the ceramic-chimes that dont normally chime..

i designed these giant ceramic-chimes a few months after we moved to our permanent/current beruntung-house, so that i could 'hear' the stronger & cooler winds that we get to enjoy now that we live nearer to and in pleasant frontal view of the banjaran titiwangsa.. besides the stronger & cooler winds coming down from the surrounding highlands (we can see genting highlands clearly), our house also immediately faces a large recreational field equivalent-sized of 2 football-fields, hence no other buildings infront of the house to obstruct the banjaran wind-movements onto my gardens most of the times..

i decided that one side of my car-porch would be the perfect location to hang these ceramic-chimes to capture these winds.. and also the perfect location to subtle-ly showcase my ceramic products to any passing motorists in my neighbourhood, ahha.. ;)

the ceramic-chimes (or maybe we should call it ceramic-mobiles?) consist of upside-down square-shaped ceramic-containers that are joined & tied together by colourless fishing rod that went through a small hole at the base of each ceramic-box.. hanging on the same rod inside the ceramic-boxes are clay-marbles that would knock on all inner-sides of the boxes to create the chime-effects.. additional chiming sounds were expected to be derived from the ceramic-boxes knocking on the outer-sides of each other when the winds pass by..

we coloured & glazed them soft-green, simply because that was the same glaze-colour being utilised for another production-order that went on in my factory during that same time and i didn't want to create so much hassles for my production team by asking for another tone.. and also because the soft-green was pleasantly natural to my eyes and my garden-theme..

i'm very pleased with the design of these ceramic-chimes.. my house-architect that is my dear good friend atZaida had also nodded her approval when she first saw them hanging.. the simple square-shapes arranged in one straight-line to cover almost half the length of my porch captivated our senses and aroused further inspirations in both of us..

but, but.. the ceramic-chimes don't normally chime..!! :(

a design error on my part..?? most chimes are flat objects that are light & flimsy and easily moved by the passing winds.. if ceramic-clay is used as the basic material, the thickness of the finished & fired 2D-chimes would normally be less than half-cm.. my ceramic-chimes on the other hand, are thicker, glazed (added thickness & weight) and in 3D-forms, therefore much more heavier to be easily moved by any passing winds, hence don't normally chime as they should.. :(

or maybe it was designed heavier and sturdier on purpose to sustain the stronger banjaran-winds..?? that could also have been in my head because i remember thinking 'what if one of the ceramic-squares break?' and i wouldn't have the height and elevation to dismantle everything just to replace one broken piece..

so my ceramic wind-chimes don't normally chime on most days.. but when they do CHIME, i could hear them all the way from my soho at the furthest end of my top-floor.. and i'd immediately know that my nights would be cooler than usual and my garden would be messier with dried leaves strewn all-over.. and i'd be immediately warned that the banjaran-winds have come passing by in greater forces, but secure in the knowledge that my chime-pieces would still remain intact to captivate and inspire us in many more years to come..