Weekend in the Studio

Weekends go so fast!

We went out Friday night ~ dinner and the movies~ waahoo (usually we are homebodies!). We had an awesome meal at the New World Bistro and saw  The Artist...very good film and so weird to be in the movie theatre with no talking...the popcorn bag rustling was exaggerated!!

In the studio I made and trimmed up 10 more goblets. I am getting better at this form and will make more to have in the shop this year. That is IF they make it through the firing process okay.

Trimmed up the pedestal bowls I was working on last week. I'm pretty happy with them. These bowls will be added to a collection of pots for Timberlock. This rustic resort gives out items based on how many years you visit, five, ten, fifteen, etc.
The order will includes mugs, bowls of two sizes, pitchers, and platters. I try to have it all finished by Memorial Day. It's the biggest order of my year.

I also prepped the bisqueware for Cheryl's order. She said she is ready for the set. So, next weekend I'll glaze and fire them. They go in the electric kiln.

 A challenge with the pedestal bowls has been to get the imprint on the bottom without schmooshing* the form. So, this year I tried adding a small piece of clay that has already taken the imprint. I add the piece vs. imprinting the bowl itself. I'd like to get it thinner-  Currently I use a plain old rubber stamp and am wondering if I should try a different type of stamp... The lettering is often difficult to show up.

After the holidays I was feeling like a whale, the result of indulging in too much sugar and eating gluten, which my body is not a fan of. I went on a three day raw food cleanse and feel better than I have in a long time! In two and a half weeks I have not had meat, sugar or coffee (it took a week for the headaches to stop). After having a bit of pita bread (gluten) on Friday night, I promptly got a headache ~ I  NEED TO LISTEN TO MY BODY!!!

So, I am learning the ways of green smoothies and "raw food" delicacies. Hence the photo of my Nori Roll ...delicious and filling! I made a pecan pate to use as the spread, with sprouts, avocado, cukes, red pepper, miso, and a dipping sauce = YUM!




All said, a nice weekend. Hope you had a good one too
:)






*schmoosing: to press to hard, to ruin, to mess up, or otherwise wreck

Love

I was asked to make a Eucharist goblet for one of our town churches. Perfect timing to practice the technique demonstrated by Cynthia Bringle recently. I have made goblets before, but always in two sections. This technique was a lot more difficult than I expected! I had about a 50% success rate and we'll see how many actually make it all the way through. This weekend I will  practice some more.

Practicing  new goblet form

January is the month for me to work on new forms. So goblets it is, and a new shape for bowls. How is it that a curve can be so elusive?! Drives me nuts! I see it perfectly in my minds eye, but cannot make my hands create that curve on a regular basis. Practice more~





Love making pots!



I also work on glaze development during the winter months. I have a stack of books and notes waiting for me to peruse through. With the gas kiln I need a new palette of glazes to work with and lately I've been getting itchy to expand my repertoire of glazing techniques- underglaze, layering techniques, etc. Making functional pottery in cone 10 reduction limits some of my choices.

This is where the part-time potter thing gets in my way. When a weekend comes up I want to be in the studio throwing pots (my favorite part of the process). I like to see the shelves fill up...but other stages of the process also need my attention. Wait- I also love the imprinting stage....maybe I could learn to love the glaze development phase too ???

I just have to suck it up and devote some seat time to work with the books and think. How do you manage the whole glaze development piece of your work?



L.O.V.E.

 
This is my niece swimming backstroke at a college meet last weekend. She and her sister are the closest thing I have to children of my own. Honest to goodness, I do not know how you parents do it! My heart swells with so much love for these kids I feel like it will explode - and I am just the Aunt!!!

Anyway, it's such a treat to watch her swim. This time the meet was in Rochester, where my father lives. So my sister and I met up at his house and we three went to the swim meet together.

My other niece had her own high school swim meet (they crank swimmers out in N.J.). She and her father stayed home to attend that. I keep trying to convince my other niece to attend college in the Capital District...but, alas, I think I will lose that one... her father's Alma mater beckons!! Regardless we have two years before that happens.



Dad and Sister. Love them too!!



Inspiration That Lasts

When I learned how to make pots at the ripe age of 13, my teacher gave me a book:

The Penland School of Crafts Book of Pottery .

As I paged through the book, Cynthia Bringle's goblets just called shouted to me! 

A Bringle Goblet 

A Treasured Book

I have been a fan ever since.

Thank you to John Britt for posting this video on You Tube

Awesome Find!

How cool is this stamp?!

I found it in Woodstock, NY. Have you been there yet? It is one of the coolest towns in New York State. We had about an hour to walk around before our dinner reservations on Saturday. If you visit Woodstock make sure you schedule a good chunk of time, or a weekend,  to explore. Seriously...an hour is not enough.

We were heading to dinner at the New World Home Cooking restaurant to celebrate Chris' birthday (celebrating 60!). We met his son, Ben and Ben's sweetheart, Julie for a lovely dinner. I don't think I have ever mentioned Ben's work on this blog. You really should check it out- he creates the most interesting jewelry. Here is the LINK! He sells mostly off of Facebook- which is amazing-  if you don't see something you like on his Etsy site, go check out his FB page.

I plan to use this gorgeous stamp on some platters this weekend. I made three on Sunday just so I could test this bad-boy out!

Happy Wednesday~

Sacred Spaces

I have mentioned it before, but not in a while, that I work in a high school as my day job. Working in public education has its challenges and this year the big one is the budget. We are facing yet another year of major cuts- like 3 million, or roughly 40 full time jobs. That is no small potatoes. Regardless of how you feel about public educators/education, imagining the impact of such extreme measures sends us into a panic- for our students and for ourselves.

Before the holidays I was very worked up with anxiety, creating endless scenarios of what our staffing could look like and how that would impact my job, our department and our school. I was edgy, anxious, and fearful. Though I have long had a desktop alter to remind me of my center- I was routinely ignoring it!



desktop altar



In a moment of sanity (exhausted from beating myself up with fear), I acknowledged that enough, is enough. I cannot live this way, constantly fighting with reality. Where was the Peace? Where was my Faith in the Universe, and the practice of living One Day at a Time? I was not bringing productive energy to my office for our counseling sessions.

Drastic measures were needed, so I came to school during the vacation to rearrange my office and give it a smudging. Not familiar with "smudging"? Check out this link.

It was high time to treat my work space as a Sacred Space- as I do in my studio. Clear out the negative and welcome PEACE! In the studio I need positive, creative energy and so, too, for my day job....Duhh. 

I smudged, prayed, and blessed this space for sacred work to be done here.

(taking extreme care not to set off the smoke alarm, how embarassing would that be??!!)



Sacred Work Space


I do the best I can with making an institutional place feel comfortabel and safe. So far, the energy cleanse has worked wonders. The physical change has me literally looking at things from a new angle.

As with my studio time, I take a moment when I first walk in the door to acknowledge the space and welcome positive energy to be here.

My students are enjoying the change as well.

I found this quote while reading some Eckhart Tolle and keep it in sight...

New Year, New Attitude, New Awareness