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.....

Out of the Kiln and Into the Marketplace....

Day 78. Sunny and warm, beautiful spring day. Temperature on outside kiln; 56

Pepe the-potter-in-training and I had a really productive day together. And he will be in Santa Fe for the summer! Internship continues through June/July, great news for me, not so sure for Pepe. This means he goes to summer school and doesn't graduate completely in May. I'm ecstatic, Pepe not so much....But atleast he has a summer job!

Anyway, we rocked the studio today!; unloaded the kiln, sanded buttons and earrings. made cute little square plates and recycled 100#'s of clay. I'm exhausted  and ready for the couch but he had homework to do and a class to go to...ahhhhhh to be 22 again, so much energy! I kept trying to feed him but he wasn't hungry. How can a person work that hard and not eat for 5 hours?! No wonder he weights about as much as I do...

 Here is a small part of what we did today... plus my favorite little tumbler from this kiln-load complete with new images..(enough with birds and bees already!)

Looking forward to the Clay Fair at the end of this month, especially if everything comes out as good as this kiln-load did!

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.....

As the Wheel Turns....

Day; 61. Foggy morning. Rainy afternoon. Temperature on outside kiln; 50 degrees

First day back at wet bags of clay in two weeks. It feels really good to actually make something out of clay instead of glazing or transferring images, or loading the Tacoma. Decided to start again where I always do; cups and bowls!

An unending demand for these two items, but I am not complaining. I am working on a special order for a friend ( Alex of the my-truck-and-trailer-were-stolen-at-my-last-show scenario) I feel compelled to make them as beautiful as I can to make up for last weekend's very bad luck. Not sure 3 noodles bowls is going to do it however, but I'll give it a shot!!
Also started on huge wholesale order that I am trying very hard not to have misgivings about.... Did I really agree to sell  my work at 60% of it's retail value?! Am I nuts?! A testament to the lunacy that overtakes all artists in the slow time of year......
If we don't get this order started this week it will not get done; the clay fair and studio tour shows are quickly coming down the pike. Starting to proof the final postcards and brochures for both so here comes the spring shows! My favorite two shows back to back with a family wedding in Sonoma in-between. Hold on to your hats......

The good news is that a year ago I could not have thrown all these mugs and bowls in one day, it would have absolutely trashed my wrists. But after two years of healing from surgery and a slow ramping back up, I can sit and throw a dozen pieces now without feeling it too much. Which is a good thing cuz I'm still paying my medical bills.....!

Etsy Shop Update

Day; 38. Overcast, bounce back to winter. Temperature on outside kiln; 40
Firings; Bisque kiln to cone 04; 1,945 degrees. 12.5 hours to temperature.


Back in the studio today after getting photos taken in the Duke City yesterday. Loaded a bisque kiln with mostly  plates for dinnerware show...trying not to drop them as studio assistant Pepe snaps a quick picture.

After getting the kiln going I cleaned the house (love how the dishwasher looks filled up with other potter's work).....

while Pepe filled up my etsy.com shop. It looks a lot better with something actually in it, don't you think?...
 Lavine the Cat thinks so....