2014 > 2013

Out with the old, in with the new. It's been quite a year, friends, and certainly quiet one, digitally speaking.

On May 15th, 2013, two days after our scheduled departure for five weeks backpacking in Europe, my wife, Krystal, was diagnosed with a classical Hodgkin Lymphoma. Needless to say, by this point we were certainly not doing any backpacking. Long story short, on October 15th, 2013, after four full rounds of chemotherapy, Krystal was declared in complete clinical remission.

See! Good news! We'll just ignore the bad news that came first, right?

Like I said, quite a year. But we came out on a high note, certainly. On account of having already quit our jobs, stowed our earthly belongs, and selling our house in South Dakota, we spent six months in Arizona where we got to spend some quality time with Krystal's family during her treatment. I found work that kept me busy and the medical collectors at bay, but unfortunately left me in a clay- and studio-less state. In October, my wife was offered a job in Northern Colorado. With the clean bill of health in tow, we returned to the Rocky Mountain State and are making a home (and studio) in Loveland, CO.

[That really is the shortest version of the story. Mayhaps there is more to be shared later. This is it for now. Thanks for understanding.]

So: back on the road to having a studio up and running. Still some logistical issues to sort out in preparing the house for full studio-ness, but the bottom line is that there is clay in my immediate future, and I'm very much looking forward to sharing whatever 2014 may have to offer.

Currently working on a few small projects related to getting the studio up and running and should be able to offer some sort of a post on that in the near future.

In the meantime: Happy New Year!

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And as a PS: in as much as there's a lot of 2013 I'd like to just put in a box and forget about, please celebrate with me my favorite music from last year. Because, you know, that's kind of a thing I do.

10. Justin Timberlake, "The 20/20 Experience."

I'll probably losing my indie cred for including this record on my list, but let's face it: this two-part project is chock-full of undeniably catchy pop. I lean toward Part I in my including it on the list, but I won't back down and am not ashamed to say that "Suit & Tie" was my jam for the better part of 2013. Check out: "Suit & Tie"

9. STRFKR, "Miracle Mile." 

Though I'd certainly hesitate to even mention them by name in polite conversation, I was really first introduced to this band by their inclusion in one of this year's SoundSupply Drops. And it's just an impeccable Alt-Rock/Pop album all the way through. This one became an almost immediate favorite of mine and was certainly perfect for summer in the desert. Check out: "While I'm Alive"

8. Atoms for Peace, "Amok."

Pet project of Thom Yorke (Radiohead) notably featuring Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers) and the extremely talented Nigel Godrich, Joey Waronko, and Mauro Refosco. Great mood music for a long, hard year. Along the same vein as Yorke's solo outing ("Eraser") and Radiohead's latest "King of Limbs," it's a great electro-jazz groover. Check out: "Before Your Very Eyes"

7. Citzens, "Citizens."

It's rare anymore that I come upon a "Christian" radio station that plays anything I'm really excited about listening to, much less introduces me to a new artist. Citizens certainly blew those expectations out of the water after I heard their song "Made Alive" on the radio in Phoenix this summer. This is just a good record for fans of music (alt-rock, specifically). Check out: "Made Alive"

6. The Hawk In Paris, "Freaks."

Dark pop. Clever lyrics, cleverer hooks. Hard not to groove along with this project featuring Dan Haseltine (Jars of Clay) on lead vocals. Check out: "Freaks"

5. Leagues, "You Belong Here."
Great danceable pop-rock here. I was grandfathered into my Leagues fandom via guitarist Tyler Burkum's previous work as a solo artist, hired gun (Mat Kearney, Matthew Perryman Jones) and as longtime lead guitarist of Audio Adrenaline (arguably his least engaging work as a musician thus far). Great beats, grooves, melodies, and harmonies throughout. Check out: "Walking Backwards (Live)"

4. The Civil Wars, "The Civil Wars."
I hope they're able to work out their "irreconcilable differences of ambition" to bring us more music, because Joy Williams and John Paul White make magical things happen together. Check out: "Dust to Dust"

3. The National, "Trouble Will Find Me."
I'm a late adopter of these slow-building indie darlings (2010's "High Violet" made a believer of me). This is a nearly flawless record. Haunting and beautiful, with layers upon layers of sonic master strokes. Check out: "The National - NPR Tiny Desk Concert"

1. TIE - Derek Webb, "I Was Wrong, I'm Sorry, & I Love You" / Jars of Clay, "Inland."
Two beautiful records from artists that write consistently write some of the truest music exploring the depths of life, love, and faith. Definitely worth checking out, regardless your personal feelings on any of those topics. Webb returns to his alternative rock/country roots after several experimental records for this beautiful collection of songs, while Jars of Clay forges new, yet familiar, ground again with a record that simply feels more "real" than just about anything else out there these days.

Check out: Derek Webb, "Everything Will Change"

Check out: Jars of Clay, "Love in Hard Times"

A Mid-Globetrotting Update

Greetings, friends!

Thought I'd pop in and send a few photos your way. In addition to "the move," we're looking a lot of travel in our immediate future (and immediate past). Krystal had to travel to Pennsylvania the last week of April for the annual meeting of a board on which she serves, so I tagged along for the trip. 

We spent a couple days in Philadelphia catching the sights (historical and otherwise) and practicing for our upcoming European backpacking trip (what, I haven't mentioned that yet?) with efficient packing and hostel accommodations. As someone who has always been an automobile traveler (me), this was a great dry run on which to learn "Yes, you definitely need to bring this" and "No, you definitely don't need to bring that" and "Why is Luke's backpack smaller and lighter than Krystal's? That doesn't seem fair!" So, obviously a lot going on there.  Oh, look - pictures!

Independence Hall. Quite impressive from down the green.

Liberty Bell/Independence Hall.

Found Ben Franklin's privy. Definitely not the most fascinating part of the Ben Franklin houses area, but still seemed like we ought to snag a photo of that one. 

We managed to coordinate our visit to coincide with the Philadelphia Museum of Art's Wednesday night "pay what you want" special. The Museum stayed open until 9 and attracted a diverse crowd and many families with kids for whom the $20 tickets might otherwise have been prohibitive, while also offering special activities for children of all ages, free guided tours, and yoga in the galleria staircase, just to mention a few things. It was great fun and a good warm-up for all the museum-ing we'll be tackling in Europe (have I mentioned that trip yet?).  But anyway, saw some great art by great artists and very excited to see even more.

They had really quite a tremendous collection of Picasso's works.

Also tremendous: a collection of Brancusi sculptures, this representing about 1/3 of the collection. Absolutely beautiful lines, movement, form, and texture. 

Found some pottery in the American gallery. Something art nouveau-y. Beautiful greens.

Found this Qing Dynasty porcelain jar in one of the roccoco period rooms. More beautiful greens. 

Despite her pacifistic leanings, the gallery of medieval arms and armor was Krystal's favorite. That or Renoir. So, you know, those are obvious pairings.

Finished our days in Philadelphia with tours of the Independence Hall complex. While Independence Hall was nifty (you know, famous history, the actual chair where George Washington sat as president of the Continental Congress, whatever...) it didn't come off as nearly as impressive as our experience of Congress Hall which was home to the first sitting congress of the United States of America. So that was pretty neat.

The first US House Chamber.

The first US Senate Chamber.

 We then spent a couple days just outside of Philadelphia at Pendle Hill, a charming Quaker retreat center, for Krystal's board meeting. I made it a point to have my own retreat for the days spent there as well, and was pleased to discover a full pottery studio in their craft room. I spent an afternoon throwing some pots and enjoying some great conversation with some of the resident students on campus, and left three pieces to be fired and glazed at their discretion. Was a refreshing time after having packed my studio up for the move.

Three pieces to stay behind at Pendle Hill.

When I wasn't throwing pots and being contemplative at my leisure, I was instructed to put some effort into itinerizing our time overseas. So I did spend a lot of time doing stuff that looked like this.

After almost a week on the east coast it was time to return and deal with real life stuff. Like loading a moving truck. That was a chore, but we have wonderful friends who made it possible and not miserable.

See all those blue bins? Those are pots YOU didn't buy, so I had to move them. Ugh.

Now all our earthly belongs are in storage and we're taking a spell off from the real world to do some globetrotting (specifically, abroad).  One week from today we'll be on our way across the pond to spend roughly five weeks hiking and train-ing our way across the continent. Should have some great stories to share when we return. 

Take care!

Radio Silence

Things have been quiet here lately. So here are a couple of things worth sharing:

1. Getting ready for the "show" aspects of the upcoming Spring Zonta Sale THIS WEEKEND at the Pierre Mall, Saturday and Sunday. Come and say hi if you're in the area, pick up some pottery because...
2. I'm going on a studio hiatus do to an upcoming relocation. As in, out of town, out of state, here we go again.  The house is sold, the studio is being cleaned and packed. I'm hesitant to announce any further details in this space until they're pinned down with some more finality. We have a bad habit of making plans and then changing them last minute.
   
   For fans of my work who are local, this means that this weekend's sale is the last chance to get my work locally for a while. I won't say ever, but for a while. For those non-local, it means I've had to turn down too many orders for work in the last month than I should ever be comfortable with. Thank you in advance to those who have allowed those orders to be filed as a "hold," rather than "dismiss," until we get settled and my studio can be up and running again.
3. The good news, for me and pottery fans everywhere, is that having my own studio equipment means I won't have to wait (I hope) as long to get back into the swing of things once the dust has settled.
4. Also, I'd rather not move my inventory with me, so now's a great time to make me an offer and haggle over the details on work in stock. Which is hard to do over the internet, but know that it's an option.
5. Thanks again for following along. I know at least three people read my ramblings regularly, and I appreciate all of you dearly.
6. A sixth entry, for good measure.
7. And seven because it's my favorite number.

I hope you got all that. I'll try not to disappear for too long this time. In the meantime, keep tabs of me on Facebook and Twitter.

It's the end of the year as we know it...

Happy Almost-New Year's Day! We all survived another apocalypse that wasn't, and so here's one more blog post to go out with a bang before ushering in 2013.  On my radar for the new year: more pots. Big pots. Teapots. Mountain pots. That sort of thing.  In the even more immediate future, maybe even something like "My favorite pots made in 2012!" or something. I'm not that organized yet.

A great big thank you to those of the readership that continued to support my creative endeavors over the last year.  Off the top of my head, highlights include heading to my boyhood hometown for the Clear Lake Art Sail (tons of fun, my first "real" outdoor show either in years or ever, depending on how you're counting. Lots of work, lots of challenges, supremely rewarding) and the launch of my online store at Etsy.  Actively using Etsy as a source of making new customers and also as an EASY format for purchasing my work by longtime supporters turned out to be quite successful in its first weeks. Obviously the pre-Christmas shopping rush accounts for a lot of that, but I'm excited to see what might come of the online storefront in the new year. I'll try to be keeping a regular amount of work stocked and available to ship year round, so please check that out if you're looking to add some of my work to your collection. Find it at :: www.etsy.com/shop/lukelangholzpottery :: and as always, if you're ever looking to order something specially made just for you, just shoot me a message either here or here.

Came down with a spot of the flu before Christmas and I found myself drinking an awful lot of hot tea. This time it actually involved me busting out a spare teapot I'd made as back-up for a custom order and using the teapot, as opposed to just filling a mug, made for a surprisingly enriched tea-drinking experience. So I may be exploring teapots a bit this year as a result of that renewed personal interest. 

I also have said "good bye" to my token "large" mountain vase which will be going off to its new home shortly. That's always a good thing, and now I may have to work on a couple large pieces this winter to fill that hole in my heart inventory.

Anyhow. Back to the studio soon enough. Back in the clay. And I have some pots to share (photographically) soon enough. But now, for those who care for such things, here are a dozen of my favorite albums of 2012. Or, 12 for 2012.

With the full disclosure, of course, that I'm not trying to make any sort of argument (necessarily) for the "best" music of the year. For example, everyone knows that Jack White released his debut solo record this year and it was a smashing critical success and what a record! And all the superlative statements about how he finally can do whatever he wants and let his genius run free... and it was so phenomenal. No, really. In all seriousness, it was a great record and I appreciate it deeply. But Blunderbuss simply wasn't my favorite.

So here's the completely unscientific list, in alphabetical order, based on a combination of my personal ratings, play counts, and gut instincts on what were my favorite records for the year.  It would have been an easier process, I think, to cut it down to 5 or 6, or expand it to 18-20, but 12 seemed like a good number.

1. Aaron Espe, "Three"
2. Alabama Shakes, "Boys & Girls"
3. Civil Twilight, "Holy Weather"
4. David Crowder*Band "Give Us Rest or (A Requiem Mass in C [The Happiest of All Keys])"
5. Father John Misty, "Fear Fun"
6. The Followers, "Wounded Healer"
7. House of Heroes, "Cold Hard Want"
8. The Killers, "Battle Born"
9. Matthew Perryman Jones, "Land of the Living"
10. Mumford & Sons, "Babel"
11. Norah Jones, "Little Broken Hearts"
12. Sons, "Keep Quiet"

 Honorable Mentions :: For whatever reason not on the list, but definitely on my shortlist as great music from this year, including releases from Owen Thomas, Jason Aaron Coons, Pioneer, The Royal Royal, and the O.C. Supertones.

Thanks for following along, see you next year!!!

Happy Birthday! And stuff...

Well, I did it again - successfully went a full month between updates.  Apparently I've been doing things other than pottery. Mostly. When I do get into the studio, I'm much more apt to post a picture on Facebook or Twitter.

Because, also: you should go like my Facebook page. More pictures, more frequently, and sometimes other things that you might like. Generally things that I like. Music, other artists, thoughts and ponderings. Anyway. Check it out!

Speaking of, Facebook informs me I have 4 friends who were born on this day in history. That seems like a relatively high amount for one day. So that's, you know, worth noting. But more importantly, today is my father's birthday. And he was actually born IN history. When I was in high school we actually learned about stuff that happened AFTER he was born, so that's significant. I wonder how late they're teaching history these days anyway?* But that's really not important. What's important is that he was born, and then he lived for some years, and now here he is and he's my dad and has been (since before I was born, actually!) for some time now and that's pretty cool. So happy birthday, Paul (Dad) Langholz!

On to the important things. If I haven't been throwing oodles of noodles, where I have I been? Here's a guide...

After my show I thought it would be healthy to step back, take a little break, collect my thoughts... and then we had company for a few days and I got sick and things just sort of went from there.

Unpacked everything that came home from Iowa. Took inventory. Deciding what to throw next.

Took a look at things that DIDN'T go to Iowa. Thinking maybe I need to have a Facebook Inventory Reduction Clearance Sale.

Went off Apple Orcharding. Found a tractor. It was pretty neat.

Played some soccer with my dog. She's pretty fierce.

Played some guitar. Also doing some repair and maintenance work on them. Certain projects were a long time coming on those. Guitars generally sound better without post-factory holes. Just saying.

Played some board games. Sometimes the Robber takes an alternative form in our household. Also, cute Robbers are harder to get (as) upset about.

Played some... no, wait. This is just the sign out front of our church. It's been a hot one up here. Moving right along...

Took in some live music in the Sioux Falls area over Labor Day. Pictured is House of Heroes, headlining an amazing night at the festival. I saw them once in 2005 at a tiny little hole-in-the-wall club in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. They've come along way, and they were amazing. Check them out.**

So that just about brings us up to speed. I have a show coming up (8 weeks out) and I'm realizing I'm a bit understocked. But I'm also not willing to stress out about it because I've decided that I'd rather enjoy the process of getting there and feel a little picked over at the end of the weekend than maintain a fully stocked display for the duration of a show but spend the months prepping for it in constant agony over my volume. There's a happy medium in there somewhere (something like don't ever take a month off from throwing and maintain a steady base inventory) but oh well.

But I have been throwing the last couple weeks/days. I've spent a lot of time messing about with larger pieces, most of which end up scrapped because I'm a bit too picky maybe. And one very nice, large sectional piece that I accidentally left uncovered for an undisclosed amount of time before it had been trimmed to shape and thus it was fail and sadness.  But I'm getting back to the nitty-gritty functional throwing now to replenish what has been sold and distributed for selling.

Playing with mugs again. Ways to incorporate my "voice" a bit more than simply splashing about with glaze.

2-pounders. Conspicuously absent from my inventory these days. A good problem.

More of these guys. Right now sticking with the 2-pounder size. There are a couple larger ones already drying, and I'm sure I'll throw a hump of baby ones later this month.

Hard to tell, but that's a wide shallow bowl, not a platter. For a commission piece (I think).

Broad, broad bowl in this style.

All together, now - say, "Cheese!"

I've also been commissioned to create a set of Communion service wares for our congregation, so that's a fun little project I'll be embarking on in the near future.

And that would be everything I've really got time to share right now. If you're at all interested in commissioning something special (or reserving something of a specific style) for the holidays, now's the time to do it!  Drop me a line at lukelangholz (at) msn (dot) com or contact me via private message on Facebook or Twitter - though really, e-mail is currently still the best method of proper communication.  So it's back to the grind.

Thanks for stopping by, y'all. Have a great weekend!


*I'm totally chasing this thought, as distracting as it may be: at what point do they decide what to cut from history classes? Because with every passing year there's more history to teach. The last proper history class I took was American Heritage History my junior year of high school. As I recall, we spent close to a month on the Civil War, and then America post-Vietnam got approximately half of a class period's worth of attention the day before finals. And believe it or not, there's a whole extra decade of material to cover since then. Just curious at what point you decide, "Eh, it's time to throw out the carpetbaggers and reconstruction, and might as well toss the Era of Good Feelings too, no matter how memorable it is - gotta make room for at least ten minutes of classroom discussion on post-9/11 foreign policy and God forbid we actually shorten our coverage of the Civil War..."  Anyhow. Back to the regularly scheduled content.

** Other highlights from the weekend of live music included:

• Jenny & Tyler (an adorable husband'n'wife duo out of Nashville who make beautiful alt-folk together).
• Sosaveme (indie band out of Michigan who make beautiful "aggressive alternative" music together - I highly recommend their most recent release, "The Garden."
• Run Kid Run (nothing dramatically original or different going on in this pop-punk outfit, but one of the better non-headliners we saw).
• Five Iron Frenzy (ska-punk-all-out-frenzy of a show. If you don't know about Five Iron I'm not going to try and describe them now, but WOW. My favorite from them is their 1997 sophomore release, "Our Newest Album Ever.")

Art Sail and Beyond!

Well, I suppose I've been away long enough - two weeks past the Art Sail (my big summer event this year) and I'm ready to get back into the studio. Trying to plan the coming batches of work to be efficiently productive for fall sales and also with enough room for creative growth. I squeezed a little bit of experimental work into the last batch of pots for the Sail, and I'd like to go back and pursue those further. Looking forward to mixing some things up.

But first, a look back!

A great big thank you is in order for any and all who came out to the Art Sail at the end of July! It was a wonderful day for an art fair, with plenty of sunlight, moderate cloud cover and just enough breeze off the lake to keep things refreshing. The sun never stayed out long enough for things to get truly HOT, but it was never cloudy enough to scare anyone away.  Rain fell north and south of town, I heard, but we stayed dry all day long. Late that night, after the pots were long packed away and I was tucked into bed, the thunder finally rolled in and we fell asleep to the sound of the rain pelting the window panes.  Beautiful day.

Looking down Main Street USA the morning of the Art Sail.

Sales were steady and, as far as I'm concerned, very good for a one day event. Seeing as how Clear Lake is my hometown there were a lot of familiar faces - folks I haven't seen in many cases for close to ten years. But great fun catching up and sharing what I've been up to.

Booth Shot.

I didn't know quite what to expect for this show as it was my first year doing it, but the Clear Lake Art Sail attracts quite a crowd from all demographics - young, old, local, vacationers - all sorts. And getting to meet everyone is just such a treat.

Pedestals in action.

My favorite incident from the weekend came in the form of a man who approached me while I was standing out in the street in front of my booth doing some people-watching. After asking if that was my work, he began with "You know, I really don't like pottery," before continuing, "but man, I really like your stuff!" Even from out in the street, he said, the decoration stood out boldly amid the shapes and colors and really exuded the style of my work without getting busy or overpowering. We chatted for the better part of 15 minutes, going over my process and stylistic influence and he left with one of my sgraffito bowls with a Retro Blue-Green interior.

It's for the stories like these that I love the shows.

It's for a lot of the rest of the stuff that I wring my hands and fret and become a mess. I had a few "Ah, #$%&" moments while loading up the chariot for the commute to the show before finally squeezing everything in with barely enough room for my copilots.

That's what we looked like 2/3 of the way through packing. No rear view? No problem!

And then the first in-the-field trial of tent and pedestals and such brought their own challenges (shout-out to my father and brother, Paul and Noah Langholz, for some assistance in my set-up and tear-down!). But overall, I think I'm figuring things out pretty well. Maybe a couple more of these things on the schedule next summer? We'll just have to wait and see!

In addition to the sales the day of the show, I was grateful for the opportunity to fill a wholesale order for the owners of a couple local jewelry & gift stores in northern Iowa, and also took some time to restock the Clear Lake Arts Center with more of my work for the gift shop. All told, I was able to come home with half of my bins empty, which meant that I had a functional rear view for the drive home. Hot dog!

After we were done setting up she ditched me for a long run. Devoted, that.

And no show recap would be acceptable without mentioning that none of it would be possible without the unwavering support of my lovely wife, Krystal. Leading up to the show means sacrificing nights and weekends and free time and many, many fun times of the summer-y sort.  And to top it all off she's on-site the day of helping with set-up and tear-down and selling pots while I take potty breaks (<-"Potty" breaks? It's funny!). So she's awesome and y'all should be amazed.

"Oh, hey - thanks for stopping by!" Just your friendly neighborhood Potterman.

Edit: I realized shortly after I hit "Publish" that I'd forgotten something very important. I'd also like to give a great big thank you to everyone who helped make the Art Sail a great experience - it was a very well organized and pleasant event to be a part of. Big thank you to Jacky Garlock as well as Kim Larson and Amy Palmer at CLAC for all their hard work and for allowing me to be a part of North Iowa's premier art festival!

On the non-pottery front, we were very excited to be in-state for the arrival of the newest member of our family, nephew #2 (congrats to my big brother Sam and sister-in-law Kristin on their beautiful boy!). We couldn't have planned it better, and we were so happy to be near enough to meet him right away!

Krystal loves being an auntie!

I got back into the studio last week a little bit, and so will be back to a more regular schedule of throwing now I think. Tackling some larger mounds of clay, right now focusing more on practice and form than intent of finished project - meaning I'm not so attached to these pieces that I won't decide they need to be recycled at some point pre-firing, but here are a few things I've done.

Vase is 12" tall, for comparison. That's a rather large bowl. Not quite sure where it will be going - either stylistically or  otherwise.

Yesterday's pot. 25#. Not 100% pleased with the top, but there might be some room for adjustment yet. Decent amount of weight to trim out of the bottom, though not so bad as it could be.

In addition to the big pots, I need to re-stock some of the things that sold well this summer. It's always a little predictable, but there are some things that I do always need to have on hand. I also need to spend a little time this fall hanging out with mugs, trying to find common ground that doesn't harbor any hostilities. Explore creative expression with mug as a canvas. That sort of thing. And, always, a couple commission pieces to take care of and fulfill those obligations.

And I'd be remiss to sign off without recommending some music to y'all. This fortnight I've been rather taken with one J. Tillman's full catalog. He released a record this spring under the moniker Father John Misty, and he may be best recognized as Fleet Foxes' former drummer, but his full catalog is phenomenal. Simple, earthy and mostly acoustic (solo work) and all that + amazing rhythmic sensibilities (especially with the FJM project), he will probably comprise the better part of my "official" fall soundtrack this year. Phenomenal. Check it out for yourself. Like in the video below (or here for the e-mail subscribers).

Thanks for stopping by. Don't forget to check me out on Facebook!!!

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...