Happy Valen-Birth-Presi-National Pancake Day!

Because those are the holidays I have celebrated since I last posted.


(If you want more frequent updates I could just be a better blogger, or you can go LIKE my pottery page on Facebook to get the regular updates when they're actually, you know, updated. If you'd like to opt for me to just be a better blogger, why don't you leave a note so I now you exist, eh?)

Anyway, since it's the last week of the month I did think it was an appropriate time to share what I've been up to in the studio. Mostly in pictures. Because I don't words right now.

In no particular order, here's what I've been up to in and out of (but mostly in) my studio:

A quartet of communion chalices has been ordered. A quartet of communion chalices has been made. Quite satisfied with the shape and proportions of this set, all around.

The disembodied hand! Well, okay, that's mine. I guess I was trying to capture the "Here's what I'm up to right this second!" look for Twitter. You tweet? Follow me here!

These are my buds. My bud vases. Playing with textures, working through some bags of nasty clay. We had our ducts cleaned out in November and some amount of refuse and debris blew out of the furnace and into some of my recycling clay. I'll be picking those bits and pieces out forever.

Celebrated Krystal's birthday a couple weeks ago! We are now in the three months of the year that I really rub it in how much older she is than me. Which is three months. But for these three months it's almost like she's a whole year older than me. And that's a number I'm not at liberty to divulge right now. But we had a lovely celebration with friends and cake made my yours truly and hot tea. And then more cake. And then more tea.

Starting to look like it may be time to load the kiln. That's close to half a load on that shelf alone.

Here's a special order undertaken this winter: a single serving pour-over coffee maker. Hopefully it functions, but right now I'm proud of this handle.

More stuff waiting for the kiln. That's starting to look like a full load.  There are those chalices again!

A stein. Special order. Want one? Shoot me an e-mail, leave a comment, or get working on your smoke signals!

Weekends not spent in the studio have looked more or less like this. Which is pretty great when it's snowing outside. Or cold. Or just gray, regardless of temperature. Either way, there have been more than a few hours when I could have been potting and instead I was sitting and reading and sipping hot tea and eating crumpets, etc.

A few small pieces of throwing productivity. The two on the right are to go with Teapot #2 (below).

Teapot #1. That was not the final lid. Genie not included.

Teapot #2. The cups to match are above. Starting to get more comfortable with my handles. Still don't like them - like a wrench in the gears of my productivity, but necessary evil.

Teapot #3. Full set. For the record, these are being made for fun and are as of yet unspoken for. So if you're in the market for a new teapot, just let me know.

Puppy also has spent plenty of time in the window, keeping the couch warm. It's a hard job, but somebody has to do it.

And a "finished" piece ready for the kiln. Yup.

That's the story. Taking it easy, making pots for fun. I have a pretty full inventory of "basics" to get me through any shows this spring, so this winter has been about fun things and one-off special orders.  I don't suppose I have much else to report on.

Of course, always listening to lots of music. There's new music on the horizon from the likes of Phoenix, Atoms for Peace (Thom Yorke, Flea, et al), and The Strokes, but I can't say that I'm crazed with anticipation for any of those. Phoenix should be great, but AfP just reminds me I really ought to listen to more Radiohead and as much as I thought 2011's Angles was solid, if not anticlimactic, if I really want to feel like it's 2001 again I'll probably be listening to Is This It.  Speaking of nostalgia, I have been listening heavily to the records that I associate with my high school days: a lot of "Christian" alternative and Top 40/mainstream rock circa '99-'02 has been providing some variety in the studio and early morning workouts.  Turn of the century records from the likes of Audio Adrenaline, Skillet, Jack Johnson, Ben Harper, Santana, Lenny Kravitz... you know, the usual suspects.

Thrown in the mix and worth mentioning this month are the debut LP from Leagues (You Belong Here), records from The Heavy (bluesy, danceable rock), Local Natives (alt-folk; think less ethereal Fleet Foxes), and Gary Clark, Jr. (Again with the blues rock. Check him out!).

Until next month, unless I get a bee in my bonnet to provide a quicker update this time around, although still not likely to happen before next month, so that statement stands.  Thanks for stopping by. Keep making things. Always love to hear from you. Tell me, what are you listening to these days? What's keeping you occupied through the winter? Or are you still in hibernation mode?

Take care.

Pots of Life

I've been absent. But present. Busy, and not so productive. Lots going on, and not much to share.

Had a wonderful visit by Krystal's mother last weekend which kept me more or less out of my studio. But not completely. Here's an illustrated guide to the past 10 days of my life. Hopefully it's interesting. 

(Spoiler alert: I unloaded a glaze kiln yesterday, so those pictures are at the bottom of this post.)

Took some time off last Friday to take the Mom-in-Law down to the Rez and visit Krystal's office. Got to see some of my own (design) handiwork on display in their offices.

Krystal's (above) nonprofit is doing some really cool things in the community. You can read all about Hunkpati Investments here.

Took some great cloud pictures. Like these.

Had to spend a day driving to the airport. Here's "what's up" at the rest areas in South Dakota.

Krystal took "rest area" a little bit too far.

I enjoyed the fresh air and scenic vistas.

Loaded a bisque firing.

Tempy helped me glaze. She's very helpful.

Took her for a walk as a reward. We found a bunny.

Glazed some more.

Loaded up the kiln.

Watched it get warmer.

Unloaded. Thrilled about the blues. The Rust Red has been giving me a lot of trouble lately, though. Grr.

And threw some more bowls.

So that's been my week. Krystal's been out on the eastern seaboard and I get her home again tonight. Might be able to squeeze in a little more throwing before her plane gets in if I try really hard.

That's it for now, I suppose.

For the record, studio listening lately has included: the latest from Beach House, Bloom; new music from Alabama Shakes, Delta Spirit, and M. Ward; and I dusted off ye olde Les Mis this week after catching this at the theatre last weekend.

Take care, y'all.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE smartphone

Opened the bisque firing Sunday night. One cracked plate, but otherwise all clear! I just love the vibrancy of those blues, even after just the bisque firing!

"Top Shelf" pottery. At least, the "top shelf" of the kiln. 

Got just about everything into this firing - a couple larger pieces that just didn't fit. And then, Monday night I found another little vase hiding in my studio - totally would have fit in the middle of that shelf above. Oh well. 

Jungle-pup wants to help me glaze. Or she's stalking me.

Krystal's away on business for a couple days so it's just me and the pup. She tolerates my extended glazing sessions slightly better than Krystal, but still gets a little bored of it after a while. At least I'm glad we're out of the stage where she was constantly trying to go swimming in my glaze buckets.

The work. Mind the box in upper right filled to the brim with 40+ small bowls. Also, the 30 mugs still in the kiln.

I made a fair amount of headway on the glazing front last night. All the mugs, mountain vases, smaller vases, and small bowls made it into the glaze firing, plus some other pieces. I think I still have a full firing worth of bowls left to glaze. 

Also trying something new with this glaze firing, hopefully I'll have something exciting to share when I crack the kiln (Tonight? Tomorrow? Probably tomorrow.).

Things I've Been Doing

So, what have I been up to, you ask? Here's a sampling of the things that have happened in the last week or so.

Shoveled my way out of a minor blizzard. Predawn shoveling is my favorite workout!

And then hanging out in the springy sunshine with the dog. It's just the Midwest, yo - that's how we roll!

Of course with weather like that, sometimes it's best to just stay in your basement and make pots.  So I've tried to do some of that lately. Some days are better than others. But that's the way it is.

Itty-bitty bowls! I'm thinking these will be known as "adora-bowls." Say it out loud if you don't get it.

Some more regularly sized bowls.

And more bowls.

And back into the groove with some mountain bowls.

So that's what's going on. I actually have a couple of events coming up this spring, so one of these days I need to start thinking about doing some firings. More information about those shows can be found over at my recently updated About the Artist page.

So there you have it. Oh, music? This week in the studio I've been listening to NPR Music's (mostly) downloadable suggested listening mix from SXSW 2012. It's nothing if not eclectic (folk, metal, hip-hop, alternative, latin, rock - and that's just in the first track! j/k) and chock full of artists I've never heard before. While lists like this (70 songs deep, eclectic) come with plenty of songs that I listen to once and decide that's enough, there are certainly some gems in the mix as well. So check that out if you like, and let me know if you find anything good in there!

Here Hast I Beenst

Sometimes I like to imagine that there's a whole throng of folks out there that read this blog with regularity becoming a Swiss watch.

That aren't my mother. (Hi, mom!)

And in this imaginary world, all of you have been desperately wondering just where I went for all of November, as I seem to have missed an entire month of posting opportunities.

But really: "Hi, mom!"

The way it hangs there (above, see: "where I went for all of November) it almost looks as if I went on some great expedition. But mostly I didn't do a whole lot, and I'm so sorry for being absent. I've been in and out of my studio, and a little travel here and there, and back into the studio...

But generally, I feel as if I used up about 2 years' worth of discipline, motivation, and drive in the preceding three months. And while it was wonderful, and all things went great, that was just an awful lot of exertion in a short amount of time and so, intentionally or not, I took a little break. And since I don't depend on the selling of pots for the buying of food, I can afford to do so. For this I am thankful.

But I've kept myself sort of busy. Some pots, some travel, some pictures? Here:

Mugs! Yes, real mugs! And bowls. These have been drying since the first week of November. Waiting for some friends to justify a bisque firing. I'm getting there.

Spent some time in Phoenix to eat some turkey. My mother-in-law's bobcat has a thing for fine footwear of the smelly, leather variety. Seriously, look at that sublime state of bliss.

Drove up into the mountains and met a week-old zebra. Cutie-for-surie. (we call that a "Slant Rhyme.")

Got up close and personal with a giraffe. Krystal got to feed him. He was wrinkly, but friendly.

May I also say, the pinnacle of this experience was the "Predator Feed" which was essentially a parade led by a beat-up pick-up pulling a trailer full of seven hundred pounds of raw meat which was shotgunned over the fences by park staff (shotgunned in the football sense, for anyone following along at home). First of all, if you've never watched another human being chuck a 12 pound turkey in the air (and I mean, intentionally chuck - because I'm aware that Thanksgiving brings about all sorts of mishaps) - if you have never observed as someone shot-putted a 14-pound roast in the air, you are missing out. Because it's amazing. All on its own. Standalone entertainment in a heartbeat. Worth it.

Now, on the receiving end of that roast is a 6 year old, male lion - and he catches the roast in his mouth and runs off with it, shaking it dead while roasty-juice flies everywhere; on the receiving end of that flying turkey is a regular old Hobbes who up and poaches that turkey out of mid-air with a disconcerting crunch of fowl - THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT.

 That said, aside from the carnivore's buffet, it was one of the strangest places I've ever been. And I've been sucked into some odd little tourist joints. But it seemed that most of the critters in the park were rescued private pets who would have otherwise been put down. Resident White Rhino Boom-Boom, for example, was originally booked as the main event at a canned hunt in Texas before being redeemed by Mark Ecko, "founder of the world famous rhino-branded apparel line, *ecko unltd., and a staunch supporter of rhino relief."  Boom-Boom is now on permanent loan to Out of Africa. So, apparently good for the animals. Right.

Got Christmasy up in here.

Home-made ornaments, even. Maybe I should be marketing these things?

My lovely ladies. Tempy was helping to set up the tree.

Finally getting around to more pots this week. So there's always that.

So that's what I've been doing. Pots. A little. Running. Catching up on my reading. Shoveling snow. Scraping windshields. Running the furnace. Making soups and chilis and such things. Also, plenty of music-listening. Today I've been getting into the brand new release from the Black Keys. It's pretty dope. <--Hip=Me. Thinking that maybe this is the year that I'll actually post a "Luke's Favorite Music/Top Albums of the Year According to Luke with some input from Tempy" post.

So there it is. Nothing too exciting, but it's what I've been up to. Finishing some Christmas orders. Still lots of pots in stock around here if you're looking for any specific gift needs.

Stay warm, and keep potting (if applicable).

Bye, Mom!

To the Northwoods and Back Again

I'm pleased to announce that in spite of spending 22 hours on the road this past weekend I have continued my streak of productivity. Friday saw us headed North by Northeast to Duluth, Minnesota, for the wedding of my dear friend, fellow artist, and sometime-brother, Alexander. It was a wonderful wedding, with much merriment and mirth and dancing and such. And you should click on his name there to check out his work. One of those folks that just oozes creativity. Kind of makes you sick, actually. But seriously, he does some phenomenal things in digital/illustration/mixed-media/printing/typography that are worth checking out.

So we spent some time driving through the Northland and accompanying Northwoods. Beautiful country, beautiful time of year to be there (as opposed to, say, January). If only we'd had time to stop and hunt for wild blueberries, it'd've been perfect. 

The woods. There are roughly 10,000 lakes somewhere in that picture. I think. Stunning view.

In the Northwoods, you can even look stunning while chatting it up with your mother-in-law. Well done, Krystal.

In an attempt to avoid the myriad stretches of construction on the interstate between there and here (and for a change in scenery on this drive we've been doing oh-so-often) we pulled off and took the back highways for the last couple hours home. It included Krystal's first visit to the world's only Corn Palace. I've been before, but Krystal needed to experience it. I think it also fits into the "stunning" category. And to think, after all these years, nobody else has even attempted to take the "world's only" qualifier away from the Mitchell Corn Palace. I mean, really?

I'd like to know just what it is we're voting "yes" to in the mosaic up there.

For those not in the know, yes, that building is covered in corn. Ears and shucks and tassels and all of it corn. I hear tell that the exterior mural is redone every year, which is why it isn't all rotted out. And of course everyone there was thrilled to meet Tempy. Because she's perfect.

But yes, this is supposed to be about pottery, right? So, despite all that driving I still got to do some throwing and other sundry pottery projects this weekend, last week, this week thus far. I'm working hard to stay productive and harness all that road-weary pent-up anxiety into something positive.

I made more slip. And put it in a nice big jug. And put a pretty blue label on it. Yeah!

Threw these big bowls Sunday night after 7 hours on the road. That's what makes me a go-getter, I guess.

These bowls are all dried. Not a particularly "active" process on my part, but it's shows what I  produced last week, I suppose. I'd like to note that I spent a few seconds trying to turn "productivity" into a verb before I settled on produced. It's been one of those days.

My little corner. It looks like a potter lives here. Also, this vantage point shows you exactly how tall I am. Bam!

And that doesn't even show the trimming of large bowls or throwing of additional large pots or recycling of 25 pounds of clay that have occurred. Take that! I had a picture of this little vase from a different angle, but I thought the overhead shot of my workspace had a better feel. Artists call this "view point" or "perspective" and it tells you something about the "agency" of subject and auteur, but unless you're really into art you really wouldn't know anything about that. No big deal.

All that to say that I've been staying busy and will continue to stay busy as long as allowed. Which might not be long. I'm getting tired of busy, to say the least.

So keep up the good work, and I'll see you here again soon-ish.