decapitation, and some tech talk

vases before, and after. this is a perfect, textbook example of what happens when you have a poor glaze fit. this is when the rates of expansion and/or shrinkage for both the clay and the glaze do not match, and the pieces just literally break apart in your hands, sometimes even as you pick them up from the kiln. its kind of a crazy phenomenon, and in this case it was the glaze shrinking more than the clay, literally pulling the clay apart.

i could hear that these were not right...you know, that dull "i'm cracked" kind of sound, and then they just split apart as i twisted them. i felt macho and strong, but really they were ready to go. so sad. and sudden. got a lot of these beauties out there before this started happening...i hope i don't get any calls about it, but i anticipate that i might. needless to say i'm currently on the hunt for a new red. oh, the humanity!

truth in writing.

allright. i have been busy. if anyone is still out there, well, sorry for the neglect. blogging is like the last thing on my mind, to be honest. i'm not really that public of a person, and its hard for me to write things journal style for everyone to read, and so the blog falls to the very end of the list of things to do when there is a list of things to do, which is pretty much always. so, i'll try to be better about it in the new year, but its probably better for everyone if you keep your expectations low.

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so, while i've been gone i was filling orders...from the day i got back from the show right up until the day before thanksgiving. also trying to have some fun in there somewhere, but it was difficult. i had a few bumps along the way in the making process, as is to be expected with clay, and as a result i was late with a few orders, but all in all it was a success. i learned so much, and am now much better prepared to go into this next show with a little more sense in my pocket.

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also, in the process i outgrew my studio, and am currently in the process of moving to a beautiful new spot that overlooks a waterfall and river, and its practically right across the street from my house. it is above a great restaurant that has received much critical acclaim called the hen of the wood. delicious food and beautiful atmosphere and cool folks. it always smells delicious in there. i hope i don't get fat.

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i have a few new designs in the works and will post pics as soon as i get them. or not. i'm a little territorial about what i post on here. but i'll definitely post shots of the studio, which will be open to the public so if you really want to see my work you can come visit! no, i sound like a jerk. but i am paranoid about copycats, and you can come visit if you like.

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ok. here's a pic of me at the museum of arts and design in new york city. they are one of my wholesale accounts. truly a dream realized. i have coveted that shop for some time now. that is my white tall grass luminary in the background. it was right in the window!! usually it comes in a group of three, but they are selling them individually and must have sold out of the others. yeah!!

welcome to the machine

or, should i call it meditations at the drill press? either way i am a makin' fool right about now. which is why i have neglected the ole bloggy blog for the past month.
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so, the show was a success for me! after all my frettin' and a-worrying everything turned out well. i got a lot of orders, for me, more than i was expecting, and now i am super busy at the studio and hoping i can fulfill all the promises i have made.
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lots of things have had to shift as a result of this: i can no longer participate in the farmer's market as i have no time to make anything else than what was ordered; i had to get rid of the gallery space in my studio to make room for shelving and work space for my assistant. yep, that's right. assistant. there is no way i can make all this without some help. (she leaves this week for 2 weeks on vaca! i'm freaking out!!) and i had to expand a little into sylvia's space for my shipping. i am sadly close to outgrowing my beautiful studio space, but hesitate to change right now or even in the near future, as who knows how long this little rush of busy-ness will go on for. and, the biggest change is that i have no time to design new things right now...adapting to all of this has been epic, and i hope that one day i'll get it figured out so that i can not only be a machine, but so i can have some free time in the studio to play again. i miss it!
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sorry no picture today...don't have anything new to show...wait...maybe i can find something else...how about my cute dog curled up sleeping?

not at all ceramic related...well, she is the best studio dog ever, so i guess it kind of is.

buh-bye.

manifesting my destiny

so, tomorrow morning i am off to the buyer's market of american craft in philly. i have prepared as much as possible, save for mental prep, and i think i am ready.

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actually, as i just wrote that, i wondered "am i really ready?" i have all the stuff i need for the actual show: booth, samples, catalog etc, but i have never experienced a wholesale show before, and so i can't really say i am fully prepared. even if i could, i know the first person to come into my booth would throw me a question that i would have to make the answer up to, thereby squishing my idea of being ready, so suffice it to say i am ready for anything to happen.

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also, i let some negative thoughts creep in yesterday, and it is amazing how they can really nag at you, and change your whole outlook. i was thinking that what if, after all the effort, time, money, stress, and general upheaval of my whole way of thinking about making, what if no one orders anything? really. what if? i found myself thinking of back up plans and regular jobs and really was quite sad. it is a possibility i guess, and if it happens then it happens, and i will cross that bridge when i come to it. i am not going to dwell on this thought, but it is out there. i will just have to imagine my success. plan for my success. manifest my destiny. which is to be making a living doing what i love and sharing the work i make with others.

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allrighty, then. let's do it! wish me luck. i'll report back next week.

market of artists

howdy y'all. here is a picture of my little booth at the farmer's market. most every saturday until the end of october i will be at the artist market which is part of the farmer's market in burlington in city hall park.

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i took the photo with my phone, but you get the idea, no? hmmm...as i look at this picture i think i really have some work to do on my booth. i did end up getting an old wooden plant shelf with wheels at a tag sale a while back with intentions to use it for the market. however, it is a bit shaky structurally and i have yet to bring it for some reason...i guess i leave it because of its rickety-ness, and mostly because it takes up a good chunk of the truck. as i look at this picture i think i should probably bring it next time.

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i will say though that the market has yet to be financially viable. while i do make the money back that it costs me to participate, it doesn't really pay me for my time yet. i had a couple of good days in the beginning, but the past few weeks have come up quite short. i continue to go because it is good exposure, and keeps me in touch with my friends and contacts in burlington, and i think that the more people who see my work the better. but, i have to say it is a bit discouraging to only come away with a few bucks for all my time and effort. i hold out hope that it will turn around someday soon!

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that's it for now...

busy like a beaver

hello all! so sorry to have been away for so long. i have been insanely making prototypes for the wholesale show, along with other show related business...booth set-up, catalog, order forms and so on...who knew there was so much involved? not me...well, that's not totally true...people have told me what to do and what i will need, but until you actually do it you really have no idea what it all entails! i keep telling myself that it is just this way the first time, and that next time i will not be so crazed because i will know what to expect. i think for the most part this is true and it keeps me going, through all the last minute-ness and "what? i need postcards by tomorrow?"

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honestly, when i get overwhelmed and stressed for something like this, i think back to my thesis show in grad school. it was an insane, and i mean insane, crazy frantic time. i had a complete melt down in the kiln, and had to scramble to make new work to replace it, (the only time, mind you, that a kiln sitter has ever not worked for me. lesson learned.) but, just the business of getting the show together, hanging it, and dealing with 30 other people also trying to fire their final work and the overall craziness of a busy full studio. it was the first time in many years i had pulled all-nighters to get work done. when it was over i slept for about three days, no joke. BUT, whenever i get in a situation like this, where i have a deadline and i am nervous and overwhelmed and have a never ending list of things to do, i find solace in the fact that i pulled off that show, and it was good. the work looked great, and i managed to speak eloquently about it (most of the time). so, thanks RIT, for helping me deal.

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pictured are a set of the luminaries i will be making for the show (shot at my friends mandy and george's sweet photo set-up in their basement.) i just brought them all to my awesome photographer dok wright who does a fabulous job and is fun to work with. figured i need some professionally shot images for catalogs, postcards, and so on. i can do it, usually, but for something like this i didn't want to cut any corners.

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on the homefront, i am still sleeping in the kitchen...the floors are finished, but the yukky panelling needs painting, and though i started it myself i could not finish as the show has taken over my life. i have hired a friend to do it and though it is going, it is going slow, so i wait and try not to think about it!

something new everyday

so, yesterday i learned how to wallpaper a room. not too tough, especially since i had some help. many many thanks to sylvia and dana, who is a pro at it, and tall, so he doesn't even need a ladder.

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it looks much better, and though the wallpaper is not exactly what i would love to have in there, it is waaaay better than what was there to begin with. sorry i don't have a before pic, but here are a couple of after pics. i took 'em from my phone, so the quality is poor, but you get the idea. don't worry...the curtains are going!

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i am procrastinating right now. the movers are coming tomorrow and i have so much to do still...so i bid you farewell until i am settled in a bit...adios!