Messy, Messy, Messy

This is a picture of the mess I made glazing a few pieces last Saturday.  The picture really doesn't do it justice.  It was much more unpleasant in person.

It has been a really busy week, so I've only been able to stop by the studio quickly on my way to work one morning.  Based on what I could see that came out of the last glaze fire, the mess is not over.  I don't know if the kiln malfunctioned in some way or if I just goofed up big time putting the glaze on.  That was the most horrible mess I've ever seen.

Is It REALLY August Already?

I'm not sure how it happened, but the summer is gone.  I've been back at work for three weeks, registration day is next week, and classes start a week after that.  I'm also not sure why I am surprised that the time has flown.  It always does.  What is different is that I used to get more time in the studio and would get to a number of projects at home in my time away from work.  No so this summer.

I've sort of been struggling with ideas and motivation lately.  I realize that this is due, at least in part, to the fact that I am spending a lot more time exercising that I used to.  Since I decided to register for two more triathlons and a half marathon over the next three months, training for those races is taking up more of my time and energy.  There's not as much "free" time to get to the studio and sometimes when I get there, I'm too tired to do anything.  Sad, but true.

All that being said, I have been working since last spring to build some inventory for the fall shows.  On days when I have no other ideas, I'll make a set of mugs.  I've also tried to stock up on the napkin holders that sold well last fall. I've got several, but could probably use some more.  Lately, I've been working on making chip and dip sets.  Those take a lot of time, so the going is slow.  This realization also is causing me to re-think how I price those pieces.

We are also all doing some experimenting with new glazes...or maybe I should say new combinations of old glazes.  The mug in the picture is an example.  I don't think the colors came through very well--the dark glaze is sort of red/brown.  What I like the most is where the glazes overlap.  This makes a very smooth surface look more interesting.  The trick will be to see if I can do this again.

So Pretty!

It's always so nice to see my pottery being used.  This bowl lives with our friends the Lloyds in Durham.

Spring Leaves

When these dry, the leaves will pull out or they will burn away in the bisque fire leaving an impression.  I plan to stain the leaf impressions with red iron oxide stain and then glaze the rest of the piece.  If I can pull it off, they will look really cool when they are done.  These are red bud and confederate rose leaves from my yard.  

Stacking Bowls

Here is the set of bowls that I made earlier this winter.  Finally glazed and finished.  I am very pleased with how these turned out!  And they stack!  

These took so long to get finished partly because there was a lot of stuff that needed to be fired.  But then, when the last of them made it into the kiln, another pot exploded and bits of it ended up inside one of the middle bowls.  I had to grind out the offensive bits, re-glaze and then re-fire.  

Lidded Casserole

In this picture, it is finished.

The picture isn't so great, and to be honest, I don't love it as much as I'd hoped to. The lighting isn't great--it's green and blue.  

First Time for Everything

The two pieces in the front of the picture at the right are the parts of a lidded casserole.  This is my first attempt at one of these.  (Ok, confession time: I did make one a long time ago, but it was not a good experience, so I pretend that it didn't happen.)  The low flat bowl shaped thing on the left is the lid and the slightly deeper bowl shaped thing on the right is the bottom of the casserole.

Now a smart person would have checked to see if the lid fit BEFORE removing it from the bat.  That way, if it is too large, it can be trimmed easily while it is still centered.  I'll do that next time.  (Sometimes the first time to do something new is a valuable lesson in what NOT to do.)  Sure enough, the lid was too big and I had to wait until it was dry and then sand the heck out of it to make it fit.  I was significantly too big, so I sanded and sanded and sanded and sanded.  Then I'd check the fit and do it again.  Not fun, but eventually effective.

I realize now that it would have been nice to also have a picture with the lid on.  Oh well.

We shall see what happens in the following steps of firing, glazing, and firing.