Holiday Sales

These last couple weeks of November and the first week in December are always busy with Holiday sales and this year is no different.  I've been working like a mad woman (not much of a stretch really) on ornaments and a good selection of mugs for my upcoming holiday events.  

First up, this coming Saturday - I'll be in Winona Minnesota for the Winona Art Walk.  It's a fun one day event in downtown Winona.  I'll be at the "Gallery For A Day" in the Guildhall of Wesley United Methodist Church at Main & 6th Street.

Also going on now through December 3rd is my online MUGSTRAVAGANZA sale.  During this sale, the lucky folks on my email list get first dibs on my favorite collection of mugs.  Beginning today, I'm opening this sale up to everyone.  So if handmade mugs are on your holiday gift giving list, be sure to check this sale out.  

And my last event of the year is my Holiday Pottery Sale on December 4th & 5th at my studio in Farmington Minnesota.  More information on this sale can be found by clicking HERE.

After all these events, I'm looking forward to a little time with family and friends enjoying holiday traditions before heading back into the studio to start inventory for 2016.  

Enjoy your holidays,

Clay & Glass

I've been having a little fun lately with small slab pieces and glass frit.  Here is the latest result.  

The tray is about 3.5" x 4.5" with a stamped texture and green glass frit on the interior.  The edges were cut with a scalloped pastry cutter. Not sure where I'm ultimately going with these, but they are fun little experiments that fill little spaces in the kiln. 

Handbuliding/Raku Class Results

This past weekend was the second session of the two session Beginning Handbuilding/Raku class we held here.  Everybody seemed to have a great time.  There were some really pleasing results, some disappointments and lots of fun.  

 

Hoping to offer this class again in October. 

Two Versions

One of the great benefits of the 100 mug challenge I did earlier this year was a wide variety of mugs for both the wood kiln and the electric kiln.  It's a great opportunity to try similar glaze themes on different styles to see how the designs work on the different shapes.

This glaze is a satin matte black that I've really just started to appreciate.  On its own, it's pretty boring, but with some wax resist patterns and combined with other glazes - I LOVE IT!

I'm looking forward to trying some other patterns with this glaze in my next firing. 

So...I've Been Thinking

This is usually the time that my husband, roadie and employee of the year says "Uh oh!"

A few weeks ago I attended a work session/dinner put on by our local art's organization.  We were asked several questions about arts in our community and the results of our discussion would be used to create a performance to be presented at the upcoming Rural Arts and Culture Summit in June.  Liked the idea... but since then have been kicking around some of the discussion topics in my head.  

April 2015 Firing

The one foremost in my thoughts is the question "Do I feel  my community values artists?"  Since my community markets itself as an art destination and community, this was an interesting perspective.  I think those involved in art organizations and economic development for the most part said they felt artists were valued.  However, it seemed  most of the artists in the gathering didn't feel as valued.  And I was right along side them in that feeling.  

New striped design - will need to include more in next firing

Over the next few days follow the dinner, I thought about this question frequently.  Why the divide between how these groups viewed artist's value?  How can that divide be reduced?  But over time, I got to questioning why we think we should be valued?  I get we all want to be valued for what we do, but should artists be valued more than other community segments?  

cups and saucers

I mean...do the local plumbers or electricians (or massage therapists, restaurant chefs... any profession) get together over coffee and discuss how they don't feel valued by the community.  It's hard to differentiate between our value and the value of the things we do/create... but I'm talking about our value as an artists, not the value of my art.  I love running water, sewer that flows properly, and power to run all my devices as much as the next person, but is the person who makes that happen valued more than other professions in my community.  Not really and I don't think they get together to discuss it either.

Yellow Salt glaze is so interesting - always looks a little different than the before

Gotta love the orange peel effect on this bottle

So ultimately, what is this need for a perceived community value about?  Being an active, productive member of any community is a value, regardless if you're an artist or plumber.  I think your value is based on what you give to the community, not what you choose to do for a living.  But I'm sure this will continue to be something I think about for quite a while.

Rectangle baker

Figured I'd sneak some photos from my last firing in the mix to keep you reading.  Nobody likes a post with just words.  We all need a little eye candy to keep us going forward.  Have a great summer.

And there is always something in each firing that just doesn't work at all.  Here is a example.

Grinder time - this mug is stuck to the shelf

Squares

A couple weeks ago, I needed a little distraction from my usual thrown work. So I put the slab roller to work and made some little trinket dishes.  The first group of them were fired yesterday with green glass marbles in the stamped impression.  I really like the outcome. 

Also in this firing were several glaze test tiles.  I'm looking to add a couple new glaze colors to my line up and maybe retire a couple colors as well. Haven't really found anything I like so far, so I'll have to keep testing.

Winter Wood Firing

Last Monday, Becky Brandow of Willow Avenue Pottery joined me to unload the wood kiln we'd fired the weekend before.  Between the firing and pizza party we had during the firing, I didn't manage to get any photos of the firing itself.  Didn't even get my traditional pic of the loaded kiln before we brick up the door.  Apparently I don't deal well with distractions.  Oh well...the photos would have looked just like my previous firings anyway.

Becky is planning a kiln build for this summer so she brought a bunch of glaze test cups as well as a collection of other work to join my usual body of work for this firing.  

 Overall, we had a really good firing.  There are always some pieces that get blasted by ash or serious glaze runs, but most needed just light sanding.  

Here's some of the results.
 

 

 

Time to mix a couple new glaze batches and start of new round of work for my April firing. 

Getting Started In The New Year

Like so many other artists, I like to take a bit of a break through the holidays to enjoy the season and my family.  We had a great Christmas and fun with friends on New Year's Eve.  And just before settling into the studio for the winter, potter friend Becky Brandow of Willow Avenue Pottery in Iowa visited for a couple days.  It was two days of potter shopping (Continental Clay, Ikea, The Container Store and Northern Clay Center), discussion of glazes to test in the woodfiriing we'll be doing in February and just plain lots of fun.  
 

Now it's time to buckle down and put a serious dent in my "need to make" list before spring sales begin.  It's a pretty long list but I think I'll be glad to start the season with a good inventory of the things I sell a lot of.  Of course there's always time for a little distraction by some of the daily beauty of a Minnesota winter.  Here are a couple of this week's distractions.  

Long Overdue

I've been distracted by holiday goings-on and neglected to post photos from my last woodfiring.  Fortunately... I know you're a patient bunch.  

We fired the kiln on Thanksgiving, finishing up on Black Friday.  The following Wednesday, I quickly snapped my after photo and unloaded so I could have the pots ready for my Holiday Mud and Suds Sale that Friday.  A little whirlwind like, but the timing worked out great.

 

There was a great deal of turquoise in this load which is always a popular color.

 

Also in this firing, I was testing some decals I'd applied to the pots while leatherhard.   The decals are printed on decal paper with a black only laser printer so really any black/white design would work.  Lots of people apply decals to pieces after glaze firing, but I kind of want to get a subtle iron effect without adding an additional firing.I like the possibilities, and will probably have a few more tests in my next firing before deciding if I want to make the process part of my regular work.  

 And here are a few of my favorites from this firing. Many are available in my Etsy shop.

 

 

 

 

 

To transport the pots home for the sale, I packed them in bins in the back of the truck with bubble wrap and newspaper between the pieces.  I transport pots like this all the time with no problems.  HOWEVER... I've never gone over a speed bump quite like the one I experienced in the parking lot of a craft shop I stopped at to quickly pick up some ribbon for the ornaments in the firing.  It was a monster of a bump.  Upon unpacking the pots, here is what I found.

There were some choice word heard in the studio that day.  Fortunately there were no sailors around to be embarrassed by my language.  All these pieces have found a new purpose with several mosaic artists so I'm trying to see this as a silver lining kind of experience.

Enjoy your holidays everybody!!

The Day After A Firing

For lots of people it's Small Business Saturday.  But for me it's the day after a firing so I'm having a Peek In A Cooling Kiln Day or Melt Your Flashlight Day.  I've done both today and will continue to peek in the kiln with a different flashlight and try to remember not to place the light so close to the peek hole.  

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and successful Small Business Saturday. 

New Studio Toy

There is nothing more fun than getting and putting a new studio toy... I mean tool into use.

A few weeks ago, I purchased a small pugmill.  After several years of bagging up my trimmings and storing them in every studio nook and cranny, I can finally process the trimmings into usable clay again. 

The first batch of reclaim was a bit wetter than I'd have liked, but it was just BEAUTIFUL!!! If you've never used a pugmill, it's an amazingly useful piece of studio equipment.  Clay scrap and water go into the hopper and mixed for 15-20 minutes.  The mixture is de-aired with the vacuum pump and then pressed out through an extruder as usable clay.  

Only about 500 more pounds of clay scraps to go.  More playing tomorrow.

New Inventory Delivery

One of my favorite sales venues is Simple Soaps for Simple Folks in Dover Minnesota.  Before you even step in the door, you can smell all the awesome fragrances Shanna (owner and soap maker) uses in her fabulous goats milk soaps.  I stop on the doorstep, breathe in all the wonderful scents and step in to a warm, inviting shop with ever changing inventory.  

Shanna and I met a few years ago and have enjoyed discussing our upcoming events and the trials and tribulations of being a small business owner.  I try on all the hats in the shop wishing I was a hat person, smell all the soaps and thoroughly enjoy my visit,  

Earlier this week, I delivered new inventory to the shop, still didn't find a hat that looks good on my head and picked up a new bar of Pomegranate soap for the shower.  

Stop in at Simple Soaps for Simple Folks and see everything this welcoming shop has to offer.

Raku Experience

During one of our earlier Lanesboro Area Art Trail events this year, I had a group of studio visitors at the studio participate in a raku firing. It got me thinking - maybe that would be a great addition to our Art Trail weekends.  

With three events remaining this fall, I'll be offering a Raku Experience workshop during Lanesboro Area Art Trail weekends.  These workshops are targeted at folks with little or no pottery experience.  Each attendee will glaze a pre-made ornament, participate in the raku firing and take their ornament home that same day.

 More information is available by visiting the Raku Experience page on this blog.  Click HERE
 

June Woodfiring

A few years ago, we were younger and more naive woodfiring.  We fired the kiln over the weekend that followed the 4th of July.  It ended up being a very hot, humid weekend with no breeze made so much worse by the fact that we were standing in close proximity to the kiln as it reached it's peak temp the same time the day reached it's peak temp.  After that firing we vowed to never fire in July again.  

Now a few years down the road, we are older and wiser in our woodfiring practices.  We've adjusted our firing schedule so we encounter the top temp of the kiln through the night to take advantage of the cooler air temps.  A large barn fan has become a wonderful breeze in the kiln shed on days when nature isn't providing one.  And by keeping our firings to primarily spring and fall of the year we avoid the super cold of Minnesota winters and the hot, humid days of Minnesota summers.  

So what was I thinking when I scheduled a firing for the last weekend in June??? Isn't that pretty much the same as July???  Anyway...

 For the most part the firing went well.  There were some unusual happenings but overall, I feel really good about the anticipated results.  

We experienced torrential rains, then sunshine and humidity, and back to the rains again through the entire firing.  We lost power for approximately 3 hours during the night and had to use a collection of solar lights from the garden as the only light (other than the firebox of course) in the kiln shed.  The following morning was beautiful.  And we finished just before another storm blew in to start the days downpour/sunshine rotation all over again.  

Can't wait to unload and see how everything looks.