December Update

For the most current updates, please follow me on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. It's been quite a year and I'm finding myself lucky to have time in the studio, much less time to blog about it.

In the meantime, I recently unloaded my first glaze firing in the new studio. It was not without incident as I ran into some electrical snafus in the ^6 firing cycle that did not occur in the ^04 cycle, and a couple failed partial firings may have negatively impacted some of my glazes. But the bulk of the firing was more or less successful. Hoping to have at least a small offering of updated listings on the Etsy shop this week.

Thanks for stopping by.

First fruits of the new studio. Mountains from the mountains.

Firings, New pots, a show is coming up.

Perhaps there will be a good update with words in the near future. Well, there will be. Cause there's news of sorts. But not going to take the time for it right this moment. In the meantime, here are some pots from the last couple glaze firings. Gearing up for the Zonta Spring Craft Sale right here in Pierre in two weeks (April 6-7, Pierre Mall), as well as wrapping up some commissioned pieces. Most of these pots will be at the show. Not the commissioned ones, obviously. And I'm also down three mountain vases in the last week, so sorry about that. Those things just sell themselves.

Lots of glazing in the last couple weeks, all in a couple (2 or 3? I can't remember just now) firings. Nothing spectacular to share, nothing rare going on. Tried out a couple of new glazes, but mostly sticking with the old tried-and-trues. Here are the pictures:

Trying out a new green. Needs a little more trial/experience, but shows promise.

Crocks. Of various color and design.

Stacks of bowls.

Sunflowers. Crocks and vases. At the moment, none are spoken for. For the moment.

Teapot, two cups.

Tea set. Discovered the lip is a little bit blurbly. Blurble is a word. Just as the jabberwocky. Still, nice functionality with practiced pouring and a serving towel handy.

Pour-thru Coffee Brewer. With matching mug.

Set of four communion chalices. Shipped westward this week.

 

Custom order. Everyone will know this is Adam's stein.

That's the work, thanks for stopping by. And, of course, listening to lots of great music, but trying not to spend too much money these days. Lots of great stuff over at Noisetrade. Josh Garrels' "Love, War, and the Sea in Between" is available again and was one of my favorite discoveries back in 2011. Check it out.

Until then: take care. Stay warm. It's spring, you know.

Firing preview.

If you were super cool and followed me on Facebook or Twitter you could have seen this, like, 5 hours ago. Your loss. Overall: very good firing. Couple disappointments. 

Discovered one of my kiln shelves is completely wash-free and has been stealing bits of stoneware from the feet of my post. Hadn't really noticed it before, but it's become noticeable. 1.5" chunk pulled out of the foot of a beautiful vase, another one inch wedge pulled out of the foot of a bowl. Have never had this problem before. I guess it's time to re-wash the shelves before my next glaze firings.

Up next: sanding, pricing, packing. 

Come see me this weekend at the Pierre/Fort Pierre Zonta Holiday Craft Show & Sale.

Saturday // 11.10.2012 // 9 AM - 5 PM  ..... Sunday // 11.11.2012 // 9 AM - 3 PM

Held at the Ramkota River Centre.

And stalk me here:

Also, for those interested: Music I've been listening to heavily as of late.
1. The O.C. Supertones. Because they have a new record out today, their first in (7? 8?) years and ska is not dead.
2. sosaveme "The Garden." Because I just can't get over how great this album is. Period.
3. Vintage (or what seems to be getting close to) CCM from the likes of Audio Adrenaline and dc Talk (for example). Sometimes you just need nostalgic, feel-good music with a message, as they like to say. Shuffly mix courtesy of Apple Genius mixes provided plenty of Bleach, Pillar, Third Day and the like. Solid stuff.
4. More and more appreciative of Jack White's "Blunderbuss" the more listens I give it. Funky, experimental, enjoyable.

And of course, the usual array of eclecticism.

Y'all take care.

Glazing, Firing, and Remembering

I'm breaking with tradition to bring an update within only a fortnight.  It still leaves only one post in October, so hopefully you'll forgive me for my diversion from habit.

I've been doing a lot of glazing and firing. Glazed all day last Saturday and had a kiln full of pretty blue bowls by Sunday night. Good, clean firing but nothing really groundbreaking within. Beautiful, but now getting to be predictable results. Well, I guess I shouldn't say that - I did glaze some of my checkered bowls in the rich cobalt glaze, and while getting it to stick to the inside of the bowls was a little off, the exteriors were rather stunning.

Two bisque loads this week - one packed to the gills and one less than quite fully packed. Disappointing, bu the way it has to be sometimes. One day I'll be able to plan ahead to a degree that results in evenly packed and easily loaded kilns. Alas...

Here are some pictures.

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I lied. I'm having technical difficulties getting photos from my picture box to my internet box. Sorry. You can always find plenty of pictures and updates over at my Facebook Page. And then if you "Like" my page it's like we're real life friends! How wonderful!

EDIT: LOOK!!! PICTURES!!! YAY!!! TALK ABOUT BAIT AND SWITCH!!! EMOTIONAL ROLLER COASTER!!! WHY AM I YELLING?

IYFC Blue bowls from this week's glaze firing. 

More from this week's glaze firing.

More from this week's firing.

Bisque. Lots of Bisque.

An experiment. Not really my cup of tea, but maybe somebody likes it?

Blue brickwork/checker bowls. Sorry about the picture quality.

In any event: enjoying finishing up the last couple months' worth of throwing into glazed and fired pots. Not my favorite part of the process, but I am enjoying the results.

Yesterday was All Saints Day (or the Feast of All Saints, for my Catholic friends), the day on which most Christians following the liturgical calendar remember and honor the great host of saints gone before us. Today marks another day of remembrance in our household. It was four years ago today that my Uncle Tim passed away quite suddenly.

Tim was an artist, making his living as a potter but also frequently exploring new territories in paint, charcoal, sculpture, mixed media, or temporal works (i.e. annual igloo builds). I wrote at length several years ago about my experiences working with him (read: About an Uncle), so I won't dwell too long on those thoughts, just to say that this time of year, moreso than others, I'm drawn to exploring his work as inspiration and guide and gold standard, and remember also the great spirit with which he poured his creativity out into the world. I guess today I just want to publicly say that I miss my Uncle.

Tim with one of his large vases.
Photo: LangholzPottery.com

On that note: This weekend I'll glaze with joy in his honor and try to remember to take each day as a gift worth celebrating.

Y'all have a good weekend.

Throwing, Glazing, Slacking: the monthly update.

Right on schedule, time for my monthly update. I'm keeping myself busy lately which means I'm spending more time on pots and less time on posts here.  However, I have been doing a relatively decent job of sending quick updates out into cyberspace via my presence on Facebook (just pottery!) and Twitter (shenanigans of all sorts!). So if once a month is simply not enough of me for you, go ahead and give me a follow at one of these locations.

For those not interested in the social media angle (ye antisocial mediites), here's a recap: throwing. Lots of throwing. And trimming. And decorating. And firing. And glazing. And more firing. And more throwing. Rinse and repeat.

No, but seriously - I've been pretty diligent about my studio time this fall. Krystal's been having to do a lot of professional traveling, so I've had lots of time to commit guilt-free to the pots. I've been focusing on making fun pots, and not stressing about quantity or volume for my next show (November 10-11, here in Pierre). I always have more than enough work, so I shouldn't stress too much. That's my goal anyway. Also continuing to play/experiment with shape and texture in addition to my old faithful sgraffito.

Here are some snapshots:

Itty-bitty bowls.

A full bisque kiln. Had to make room on my shelves for more pots to dry!

Textures and such.

I've been commissioned to do a complete communion service for our congregation. I don't think this pair of chalices quite make the cut, but a good start.

This? This is just a steak dinner hot off the grill a couple weeks back that was quite photogenic. I'm not giving up summer that easily. I'll still be grilling when there's snow on the ground.

 This week I finally got around to glazing a load of pots and was quite thrilled with the results. Every firing is a little different and I usually try to include at least one or two experimental pieces per firing. Looking forward to finishing up more work this fall.

Final thoughts before next month (post-show summary?): Lots of great new music this fall from Mumford & Sons, The Killers, No Doubt and more, but I've been letting the iPod run on shuffle for the last couple weeks and have enjoyed happening upon such wide and varied selections as Switchfoot's 1997 debut, Led Zeppelin's 1976 live concert recording "The Song Remains the Same," older (and newer) Ben Folds (& Five), Bob Dylan, America, Jimmy Eat World, and so on and so forth. Last night Apple up and shuffled me into a jungle of Krystal's Ani Difranco selection which simply didn't last very long. I of course reserve veto rights. But it's been enjoyable to not put any thinking energies into picking my soundtrack and taking what comes my way. Within reason, of course.

Heatwave!

You know you live somewhere special when 92 degrees is a refreshingly cool midday temperature. Yesterday I didn't even have to microwave my leftovers for lunch; I just set my plate out on the deck for a couple minutes and it was ready to go.

Nothing like picking the hottest week of the year to run my kiln nonstop. While the air conditioner is also running nonstop.  I'm looking forward to this month's utility bill, that's for sure.

Unloaded the kiln this morning, loaded it back up for another firing at noon. Still have maybe 2/3 of a kiln's worth of pots to get in a third firing. I'd rather not fire it with any room to spare, but that's just the way it goes. Everything is glazed and ready to go, just waiting for the kiln to open up.

Top shelf.

Bottom Shelf.

Loaded back up and ready to go again!

Pretty!

And a little bit closer now.

And even closer.

Details.

Reds and blues.

It's all patriotic up in hurr.

So that's where we're at. Shooting to unload/reload the current/next firing(s) on Thursday which will give me a full week for sanding, pricing, inventory-ing and packing. Which is more lead time than I've ever given myself on a show, so that's great news.

Around the house and during the glazing have been playing a lot of the new House of Heroes record. Well, that and some Zeppelin. Always good to keep one foot in the classics, right?

Two weeks to go.

Busy busy busy! I suppose for most working artists it's not so big of a deal to prepare for one show or another, one event after another, but as someone still just getting started (really) in the vending and fair-ing of my pots, each show brings new challenges (opportunities) for stepping up my game. It may be a long time until doing a show is anything resembling routine, but each step gets me closer.

Of specific note, I was glad to enlist my father's help in the garage this weekend in tackling a building project in prep for the upcoming show. Saws, drills, wood glue, sawdust, spackle, splinters, and blood. All in a day's work, right?

Makeshift clay-box sawhorses.

The end result.

Starting out at noon with not much more than my sorry excuse for schematics and a half-baked idea, I now have a set of nesting pedestals to take on the road with me. So that's thrilling. And maybe not before the coming show (CLEAR LAKE ART SAIL - JULY 28th - CLEAR LAKE, IOWA - BE THERE OR BE SQUARE!!!), but with this batch under the belt and a garage full of scrap trimmings, I'm well set to build some table-top display pedestals and such to go along with. Like I said, stepping up the game, one step at a time. Still some sanding and painting to go on these, but not too shabby considering where we sat at noon.

Other than that, the last several weeks have been filled with lots of trimming, drying, firing, and last minute throwing. Some a little too last minute. Had a minor casualty in the last firing - thrown too late, trimmed too late, and didn't have quite enough time to dry before it went in the kiln. A portion of the center of the trimmed foot ring crumbled (exploded) in the firing. From the top, the bowl is quite lovely. Flip it over and it looks like an ogre tried to eat my signature. So that's too bad. Salvageable for my own personal use, or perhaps selling to family or VERY close friend, but not something I'm going to let out into the world at cost to a paying customer. I have standards, you know. In the end: sad story. I could have waited another day to load the kiln: I didn't actually get the chance to glaze this week, so pushing the bisque for another twenty-four hours wouldn't have hurt any, BUT it also wasn't even the piece that I was most worried about being too wet. Go figure, huh?

So... here's what else has been going on:

Last minute vases. Trying out new things.

Another Arizona.

Celebrated America's Birthday. Anything more American than apple pie? Temperance also enjoyed it. Most of it. While we were out. And it was on the counter. Dog.

This would be the one that exploded its foot in the kiln. Won't be heading to the show with me, but will be glazing and finishing.

Loading up the bisque. I was a bit concerned I'd have to leave something out. It all fit just fine.

Mandatory kiln-shot. Almost there!

Bisque. Now just waiting to glaze.

So, glazing is now in the near future. For the record, all these photos were shared as they were taken via my Twitter and Facebook. Follow or Like! me for all the craziness on a daily basis.

That's all for now, folks. Hopefully I'll check in with y'all before the show. Woo! Counting down...