restored

My home is restored to its normal state, or mostly so, after the weekend sale.  We remove the furniture (and some of the books lining the walls, not not all anymore- that got just plain crazy) from the living room/library, bring in shelves, and fill it with pottery.  The furniture is back in place, the shelves are stored, and the pottery is waiting to be packed up, delivered to local shops, listed online,  etc.
I am pleased with my sale attendance- I didn't expect high turnout in July because it's hot and sticky, but I am really tickled by the number of people who came out.  Even more tickled by the new people I met!
Some funny events: the thermostat batteries died.  I felt like it was getting hotter and hotter- indeed, the thermostat read 83 degrees.  Even warmer because there were 20+ people in my living room.   At the same time, 4 children under the age of 10 decided to play boy-on-girl mortal combat in the back yard and, yes, in the house, complete with screaming, crying, stick-throwing.  I am ever grateful to my neighbor friends for corralling our collective children and leading them out of the house.  All in a day's work!
The surprise hit of the evening was the blueberry lemonade I made for the sale - it was so simple.  I made lemonade in a large beverage dispenser and used frozen blueberries (which I'd picked intending to make jam, but running out of steam, stashed in the freezer) instead of ice.  It turned a lovely pink color delicately flavored with blueberries.  I also made sangria with white wine (a box of Big House White was perfect for this), peaches, lemon verbena, some lemon/ginger infused vodka, and seltzer.  Both were Yummy.  We're still enjoying the last of the beverages, as well as the tuberose I bought for the taller vases.
I'm taking this week off for some quiet time and rejuvenation.  I hope you have a good week!

a preview

I just pulled this little bitty pot (it's about 1.5" tall, mouth about as big as a quarter) out of the little kiln.  I made it to test using the honeycomb foundation pieces on thrown work.  I can barely even stand it I love it so much.

I'm in the middle of loading the big kiln with the last glaze load.  Mercy, it is HOT outside.  I'll wait until sunset to begin firing. 

How's your week treating you?  I feel like it is Thursday rather than Wednesday.  But my heavy work is almost finished, and I'll be glad to spend time organizing, setting up, and pricing tomorrow and Friday.

sale week!

You've seen this image before.  I'm not sure if I got lazy or if I just really like it,  but it's the postcard.  Those are going out today.  I also sent an email version.  If you're local and would like a print or email postcard, send me an email and I'll get one out to you.

Last night I fired my last bisque load.  Today I'm doing a small touch-up glaze firing, then I'll be glazing all day tomorrow, firing tomorrow night, and unloading it on Thursday.  Lots of setting up and spiffing up to do around here to get ready to open the doors for y'all.

I might be back later this week with some sneak peeks.  Like this one.  Have a nice week!  Stay cool- it's scorching hot here in Memphis!

details

Good morning!
Today is my glazing day.  The first of two before next weekend's sale.  so of course it is overcast and looking like rain.  Inevitably if I set aside a day for glazing it rains.  Such is life.  I am grateful to have glazing help today, and grateful to have had help yesterday in cranking out the last few platters I wanted to make.
I am tweeting.  Sometimes I feel like I have something to say or share, pottery-wise, but not enough for an entire post.  We'll see how it goes.

Yesterday I picked up my sale postcards.  I'm mailing some, emailing some, facebook-inviting some.  I always feel awkward inviting friends- Hey!  Come buy my stuff!  Love you!  Ok!  Bye!- But what do you do?  So while I'm not glazing I'll be addressing postcards.

This cake plate is off to California.  I hope to have another like it for next weekend.  I have a base and am waiting for the plate to dry.

Oh!  Today I am glazing the first of the honeycomb foundation pieces.  Can't wait to see how the glaze pools up in the impressions.

There is much to do.  See you back in this space next week. 

friday

Happy weekend!

Today is my wedding anniversary.  11 years.  I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

Today I also had the nicest chat with my mentor. It was good to touch base and talk pots and life. Whatever path you take, it is so so helpful to have a mentor. Someone who has experience in your field, and in life, to help guide you. I feel very lucky that mine was kind and answered  my questions about beginning a pottery business and moving it online. I think it takes a special kind of person to be a mentor, and I hope that someday I can be a good one.


I drew on some mugs, like the bee mug in the previous post, this morning, and on some platters that my friend Natalie helped me impress with honeycomb foundation. I got the foundation (plastic pieces with raised honeycomb pattern to help guide the bees in langstroth hives) in making their combs from my friends Rita and Richard Underhill at Peace Bee Farm.  Last night they were on ABC news!  You can watch the segment here (although the video doesn't seem to be up yet, you can read the transcript.  I'm really excited for them.  They are good stewards of their bees and I have (and will continue to, as I prepare to begin my own urban bee journey) learned so much from them.

But about the pots! I'm really excited about using the foundation to create texture. I can't wait to see what the pieces look like once they're glazed. I've been throwing and glazing and making pots like crazy for my sale on the 15th and 16th. This next week will be my last week to throw before the sale, and I'll continue glazing and firing through Weds the 13th. Nothing like working until the last minute, hmm?

This week my camera died.  I was very sad.  Its replacement, a Nikon d80 (a step down from the d90 or other upper numbers, because I don't want or need video- heck, I'd really rather use film, still, most of the time), should arrive today.  I'm excited to have my camera back in hand.  I knew I relied on it, but I didn't realize how bereft I'd feel without it.  And I'm so glad to have lots of work to do to pay for it.  I wasn't really planning on this purchase. . .

Monday we're partaking in my own family's 4th of July tradition.  My mother and I (and my son, plus anyone else we can wrangle) get up as early as possible, drive to a tiny farm in MS, and pick blueberries.  I ran out of blueberry butter back in February and I only have one jar of blueberry-raspberry jam left.  I'm not big on using the berries in muffins or pancakes, but I usually dry a gallon to add to our family granola. The berries came early this year- I hope to pick 3 gallons.

Ok.  Enough rambling.  Happy 4th, everyone. Be safe this long weekend.

moving forward

Good morning!  Yesterday I dropped off a small batch of these cups and had a really interesting talk with Diane of Diane's Art Gift and Home in Midtown Memphis.  She is such a creative, generous person- I'm grateful to have her retailing my work- for that matter, I'm grateful to have good working relationships with all of my retailers- they encourage me to look beyond what I'm currently making and into what's possible.  Sometimes it's a bit of a stretch, but stretching is good.  We're working on some things with a little more whimsy- more birds, more color.  We'll see what comes of it!  She was excited about these little cups- as am I.  I'm just crazy about drawing these bees. 

I was browsing around early this morning and came across this blog.  I was looking for something having to do with refinishing a built-in-butler's pantry, but this honeycomb platter caught my eye.  She uses self-hardening clay for this project, but I am definitely going to adapt her use of a plastic bee-keeper's honeycomb foundation to create some texture and pattern in my bee pieces.  I'm thinking that I'm going to set aside a portion of my bee sales to financemy own hive next spring.  This website is full of good information on top-bar beekeeping, a low-impact practice that is good for urban areas. 

One last bit- I am holding my annual Spring/Summer sale on July 15 and 16.  Let me know if you want on my mailing list (please email me your address).  I know it will be warm, but I'll have lemonade and cooling snacks for you.

Have a nice weekend!

plates

Thank you, everyone, for your kind words- here, on Facebook, and elsewhere- regarding my departure from the crazy-making and unattainable land of perfect.  I really appreciate them.  We jetted out of town for a long weekend of lakeside family reunion for my grandmother's 90th birthday and to help another relative move into her new house- it was cool and rainy and there was no internet access.  I napped and knitted and organized rested and unpacked and watched the river roll by my aunt's new house.  It was nice.

Shortly before I left I unloaded this stack of plates from the kiln for a client's dinnerware set.  I've done teacups, tumblers, salad/dessert plates, and now her dinner plates.  She's getting her set one component at a time, and while these aren't *quite* where I'd want them to be, I am, by and large, pleased.  It has  taken me years to get to the point where I could make plates- both in terms of skill level and in dealing with tendonitis.  I've found that I can make 2-3 plates a day if I alternate plates with smaller pieces that don't require as much force to center.  I started with around 3 lb of wet clay and threw them around 11.25." After bisque and glaze firing, they shrank to 10-10.5".  I made 12 hoping for 8 successful plates.  Another client has asked for a botanical set of dinnerware and I am about 1/4 of the way through her set. 

Yesterday I found an email from a potential client who wanted tea bowls for matcha.  He was kind enough to send me a link showing me exactly the shape and slope he wanted- I had no idea there was so much variation.  I did some online research and really enjoyed watching this series, which included the chawan bowls I've been asked to make.  There are so many different shapes and styles of tea bowls, from refined porcelain to rough and rustic groggy clay.  This should be an interesting project.

If you happen to be in the Memphis area, Original Ink is having their grand opening/open house on Thursday afternoon/evening.  We have a conflict or I would be there, but I hope that you can stop by and see their lovely shop.

Have a good week!