Winter Blahs

THIS WINTER HAS BEEN YUCKY.  Maybe not everyone would agree with my statement, and that is OK.  You have the right to be wrong.  I've not been able to work on pottery much (nor have I been able to run or ride my bike regularly, but that's not a subject for this blog).  I've had yucky colds - TWICE now, and I don't usually get sick.  Between feeling crappy, the little bit of winter weather we've had, having a HUGE load at school this semester, and being distracted by family/wedding shopping trips that have needed to be taken, I've not spent much time in the studio.  When I don't go and work regularly, I lose focus.  When I do get there, I have no ideas.  If I try to throw, I'm out of practice and I can't center.  Blah, blah, blah, grump, grump!  

So, all that aside, I managed to do some good stuff this weekend.  I actually had a good throwing day on Friday, and there was much rejoicing.  (Yaaaay!)  I made the two yummy pots that were featured in my last blog post and threw the pieces for a covered casserole dish.  

That's a 4 pound bottom, three pounds for the lid (much of which will get trimmed away), and somewhere around 3/4 of a pound for the knob.  I did a really big knob this time hoping for something that looked really cool and was also functional - easy to grab even with oven mitts on and big enough to support that large lid.  My plan was to do some large handles for the sides of the pot to sort of balance out the over sized knob.  

Here it is all put together.  I'm not sure...the knob on top might be a little big, but I'm going to reserve judgement until after firing when it has shrunk down.  As it is right now, I'm imagining the need to remove all the extra racks from the oven if one needed to cook with the lid on.  So maybe the over sized handle on the top is not such a great idea, but it was so nice to feel productive again!  (Somebody please notice that I've learned how to put a watermark on my photos.)  

What's a "Yummy Pot?"

I don't know what a Yummy Pot is but I'm trying to make some.  This is another project begun as a favor to a friend.  

Above is one of the pictures that my friend Robyn sent so I'd know what she was talking about.  I didn't crop this one because it shows off not only the yummy pot in the foreground but also a dish made by my friend Vicki Halloran in the background.  I think this is just neat.  I'm also showing off Robyn's BEAUTIFUL counter tops and cabinets.  Seriously folks, take a moment to "ooh and aah."  (The guys at Martin Cabinets do wonderful work!  They also did my kitchen a few years ago, and I am very happy.)

I threw two things this weekend that I hope will someday reach yummy pot status.  Once they are fired, I hope the size will be about right.  I'll try to remember to update you on how it all goes.  I really enjoyed throwing them, so if I'm able to get the size correct and can get my hands on some recipes, this might become something that I do on a regular basis.  

Getting Ready for Treasures of the Earth

It seems that I was visited by the shelf fairy after all!  Thanks to my mom who found folding shelf units and to Amazon and free shipping, I am the proud owner of two new sets of shelves that sit nicely on top of my 6 foot table.  

I'd hoped that they would be wide enough to "fill up" the whole table, but they weren't.  We happened to have a small set of similar shelves in our basement, so I'm "borrowing" them.  I am pretending that I'm not bothered by the fact that they are a different color.  What I DO like is that the shelves in the middle  are on different levels than the others.  I think that looks more interesting.  We shall see if I still think that after I have pottery on them.  

My new lights are also shown in this picture.  You may pause now to "oooh" and "aaah" if you wish.  I seriously hope that the shelves and lights will give my set up a slightly more professional look.  Seriously, does this make you think: "Wow - cool stuff over there - I must go buy some of it"?  (Grammar Alert: I think there's something wrong about that last sentence with the quotation marks and the question mark, but I can't figure out how to make it right.  Please forgive me and continue reading.) 

If you are wondering what is going on here, I'm trying to figure out what pottery will go to the Arts Council this week.  Set up for the show is Tuesday, and I'll go over after my morning class to take care of that.  That means that I need to spend time this weekend getting everything picked out and packed up.  So of course, I'm updating my blog instead of doing what I am supposed to be doing.  

I'll share more pictures later.  For now, back to work.