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...

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.).

The (Last) Week's Work

In addition to the glaze firing, I also did get to do some throwing/trimming/studio work in last week. All sorts of trimming and decorating. I'm reaching my self-imposed deadline for production of new work for my October show, so gotta really crank out a few more things this week before It's fire-fire-fire mode!

 

And lots of pots waiting to be glazed. Gotta get on that sooner rather than later.  In the meantime, Switchfoot's new album is streaming on ESPN.com right now (why ESPN? Because they have good taste, obviously). And it's pretty grand. So that's what I'll be doing from here until the record releases. And then I'll just be listening to my copy. Because it is really that good.

Back to the studio. Not a lot of time yet to do quite a bit of work still. In addition to work, household stuffs, and running for hours at a time every weekend. It's been a full fall here. Not sure why I thought that was a good idea.

But yes: back to the studio.

Heat Wave!

It's been hot around here, and I've been busy. Our heat index (think opposite-effect wind chill) has been well over 100 degrees for the last couple weeks, but it's finally starting to break. I think we've been steadily in the high 80's for the last couple days, so of course I thought that would make the best time to run a firing.

Well, that and some time sensitive pieces that have been sitting on my greenware shelf for just a little too long. So the bisque ran last night.  Could have fit another 3 or 4 vases in the top shelf, but I didn't have any more, so that was just too bad. But like I said: time sensitive. I set it up to preheat for 3 hours (holds temp at 180 to help get all the moisture out before hitting the boiling point for water) and then ran a slow cycle. Firing completed mid morning (not optimal - but I didn't get the kiln turned on early enough last night) in 14 hours and some change.  Sitting around 600 right now; might be able to unload before bed. Glazing this weekend, and another firing by Sunday night.  Then it will be new pots.

In the meantime I've been making pots. I just haven't been blogging them. And with purpose. I've been selected to show at the South Dakota First Lady's Art Showcase, which coincides with the Governor's Invitational (Pheasant) Hunt. Kind of a big deal in this state. That show will be October 21-22, and I need to make a lot more pots between now and then. So I need to get better about buckling down and cranking some work out. I'm very excited about this opportunity, and also a little freaked out about not whether or not I'll have enough quality work pulled together by the time the show rolls around. I basically sold everything worth selling before our move - everything that was left has slowly been whittled down as gifting away and such. And a lot of time since establishing my current studio has gone to test pieces and special orders. Which are essential (the former) and much appreciated (the latter), but haven't left me much time for building up general stock. So here's hoping that I won't be a complete dud at showtime. So that's what I've been up to.

Well, among other things. Krystal and I are in training for a fall Marathon (the weekend before the big art show - crazy?) which will be my first, and her third. So, that's taking a lot of time and energy and effort. The good news: if the pots aren't done by the weekend before the show, I've probably done something wrong anyway! And I don't have to travel, as the show will be in Pierre!

I also have taken some "good" shots of my last firing (good being relative - I've mentioned before that there's a reason I'm a potter and not a photographer) but haven't gotten them edited yet for online consumption. So here's a little teaser.

Trying to get more detail shots to compile a glaze chart for folks who want to order something. Easier to e-mail out a chart than e-mail a whole swarm of photos and try to connect which one we're talking about.

Sorry for my failings at being online: believe me, this time around it means good things for the artwork. Hopefully sooner than later, and have a great weekend!

New pots, throwing, and a helper in the studio.

So I got a picture of the hot hot kiln posted up here in the middle of the week as a teaser.  Cause I'm cruel like that.  But seriously, I did do a glaze firing this (last?) week.  

Bisque.

I had quite the pile of bisqued pots stacking up and I figured I'd done about as many test firings as I was going to effectively do with regard to all the mountain vases I'd been waiting on.  So I did it.

My glazing helper.

Our good friend John X. was hanging out with us this week (isn't it great to have friends in transitional periods of life?) so he helped me out with this mess.  Mostly keeping me preoccupied so I'd not dwell on how much I hate glazing.  I have no idea what that expression is that he's making, but he's a cool cat.  He also tried his hand at waxing a couple of pot-feet, which certainly was interesting.  I didn't do too well at that either.  So we loaded up and fired the kiln on Wednesday night.  Medium-speed ^6 firing, took 8h36 to fire to completion.  We unloaded Thursday night after dinner.

Is that really a kiln-load?

Another kiln with moderatley mixed results, kind of.  I stuck with what's been working - which is rather uniform across the board.  The brown slips on my mountain vases still aren't providing a whole lot of contrast under these glazes, but boy are those blues spectacular!  Definitely some good stuff in there, at least. 

 Yesterday (Saturday, for those keeping score at home) John decided he wanted to learn how to pot, so I gave a couple demonstrations and let him take a crack at it.

Sure looks like a natural.

He did pretty well, for day one, with no experience.  Let's just say that if he continued to grow as a potter at the rate he demonstrated during the two hours we spent in the studio, and threw every day, he'd probably surpass me within a week or so.  Sadly, I don't think that's quite how it works.  But he certainly did very well for a first time in the clay.  I threw him a couple of demonstration pieces - first a bowl, then a vase - working through the process, and then coached him through the steps. He took to it like a duck to peanut butter.  Which is to say that ducks, I would imagine, really enjoy eating peanut butter, but probably aren't meant to try swimming in it.  It's actually a pretty horrible simile, but I liked the sound of it when it first hit "the page."

My demonstration.

John's pots.  Not bad!

So that went pretty well.  John took off this afternoon and I went back into the studio with a fresh breath of inspiration and ambition.  And so I threw some big jars.

#3

#2 (left) and #1

I'm not sure whether these will get a sgraffito treatment or if I'll just leave them to be glazed for color.  I might mix it up, but these will probably get slipped up and carved to pieces.  I think I favor the B-clay for glaze-only pieces. 

Keeping me company in the studio this afternoon was a little new music, followed by something older.  My studio selections, in play order and, coincidentally (or not?) also alphabetical order!

King of Limbs, Radiohead - good studio background music.  The more I listen, the more I realize that this one starts out really promising and peters out after only five or six tracks.  Since there are only really eight tracks, I guess that's a pretty good percentage of the album that stays solid, but then, on the other hand, there are only eight tracks.  But overall it's really enjoyable.  Not sure that it really stacks up anywhere near the top of their canon, but worth listening to.

Love, Liberty, Disco, Newsboys - this is my favorite from CCM's golden boys from the Gold Coast. Mellow with nods to classic funk/soul/disco, I think it's one of the most interesting albums from them musically (the guitar work on this album is phenomenal - quick licks, bluesy leads, and soul the whole way - and the rhythm sec) and also mature lyrically.  Call it nostalgia, but I think this offering from 2001 is pretty near the peak of their output and is undeniably one of my "Desert Island Discs."

Much Afraid, Jars of Clay - their sophomore release, and possibly my favorite.  The album starts off a little unsteady as "Overjoyed" tries to find the tone for the record, but is solid from track 2 onward.  By the time you hit Track 5 "Frail" (beautiful guitarwork, haunting lyrics) it's onward and upward as the boys wrestle some heavy stuff.  Lead singer Dan Haseltine has recently started writing about where some of this music comes from - not in an attempt to say what the songs should mean, but what the music has meant and, specifically, trying to address the places and times in life that the lyrics came from, which is really fascinating for a fan like me.  One of the things that I (and Krystal, too) have most appreciated about Jars, and Haseltine as main lyricist especially, is that they are willing to write music that deals with life in the hard places in a genre/market ("Christian" music) that so often seems to shun music that doesn't deal in glossy answers.  Haseltine's lyrics come from places real and raw, and it's powerful to read, in his own words, the story of the songs and where they came out of his life and the life of his bandmates.  The result is music that is true in a way that has too often been in short supply.  All that to say, if your interested in post-grunge, alt-folk this is a very solid album, reglardless your religious orientaions.  If you're interested in reading more about the stories behind the songs, you can find them at http://www.danhaseltine.com/.  As of this posting, he's most recently unpacked "Portrait of an Apology" which is definitely a standout track on this album.  

All that to say, I threw some pots and listened to some music that I really really like.  And I hope you'll check it out because you might really like it too.  Happy Sunday, and please try not to let Monday get the best of you.

Lobster! Crab! Tomato Basil!

Yes, I'm talking about bisque.  Not the soup, but the pots.  They were fired just fine, and unloaded quite merrily.  No explosions or anything like that.  Also, I made it home safely from my 24 hour whirlwind tour of the tristate area.  Here are some pictures:

The bottom of the kiln.

The top of the kiln.  First to be unloaded, second to be uploaded.  There's something Biblical about that...

Experimental slips.  Red and green and yellow.  We'll see how they glaze!

Finally, as long as I was running around outside (in the garage is like outside, right?) with a camera I thought I'd show y'all how winter drags on up around here.  But we're hopeful!

See that?  Grass!  Unbelievable!

I guess we're still ten days away or so from the first day of spring, but we're very optimistic that the snow is on its way out.  Maybe.  But we wouldn't be surprised by another blizzard sometime next week. You just get used to these things after a while. 

That's it for now.  Glazing on the horizon.  More throwing, too, I hope.  Have a great weekend and don't forget to set your clocks ahead tonight (for those living in areas that observe Daylight Savings Time, that is).  

It's Been a Busy Week(s), Part I

Sorry to leave you with the massive cliffhanger (not Stallone's) with regard to my last firing.  But as I say so often, life happened.  I was especially non-ceramic last weekend, which was a three day weekend, on account of when you have a three day weekend it's important to spend it relaxing and lazing and reading and watching movies.  Especially when your wifey will be out of town for the following week, which means more pottery time then.  So we had a wonderful sort of lazy weekend.  Between, of course, backing our car into three-quarter-ton Silverado's, snowdrifts, and garage doors.  But that's another story for another time.  I will say that Krystal and I share blames in these incidents.  No, I will not share how they are divvied up.

In any case, the bisque firing (completed on Monday, January 10) came out just fine; everything was pink and quite bisquey.  Here's the top portion of said bisque load. 

Bisques!

While I didn't devote too much time to pottery last week/weekend I was able to sneak in a few hours here and there to take care of a few things.  Mostly trimming (bowls that I guess I threw Mon/Tues the 10/11?) and decorating some of my Arizonas.  The results of that work would be below.  Beyond "would," they are, in fact, completely below, and quite thrilled about it.  Enjoy!

One Arizona, trimmed, carved, and drying.

Two Arizona, trimmed, carved, and dried.  I really like the shape on this on, and the more prominent lip.

Some bowls, part of a special order.  Wanda: these bowls are for you!

Some spare bowls to go with the above order.  Because you never know what might happen between throwing and completion!

Serving bowl, also to go with the above order.

This one's a mystery bowl.  It's on my camera, but I don't seem to have this bowl anywhere in my studio.  Bizarre?

So that brings you up to speed on last week.  Stay tuned for Part II.