October Is Here...And Almost Gone

I knew that things were going to get really busy about mid-October.  Sure enough, I haven't had time to update this blog or make any pots in a couple of weeks.  

The last time I was in the studio, I took my assistant, Lady.  I thought she might like to spend some time hanging out with me and hoped that she'd just relax there next to me. 

Like this.  Doesn't that look all cozy and nice?   

"I love going places with my mom!  She is the best.  I could hang out all day here with her." 

That didn't happen.  Instead of a relaxed doggy, I got constant whining and pitifulness.  

"Let me see how far I can go on this leash..."

Eventually, she settled down and then I realized that she was hiding under the table.  

Poor Lady!  

All this while I was working on getting these pieces glazed.  

There It Is...

I think I hit the wall this week.  I've been pushing hard for the last couple months, and I think that I reached the point of exhaustion where I just had to stop.  I worked a little bit last night and planned to do some serious work today to get myself back on track production-wise.  I went to the studio and just couldn't make myself work.

I'm trying hard to give myself a break about that. The rational side of my brain is telling me that a nap this afternoon was much better for me than forcing myself to try to make things when I didn't feel good.  (I've had that achy-you-are-too-tired-to-exist feeling all day.)

I hope that I'm able to get myself moving tomorrow.  This is the last weekend that I have for a good long while that I'll be able to do any pottery.  I really NEED to be able get some work done.

Last Week

ON MONDAY: Someone had already unloaded the kiln when I stopped by on Monday afternoon.  Here are some of the pieces of mine that were in there.  

Correction: That's everything that I brought home.  8 mugs, 3 baking dishes, 1 platter, 3 big bowls, 1 napkin holder, 1 jar with a lid, 1 canister set, and 4 business card holders.  But who's counting, right?  OK.  I'm counting.  I admit it.  I look at this haul and think, "Wow.  That's a lot of work."  Then I get home and I look at the shelves where I store everything and think about how close the Carolina Pottery Festival and holiday shopping season are getting and I think, "What if I run out of things to sell?"  

ON THURSDAY: The Shelby High School homecoming parade was a 4:15 followed by the Uptown Art Walk from 5:30 to 8:30.  I hurried over after work to get my stuff out of the car and set up inside for the art walk before the parade started.  I teach a class of seniors at Shelby High this semester and several of my students were involved in the parade either playing in the band or driving and riding in the parade.  I stood on my corner (That doesn't sound right, does it?) and waved at everybody.  Then I dashed out to get some supper so I didn't pass out from hunger before the end of the night.  

The Art Walk went well I think.  From all reports, there was a pretty good crowd and there were interesting things going on for folks to see.  We had a fair number of visitors at the studio and I had a good time demonstrating for them.  

I stole this picture off the Uptown Shelby Facebook page.  Yours truly sitting at the wheel, Jeff in the blue shirt, Gail Richard showing me a picture on her iPad, and her husband Jamie watching.  Gail is another one of Allen's pottery students.  I am really enjoying getting to know her.  It was almost 9 pm on Thursday night before I was headed home.  A VERY long day for me.  

I was back in the studio on FRIDAY AND SATURDAY.  Friday was mostly finishing up some of the pieces that I started the night before.  I also got started on a couple of pigs.  A few years ago, I made some piggy banks.  Then I had trouble with finding the right size corks for the snouts and ended up with 6 or 8 pigs that have no noses.  Discouraged, I quit making pigs.  

It hit me the other day that perhaps I'd have more luck if I made some pigs to go with the corks that I already have.  So, I'm giving it another whirl.  

Here I've got the pig standing on his nose to have his butt trimmed.  We want a nice, round pig butt if possible.  

Ears, eyes, and tail ready to be attached...There are also some legs somewhere, but the legs aren't funny to look at, so I didn't take a picture.  

This pig is actually still missing his tail because I almost forgot to put it on.  We'll see if the nose fits when I'm all done.  

I loaded another glaze fire today.  Notice that I closed the peeps this time.  Fingers crossed for good results.  I've got a lot of stuff in there.  

Today, I finished the glazing that I'd been working since Thursday evening.  Yes, I did work on it for 3 days.  I had a lot to glaze.  Somebody has made a lot of pots recently.  Let me think...there were 3 baking dishes, two platters, a canister set (3 pieces with lids), 9 mugs, 4 business card holders, and another jar with a lid.  (This is a lot for a part time potter.)  I almost never just use one color, so it takes a while.  

Then I loaded the kiln.  It takes me a long time to load the kiln.  (Anyone sensing a trend here?  I work slowly!)  Imagine a puzzle.  You know that all the pieces are probably not going to fit, but you want to cram in as many as you can.  Oh yeah, the puzzle is 3 dimensional, so not only are you making pieces fit side to side on the shelves, but also figuring out how to put everything on the shelves so that they stack as efficiently as possible.  Nothing can touch; don't put things too close together or too close to the walls; think about airflow.  That's what loading the kiln is like for me.  I always feel a little bit proud when I shut the lid and turn it on.  

I also threw some flower pots.  (See photo below.)  My friend Kim asked me a while ago about making some pots for a new shelf they had just put up in their kitchen window.  I hope I manage to make something that she likes.  I kind of like them so far...