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.

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.

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...

Loaded this up yesterday (Saturday). That's a kiln stuffed to the gills with greenware, now bisqueware. Looks like I'll be doing some glazing this week to get these pots ready for a couple of my spring shows. 

First on the calendar, I'll be showing at the Pierre First United Methodist Church Spring Bazaar on Saturday, March 24. That's just a one day deal that won't require my full setup but should be good for local name recognition.

Next up after that is the Pierre/Ft. Pierre Zonta International Craft Show on April 14-15 at the Pierre Mall. Supposed to be a good turnout for these Zonta shows, so I'm looking forward to it. I may still have time to make a few more pots between now and then. 

So if you're a local reader, or you're interested in road-tripping to central South Dakota this spring, come visit me at those events! As usual, I'll keep you updated ad nauseum as to the preparations for the shows.

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.