Wednesday, September 30, 2015

If It's Wednesday, Then You Know Where I Am...

Day; 194. Sunny and warm again! Did I mention how much I love September?

Temperature on outside kiln; 81 degrees
Kiln Firings; Decal Firing to cone 02 ( 2000 degrees)
Music in studio; Spotify: Acoustic Morning

It's funny how you think you know a song so well, and then you try to sing it yourself  and, oops! , you find out how well you really know it.. or don't. While going over a few new songs today with Maggie and the Magpie's, I felt like that kept happening, like, I got this! And then  No, I don't! It's always the timing for me, or the phrasing that is challenging. Since I am the only one not playing an instrument, it is more fluid for me and I struggle to count and hit the same beats in the same time signature as the musicians.. I have such uneducated ears that I sometimes think I don't hear half of what the guitarists are hearing. But I keep going back every Wednesday to sing and so hopefully I will have better ears someday....

Favorite new song to sing that has been added to the set list; Thinking Outloud (Ed Sheeran)
Here is a link to a most beautiful duet of this song;
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDTAGOoIm3c

Enjoy! 

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

A Day in the Garden..

Day; 193. Sunny, beautiful! How long can this last!?

Temperature on outside kiln; 80 degrees
Kiln Firings; unload glaze firing in baby kiln.
Music in the studio; none.

As husband Dave took the dog sled team for a hike this morning, I made coffee and rested in bed. I just couldn't get going today so I listened to my body and spent the day next to the gurgling fountain in the back garden. I have not had a day off for at least two weeks and it was time... past time.

So mostly I read books that were donated to Saturdays yard sale and were suppose to be sold..( I kept some for myself!) I think I was also very much recovering from last night's jury meeting for the upcoming Contemporary Clay Fair. It took us 2.5 hours to decided which 31 artists would be in the show, we had to disappoint 5 potters that we all know and/or like. It is gonna be hard to let a few of our potter friends know that their work did not make the grade. It is a blind jury but all the potters in New Mexico pretty much know each other and we can recognize their work. I hated to jury anyone out but we only have room for the best 31 artists and we had 36 apply.  Two of the potters who are not in the show are fairly good friends of mine from my neighborhood so that is going to be hard... I came home last night tired, sore, exhausted from two weeks of straight work and stressed about getting the show together as the producer. We have gone digital this time around and that has been a learning curve for the producers and the applicants alike.
 But the jurying is complete and now the fun part of putting the show together....

Monday, September 28, 2015

Back in the Saddle

Day; 192. Sunny and breezy. Gorgeous fall day in Santa Fe

Temperature on outside kiln; 78 degrees
Kiln Firings; glaze firing to cone 6, hold for 10 minutes at 2210.
Music in the Studio; Spotify is choosing today for me... "Acoustic Morning"

Wow, a week and a half just went by my window...!!! I haven't forgotten about you Dear Readers, all two of you!?, but somehow I needed a break and felt like I also had absolutely nothing new to say.... But I do want to reach Day #365 sometime ( it looks like middle of 2016 at this rate..). So  I am writing this in the middle of the day instead of early evening when I am too tired from working to form coherent sentences.

Very busy since returning home from Durango exactly one week ago. I never took a day off, must be why I was incapable of writing anything all week. However, lest all I do is windge amongst these pages... I just need to acknowledge that I love what I do, but balancing work, life, home, dogs, eating, sleeping, singing,  is not my strong point..
The Durango Show was great; very warm, well attended, and I knew almost all the other artists participating. Lots of sales to repeat customers as well as new found ones. I had the same spot as last year, right in front of my fave coffee house/bar, Eno, so did a fair amount of hanging out there early mornings and later in the beautiful fall evenings. I also had a dinner reunion with my river buddies from the Chama trip back in late May (see earlier posts), all kinds of fun catching up and reliving the trip.... To top the trip off I found the best used clothing store and dropped some show bucks on some great deals, my idea of a good time!

As mentioned, the past week has been a whirlwind of activity at Magpie Pottery, the fall/holiday  show season is upon us.. This week I; quickly made a small load of work for next weekend, celebrated my husbands b-day, hiked with the dogs, had dinner with my sister, went to hear some live music at Tiny's,  had a meeting with an interior designer I am working with, went to band practice, got a gig teaching throwing to Hollywood stars, had a yard sale, juried the Contemporary Clay Fair, and ended with a party in the backyard last night with a bunch of friends watching the full eclipse of the moon. Awesome!!
 Really loved seeing/hearing all my friends, 2-legged and 4-legged, howling and singing at the disappearing moon together, what a bunch of  drunken pagans!!!





Thursday, September 17, 2015

Hit The Road Jack

Day; 191. Sunny and warm, really beautiful.
Temperature on outside kiln; 79 degrees
Kiln Firings; none
Music in the studio; Gregory Porter; great jazz singer

Off to Durango in the morning; kiln unloaded, clothes packed, truck gassed up.... I love Southern Colorado in the fall, just gorgous! I also love road trips, especially solo. There is something about being in the car by myself that is liberating... I sing louder, think more creatively, smile more. I guess it is just the feeling of utter freedom... and not knowing what is exactly around the corner that I find exhilarating...

Anyway, here is the best of the new mod designs that are going to Durango with me.. hope they like mid-century modern up there...




 And the cutest scoops west of the Mississippi....

Adios until Tuesday....


Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Back to Band...

Day; 190. Sunny and warm. Beautiful fall day... but breezy!

Temperature on outside kiln; 80 degrees
Kiln Firings; waiting for the last image transfer firing to cool so that I can unload...
Music in the studio; band practice today.. Maggie and the Magpies!

It's Wednesday and finally after 3 weeks at half-strength Maggie and the Magpies are fully back in town and ready to roll. Our next gig is at Miya Pottery during the Dixon Open Studio Tour in November. We have about 5-6 weeks to get our new set list together so we should be able to do that.  I am excited to sing some new songs and let go of some old ones.. As Miya's family will be in attendance, and her brother plays the trumpet, we should have some special solos goin' on... I like these causal gigs we got going, no stage, maybe a sound system, maybe not, and the audience wandering in and out. It keeps me more relaxed and better able to sing... I look forward to it!

No real studio work today, just gathering my show stuff,  packing clothes, cleaning up the studio. All distractions of course to keep me from opening the kiln too soon. Half the show is in the Big Mama Kiln and I desperately want to go out there and lift the lid. I  really want to see what two weeks of work looks like damn it!! But no, not worth thermal shocking it all and ending up with nothing...
So, I check the weather in Durango ( beautiful 75 degrees all weekend), make sure I have change, bags, wrapping paper, and think about dinner while the temperature inches down towards lid opening, 130 degrees.
 Only 20 degrees to go, maybe I will wander out there with my flashlight and see if I can view  anything.....


Monday, September 14, 2015

Back From Glaze Land...

Day; 189. Sunny, breezy, pretty warm.

Temperature on outside kiln; 80 degrees
Kiln Firings; watching the little kiln cool.... the last of the glaze firings completed!
Music in the Studio; Leon Bridges, check this guy out if you  love retro soul music, awesome...

Phew..... back from the land of chemical stew poured onto pieces of white stoneware... After two+ days of this I am so glad to be done.. It was however a stupendously gorgeous weekend, the best that September has to offer; beautiful light, warm days, cool nights with the Milky Way arching overhead....

And today in the studio was my favorite kind; lots of glazeware, plenty of decal paper and new designs to play with... I had all kinds of fun singing, working, unloading kilns. I am so grateful to work for myself and be home with my music and the dog-sled team almost every day, I am truly a lucky gal..

Here is what I put into the kiln today, love the new mid-century mod designs, so fun to work with...

 Breakfast plates
















                                                                         ... and some lunch plates.


Thursday, September 10, 2015

Just Glazing and Binging (Binge watching that is...)

Day; 188. Gorgeous September day in the Southwest, doesn't get any better than today...

temperature on outside kiln; 80 degrees
Kiln Firings; glaze firing to cone 6 ( 2210 degrees F. with a 10-minute hold)
Music in the studio; Tony Lucca Solo

Just glazing..... and when I am not glazing, I am watching this...!



                                  Yea!  the 4th season is streaming on Netflix as of today!

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Going to The Glaze Cave...

Day; 187. Sunny and warm with a nice thundershower in the afternoon.

Temperature on outside kiln; 75 degrees
Kiln firings; cooled bisque kiln all day, unloaded around 5pm.
Music in the studio; Marc Broussard Radio, so that in-between his songs were similar artists. Hoping I won't wear him out as quickly that way...Won't know what to listen to if I do....

 I have days worth of stuff to glaze and absolutely nothing new to say about it, so goodbye cruel world for a few days... I am going into my glaze cave and will  surface again in a few days....

In the meantime, here is an image of some new decal designs I made today. Had all kinds of fun buying digital paper on Etsy.com today and can't wait to get some glaze ware out of the kiln in order to use them.
 That is one way to get me into my cave I guess....


Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Paris and Polka Dots

Day; 186. Sunny and warm, it never changes...!

Temperature on outside kiln; 82 degrees
Kiln Firings; the last bisque firing for Durango in the small kiln..
Music in the studio; Marc Broussard, again! I can't help myself...

Similar to Paris, polka dots are always a good idea.....





Monday, September 7, 2015

Labor Day, Summer is Officially Over!!

Day; 185. Sunny and beautiful September Labor Day.

Temperature on outside kiln; 83 degrees
Kiln firings; none
Music in the studio; India.Arie

It's a federal holiday today to I am taking it easy. I assume Mr. Obama is doing the same but maybe not...
Slept in and slowly wandered out to the studio after a big cup of joe later in the morning. Loaded the bisque kiln with whatever was completely dry, still waiting on a few large bowls..
After lunch, sitting in the garden, and a nap, I made a few spoons in the afternoon, that was it!










 Not really inspired to do much wet-work knowing that time is up for the Durango show, just firing and glazing for the next 12 days and then off to Southern Colorado...! I love going up there in the Fall, the turning of the aspen trees are way ahead of us here in Santa Fe, I have even driven through snow and hail on the way to this show. For the most part however, I can expect mid-70's, purrrrfect!!



Sunday, September 6, 2015

More Laboring on Labor Day Weekend

Day; 184. Sunny with some clouds. Pretty warm.

Temperature on outside kiln; 75 degrees
Kiln Firings; none
Music in studio today;  Van Morrison, one of my all-time faves....

Is one suppose to Labor on Labor Day or rest?! We seem to be doing the former...  Primarily because we are restoring our Dolphin 20ft. RV (Toyota engine) in order to sell it. We just are not using it enough to justify keeping/insuring it.  It has been parked in the back garden for the last several years and makes great guest quarters but we really need to cash it in and buy some windows for the house... they are falling apart!

Today was spakling, painting, scrubbing, chaulking, day....  And now that it looks so good and is in reasonable repair we both want to keep it!....  but we won't.... Too bad though,  it does fit 4 Huskies comfortably...


Needless to say not a lot of studio work today just finishing up the large bowls I started yesterday... The last of the large pieces to fill the kiln on Thursday for the Durango Show.... gettin' there, a  big butt load of glazing is acomin'....


Saturday, September 5, 2015

Labor Day Weekend, And I am Laboring...

Day; 183. A bit overcast still from last nights storm. A gentle drizzle this evening.

Temperature on outside kiln; 75 degrees
Kiln Firings; none
Music in the studio today; Tony Lucca, love that gravelly voice....

Suppose to be on the Chama River again this weekend but no dog sitter and we both feel a bit over worked so opted to stay home instead. We love the river but it is a lot of work for the gear boat, Dave must row for two days straight and we have to load and unload all the gear twice a day... Weather isnt great today either so maybe it was a good choice.

I woke up at 5am of course, my body thinking I was going to the market, but then went back to sleep for another 2 hours. What a luxury on a Saturday!
We worked some this morning and then went over to the Community Center to hear American Jem play again. We had heard them on 4th of July and really enjoyed it so went to give a listen one more time. Ellie, the lead singer, is an old student of Dave's so it was fun to hear her sing with her band. The two guitar players put on some really great harmonies, and as a singer myself, that is really satisfying to hear. I got a few ideas about songs; Someday Soon and Never My Love, both beautiful but not exactly up-tempo tunes.
Ah well, maybe I am just going to sing the songs I feel inclined to sing whether it is up-tempo or not!

Hope to have a break from laboring this Labor Day weekend, maybe a hike with the dogs or some such thing. I might just sit in the garden! Also, planning on finishing the last few pieces of work for the Durango Fall Art Festival in order to get them into the bisque kiln early next week. Pictures of the 3 large bowls I made today coming soon.....

Friday, September 4, 2015

Rain!!

Day; 182 (will I ever reach day 200!?) Overcast and cloudy all day, soft rain in the afternoon/evening

Temperature on the outside kiln; 73 degrees
Kiln Firings; small kiln cooling all day.
Music in the studio today; Eva Cassidy. In my dream life I sing like she does....

No Saturday Market this week as I am still working on building up some inventory for the Durango Show. This means that I am NOT out in the rain right now loading the truck for the Dawn Patrol tomorrow!! Yipppeeeeee! I also got my booth number for Durango and I am right where I want to be; in the middle of the show next to the best coffee shop/wine bar in town. These things are important when you have to set up a show in the dark at 6am....

Tired today as  I mistakenly programmed the kiln last night for a slow speed instead of medium which means I was awake until 3:30am last night wondering, "what the hell is taking so long?!"  You might  have thought I would have realized my mistake, but noooooo, I just thought it was the poor overused kiln elements finally gasping their last breath. So I let it run 5 hours longer than it needed to. The good news is I do not have to buy a new set of elements for $300. Next time I will check myself and make sure I am on the right schedule. One gets a little too sure of oneself after 25 years......

Finally got the handle on yesterday's pitcher attached  after a very large espresso, 4 hours of sleep is just not enough for me...  I like the surface texture but the handle is too skinny, I think it needs to be more beef-cake if one is going to grab it fully loaded and expect the balance to be right, I will try again tomorrow maybe...




Thursday, September 3, 2015

I Wear A Lot of Hats...

Day; 181. Sunny and hot, nothing much changes! Cooler in the evenings however...

Temperature on outside kiln; 86 degrees
Kiln Firings; 3rd and last firing for this body of work, decal firing to cone 02 (about 2000 degrees F.)
Music in the Studio; Corrine Bailey Rae. Like her music, not sure about the voice.. so little girlish, I need more grit in my vocals....

First Open Studio Tour meeting today!?... for the tour which runs next May!! Jesus it takes a village to put on a studio tour... Of course it is the advertising/publicity stuff,  the hardest part and the most out front in terms of deadlines... Trying to get some ads and copy together for publications in the spring without a budget yet and not even knowing who is even doing the tour yet... arggg, marketing is not my favorite nor strongest part of being an artist, but it must be done...

After that mind-numbing meeting, I actually finished the decal-ing a body of work, loaded the kiln, said my prayers, and turned the thing on... It always feels good to finally get some work into that 3rd firing... sometimes feels like it takes forever....!
Spent the rest of the afternoon making another pitcher out of hand-built parts, not all that happy with the finished version of the first one. I wish I could just throw the damn things but I suck at large thrown forms, I am just not skilled enough to really pull it off to satisfaction. So, I will try again and hopefully after really investigating this form I will eventually end up with something I like...
 Photo coming tomorrow probably, I don't have the handle on yet...!

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

If It's Wednesday, The Magpies Must Be Due To Land....

Day; 180. Sunny and hot. Beautiful September mornin'

Temperature on outside kiln; 83 degrees
Kiln Firings; waiting for last nights glaze firing to cool, unloaded around 2pm.
Music in the studio; Maggie and the Magpies today! Well at least in the living room....

Only about half the Magpies showed up today, but we carried on nonetheless. Still searching for the elusive up-tempo songs that are not beyond us musically.. we did find a few Bonnie Raitt tunes that had potential. Also worked on some oldie but goodies like Michael Jackson's I Want You Back, tricky to play, tricky to sing! I really like the acoustics in my living room and have had fun these last two weeks practicing at home. However I think the dog pack/audience was less than impressed... but then they sleep through most events...




Got a little work done after the fact, but had to go to Chez Dre bakery first however and eat a very large and incredibly delicious blackberry danish. All fueled up, I finally got around to finishing my special orders from the Crested Butte show. I ended up really liking the plates, and actually would like some for myself, and after all the bitching I did about special orders...!
Well it is true that sometimes they take you places you would not ordinarily go...






Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Glazing, Glazing, and more Glazing..

Day; 179.  Sunny and warm, just a repeat of most days in the Southwest.

Temperature on outside kiln; 82 degrees
Kiln firings; glaze firing to cone 6, 2210F, with a 10 minute hold at temperature. About 8 hours total.
Music in the studio; Arg...., couldn't settle on anything today. All the prepared stations on Spotify I don't like. Contemporary music bores me; melodies and lyrics any Band 101 member could come up with during the first class session... nothing very complex or meaningful.  I tried but tomorrow I am going back to the 60's and 70's....

Glazing, Glazing, and more f*cking glazing. Trying to catch up on bisqueware, very bad idea to let it pile up..   soooo spent two days mixing, pouring, waxing, painting. I am tired now... !!

Additionally, the publicity for the Eldorado Fall Show and the Spring Studio Tour in May of 2016 has already begun! Amazing how early some of the deadlines are; 4-6 months in advance for print ready copy/images for most magazines. The first meeting for the May tour is on Thursday already. The Fall show PR for October is in full swing. My first application deadline for 2016 shows is in about 4 weeks, first of October. It goes against my lackadaisical nature to plan 6-9 months in advance but as an artist this is what I must do... tonight however something on Netflix or Amazon.....