Friday, May 6, 2005: My name is Anaj. I have a name already; I just don't have a body yet. My creator's name is Jana. I wonder why that looks backward to me …
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Nothing's happening. I guess she's thinking. She's been staring out the window for a long time. Meanwhile, I'm thrashing around inside her head, trying to get out. I wish she'd just start already!

Three hours later: Well, that's better. After a couple of false starts, I have a head and a torso. My first head looked like a monkey. The second one looked like a saltshaker. This one resembles a coconut, but I guess it will do. She formed my head using the pinch-pot method, sticking her thumb in a ball of clay and turning it around and around while pressing with thumb and fingers until she had a hollow sphere with an opening at the bottom (my neck). Then, she attached blobs of clay to the sphere and sculpted them into a nose, mouth, ears and eyelids. She put a hole in the top of my head for hair.

For my body, she rolled out a slab of clay and wrapped it burrito-style around a rolled-up magazine. It made a hollow, somewhat flattened cylinder. Then she cut holes for my arms and legs. She added a couple of bumps and creases, but I'm still far from anatomically correct! My arms and legs will come later in the process.

Sunday, May 8, 2005: I've been in the basement under a sheet of plastic since Friday. Seems when you join bits of clay together, you have to keep the piece covered for a while so the moisture in the various bits can equalize. Otherwise: I'd crack up.
Today, I got feet and hands formed from lumps of clay. Now, they'll have to dry slowly before all my parts can be fired.

Saturday, May 14, 2005: I went into the kiln this afternoon. You talk about hot! I am to be fired at Cone 04, that's about 1944 degrees. Toasty.

Sunday, May 15, 2005: Major bummer. My head exploded last night. When she opened the kiln this morning, my torso, hands and feet were fine, but the top of my head and upper face were blasted to smithereens. Ouch. Could have been an air bubble, or uneven thickness in the clay, or trapped moisture in my nose, or Jupiter aligned with Mars. Who knows? I think it hurt her more than it hurt me. She really loved that head. That head came straight from her hands without going through her head, so she wasn't sure she could make another one like it.

This afternoon, she spent about three hours in the studio shaping a couple of new heads. They look pretty good. Whichever one survives the next trial by fire will be the winner. Now, they'll have to dry slowly. We're still in good shape time-wise, barring any more disasters.

Monday, May 16, 2005: Condolences about my head have come in from the other dollmakers. It helps to have their support. I'm back in the basement drying. Mega Me is using the down time to try and figure out how she's going to get my head to stay on my torso once the firings are completed. Once all my parts have survived the first (bisque) firing, she plans to fire them all again at a higher temperature. Yikes!

Wednesday, May 18, 2005: My torso, hands and feet have survived the second firing. I thought 1944 degrees was hot; this time I was roasted at Cone 5 - that's about 2165 degrees. When I started, I was the color of a terra cotta clay flowerpot. Now I'm a toasty dark brown color. I will now cool off and await my head.

Monday, May 23, 2005: I have been sitting headless and in pieces in a rocking chair for days. I'm waiting for my new heads to dry before they can be fired. I think she's afraid to fire them, afraid they'll explode again.

Tuesday, May 24, 2005: Last night, she tied all my parts together. I have purple plastic tubing (called wire loom) for arms and legs. The tubing is threaded onto leather laces, which are tied together inside my torso. The laces are tied to a length of nylon rope, to which my head will be attached. The unraveled end of the rope will stick out the top of my head and become "hair." Now, I'm back in the rocking chair headless, and my feet keep turning around backward … hmmm. Keep your fingers crossed. My head went into the kiln tonight for its first firing. She just fired the smaller of the two she had made, keeping one in reserve in case of … you know.

Wednesday, May 25, 2005: Yea! My head survived the kiln. I'm feeling a bit feverish this morning, but I should cool down during the day. Tonight my head will be fired a second time (high-fired),

Thursday, May 26, 2005: I have a head! It made it through the high-firing just fine. I would have a celebratory drink, but since my head is still not attached to my body, that might be a bit messy. My head and body will be attached tonight, and I'll at last be whole - or as whole as an "essence" gets.