Tuesday, March 23, 2010

2010 Off to a Great Start


This Saturday was my first show of 2010. It was nice to get back out there. I was running low, because I was cleared out at Christmas, but I still managed to triple what I made last year. I was very pleased to see the traffic going up. Perhaps that is a sign of a returning economy?

Now, I am back to the studio to generate more pieces. I was pretty well wiped out Saturday. I went with 4 crates, normally I have 5 plus an extra filled, just in case. I came home with 1.5 crates. So things were definitely moving.

Spring has finally come. My bulbs are up and blooming. I always forget from year to year where I have planted bulbs over the past 20 years on this property. It is fun to see things popping up all over.

Well, I had a lot of fun yesterday playing around with two completely different techniques. I was doing some coil work, which I never really do, and really got into it. It was a fun little project and I made a tall oval vase. We will see if it survives firing, and glazing, if it does I will post a picture.

Next I revisited using raw trim pieces. I did this when I first began doing pottery. My first pieces had raw claw embelishments, so it will be interesting to see if I have improved at all. I will post those as well, if they survive.

Well, my next show is April 24th, then my big 2 day show over Memorial Day weekend. So, time is going by, and I need to stock up!

Back to the mud.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Getting into Gear...


Well, this winter has been a hard one. The weather coupled with some family "stuff" have really put me behind as I try to get ready for my Spring show schedule. My first show is on March 20th, and I am a little low on inventory. I have a couple weeks, but as all you potters out there know, a couple weeks is NOT a lot of time in pottery language.

I made good use of my time during the snow. I printed out lots of photos of pieces that I liked, and have made a formal "glaze book". Listing glaze combinations with corresponding photos of pieces. It is a really helpful exercise, but it was time consuming. Now I will just add to it as I go.

The dish I am showing in this blog was a glaze redo, and it came out, right on the money! It is very satisfying to discover combinations and then be able to recreate them again!

So, I guess my efforts are beginning to pay off.

This weekend it is supposed to get into the 50's here, so I am thinking "wheel time". Remember, I have no running water in my studio, so I have to rely on a hose. Having a reasonable temperature sure goes a long way toward comfort when using the wheel.

Overall, I am hopeful as my bulbs begin to peek up through the ground. It is comforting to know that regardless of weather or other obstacles in life, earth continues to turn and life renews itself once again.