then turned to Athena to check up on her glazing process. Returning to the table and Athena, he cleaned up his mess while At! hena finished applying the glaze to her creation. He watched as she looked deep in thought over how to apply her patterns on the item. He sat quietly watching her and fiddling with a small lump of clay between his fingers. The design that Athena had applied to the outside of the wok shaped plate just looked like and intricate design that went the whole way around like a vine. She carefully applied the colored glazes. At this point her creation looked like nothing but a blob of undescribed designs, but Athena was sure the beauty of the creation would shine after it had been properly heated. When Keylor thought Athena was just about done applying the glaze, he reach over the table and wetted his fingers a little. He then started to work the little lump of clay in his fingers. As she stepped back form the table, signaling her pleasure with her handiwork, she looked over to Keylor. Just then Keylor tossed a thin pancake sized disk of clay at Athens, landing square ! on her face. As she removed the clay, he remarked. "I figured since you have so much clay on your face already, you might enjoy a little more." Athena blushed a bit as she realized from Keylor's words that she had "gotten into her work". She smiled as she peeled the small disk from her face. "Thanks," she said as she moved close enough to the table to moisten her own fingers in the bowl of water. "Its supposed to be really good for the complexion," she added as softened the clay in her hands into a muddy mess. She took a couple steps towards the colonel so that she was within arms length. "Here let me show you," she said as she reached out with her hands and smeared some across one of his cheeks before he stopped her. Keylor chuckled as Athena smeared the slimy mess over his face. "Well, if it can do something to make this scar go away, then I am all for it." He said pointing to the left side of his face. Even though Keylor had had chances inn the past to have mo! st of his scar removed with cosmetic surgery he had not chosen to do so. He kept it as a reminder of his mother , and how he came in to this world. It was also a good way to get peoples attention, and in this case, add to the humor of the situation. As Athena finished smearing the slimy mess over his face he pointed at her platter. "If you are done glazing it, I will fire it for you." He then pointed back to the kiln. "I still have some time before my pitcher is complete. After the first firing, I need to apply more glaze and seal the inside of the pitcher so it can hold water." He smiled at the thought of a pun on the old earth saying. Athena nodded as she smeared some of the creamy mess over Keylor's scar. "I'm done," she said almost preoccupied. As she gently rubbed her fingers over the scar she sensed something odd. "Scars on men are sexy," she said without thinking. Her hands dropped to her side and a touch of surprised registered on her face as she met Keylor's eyes and ! realized who she was talking to........ her CO. She took two steps backward and looked at the time on the wall display and said,"Oh, I got to go," as if she had an appointment or something. Keylor thought about Athena's comment. {Sexy? Well I never thought of it that way.} He grinned at first at the thought of scars begin sexy then blushed. As Athena pulled away, he saw her expression change. His look change from a grin to puzzled. As Athena excused herself and tried to make a hasty exit, He wondered what made her change moods so quickly. "Well .... I will fire your piece for you and bring it to you when it is done." He stammered a bit still puzzled at why athena changed her mood. She flashed the colonel I quick smile as she took a couple more backward steps, "I'm late," she finished as she walked out of the room. {For a meal or two.} Keylor watchedAthena quickly leave the recreation room. Still puzzled at Athena's mood change he shrugged it off {Women!} he though! t and then looked back to her work. He traced over the piece with his eyes, noticing the pattern and design. {Hrm... that gives me an idea for my pitcher.} he thought. Keyor gently picked up the wodden pallet that held Athena's creation and moved it closer to the kiln. He then picked up a piece of wire and gently scrapped it below the platter to free it form the wood. Looking over to the kiln, he noticed his pre-bake had completed. HE opened the kiln and looked at his pitcher. As the heat escaped the kiln and sweat beaded on his forehaed, he looked back to Athnea's platter and back to his pitcher. {Yes that might be nice. If I put this design here, and add that there, it would work. It might make a nice set.} he thought as he waited for his pitcher to cool before removing it form the kiln. ===End log === Col Bretam Kelor & Lt Athena Wellington