Throwing!

Some throwing actually occurred!  Nothing horribly exciting, but some things that needed to start happening for some special orders.  Despite having company in town for the long weekend, I was able to sneak away to my studio to get to work on some of these things. 

This will get a lid, and maybe a handle, as a special ordered item for a member of the local art group in town. 

Two plates.

Four more plates.  I have an order for a set of four, which means I'll probably be throwing 10-12 and selecting the for that match closest in size and shape.  I don't think I throw plates often enough, especially to make a matching set out of the gate.  But if I throw another 4 or 6 I should end up with two decent sets out of it.  We'll see what happens.

A better view of some drying pieces that are trimmed and decorated (compared to the post earlier in the weekend).

So there you have it.  Finally getting down to business, and hopening to have a brief respite from busyness for 10 days or so.  Maybe.  If I'm lucky.  So we'll see. 

That's it for this early post.  Have a great week!

Busyness.

Not the same as business, but life has been quite full lately. In the pottery arena, there's been a few things like this:

Please forgive the subpar phone image.  Some trimming and decorating.

More trimming, waiting and waiting and waiting for things to dry.

So that's where we're at. I have, I believe, more than enough pots to fill a bisque, but I have quite a few special orders that need to get pushed through quickly, so it's key to keep those dry pots around as filler for the project firing.  Of course, I do eventually need to start working on those projects... someday, maybe...

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Design, Dogs, Days

Well, I am still alive, though I've been a bit of a failure when it comes to the potting and the blogging and the pursuing of clay-filled days and nights.  Such is life.  But rest assured that I have not simply been twiddling my thumbs this fortnight.  Of primary occupation in regard to my temps libre has been that taking advantage of the nicer weather that begins to grace the upper midwest sometime between February and October.  We normally get a few good days in that window, and a fair share of them fell in the last week or so.  We (being Krystal & I) spent the better part of a weekend taking care of some outdoor projects - a church clean-up day, finally raking out the last portions of last fall's mess from our yard, planting our veggie garden, putting some perennials in the front of the house - hopefully they take!  We also had to make another trip back to Iowa for my brother's high school graduation (Congrats, Noah!).  Pictures to come, perhaps? 

On top of all that, I've been keeping busy with a fair share of graphic-design related freelance projects for Krystal and some other clients.  Here's a sample of something I recently did for Hunkpati Investments and The Harvest Initiative for their upcoming "buy local" campaign:

Not too fancy, but I think that sure looks pretty classy.

 If you're not familiar with what those two organizations are up to you should really check it out - neat stuff, lots of exciting news out of their camp lately.  Also, my wife is sort of the director of Hunkpati.  She's kind of a big deal.  Or something.  So that's been fun.  Little creative challenges that look in a different direction than the pots. 

Someone else has also been taking up a lot of my time:

A whole lotta this.

A fair share of this.

And if you're watching closely enough, there's even been some of this.

But there has been some potting over the last couple weeks - just no posting to prove it.  Here are my meager offerings of progress:

More test bowls.  Still trying to experiment with some combo glazes.  There are two less than pictured here (not counting the warpy one) because my studio assistant got a little peckish when I wasn't looking.

Little white plate.  Was supposed to be a bowl, but the bowl part got too heavy to support itself.  Oops.  So the bottom remained and voila le plate.

Big white plate.  This one is exactly what I set out for.  Nice chunky rim.

Bowl decorated tonight.  Pretty?

So there you go, and now I go off for sleepy times.  Bonsoir!

What I got.

Trying to do some throwing on Wednesday night - here's what I got. 

Blurgh.

Yes, that is a big (small) pile of failed pots.  So that's just about the way it went. 

In all reality, I produced a couple pieces, neither of which was in the range of what I was shooting for and definitely smaller than they should have been (dimension-wise) considering the amoung of clay that went into them.  So, frustrating.

A more real post later, maybe.  If I get less of this happening and more of crazy-awesome-productive-pottery going on.

I made some vases, listened to some tunes.

I found some time for pottery over my long weekend.  Nothing too intense, mostly just a couple hours Friday and Saturday mornings while I let Krystal sleep in.  Not a whole lot of throwing, but plenty of time and effort committed to trimming and decorating and such.  And then Krystal woke up and decided we needed to paint our kitchen/dining room, so there went the rest of my weekend.  Plus, of course, a joyous Easter with more ham than anyone could possibly know how to handle.  I got back down to the studio again Monday night for a little more decorating, and I'll be back into throwing mode later this week/weekend.

Speaking of this weekend, if you find yourself in the Pierre/Central South Dakota area (why wouldn't you?) come on down and check out the Short Grass Arts Council's 12th Annual Gallery Show held the Pierre Chamber of Commerce.  I will be entering five pieces, and it is (apparently) a great place to see work from local artists and area high school art students.  My first foray into the local art scene.  We'll see how that goes.  To my loyal readership in Iowa, Colorado, and Guam: I understand if you can't make it, but I'm pretty sure I would give you free pots if you did.  Because that would be tight. 

Back to the pots.  Had a little help in my early morning pottings, keeping my floors clean and my feet warm.  Tempy is figuring out her place in the studio just swimmingly.  Also, I think she may be suffering from pica given how much clay I didn't have to pick up after my trimming this weekend.  Here are some pictures of what I've been up to. 

Right at home under my wheel.  Sitting on my left foot is a good place for her.  Right foot would be more problematic.  She also likes to sleep under/behind the stool, but when I get up suddenly it's a little treacherous as the stool is apt to motate.

Big blue.  This guy got decorated Monday night.  There's a picture on my phone I may try to get up here, because, really, I know y'all are waiting with bated breath.

Big whitey on the wheel, still a little wet.  Needed some trimming to help out with that thyroid issue.

Trimmed up a little.  Actually, I think I took this one a little farther even.  Why don't I have a picture of that?

All decorated and such.

All the cool pots dry themselves upside down.

So there you have it.  Some pots.  I'm going to take a break from the vases for just a little bit, I think.  Need to get back to some bowls, and get cracking on some plates and platters and big flat things.  That's the hope anyway.  Also have a number of personal clay projects that need to be taken care of quickly, too.  But not much to say about that right this second.

That's it for the pots.  Some music thoughts below if you want 'em!

I've had some good tunes in the studio lately; I've been working through my iPod alphabetically, by album title, one-per-letter.  So I started with Mutemath's 2009 release, Armistice before moving on to The Civil Wars' 2011 debut, Barton Hollow, and so on and so forth, et cetera, ad infinitum, in cognito.  Mostly I felt the need to mix it up a little and thought this was a good way to do it in a systematic, though still allowing room for preference, way.  Here's where I've been so far (all links go to AmazonMP3, except for "D."

Armistice - Mutemath Excellent sophomore release. Electronic-influenced rock for fans of Muse, Radiohead.  This is a band made up of virtuosos, as far as I'm concerned, on all fronts: guitar, bass, drums, keyboards (keytar!).  For a real treat, pick up the live DVD from this tour. Favorites: Spotlight, Armistice, Clipping, Goodbye.

Barton Hollow - The Civil Wars Debut album from alt/indie/folk duo. Blowing up all over the place. Explosive and oh, so good.  Most of this record is one guitar and two voices.  And nothing is missing. Favorites: Barton Hollow, Poison & Wine, 20 Years.

The Chess Hotel - the Elms 2005 release. Gritty, raw, roots rock.  Some amazing guitar work here, and even more amazing lyricism.  Krystal's favorite song (ever?) is on here, and I'd say it's one of my favorite guitar records.  Favorites: Nothin' to do with Love, Black Peach, The Towers & The Trains, The Way I Will, I've Been Wrong.

Darling, Maybe Someday - Tyler Burkum Solo release from Christian rock group Audio Adrenaline's ax slinger. This is a phenomenal collection of songs from the heart. Country/folk with a really subdued production.  He's reminiscent of Jakob Dylan and the Wallflowers.  Favorites: Hurricane, California, Body Moving.

The Everglow - Mae This record put Mae on the map, especially with college radio and hipster, spiritual-not-religious types. Beautiful storytelling, lots of piano, very heavily produced. Rather enjoyable on the whole.  Favorites: Cover Me, Mistakes We Knew We Were Making, The Ocean.

Futures - Jimmy Eat World I mentioned this one last week. Great alt-punk record, good guitar work.  Moody music, good for late-night drives. Favorites: Futures, Work, Night Drive.

Ghosts - Sleeping at Last I've been a fan since I discovered this band on tour with Switchfoot in the fall of 2003. This is a beautifully nuanced record full of guitars that are drenched in reverb and some beautiful vocal work from singer/guitarist/pianist Ryan O'Neal (no known relation to the actor). As mood music go, I'd say it lands somewhere between Futures (above) and The Postal Service's Give Up.  Favorites: Currents, Skeleton of Something More, Trees (Hallway of Leaves).

Hello Hurricane - Switchfoot Tied for best album of 2009 in my book (tied with The Elms' The Great American Midrange).  Modern rock that's got spirit and soul.  I don't think I've gone more than two weeks without listening to this one since it came out.  Key tracks: The Sound, Yet, Hello Hurricane, Always.

Illuminate - David Crowder Band The broke the mold for modern worship music.  They have, at times, three guitars and a violinist.  Who also plays turntables.  They converted a GuitarHero controller into a viable midi-instrument.  Runs the gamut from experimental electronic rock to tender ballad.  Favorites: Open Skies, No One Like You, Deliver Me/Coming Toward, Stars.

Jars of Clay - Jars of Clay Eponymous debut from perennial favorites.  Classic.  This one took me for my run this morning.  The original acoustic post-grunge? Deep lyrics, rich harmonies, deft guitar interplay, lush strings.  He's not spotlighted, but Charlie Lowell's piano/organ/keys are really tight here.  Favorites: Liquid, Worlds Apart, Art in Me, Love Song for a Savior, Flood.