Hap, Hap, Happy Girl on Joya Court

Day; 92. Sunny, warm, beautiful. Temperature on outside kiln; 65 degrees.
Firings; Just unloading the last image transfer kiln for the Contemporary Clay Fair.

Writing this blog, doing the dishes, laundry, anything at all to keep me from opening the kiln too soon and cracking all the hard-won pieces that are in there. Still a little hot to the touch so I am giving them all another 30 minutes...

Teaching/meeting with student Kris again this morning and reviewing handles and how to make and attach, I think these pieces look pretty good!...

(Back in 5 minutes, I know I said 30 minutes but I want to see what's in the kiln, damn it..)

Okay, unloaded everything and I am a hap, hap, happy girl. Really some beautiful stuff in there. I wish I could keep some it for myself. Someday  I will begin to do that..! Here are my 3 faves for the show;

Very tempted to keep the two noodle bowls, really love them, oh well, I can always make more, but then I never do?! Feeling relieved and proud of the work, especially as it was touch and go 2 days ago. Now to sand all the pretty bare bottoms so they feel like a baby's you know what and then price and pack. Off to new homes go my challenging children in clay.....

Minor Technical Difficulties...

Day; 91. Sunny, warm, spring-like. Temperature on outside kiln; 63
Firings; unloaded glaze kiln after 16 hour firing and 20 hour cooling. Loaded  image transfer in small kiln at 5pm. 8 hour to temperature, will unload in the morning.

Finally unloaded work from the epic 16 hour glaze firing of yesterday! Mostly the results were as expected; the glazes look really good after being very slow fired and held at temperature for so long, more melty and integrated with surface. However,  I was worried about some of them flowing off the pots and onto the kiln shelf and sure enough I had 3 pieces, all the same cornwall stone glaze, firmly glazed onto the surface of the shelves....

This is what happens when you melt glass for several hours at 2,000 degrees F, a puddle of feldspar and silica fusing this poor little bowl and the shelf it was sitting on. Ah well, I was lucky this was the only piece I could not chisel off the shelf and grind smooth. The other two cups I think are going to survive. Good thing I just happened to use this particular glaze sparingly in this  firing. After unloading I inspected the kiln's electrical elements and found one near the bottom which was broken in half, so a large portion of the kiln was entirely cold, it is a wonder I reached Cone 6 temperature at all. Atests to the efficiency and good insulation of these Scutts kilns. I am also very lucky I happen to have two! I can finish the show in the other one while I purchase the necessary repair parts and install them. Saved by the skin of my teeth again!!

Procrastination Is My MIddle Name

Day; 82. Overcast and windy but pretty warm. Temperature on outside kiln; 60 degrees.

Procrastination; verb. To delay or postpone, to put off doing something out of habitual carelessness or laziness. To drag one's feet/heels, to play for time...

Yup, that's me all right. Don't much like the "habitual carelessness or laziness" part, but the truth hurts sometimes... And the truth this week is it's  wayyyyy past time to put this....

.... all over these......

Rule number whatever for successful potters; never let your bisqueware pile up....OOPPS!!!!

Back to the Studio

Day; 71. Sunny and warm. Definitely spring around here. Temperature on outside kiln; 65 degrees

Plum tree in full bloom..... Ahhhhh. Can't wait to buy some annuals but that doesn't happen until May 1st around here and that is a  month away, and 2 weeks before it is commonly suggested I do so ( possibility of a freeze until May 15th!?) Damn, guess I have to be patient. Not my strong suit....

 After what seems like weeks, but is only days, I am finally back to the studio with wet clay and making stuff today. I threw a dozen small one-serving sized bowls ( 1.5 pounds of clay) and a few larger ones. Rolled out a few milagros for my special order and received an order for, guess what?!, more bowls. I am starting to think seriously about just making bowls and cups for the clay fair and studio tour. It is all people seem to want and at least it is easy for me. I would really do just that  but after the 2nd day I would be bored silly so I will just make as many as I can stand to and then switch to plates...
 I love plates, I really think of them as clay "canvases", they are just so much easier to glaze than more 3d-type  forms with handles and feet, etc... trying to poor a liquid over a round form means it drips in all sorts of unwanted directions, while pouring glaze over plates means I can control where it goes much easier and so takes a lot less time. I do not have to use wax or laytex resist on plates as much as mugs for instance, trying to prevent one color from running all over another. Plates also lend themselves much more to the collaged images I love to use; they are really just little paintings one can also eat your dinner off of....

However, here is what is in store for tomorrow for myself and Pepe-the-shy-intern... you guessed it, an entire kiln-load of cups and bowls to glaze..... !! Crank up that espresso machine.....

Glaze Underworld Again

Day; 41. Cold and snowy. Overcast. Perfect day to be in the studio. Temperature on outside kiln; 26
firings; Glaze firing began at 5:30,  cone 6, 2,210 degrees, 8 minute hold at temperature.

Just stood on concrete floor for two days and glazed. I  have nothing more to say!! Exhausted, hungry, sore, tired. And The Voice starts in 50 minutes. Just enough time to eat and soak before the singing starts. So glad Christina Aguilara is back as a judge, nothing against Gwen Stephani, but it just wasn't the same...Love Pharell, such a big heart! Always so supportive of whomever has the guts to get up and sing even if he doesn't turn his chair around for them. New season started last night so here we go.....!