The bowl was dry and firm enough to begin cutting. First I used my handy template to mark where the channels for the bricks ought to be:

If I had been thinking, I would have cut way around the circle, since I was successful in making the bowl big enough to extend beyond the edge of the granite.

Then I used my little brick template to mark the channels:

Since I’m pretty sure the granite was not cut on precisely 90° angles, I took care to mark the cardinal points on the template, and on the bowl.

Here’s the first channel cut:

I cut it a little larger than the template. It will shrink, i.e., get bigger, as the clay dries and is then fired, but that’s OK. I want the margin of error to be big enough to accommodate the reality of the bricks in the dirt. I will not have another chance to get this right. Once I get the bricks set, I can fill in any terrible gaps with caulking if I feel like it.

Finally, all four channels cut:

I saved the cutouts, maybe I’ll make little markers out of them.

The interior continues to be a puzzle. Andy’s not sure about how gold leaf would adhere to the glaze, and it would be a constant battle to keep it gilded. All the sticks and dirt would scratch it off almost immediately. I’m thinking I may smooth the exterior as well.

A reminder of where this is going:

Today I smoothed the interior:

I think I’m leaving the exterior rough. You will notice that I have cleaned up the drainhole.

You will also have noticed, those of you with any history with this blog, that I have successfully distracted myself from both my 24 hour challenge and my sketching for the ELP.

After fretting about it all night, I decided that I would add more height to the bowl, for several reasons. First, as I mentioned yesterday, if I wanted more than an inch of water in the bowl after I cut slots for the bricks to jut into, I needed more to cut into. Second, by adding height I would also add width. The inside measurement stood at about 20 inches; with shrinkage, it might barely fit under the granite, and I think it would be better if it were significantly set back.

Anyway, here’s the bowl after adding one coil:

You can see how shallow it was. So I added two more coils after this, and ended up with:

It’s mammoth. It’s 22 inches across, inside measurement. I’m a little afraid of it, actually. Now I let it dry and set for a couple of days before making my incisions.

The floor is still open for discussion of what the interior should look like.

So first we flipped the bowl:

Here’s an interior shot:

I had developed concerns that it was not wide enough, the opening of the granite is 19 inches, and it wasn’t, but Andy showed me how to shape it and stretch it. As I worked, it opened up to at least 20 inches, which should be about right. I would feel more comfortable if I had made it larger to begin with.

Also, as I worked, the bottom flattened out quite a bit. I’m now developing concerns that it’s too shallow, in terms of cutting slots for the bricks to fit through.

Today I began construction of the bowl which will form the center of the labyrinth, its omphalos.

Here’s the center as it stands now:

The bowl in the center at the moment was given to me by Ginny for Christmas. I use it for different kinds of almost rituals: washing the granite center pieces, that kind of thing. The bowl I am building will be permanently installed beneath the granite and bricks.

It will have a relatively flat bottom with a hole in it. Thus, water will drain from it (and yes, I’m planning on digging a deepish hole and filling it with gravel to serve as a drain beneath the bowl), but I can plug it to fill it if I wish. If I’d rather have fire than water, I can place a tray with candles in it–or just candles.

If I get really good, I’ll have candles beneath the water.

Anyway, I started work on that today. Andy Cunningham, Jr., the head of our art department, is a patient and effective teacher. I am using the coil method to build this thing. Here are the first three coils:

I include the water bottle for scale.

Ah, but perhaps you’ve spotted a potential gremlin: the rim of the bowl cannot be flat. There are bricks which will cut through the rim and jut out over the bowl.

And lo! I remembered that and did a rubbing of the center before I came down here:

That’s how I knew how big to make the bowl, and where to cut the channels. (The granite was supposed to have been cut at 90° angles, but my eye tells me clearly that it was not.)

Andy let me use the extruder, much to the disgust of the art minors, who were made to roll their own coils. Hence, by the end of the afternoon, I was done with the basic construction:

That sits overnight to dry a bit and firm up. Tomorrow we’ll flip it over and let gravity do the flattening of the bottom.

The floor is now open for discussion of what the inside of the bowl should look like.