Fine Mess Pottery

Kiln Peepers

2012-02-03T10:15:00.000-08:00

Guess what came in the mail today? I finally bought myself protective eyewear, for cone-peeping. I know, I know, this is decades late; but admit it, you have your doubts about the harm, too. I've been peering through spy holes for 25 years, and my distance eyesight is still 20/20; I started wearing reading glasses when I was 43, but so did everyone else. (I hope all this doesn't catch up to me when I'm 70.)

And! If I'd known how very cool they'd look, I'd have bought a pair a long while ago. These I bought on Ebay, I think it was $17 for two pair, including shipping.

The leather jacket was a $20 Goodwill find. The only drawback is I can't stop saying, "Aaaayyy!"

Thursday Inspiration: Lorna Meaden

2012-02-02T12:56:00.000-08:00

I love, love, love this little condiment jar. See lots more of Lorna's work here.

Unloaded!

2012-01-30T07:33:00.001-08:00

Unloading is like Christmas and your birthday and also like the day you find out your crush likes your sister. There were lots of great pots in the kiln. There were a couple of heartbreakers: one sushi tray I was excited to see caught a bunch of shelf flack, for example; and a platter warped badly.

Couple of notes:

I am done putting Oribe on the insides of things. Two otherwise-lovely casseroles will need to be re-fired because the oribe is pebbly inside. And recently a student showed me a bowl of hers that had held salsa over night, and the oribe changed color where the salsa touched! It was a different recipe (glaze, not salsa!) than what I use, and there's nothing in either that could leach out and harm someone (copper, yes; but so little of it) but it creeped me out.
The changes I made to my cobalt glaze, to make it better suited for soda firing! Win. Smooth and buttery, almost purple where there's less soda, glassy and deep blue where there's more. Check it out here:

About half the pots in this firing were pet urns, headed for The Cat Doctor in Portland.

Old is New: Flower Bricks

2012-01-28T11:19:00.000-08:00

I've been interested lately in a shape I've seen while searching for the Thursday Inspiration artists: Both Kristen Kieffer and Lana Wilson make flower bricks. I thought it was a relatively new idea, but as I should know, in clay there is nothing new under the sun; it is in fact a very old idea. Here are a few antique flower bricks I found on the web.

Being inspired is not a euphemism for copying, however. I am shooting for my own take on flower bricks. These are use three pounds of clay, which is a bit heavy, but for this function I think a little ballast is a benefit.
I throw an closed form, sort of bullet-shaped, then immediately drop and roll it on each side to flatten. After they are leatehr hard, I will cut openings to hold the stems; one of my students described it as "an integrated frog."

Disciplined like a House Cat

2012-01-26T07:12:00.000-08:00

"Discipline is remembering what you want.” David Campbell (whoever that is. )

While I agree with this sentiment, failures of discipline are not all bad! Case in point:

After circumstances conspired to thwart my plans to load the kiln during the day on Wednesday - a surprise vet appointment, a meeting that really needed to happen, and had already been re-scheduled twice - I tried to make myself finish loading Wednesday night, in the 15 degree dark. I was gritting my teeth, growling to myself,"No! I will not let this be de-prioritized!" And then I just thought, Fuck it, I'll do it tomorrow.

All I can think is how much happier I was, loading in the brilliant sunshine and above-freezing temperatures. The wadding wasn't freezing to the furniture; my hands weren't numb and dropping wads that I had to go search for, lest they ruin work below; I didn't make dumb mistakes due to tiredness.
Of course, it also pushed the firing to Friday, unloading Monday, as I decided there was nothing to be gained by staying up all night firing. That would almost certainly have put me in bed with a migraine all day Friday. There's determination; then there's obstinance; and then there's plain old stupidity.
Failure of discipline seems to be a bit of a theme this week: I also noticed, that, despite my best intentions, I can rarely make myself do any other productive thing while the kiln is firing. It's this weird kiln of Genesisian Seventh Day, pardon the blasphemy. I had big plans to clean up my studio (and house) and to get some pots made for the next firing cycle. The most useful thing I managed was a load of laundry. I spent most of the day reading a big book: The Better Angels of Our Natures: Why Violence has Declined, and napping intermittently, like a cat. And I can't say I regret it a bit.

Unloading Monday, January 30!

Thursday Inspiration - Matthew Hyleck

2012-01-25T18:29:00.001-08:00

See lots more of Matthew's work here. I am greatly enamored of these pots, and, with my new-found appreciation for web design, I really enjoy his website.

A Different Drum

2012-01-25T17:30:00.001-08:00

My student and friend Peg, who writes her own blog here, has been working on a drum in class. I've never made a drum; I am learning so much watching her. The head of the drum will be made of goatskin (which you can get at goatskins.com. Yes, really. I don't know why I find that so amusing.) I'll get some shots of the top being finished, when Peg brings in the goatskin.

Can't wait to see it finished.

Thrown, Altered, and Assembled

2012-01-20T08:12:00.000-08:00

Workshop: Thrown, Altered, Assembled
Portland Pottery
Saturday, February 25
1 - 5 pm
An interactive workshop featuring forms thrown on the wheel, then cut, squeezed, folded and otherwise altered and assembled. Here's a sample of the kinds of things I will be demonstrating.
$60
$45 for current Portland Pottery students
Call to register: 207-772-4334

Thursday Inspiration - Joy Tanner

2012-01-19T10:08:00.000-08:00

See lots more of Joy's wood and soda-fired pots here.

New Look!

2012-01-17T08:00:00.000-08:00

I've made some changes to my blog template. (Captain Obvious strikes again!) This was not as easy as I expected it to be, as blogger doesn't give you a user-friendly way to manipulate their existing templates, but instead you have to choose "edit html" under the "design" tab. I found this handy page for html color codes, which I expect will come in useful in future projects as well.

I made the changes for a more integrated look with the website. Some people change their blog addresses and build a new blog which is an actual page of their websites, but I really didn't want to do that. I can't see the benefit, and it seems like many readers would get left behind in the shift. I am not sure I like the new look, though; luckily I saved the old template so I can switch back if I'm not pleased after I get used to it.

*Yeah, I don't know. I just did the click through from finemesspottery.com. I'm not convinced it's any less obviously a jump to a different site than it was before. Well, I will give it a few days. Switching back, if necessary, will actually be easier than making the changes in the first place.

Cottage and Lodge

2012-01-16T06:30:00.000-08:00

One of the decisions I made during the week was to start packaging my wholesale offerings into two lines. This comes out of a conversation with Jamie Oates and Jeanette Faunce of Maine-ly Pottery, about how a unified look is more appealing, and partly from my donut-shop reflections. Also rattling around in my thinking is the study out of Columbia that suggests that, confronted with too many choices, people are LESS likely to buy, which makes me want to simplify my offerings. Not by making less stuff - like that would ever happen - but by organizing it in a way that people are looking at fewer, more similar pieces.

Because I live in Maine, and my work is sort of casual and carefree, I am calling the two lines Cottage and Lodge, after the places where Mainers go to unwind. Well: we also go to the beach, and to Three Dollar Dewey's, but no one brings pottery to those places. Folks with cabins and summer places often furnish them with greater attention than they do their homes.
So. My job today (while waiting for the vessel sinks to dry) is to make a list of the pieces I will need for such a line. I am starting with Lodge, becuase it's 3 F outside and I am in a Lodge kind of a mood. There will, of course, be some overlap between lines, both will need plates, mugs, and bowls for example. Lodge will incorporate the thicker, faceted pieces I have been working on, and utilize the darker glazes: tenmoku, amber celadon, June Perry Oribe, Satin Doll Black; all contrasted with unglazed areas of flashing slip.

Items:

Mugs
Plates
Soup/salad bowls
Sugar/ creamer set
Baking dishes
Casserole
Serving Bowl

Okay, into the studio I go.

A Thing You Didn't Know About Vessel Sinks

2012-01-15T14:24:00.000-08:00

Two actually:

1) At least half the time when I type the phrase "vessel sinks" I mistype it "vessel dinks."

And, more importantly:

2) You need a special kind of drain for them(sinks, not dinks. I don't want to know what kind of drain you need for vessel dinks.) A normal pop up drain (the image on the left) won't do, as a vessel sink (usually) has no overflow. Most building codes require a grid drain instead, which has slots out of the top and is 1/8" larger than a standard pop-up drain. Okay, maybe you did know that, but I certainly didn't, and wouldn't have, if it were not for the help of David Smith, of SmythCid Pottery, where they've forgotten more about stoneware sinks than I will ever know. Check out some of their sinks here.

After shrinkage the measurement of the lip would now be 2.5".

A thing that I did know, if I thought about it, is that the edge of the drain must sit below the bowl, or an icky little pool of water will collect at the bottom. I knew it, because I know that water can't flow up; but would I have thought of it before or after I fired the first sink? I am spared finding out, thankfully, since David pointed this consideration out in his email in addition to the drain information.

So! Off to reconfigure the drain hole on my first sink. I had not yet made the hole in the second.

Vessel Sink Thinks

2012-01-14T13:11:00.000-08:00

I am approaching this all wrong, this vessel sink thing.

Perhaps because I am a middle child, I have a strong people-pleasing streak. I have about as much faith in birth order personality traits as I do in dream interpretation, which is to say, not much; but that dream in which you are naked in public and nobody notices probably does mean you are feeling self-conscious about something that is really no big deal. Our shared human experiences probably cause us to manifest certain feelings in similar ways in our dreams. Astrology, on the other hand, strikes me as somewhat amusing bullshit. In fact....

Ooops, I think the Irrelevancy Alarm just went off.

Back to the post. Oh, right, people pleasing. Okay, so, what's wrong with this picture?

Nothing, except, it's just a big bowl. A jolly-jigger or Ram Press could do it just as well, only faster and easier.

I find that I am focusing so much on the utilitarian aspects, that I am forgetting to make it a good pot, a pot that I like. Something unique and special, that could only be handmade. What's that to do with people-pleasing? I've been so determined to make something that no one will hate, that I've forgotten to make a pot that someone will absolutely love.
Sooo....

There! Fixed it!

I need to remember, a really big bowl is just like any other pot: I can't let it get so precious that I am unwilling to risk ruining it; otherwise it's condemned to be ordinary.

Circling the Drain

2012-01-13T16:05:00.001-08:00

Throwing a big bowl is the easy part. The tricky part began today: figuring out how the holes work with the plumbing. I have a sample drain pipe, with the little gasket thing that lets you fill the sink.

The outer dimension of the pipe is 1 5/16"; which means that the hole through the bottom has to shrink to larger than that in order for the pipe to fit through. The flange is 2" wide, which means the lip surrounding the hole has to shrink to at least that large. The spec for B-mix Sand is 12% shrinkage, plus or minus 2%. I had a momentary freak out when I saw that plus-or-minus business, but the tolerances must be...sufficiently tolerant, or no one would be able to make vessel sinks. SO. Assuming 13% shrinkage, because it's better for both hole and flange to be too large rather than too small:

The hole I made 1 5/8"
The lip around the hole I made 2 3/8"

I cut the hole once and had to fill it in again before I decided to make a run to the store for a compass. Things went much more easily then.

Gaah! I have to go turn up the bisque. I've been so engrossed in this project I forgot I was firing!

Thursday Inspiration - Lana Wilson

2012-01-13T09:45:00.000-08:00

Learn more about how Lana makes her intriguing surfaces here. See lots more of her works here.

Vessel Sinks, Part II

2012-01-13T03:30:00.000-08:00

Couple of things:

I am throwing with Laguna's B-mix 10 with sand. It's the first time I've used this body and I am quite delighted with its performance: centers easily, doesn't sag. I only bought one box, though, to test it out, so won't have enough clay to make many samples.
I started using 12 lbs to make a 14" diameter, 5.5" high bowl, 0.5 inches thick in the wall. I was hooting for 16" diam, 6.5" high in the wet state. 12 lbs was not enough to do this; it fell short by a lot. 12 lbs was not even enough to make a similarly thick & tall bowl with a finished diameter of 12". Despite liking the shape, I wedged it up, because I didn't want to commit kiln space to a large piece that was destined to be not-quite-right.
To get the bowl that will eventually be the 14" sink, I needed 18 lbs, which is the pot on the wheel in the photo above. It's surprisingly small for 18 lbs, but of course it had to be thick. I am not convinced this one is thick enough, so I will try again with 22 lbs.
To that end: to save my poor median nerve (healthy, but I intend to keep it that way!) I center these large amounts in two equal chunks. When the first is on center, I scrape it dry with a metal rib, and then plop the second half on top. Much, much easier than trying to muscle the whole lot under control all at once.

...

After my third attempt, it seems that 20 lbs will be the right amount to make the (eventual) 14" sink. Which means that the 16" sink - 19 inches, wet - will need to be around 28 lbs. My mind has jumped ahead to pricing: I don't think I can possibly get less than around $280 for these -- and that's the wholesale price. Which means someone, somewhere will need to be willing to spend almost $600 for a lavatory. I need to talk to my client before I get too far into this, in case that is a deal-breaker. The vessel sinks I have found online have retailed for between $90 and $1600; not sure what range he had in mind.

Vessel Sinks, Part I

2012-01-12T09:01:00.000-08:00

I promised myself, and a potential client, a vessel sink design by Feb 1, so I better get on it. As often happens when I am intimidated by the technical aspects of a project, I often stall beginning it(see The Kiln Project!), because there are other, easier projects I can work on - or, if not easier, ones that I have a clue where to begin.
However, begun is half done, and it's time to find a clue. The first place to look is how other people have made vessel sinks before. am finding that they are made as small as 12" in diameter, and I found a few as large as 20". (I am sticking with round, for now, although they come in many shapes.) Many are 5.5" tall. There's a nice, very specific set of specs at Coyote Glass.

I think I will shoot for 16.5" in diameter (fired dimensions, all), 5.5" high, and .75" thick*. I know, that last seems like a lot, doesn't it? I need to remember that the functional demands of a sink are different than those of a bowl: after installation, no one will be lifting these, but they will get frequent - constant, really - use, and need to be immune from chips and dings, as replacing a sink is a much more onerous proposition than replacing a bowl. The tricky part will be making the drain hole accommodate a standard pipe, what with shrinkage and all.

If it isn't obvious from the post, I haven't made a sink yet, so none of the images are my doing. they are, respectively:

*Yikes! This necessitates a thrown dimension of 19" in diameter, and 6.25 inches high (plus a little for trimming; let's say 6.5") I could do this the last time I tried, but I haven't tried anything that large for years. Oh, well: time to channel my inner Steve Jobs. "Don't be afraid. Get your mind around it. You can do it."

My Students are Awesome!

2012-01-12T06:53:00.000-08:00

Have I mentioned that I love my students? Not only are they up for any class project or game I throw at them, they make up their own challenges! This group, Portland Pottery's Tuesday night class, chose to challenge each other to make the tallest thing they could out of three pounds of clay. These are all in the neighborhood of 12 - 13 inches.
Want to be a virtual part of Tuesday Night Awesomeness? If there are clay students out there reading this, sing along with Mitch! How tall can you throw three pounds?

Couple More Pots from the Firing

2012-01-07T19:07:00.000-08:00

I have to take photos in brief bursts in the winter, as the hours of good light are brief indeed, and many days it just never gets bright enough. I took a couple more shots today.

A Little Help from Perfect Strangers

2012-01-06T16:26:00.000-08:00

Isn't the Internet awesome? I mean in in the original sense of the word: the internet fills me with awe. One thing I am learning isthat anything you want to do, technology wise, somebody out there knows you or someone like you wants to do it, and wants to help.

So you know I've been rebuilding my website, right? (If you don't know, you haven't been paying attention, because I haven't stopped yammering on about it for a week now.) I got it in my head that I wanted a slideshow, but Kompozer doesn't have a slideshow function, and I haven't got the first clue how one might go about writing code for such a thing. The internet to the rescue! The first site I found was 1-2-3 Slideshow, which creates flash animation slideshows. I was a bit daunted: while these are very professional-looking bits they are a bit...slick?...for what I had in mind. Like the cleverness of the device would itself be distracting. I tried it anyway, and it's easy to use: upload the photos, and the site builds the show for you. Unfortunately my photos looks pixel-y and horrible, as though all the pots were made from tiny Legos. Or maybe that was fortunately, because I kept on looking and found Ricocheting.com. This is a much simpler and more straightforward slideshow, and also easy to use: just upload up to 10 photos, and Ricocheting does the rest. There's even some code provided in the comments if you want to use more http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.dothan 10 images.
I'm like Goldilocks, of course: the first was too slick, this one is too artless. I'd like for the controls to look less like nuts and bolts, less alien to the rest of the page. I hate, for example, the thin black border around the table at the bottom; but my best efforts to discover how I could persuade that border to hide itself have been for naught. But, w'ev. I'll take it.

You can see the slideshow here.

Thursday Inspiration - Farraday Newsome

2012-01-05T11:57:00.000-08:00

See lots more of Farraday's work here; show some Facebook love here.

Touched by an Angel

2012-01-04T05:01:00.000-08:00

One of the joys and challenges of atmospheric firing are the surprise additions by the kiln. In every firing there will be a couple of pieces which the kiln gods singled out for special attention with a splash of green or brown or gray soda glass. This occurs when the soda vapor glaze builds up on the underside of a kiln shelf to the extent that it finally gives in to gravity, and a drip of it falls off, often onto a pot.
Sometimes it will be bubbly or fizzy, and brittle: in those cases, the piece is obviously a second or refire. I used to call any kiln kiss as a flaw even though I always admire them, but I've changed my mind about it. In December I unloaded a large bowl from the kiln, with a bright aqua drip of soda on the interior. Instead of relegating it to the seconds shelf, I composed a tag for it which began, "This piece has been kiln-kissed..." with a brief description of what caused the mark. That bowl got a lot of attention and sold before its "perfect" companions.
So now I will be labelling all my kiln-kissed pieces (the ones that are not functionally compromised) as such. I may even charge extra for them, since they are by necessity a rarity. I could cause more by not cleaning my kilnshelves, but that would result in far more loss, as most soda glaze drops are not of the smooth sort.
This load produced four of the kiln gods' favorites, an unusual lot. It feels more honest to tell the world the irregularity is what makes them special, and if I'm lucky maybe the world will agree.

Newborn Pots

2012-01-03T12:36:00.000-08:00

After unloading I spent an hour or so shooting, before the angle of the sun got too low for good light. Overall a good firing, with no disasters. Some of these pots will be heading for Kennebec River Artisans, some to Summer Island Studios, and some I will hang onto for Jay York to photograph. (Jay is an excellent photographer and an all-around good guy. His website, unfortunately, is confusing, slow, and too clever by half. But believe me if you use his services you won't be sorry.)

My intention is to start applying to fairs in this cycle and though my shots are adequate (most of them...) it's probably wiser to have a pro do take the shots for jurying. The early-deadline events I may have to either skip or take my chances with my own photos, as I have neither enough work or enough cash to hire Jay just yet.

Anyway. I am excited about this batch.

Brrrr!

2012-01-03T07:31:00.000-08:00

Taking a break from unloading the kiln to put myself around some hot cider. It's colder than it looks out there! On the upside, from what I can tell so far, there are none of my signature mishaps in this load: no broken kiln shelves, exploding wadding, collapsing bag walls, or random shattering. Maybe I am running out of things to f-up?

Seriously though, the colors look good on this first layer. Gonna go put some thermals on to unload the rest.

Website Update

2012-01-02T11:10:00.001-08:00

I had an idea to create a "bargain" page on my new website, because I have so many pots that for whatever reason just don't belong displayed with my larger body of work: some are seconds, some are class demos, some are the by-products of sketching three dimensionally; and some have just been kicking around too long and I am tired of looking at them. I just finished posting the first item to it today. Boy is that a fiddly pain in the ass! I guess I've been spoiled by blogger. I assume I will get better at it, at least I hope so; because as things stand I just spent half the day to create a listing that, if successful, will net me about enough for a six of Smirnoff Ice.

If you feel like testing out links for me, check it out here: www.finemesspottery.com.
Click "Shop," and then "bargains" at the bottom of the page. If you click on the image of the soda bottle, it expands to a listing with a Paypal button.

The hyper-focus aspect of my attention deficit disorder is in full swing, so I may be in web-building mode for a while. Fiddly pain in the ass it may be but it's always fun to learn something new.

Overthink it

2012-01-02T05:10:00.000-08:00

...or, just think it?

I am sometimes accused of overthinking things. Case in point: the just-passed Week of reflection. I love the Week of Reflection, and, as every year, I am tempted to declare this the Year of Reflection. But I know from past experience that the charm will wear off; I am more a Fortenbras than a Hamlet, which is why I needed the Week in the first place. Sooner or later you need to commit to an action and implement it.

That does not mean that thinking is done for the year! Case in other point: these bowls. I am trying to design a cereal-size bowl for one of two lines I plan to offer this year (more on that later.) I threw several, thinking I knew what I wanted, but they were not quite right: too stiff and boxy, the Paul Bratter of bowls. The next I threw more mindfully, and though it is similar to the first, it struck me as prissy and tentative. Call that bowl Felix Unger, to stick with the Neil Simon theme. The third I threw thicker, allowing for bolder, more generous facets. This bowl is secure in its masculinity! Let's call this bowl Elliot Garfield. Assuming I still prefer "Elliot" after trimming, he joins a previously designed mug in the Lodge line of ware. The other line is to be called Cottage, and will feature curvier shapes and lighter colors; a more feminine look. BTW, am I the only one who thinks of pots as gendered?

Web Building for Amateurs, Coherently This Time

2011-12-31T15:12:00.000-08:00

Here's a quick synopsis of some of the tools I found useful (or not) Winners and losers:

Winner: California Fonts! You know how almost all of the standard fonts are either dull or illegible? California Fonts has your answer in the form of hundreds of fun, free downloadable fonts. I ended up not using the ones I downloaded because after doing battle over the publishing and then the images, I didn't have the heart to figure out why my text was not showing up; but probably I just needed to upload the font to the server. It's a fun site to click around; there are hundreds of fonts in the category "Retro" alone. Other categories have names like Eroded, Groovy, AntiLoop. Here's one called "Spa Fon."

Winner: Picnik! If you want to incorporate a funky font, you can do it in Picnik, and just make it part of the jpeg.
Loser: WebMatrix. Just, no. If you don't know what you are doing, it's not the program for you.

Winner: Komposer. Free, WYSIWYG, and very flexible: not, as many web-building tools are, just a collection of templates into which you can plug your images and information. I don't think it came with any templates, which could be a drawback if you were looking for the easiest route. Drawbacks: The Help Section was pretty unimpressive. (Loser.) Also, when it uploaded images, it coded them with a complicated address pointing the where they were located on my desktop. I had to go into the HTML source code and change the name of image file to just "whatever-the-name-is.jpg." This sounds hard to do but it is not. Kompozer has a known issue in the form of its publisher, which seems to simply not work - a serious flaw! I thought that I was just doing it wrong, but a visit to the forums indicated that this had been pinpointed as a weakness. (Loser.) To address this:
I downloaded Filezilla, which served the publishing function. I thought it had problems, too, but that really was just me. In actuality it worked like a dream. Winner!

Network Solutions, my web host, has a lot of really useful tools for publishing also. It actually turned out to be the easiest solution for uploading, as I could skip all the host-address and FTP://ftp shit. Winner! That stuff was way too hard to find, though, and not, strictly speaking, free, as I am paying for the hosting through them, and paying for the domain name - and it is considerably more costly than other domain name registries such as Go Daddy.
Winner: Doug! and me. Now I can quit hassling him to updated my website, and take over the procrastination function myself.

Kompozer, WebMatrix, and One Other I can't Recall the Name of

2011-12-31T09:32:00.000-08:00

P.S. Happy ending!This is a pretty whiny post, but it has a happy ending. Check out the home page: www.finemesspottery.com The links don't work yet (except the one to this blog, but you already know how to get here) but I am on my way!
Note: if you still see the old site, reload your page. Your computer may be drawing on your cache.

More later, if you can stand it.

The following post falls between and rant and a pity party. If you are not in the mood for either, maybe skip this one.

I think I mentioned that I downloaded free web building software called Kompozer? Before I did that I downloaded a free web builder called Web Matrix, which I found to be so confusing that I gave up and looked for other freeware.

Now, keep in mind that I don't know much about web building. I've never done it before, so me saying that WebMatrix is confusing should in no way be taken as criticism of the program. Possibly someone who had the first miniscule, solitary clue would find it delightful to use. But that ain't me, so, moving on. Kompozer, on the other hand, has a very desirable quality: WYSIWYG. (Say it out loud, it's fun.) What You See Is What You Get. You build a document, not unlike creating a word document, and Kompozer translates your intentions into HTML code, which is the language computers think in, when they think about the web.

I built a very nice home page. Simple, with a photo for a background and a row of links on the right hand side. I sure would love to show it to you, but I can't for the life of me get it to publish. The instructions in the help menu are limited and confusing; they basically say:

Create document
Publish it.

Thanks! Thanks tons! If I knew how to do that I wouldn't be reading the Help Menu.

Oh, I'm just whining. It's like throwing, I'm sure; no one is born knowing how to do it. My usual words to live by are, "How hard can it be?" and while this attitude has served me well - most things are far easier than you think they will be - once it a while, the answer is, "pretty fucking hard." Occasionally the answer is "impossible, given current resources of time, energy, and brainpower." I don't think this is one of those times, but I may not have any hair left by the time this project is done.

Oh, the one I couldn't think of was Filezilla. I thought it was the solution to my problems - and it still might be. The file in question is now in the server directory...but it isn't on the web, anywhere. And why would it be? I couldn't see how, in Filezilla, I was supposed to tell it where to publish.

Gah.

Firing the kiln today, the last one of 2011. (Thanks, Captain Obvious!) Unloading Wednesday.

Visual Appeal: Lessons from the Donut Shop

2011-12-29T03:47:00.000-08:00

For Christmas I received, among other things, a Dunkin' Donuts gift card. (Thanks Mom!) It reminded me of something that's been tickling my brain ever since I wrote the post about the chocolate covered pretzel sticks. I mentioned in that post that my first job was at Dunkin' Donuts, and I used to amuse myself by trying to make the donuts look as appealing as possible.

What started tickling my brain then, and finally entered my conscious thought this morning as I chose a boston creme and a chocolate coconut, is this: what I was doing was visual merchandising.

Much of what worked to sell donuts could be explained as an indictor of quality. A even coat of sugar was appealing to people perhaps because it appears to have more sugar than a patchy-looking donut. Or maybe it made the donuts look fresher and less man-handled. The same could be said for smooth, shiny frosting. But other qualities were less evidently related to donut-enhancing qualities: Why are jelly donuts more appealing if all the little dots of jelly peering out of the fill-holes are pointed in the same direction? And why, if you only want two, are you more likely to buy from the tray that has 20 identical donuts on it, than the one that has five?

I don't have an answer to that but nevertheless I know that it's true. There is something about abundance that makes people want to take home part of it. Which makes me think: might we sell more mugs just by displaying more similar mugs together? When I make mugs I might make twenty or thirty more or less the same, but when I glaze and fire I try to get variety in the kiln. Maybe I would be better served to fire similar things together, so that on the retail shelves, mugs stay with their cohort.

I have seen first hand how effective visual marketing is: I could predict - nay, manipulate - what people would buy before they walked in the door. And my experience is one tiny shred of what visual marketing entails. Might be worth learning more about, if a person wanted to work smarter instead of harder.

Just a thought.

Java Wadding

2011-12-28T06:08:00.000-08:00

In my infinite quest to replace expensive grog in my wadding, this firing I am following the suggestion of a fellow blogger and potter going by the name Newfoundout Potter. I am using coffee grounds. This suggestion appeals to both the frugalista and the tree-hugger in me: reuse! recycle! Coffee grounds are essentially garbage. We were using them in the compost pile but believe me there are plenty from this house to go around. Our compost is more acid than ideal, due to the preponderance of coffee grounds. Ooo, bad thought: our compost also sometimes smells like vomit, due to its great acidity. Let's hope my wadding does not also come to smell like vomit! That might be a deal breaker. For now, though, the wadding smells nice.

I did find that I had to use more grounds than grog to get the consistency that I want; whereas the original wadding recipe called for 2:2:1 Kaolin:Alumina:Grog, the coffee grounds version is closer to 1:1:1.

It's a weirdly warm day in Central Maine; the thermometer hanging on the deck says it's 50 F. A nice kiln-loading day.

OT: Check out my new profile photo! Turns out the same lighting set up to avoid shadows while photographing pots does a good jobs of filling in crow's-feet.

Two-Oh!-Won-Too

2011-12-27T06:45:00.000-08:00

Boy do I have big plans for 2012! New product development, new marketing strategies, new ideas, and fresh looks at old ones. here are a few goals, in no particular order:

Buttons. This was a suggestion months ago from fellow potter-blogger Sue Pariseau, and I got started on designing a button, but then got busy with orders and Christmas stuff before I got a design I really like. I am scrapping my first mold - the design just isn't working with what I have learned since making it. I know, right? it's a button. Cut a circle, drill a couple holes, and get on with your life. But it turns out that a really good button needs more thought (weight, hole quantity and placement, how the design works with the holes, what about the back, blah-blah-blah.) The world doesn't need any more mediocre buttons, so I pushed back production until I have time to do it right.
Vessel sinks. I've been asked by a former schoolmate and Facebook connection to design a vessel sink for production. I've put this off, mostly because I am intimidated by the technical aspects (unlike buttons. I want to state for the record that I am not intimidated by buttons. I just have high standards.) To push past this, I set a deadline with him, as an internal deadline doesn't mean much; I blow by them left and right. But I hate disappointing other people. I plan to have a design or two to show him by February 1.
Cabinet and drawer hardware. Like buttons, these will help me utilize kiln space more efficiently. I have made such things before, but I want to standardize the shape and size, perhaps with a press mold. Or a slip mold? Remains to be seen.
New shapes, new glazes, new takes on old ones.
Take a set of shots to apply to art fairs. Is this on my list every year? Can't remember, and don't want to. But this year I am ready, in terms of production capacity, to take on a top-shelf show or two. Can my own photos get me in? One way to find out.
Wholesalecrafts.com It's an investment, for sure, but I've heard nothing but good things about it. If you've had a less-than-stellar experience with it, now would be a good time to share that story.
Website. My husband built my site, finemesspottery.com, in 2005. That's almost 7 years ago, for those keeping track. While I was and am grateful for it, it turns out there was an element of "impress-the-new-girlfriend" in it; it hasn't been updated in all that time, because he doesn't really like web designing, in part because he uses a Cro-Magnon version of Fetch. It's extremely fiddly and tedious, and not remotely WYSIWYG. He's not especially interested in web building, period, so he's not up for downloading or learning a more intuitive software. But that's okay, it's not his job, anyway; that would be me. So I've downloaded a free webbuilder valled Kompozer. My hope is to have a site that I can easily update, and provide seamless links with this blog and will Paypal; looking at the beginning of March for that to be up and running.
Just kicking Kickstarter around. It seems some of the projects on this list would fit into Kickstarter's mission, and funding would help during the development phases.

What's on your New Year's list?

Prospero Año Nuevo y Felicidad!

2011-12-26T06:01:00.000-08:00

In Spanish it is customary to wish friends a prosperous new year, as opposed to a happy one; although the intent, I'm sure, is the same. I'd love to have a prosperous year, as I'm sure you would, and to that end, I want to think a little about what defines prosperity for me.

Feeling awesome = prosperity. I've had the unusual luxury of the house to myself for four days*, purchased for me by my poor dog, whose chronic back injury made travel ill-advised. (He is now on a muscle relaxant and pain reliever, and is much improved, thankfully.) Because Doug was away, and because I had been given a Hannaford gift card, I went hog wild in the produce department and stocked up on greens and nuts and avocados and fruit and yogurt, stuff that is usually out of the budget, and which Doug would not eat anyway. This should not surprise anyone, but I feel so energetic! No more running out of gas at 2 pm. I need to find a way to do this all the time.
Feeling awesome, part II: Yoga! I know this, I've been knowing it, but I get busy and forget. If I spend some time doing yoga every day, I will feel better, have more energy, and be more limber; all around I feel more like my younger self. Yoga is free! I can say I don't always have time, but I'm not going to say that; something else will go instead. How 'bout, I replace half an hour online reading news and politics (not the most relaxing activity) with a half hour of yoga. I think that will contribute to a prosperous year.
Financial prosperity, of course, makes other kinds easier. For me financial prosperity would just mean enough to pay bills, eat well, have some fun, and not worry. Health insurance would be nice, too. I am percolating a plan for this. I am shooting for more than just-barely-enough; it would be nice to have some breathing room. Frugality is sort of my hobby; we are pretty resourceful, and not really into "stuff," luckily, but I'd like to have a little bit to save. More on this plan later.
A wealth of ideas: Thoughts of sculpture still flit into my head, but such ruminations are like birds: if you don't feed them, after a while they stop returning. I may not, in fact, have time to devote to sculptural projects, but it may also be a question on allowing the ideas to gain momentum. I also feel like sculptural ideas inform functional ones, so creative aspects of my functional work can be nurtured by not letting the sculptural thoughts wither on the vine. To that end, I am going to start keeping a sketchbook to grab those fleeting thoughts and images.
Love, love, love: may not be all you need, but what's all the rest, without it? I've got the good relationship thing (really: Doug is the bestest) but sometimes am too lazy to make the effort to spend time with friends and family, especially since I am an hour (at least) away from everyone. Will try to fix this in the coming year. Scrabble parties, and 80s Night at Bubba's Sulky Lounge. Let's do this.

*Actually four days is too much. I got lonely. Three days once in a while is nice, if only for the coming-home moment.

The Week of Reflection

2011-12-25T17:08:00.000-08:00

I have a personal tradition: I call the week between Christmas and New Year's the Week of Reflection, and I try to spend it thinking back on the past year, understanding the events and giving them context. I look at where I am, and how my life is, and think both of blessings and how I would like my life to be different; and mapping out the steps between where I am and where I would like to be.

This year I have a huge honkin' lot of blessings, and my life is closer to my ideal than it has ever been before.

2008 was the first year I blogged the Week of Reflection, and boy, have I come a long way since then! This calls for a song:

Unrelated but amusing: one line of lyrics goes: "Pescado mojado me encontre." My Spanish is not good, but I think this means "I found wet fish."

And so begins the Week of Reflection, Two-Zip-Won-One.

Chia Wadding

2011-12-18T08:12:00.000-08:00

Remember when I suggested you could use birdseed in place of grog in wadding? Yeah, don't do that. Not just because of this creepy terrarium, but also because in the last firing a few of the seeds exploded, sort of like an egg in the microwave, I guess. They didn't do any damage, but any time you've got little bits of debris flying around the kiln you have potential for a bad situation.

I am considering using the chia-wadding, however: the seeds have already split. Will let you know if anything unexpected happens.

In Case You Were Wondering...

2011-12-17T04:00:00.000-08:00

...Garden lime is not quite the same as whiting. Some garden lime is closer to dolomite. And some contains what is enigmatically describes as "rock dust."

Okay, so you probably weren't wondering that. But I was, briefly, when I realized I had forgotten to pick up whiting on Thursday, in all the party excitement. I was hoping to save myself a trip to Portland, so I called Knight's Farm Supply. They do carry garden lime, but it is not straight calcium carbonate; there's apparently some magnesium in there as well, like dolomite, only who knows how much. Guess I am making the 110-mile round trip, which is a bigger deal now that I am driving Truckzilla.

On the other hand, whiting is a perfectly good substitute for garden lime on your perennials, to lower the acidity of soil. I don't use it, myself; my plantings pretty much have to sink or swim on their own.

Oh, gardening, I miss you. And it's not even officially winter yet.

Sweets & Treats

2011-12-16T05:04:00.000-08:00

For as long as I can remember, I've been a sucker for pretty food. My first job, in high school, was at Dunkin' Donuts. I didn't care that much for waitressing; what I really loved was "finishing", which meant frosting, powdering and filling the donuts. I took great pride in making the donuts look as appealing as possible; I even made bets with myself that I could control which variety sold out first.
That was kind of a long detour to say, Look what I made! I'm not much for holidays at all, and even less for all the Christmas hullabaloo, but I do like to have an excuse to make beautiful sweets.
Here are some other things that were (and are, through Sunday!) on offer at Portland Pottery:

Portland Pottery's Holiday Show!

2011-12-13T14:34:00.000-08:00

It's happening Friday, December 16th - Sunday December 18. Opening night party, Thursday the 15th from 5 - 9. See you there!

Another Score!

2011-12-11T06:50:00.000-08:00

At the Kennebec River Artisans holiday open house last night, I managed to persuade jeweler Kris Lape to trade with me, for this awesome necklace! Thanks Kris!

And next week I'll be trading with milliner Julie Stewart for one of her amazing hats.

Some days I really love being an artist.

Many Facets

2011-12-10T04:41:00.000-08:00

You know how sometimes you get on a jag, and you just can't quit a particular technique? For me it's been facets, all of December so far...I don't want to hear about anything that isn't facets, and faceting. Something about the way the light, and then the soda vapor, hits those edges...I don't know.
Jags are the best, in that they produce the best pots, although not always the most salable pots. I can already tell I am going to be sitting on a mountain of toothbrush holders when this is over. [Edit: Want one? Get one here.]They are good pots - at least I think so - but maybe a bit too weird for the common aesthetic. Sadly, how close one's own aesthetic hews to the common determines how easily things sell - how "accessible" they are, to use the art-school word. There's a sweet spot in terms of styling which is just a hair outside of ordinary or expected, enough to intrigue but not enough to challenge. To my mind most of the best pots fall beyond this zone, which only means we have to work harder to find the folks who will like them, or transform a broader audience into those people. Functional pottery is already more accessible than, say, minimalist sculpture, so our job is easier than it might be.

ANYWAY. How did I get talking about that? That isn't faceting. I want to talk about faceting. For these pots I used my wire tool, because it was there. I used to have a nice cheese cutter with a wavy wire that made a nice texture, but somehow I've misplaced it. I am considering going out in the garage and rummaging through my husband's fishing equipment for some of that clear plastic line, because the wire tool leaves a slight texture, and I want to see if I like the facets better without. (As an aside to Mainers: Have you noticed that nobody north of Freeport, or west of, say, Windham, actually parks their car in the garage? I have one of every single man-made thing, except a car, in my garage. Possibly because in the poorer areas of Maine, no one's car is worth garaging.

WHICH IS ALSO NOT ABOUT FACETING! These pots will hopefully be out on the 18th, in time for last-minute Christmas shopping. Toothbrush holder, anyone?

Thursday Inspiration - Martha Grover

2011-12-08T13:34:00.000-08:00

Here's one in progress:

Art Fair Acquisition

2011-12-05T04:14:00.001-08:00

The second-best part of any art fair is trading, and I made a beauty of a trade at the SEA show: this awesome Garden Guardian, a cast and sculpted concrete planter. Really I wish I could have gotten two of them; I think they would look amusing in pairs.

The rest of the event, well, it didn't suck. Set up was easy, access to electricity was not too messy, there were both food and restrooms nearby. As for the first-best part of any art fairs, the sales? Well, again: didn't suck, but didn't reach the standard of earning 5 times the booth fee. On the other hand, I didn't pay the booth fee; Portland Pottery did, in exchange for my handing out upcoming class schedules, postcards for their holiday sale, and a brochure describing all of their offerings. And lots and lots of people did taje those things, so a good deal was had by all.A few things:

Credit card sales accounted for about 30% of the total; less than I thought, but still a big whack. I used Virtual Terminal, because I could use equipment I already have - my laptop - as opposed to having to buy a smartphone (to use with Square) or a knucklebuster and plate. I will be keeping my eye out for a used Android or iPhone (and not just any will work: the exact specs are here) because a) my laptop is only good for about 45 unless it's plugged in. Is that normal? Doesn't matter, it is what it is. But if I were at an event where I had no access to electricity - a fairly common circumstance at outdoor fairs - I'd be sunk. And b) typing in the info was fine at this show, but if I were at a hopping-busy show - don't laugh! it happens! - it would be cumbersome. A quick swipe would be preferable.
I sold a bunch of mugs, a bunch of ice cream bowls, almost all my honey jars, but only a handful of bigger things. People were shopping under $30.
I was also shopping under $30. Actually I managed to get most of my Christmas shopping done under $20 per gift, at the show. I am too poor to buy big splashy gifts, so I shoot for unique and memorable. Handmade is great that way.
I needed more packing materials! I had to tumble-stack in the totes when I packed up, as I had used all my tissue and bubble wrap.

You never count your money
When you're sitting at the table.
There'll be time enough for counting
When the dealing's done.

I never do count the money while at the show, I think it's bad luck. (No I don't. That's just silly. But I still don't count until after.)
Anyway, today is back in the studio: I am hoping to squeeze out a firing before the Portland Pottery show, which opens December 15th.

Holy Shatter!

2011-12-01T07:18:00.000-08:00

Though this is not an outstanding photograph, nevertheless you can see that something not good happened here. The sundae dish shattered, apparently during the firing (as opposed to "while cooling.") It was thrown of B-mix 10, glazed with Magic White, and what's worse, through my small opening, I can see two other pots with that combination, and both have either cracked or shattered.

Hmmm.

My first thought is that glaze tension tore this piece apart. There is no applied glaze on the outside, but I thought the soda glass would exert sufficient tension to compensate. And perhaps it would have; this piece may have been ruined before I applied the soda. Magic White fluxes relatively early.
I've used Magic White on B-mix before with no surprises, but I do remember thinking as I applied the glaze that it was mixed a little thick in the bucket. I could have added water, but I didn't think I really needed to. The sundae cups are thinner than most things that I make, because they are stretched vertically after throwing. Between these two variations -- glaze thickness and pot-wall thinness - I guess something had to give.

There are at least 10 more pieces similar to this one in the kiln. I suppose they will all have torn themselves apart in this manner. I can only hope they didn't take too much other stuff with them.

Stay tuned.

Firing Notes

2011-11-29T03:40:00.000-08:00

In no particular order:

~~Bird seed (millet) makes a fine substitute for grog in wadding.~~ [Edit: No, it totally doesn't!] It's cheap and readily available. The drawback is that over long periods of time, it will cause the wadding to stink. At least, that's what happened when some birdseed got into a friend's reclaim bucket one time: it was like the sum of all farts. But I only make small batches of wadding anyway, and a batch usually lasts only a couple of firings. [Edit: Repeat: Do not do this. Bad idea!]
Every so once-in-a-while, Cone 9 falls before Cone 8. This doesn't happen with other cones, and it doesn't happen all the time. And no, I haven't reversed them, I made extra-super-double sure this time.
Four and a half: the number of hours between coming out of body reduction and entering glaze reduction, and the beginning of soda application. Four and a half hours during which the kiln needs no adjustments. Would it be so wrong to sleep during that time? The baso valves ensure that the worst thing that would happen is that a burner would go out and the kiln would be uneven: not good but not tragic. Even if a baso valve failed for whatever reason, by that time the kiln is hot enough that propane entering it instantly ignites, so has no chance to build up and create a hazard. In order for any real safety hazard to occur, ALL the burners would have to go out, AND one of the baso valves would have to fail. We are getting into lottery-number unlikely, here.

Time for the next soda dump. Then it's off to bed for a couple of Zs before my afternoon class. Ciao!

Getting Loaded

2011-11-28T03:40:00.000-08:00

SEA holiday Show on Friday! Here is a thing I am remembering about art fairs: there's no calling in sick. Got the flu? Too bad. Migraine? Suck it up! Luckily I have neither flu nor migraine, just a bad cold. My nose and lungs are congested and I ache all over; the only time I feel well is lying in a hot bath, but minutes after I get out I am achy and stuffed up again. But the firing must go on, so I got about three-quarters loaded yesterday (hehe, no, not like that, although that is a thing to consider: I've heard that alcohol kills germs.) I had to stop when I ran out of wadding, and then remembered that I had used the last of of alumina making door mud. D'oh! I can make wadding without kaolin: kyanite will serve. I can make wadding without grog: sawdust (or oat bran, right, Sue?) will work just fine. I cannot make wadding without alumina. So I crawled off to bed with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and a hot cup of spiced cider, and made a plan to visit Watershed first thing this morning.

All of which means I will be firing overnight tonight. Oh joy. But I keep doing it to myself (well: I've done it twice) so I can't really complain.Maybe I'm getting something out of it, a feeling of being Really Committed, or something. Or just that I should really BE committed, to an asylum.

Anyway: I am pleased with the look of this load. Can't wait to see them finished; that will make all this snot-slinging worthwhile.

(And don't worry about contagion! 2400F will kill any virus on the planet. )

2011-11-27T08:31:00.000-08:00

Pursuant to my earlier post:

High Integrity, Moral Decency Has Cost Idiot Man Millions
CHARLESTON, SC—With its firm grounding in honesty, loyalty to friends, and a strong spirit of generosity, the asinine ethical code of Kevin Premus has cost the 42-year-old idiot millions of dollars over the years, reports confirmed Friday.

The moronic small-business owner, whose moral tenets are said to include basic human kindness and always trying to do what's right, reportedly never cuts any corners and is unwilling to fuck people over, poor habits that have led him into a life of endless mortgage payments, credit card debt, and a relatively small personal net worth.

Hehe. Read the rest here.

Thursday Inspiration: Amy Sanders

2011-11-26T04:34:00.000-08:00

You can read more about Amy's methods here; and she also writes an awesome blog. Check it out here.

Swiper, No Swiping!

2011-11-21T09:35:00.000-08:00

I was at a craft fair here in Augusta last weekend, at which I bought a bunch of handmade soap. I would have bought some candles, too, but that vendor didn't accept plastic, and I never have any cash on me. Which got me thinking about the SEA sale coming up very soon. D'oh! I will need to have some way to accept cards.

I keep reading about Square, the mobile card-swiping device. I was, in the back of my mind, sort of thinking of that as the solution. Yeah, no. Square only works with iPhone, Android, or iPad. Obviously I am not a techie or gadgeteer, as it looks from the outside like anything that works with a smart phone ought to work with a laptop; but sadly, no. Because there is no way on the site to get information prior to sign up, I went ahead and signed up, and then started trying to figure out if it would work for me. It won't, so Square will be sending me, free of cost (thankfully!) a device which is completely useless to me, and I am still without a way to take plastic.

So, if not Square, what? I hate dinking around with this but I need to figure it out. The options I have dug up so far:

If there is wireless access available onsite, I could use Paypal's Virtual Terminal service. Thee fees are 2.9%, plus 30 cents per transaction. This costs $30 a month, but I can cancel it after the single month for which I need it. It's a cumbersome, though, as I have to type in the card numbers manually, and has a per-month payout limit of $500.
MerchantAnywhere provides a reader that will work with a Windows machine. This service is $24.95 a month, on a month to month basis. The swiper cost $99 upfront, though.
I can purchase a swiper to work with Paypal's virtual terminal for $$40. Or, this will work with:
Authorize.net, which has $120 in set up fees, but only 10 cent per transaction; no percentage. or:
Payleap.com, which has a $29 monthly fee, a $29 set up fee, a transaction fee of 25 cents plus 2.15%. Plus, of course, the $40 for the swipe device. Or:
I can create a Payflow account, which is also through Paypal. (I admit I find all these different Paypal solutions confusing: Merchant account, Payflow, Payflow Pro, Website Payments Pro...I just want to be able to swipe credit cards. How many different ways can you do it?) This one has a $179 set-up fee, with a monthly service fee of $19.95. Plus the $40 for the swiper. Since I can't see how it's different from Virtual Terminal, I think I can cross this one off the list.
ChasePaymentech iTerminal. Either I am getting tired and losing patience, or it doesn't say anywhere on the ChasePaymentech website what the service costs. Or, more likely, both. It may be on there somewhere but I grew tired of clicking around trying to find it. They are working so hard to keep the secret, it makes me think the cost must be around a bajillion dollars a month. No, a day. But I'll never know, unless one of you is willing to ferret out the info.
Or, my best choice may turn out to be a more traditional payment processing service, like those offered through Powerpay. This won't work at the Uptown (not that I'll necessarily be going to Uptown!) but it would work for my upcoming event, as it is inside and there will be electricity available. Can't yet say how much this would cost, as I am waiting on a shout back from someone at Powerpay. This also makes me leery; why can't the prices just be on the website? Is it so complicated they need to explain it in person, or so expensive they need a persuader to sell it? Don't know, but I will let you know if I ever find out.

Barring some new info, I am leaning toward Virtual Terminal, with the USBSwiper device.

Back in the old days, when most people still carried checks (yeah, I know...I'm old, okay) when I ran into the occasional customer who had only plastic, I'd just sell them the pots, and give them a business card & ask them to send me a check when they got home I never had anyone fail to pay, but that won't work anymore, as virtually everyone will have only plastic. Just like me.

Thursday Inspiration: Nick Joerling

2011-11-21T07:48:00.000-08:00

Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat

2011-11-19T05:00:00.000-08:00

...where have you been?
I've been down to London to visit the Queen.
Pussy cat, pussy cat, what did you there?
I frightened a little mouse, under her chair.

Actually I've been right here, just not sitting in this chair as much. So far as I know there are no mice beneath it, and if there are, someone - a number of someones, in fact - is not doing his job.

Whenever I read a blog post in which the author apologizes for not posting, I am always amused because, really, unless you are Duncan Black, or Dooce, does anybody even notice? Not that there's anything wrong with that! It is sometimes a comfort to me that if I slack off blogging for a while, no harm done.

I haven't just been napping, eating, and reading the first book of A Song of Ice and Fire. (Completely off topic, I was suddenly reminded of that little ditty kids use to annoy adults:

♫ This is the song that never ends
It just goes on and on, my friends!
Some people started singing it, not knowing what it was
And still they keep on singing it because-because-BECAUSE
This is the song that never ends...

A Song of Ice and Fire is like that: it apparently never ends. I should probably just quit while I still can.)

I've also been making lots of stuff, for my first craft fair in years:

This show puts the "dinky" in "rinky-dinky," but 1)I am rusty in the ways of art fairs, and it's probably better to get the bugs out; and 2)Portland Pottery is picking up the tab, as the event is in their neighborhood, and they want to have a presence.

As much as I enjoy the freedom to make whatever comes to mind, I suffered a bit of writer's (potter's?) block when my mind shifted gears from filling orders. I blew through the blockage with a new look, and created a body of work specific to this show.

Faceting and slip trailing are like chocolate and peanut butter.

I honestly don't know what to expect, though I think I can safely say I am in no danger of having my head turned by the sudden influx of wealth. I promise, it won't change me! No, really, I wouldn't be surprised to walk away with $100, or $1000; more than that would surprise me. Though the money is likely to be a bit underwhelming, I will be using this event to hand out business cards, brochures, and info about my new website.

The one I'm not done building yet. That, however, is an adventure for another post.

Thursday Inspiration: Susan Dewsnap

2011-11-12T03:33:00.001-08:00

June Perry Says:

2011-10-28T07:15:00.000-07:00

This was such a helpful comment from June Perry of Shambala Pottery, that I wanted to share it with all of you:

"Any glaze with around 15% whiting, dolomite, barium or a combination of any of those or with some boron or talc, will repel the soda and should work fine. The color may not be the same as in a non soda or salt atmosphere.
High clay shinos work pretty well, as does temmoku, amber celadons, many ash glazes, Shaner oribe, salt yellow, white salt (most of these are in John Britt's cone 10 glaze book). There's also a large file of soda/salt glazes and slips that I and a couple of other members put on my yahoo soda salt group. You have to be a member to access them (no charge - just a way to keep spammers out). It's not an active site; but it's more of a repository for the recipes, photos of some soda/salt kiln and members work."

June also writes a very entertaining blog.

I love the internet.

I Did Not Know That: The Feldspar Edition

2011-10-28T06:27:00.000-07:00

While mixing up test glazes, I came upon a recipe calling for G-200 Feldspar. Well, hmmm. I have Custer, a potash feldspar. I have Kona F-4, a soda feldspar. As far as I know, for our purposes, there are only potash and soda 'spars. Wrong! G-200 is 75% potash, and 25% soda feldspar. So, I should be able to achieve the same thing by substituting the appropriate proportions of Custer and Kona.

Thanks, Professor Google!

Thursday Inspiration - Josie Jurczenia

2011-10-27T06:57:00.000-07:00

Check out Josie's blog here.

Bag Walls Blues

2011-10-24T06:16:00.000-07:00

My first order of the day: re-build the bag walls. This isn't really a big job, but kind of a messy, tedious one, since the brick are all soldered together with soda glass. But the bag walls are leaning, and though they seem stable enough, it's hard to tell if they would still be stable at Cone 10, or if the solidified glass is what is holding them together.
So, big chisel, 2-lb sledge, bench grinder, and I'm off to the races.

I am carless today (don't ask...f-ing cars, anyway. I hate them; the only thing I hate worse is NOT having a car.) or I would just pop off to INFAB and buy some new brick, which was the original plan. But the wall needs to be rebuilt today, so I am just chipping apart and grinding the existing brick. Holy accumulated soda! Keep in mind that I have been firing this kiln for less than a year. I've lost count but maybe, what, fifteen times? Soda is corrosive to brick, even super duty. The brick around the soda ports are already noticably eaten away.

This problem needs addressing, but not today. Today I need ot get the kiln ready for the workshop this weekend!

One Tree Hill Teapot Video

2011-10-23T15:21:00.000-07:00

Watch Judy Pierce of One Tree Hill Pottery making one of her fantastic teapots!

Thursday Inspiration: Lisa Buck

2011-10-23T04:58:00.001-07:00

Lisa Buck hails from Minnesota, where you can't swing a wire tool without hitting a potter. That saturation has bred a culture of mutual inspiration, and many of my favorite potters work from the upper Midwest. On these pieces I particularly appreciate that Buck is working within a fairly narrow palette, and letting the details of form do the talking.

Photo Tutorial - Slab-Built Lidded Jar

2011-10-20T10:12:00.000-07:00

I've seen wavy cutting wires made from stretched springs, but this one was made by separating out a single wire from a steel cable, the likes of which you can buy by the foot at the hardware store. Hat tip to my dear friend Ginette, who is also my student but could just as easily be my instructor. The steel-cable method produces a cutting wire with a shallower wave.

I paint a bit of slurry on the rim, so I can use it to demark where to cut the textured slab which will be the top.

After attaching and smoothing, I made a one-inch cut on the narrow side, an inch or so down from the top. This is so, when I cut off the top (to become the lid), the resistance to the wire doesn't deform the piece.

I rolled a small coil - smaller in diameter than my pinkie finger - then flattened it, and attached it to the inner edge of the body of the pot, to stabilize the lid.

Still needs a bit of spiffying up with a paddle and rib, but viola, more or less.

Look, Pots!

2011-10-19T15:54:00.001-07:00

It started raining before I could shoot many of the pots from the last firing, but I was able to get a few. These photos are not my best effort - I just pinned the backdrop up, and snapped away freehand. But I'm not applying to the Smithsonian with them, these are pretty much just to show all of you out in TV Land.

I discovered that shooting outside gives me a better result than any lighting arrangement I am able to achieve in my living room, short of purchasing some fancy-schmancy white lights and those little sideways umbrella things. I'd like to have that stuff, but even if I did, I'd still just pin up the backdrop on the deck on unloading day, because setting up is a big pain, and I'm only likely to do it when I need to photos to look awesome.
My deck in the afternoon is in solid shade - the shadow of the house is on it. But there is still a ton more light (hey, wait, does that make any sense? Does light weigh anything?) than there is indoors, even in my brightest room. But because it is in shade, the light is diffused enough not to create harsh shadows. One - the amber celadon bowl - was taken in the morning, and there is a great big reflection on it, which is why it would be better to wait until afternoon. Except it rained this afternoon, sooo...
Anyway, I'm repeating myself. Here are some pots. Most of these will be available at Bay View Company in Saco after tomorrow.

Ready, Set, Unload!

2011-10-19T10:20:00.000-07:00

Looks good so far! I used more soda this time, so things are a little juicier.

Still good...

Hey, whoa! Check out that bowl on the fourth layer. That started out as round as the one above it.

Holy Warpage, Batman!

That's what you get when you flatten Cone 11, I guess. Still, it's not the world's worst bowl. Here is is, unloaded.

First Peek!

2011-10-19T06:19:00.000-07:00

Thursday Inspiration - Elaine Coleman

2011-10-15T09:57:00.001-07:00

Another good case for a Slow Pots movement!

The Boss

2011-10-12T07:27:00.000-07:00

...has a few thoughts to add, pursuant to my earlier post.

Blessedly, this next kiln load is for Bay View Company, who always, always, pay me my money - right on the spot. Shouting out a big thanks!

Thursday Inspiration - Julia Galloway

2011-10-08T04:00:00.000-07:00

See lots of Julia's work here.

#ironyisironic

2011-10-06T16:38:00.000-07:00

Hot on the heels of yesterday's post: I am expecting about $1200 in the form of checks & Paypal deposits, which could - should! should! -- arrive any day now. Some of it is late; some of it is way late. No dinero in today's mail, e- or otherwise. Where the fudd is my money?

I think I'll go actualize my potential.

What is the Business of Business?

2011-10-05T05:43:00.000-07:00

Spending so much time in the studio with only the hum of the wheel (and a parade of cats) for company allows my mind to wander down various coves and alleys of thought. Such as: what makes a successful business? No, really think about it.

Many people would say that the purpose of a business is to make money, and if it is doing so, it is a successful business, period. Too broad for you? Let's stipulate legally; and even go a step further, and say ethically, within conventional standards. Is it enough that this so-stipulated business is making money, to make it successful?

At the risk of sounding like the ghost of Jacob Marley, I've concluded that, no. That's ass backwards. A business has to acquire money, of course, but that is a step in the process of its purpose. Like this: the purpose of a power plant is not to create steam; instead, power plants create steam as a necessary step to achieve the end result: electricity. It's not correct to say steam is a side effect or a by-product; the creation of steam is a key step, without which the plant would not function. Money, in business, is like that. You want some money, and you need some money - you have to live. You can't do your job unless you have enough money to live on. Your business can't function if the people within it - including you - can't. But it's among the means, not the ends.

So, if the goal isn't money, what is it? I submit that the purpose of your business - the true purpose of any business - is a dual: to provide the best product or service that it can in the process of realizing of human potential. There is great overlap between these goals. The realization of your potential, the entrepreneur, is the utilization of your skills and knowledge. The same goes for your staff, if you have staff. A successful business will provide an opportunity for both the owner and the employees to realize the promise of their aptitudes. To the extent that the aquisition of money interferes with the actualization of either owners or employees, it is over-emphaiszed. It has become an obstacle to the success of the business.

Maybe you're waiting for the twist, the part where I conclude that, if you do business in this fashion you will make even more money, in the end. Well, you probably won't. You tend to get what you prioritze, and if you prioritize money only as an avenue to personal growth, your business may well make less money, and that's okay. Because I am advocating for a different model of success. If you have enough that you and your family are comfortable and secure, consider that perhaps you have enough, period.

Yeah, I hear you, there in the back: I should stop smoking that stuff, it'll make my teeth all yellow. But as Marley discovered, you really can't take it with you, and a legacy of material things is an impoverished one indeed. I'll let ol' Jake have the last word:

Glazes to Try

2011-10-03T09:43:00.000-07:00

...via Vince Pitelka:

Killer Tomato Red
Kona F-4 48.2
Flint 25.9
Bone Ash 11.6
EPK 7.1
Magnesium Carb. 7.1
+ Red Iron Oxide 7.1%

Caramel Yellow
Neph Sye 19.0
Flint 17.9
Spodumene 17.8
Dolomite 16.9
G-200 14.3
EPK 14.3
+ Titanium Diox. 8%

Honey Luster
G-200 Feldspar 40.9
Flint 19.1
Talc 14.0
Gerstley Borate 11.5
Dolomite 7.3
Ball Clay 7.2
+ Mang. Dioxide 8%

That last one sounds like an exterior-only glaze.

Also, is it just coincidence that all of the glazes from the list that got my attention have food references in the name? I must be getting hungry!

And thanks, Vince, for publishing these; and thanks to other potters who do the same. I've always thought it completely silly when potters get all possessive about their glaze recipes; as though bodies of work might become indistinguishable if someone uses your glazes! Painters don't do that: "Oh, I've got my special blue, and no one can use my blue except me." I often find glazes online, and almost always alter them to work in my kiln, and when I do, I am more than pleased if someone else can use the recipe. either as-is or with their own alterations. In this way, we all benefit.

Not sure how these will play in the soda atmosphere...but I can think of a good way to find out!

October Goal Setting

2011-10-01T07:17:00.000-07:00

The soda fire workshop! I am so excited about this. There are a number of small things I need to take care of for this, so this first thing on my list is Make a List, of things to make up (all the glazes should be full , for example), things to type up (recipes, a rough firing schedule), things to link up (mapquests for participants, local accommodations), things to cook up (meals I can freeze, so I can offer something at least passable to participants, without cooking.)
I plan to do two firings this month, in addition to the workshop. It looks like I will have enough stuff roll right into the next glaze firing without bisquing, although i still have to wor out whether that will get my October 22 order to its purchaser on time.
In September, I had it on my list to get another consignment account. I've re-thought that, as I think the three (ish) accounts that I have are not yet at their potential; so I've decided to bring them more and better work, and see how that goes.
This is all very dull and business-y. (Although oddly, I am finding that part fun, too, in a Sim City kind of way; that is another post.) However, I am still an artist and in that vein I have an idea for some sets - salt/ pepper, sugar/creamer, and cruets - involving dissimilar shapes that seem nevertheless to belong together.

Between Leaping and Landing

2011-10-01T06:32:00.000-07:00

It's been two months since my last day at the IPTOG, though let me tell you, it seems a lot longer than that. My cubicle days seem like the memory of a fretful dream, and when I have stopped back in the office to visit friends or deliver ware, it's been a bit disorienting. In a real sense it is behind me.

I knew what my goal looked like: financial stability, and an orderly work life as a full time potter. I knew I could get there, but it required leaping a chasm between that last paycheck, and the steady stream of small checks that is the potter's income, not to mention summoning the discipline to work even when the delivery deadline seems far away. I'm not at the goal yet, but I can see the first light of it, on the horizon; I now have something more than faith to go on, that this is indeed ahead of me. In some ways, though, the transitional period has surprised me.

What I expected: I thought money would be a Big Problem, and that I would have to spend down my small savings during the first couple of months of this venture. What I got: Not. Just...not. And I don't know why. I thought I was being crazy-frugal before I quit, but I must have been wrong about that, because even though I am not yet bringing in as much as I did from the IPTOG, the money thing seems somehow easier. Whereas before, my account would be in the single digits (no lie) the day before payday, now that never happens. I am conscious of greater care at the grocery store: more lentils, rice, dry beans, potatoes, and eggs; but since I was already pretty cheap this doesn't go far to explain it. One BIG thing: I used to get lunch out & about in Portland twice a week, or more; and sometimes dinner, too, on the days I stayed in town to teach my classes. Nothing much - Tic Tac O rather than DiMillo's - but it added up, apparently more than I thought. Money that I could have been saving. Which makes me think: where's the waste now, that I am clueless about? NOT that I am complaining. The money thing was my big worry (Thanks, Captain Obvious!) and having it turn out okay (so far -- still got winter & oil bills coming up) is a relief the vastness of which cannot be overstated.
What I expected: With the dead weight of cubicle work cut out of my schedule, I thought I'd finally have time to garden, organize my closets, make sculpture...I thought my working days would themselves be more leisurely. BWAH-HAHAHAHAHAAAA! Leisure? What's that? That earlier post when I envisioned spending the morning preparing deposits and strolling to the post office - yeah, not really. I roll out of bed, feed the menagerie, and head into the studio. After an hour or so I get hungry and go get breakfast, check my email, and go back to the studio. Lather, rinse, repeat, until 7 or 8 pm. Once a week or so I look around and think: This place is a dump, and then I run around for an hour vacuuming and putting things away. I have less free time than I did before. On the other hand, my working time is so much more enjoyable that it is totally worth it.
What I expected: I didn't so much expect this as fear it, but I worried that Doug and I would get on each other's nerves, since we are both self-employed and working from home now. What I got: That hasn't happened. We work in different parts of the house, and bump into each other when we come down to the kitchen for more coffee. I do kind of miss the "Honey, I'm home!" moment, and I feel like we need to create a new ritual of sorts to take its place; otherwise we risk never focusing on ourselves as a couple, because we are just always there.
What I expected: Though I pride myself on my rationality, it's clear that I haven't quite stamped out superstition in my own mind, since I was convinced that, once I no longer had the security of the paycheck, something would happen. Not something truly catastrophic, just something. I'd break my wrist and be unable to throw. Or, the car would die and render me unable to get to class or to my sales calls. Or, worse, my elderly mother would get ill, or...or...or... What I got: Speaking of superstition, knock wood! Nothing like this has happened. And really it's sort of narcissistic to imagine that the universe is just waiting for me to be vulnerable, in order to pounce.

Things that are what I expected: 1)Making stuff is miles more fun than comparing endless columns of numbers. I never tire of it, no, never. 2) Making the leap is the hardest part. Once that's done, the rest follows on.

Thursday Inspiration: Ronan Peterson

2011-10-01T03:54:00.000-07:00

See lots more here. Ronan Peterson also blogs at Nine Toes Pottery, a most intriguing name. Check it out!

It's NaBloPoMo!

2011-09-29T08:56:00.001-07:00

Well, technically, every month is NaBloPoMo; but this month I am participating! I won't necessarily be posting to this blog every day, but I will post to one of the three (two and a half, really.) The theme for October is Between, which causes lots of clay-related ideas to pop into my head: things like negative space, process ideas, business-y thoughts.

I hope some of my fellow clay bloggers will come along for the ride!

Europa, Persephone, Miranda All Dressed Up

2011-09-26T07:36:00.000-07:00

Europa, Persephone, Miranda

2011-09-24T11:13:00.001-07:00

"Women" By Adrienne Rich

My three sisters are sitting
on rocks of black obsidian.
For the first time, in this light, I can see who they are.

My first sister is sewing her costume for the procession.
She is going as the Transparent lady
and all her nerves will be visible.

My second sister is also sewing,
at the seam over her heart which has never healed entirely,
At last, she hopes, this tightness in her chest will ease.

My third sister is gazing
at a dark-red crust spreading westward far out on the sea.
Her stockings are torn but she is beautiful.

Something Fun in Progress

2011-09-24T07:20:00.000-07:00

More to come.

Thursday Inspiration - Liz Zlot Summerfield

2011-09-22T12:18:00.000-07:00

See lots more of Liz's work here.

Over-fire, or Under? The Burning Question

2011-09-21T10:31:00.000-07:00

You'll remember that for due to a thermocouple failure, my last firing was quite uneven. I had to choose between letting eleven fall on one side, or failing to reach 9 on the other. I usually would have chosen to let one side be too cool, thinking that I can always refire the unfinished pots, but this time, in the interest of science, I went for 11. When I shut off, I had nine over on the west side, with 10 just barely soft, and 11 fully over on the east side. And you know what happened? Nothing much.

The pots on the Cone 11 side were very nice. I had to do some grinding, but only where the soda was so plentiful as to form a river. The glazes on the Cone 9 side were fine; not as spectacular as I know they can be, but still perfectly nice.

So: I learned something! It depends on the specific glazes, of course, but this is still useful information.

Soda-fire Workshop, October 29 - 30

2011-09-20T09:04:00.000-07:00

Join me in Augusta, Maine this autumn for an almost-Halloween firing of the soda kiln. Using my slips, glazes, resists, brushes, and tools, we'll spend one day glazing and loading my sprung-arch soda kiln. Day two will be firing the kiln, and learning to mix kiln wash, wadding, door mud, and glazes. Workshop includes slips, glazes, 2 days of instruction, as well as slip & glaze recipes and firing. Bring 6 -10 bisqued pieces, not to exceed 2 cubic feet. I'll get as many pieces as possible into the firing. I can't guarantee every piece will get in, but I'll do my best. Please be able to tell me which clay body you are using, or the recipe if you make your own. Must be Cone 10 stoneware.

Fee: $125

I have room for 5 participants. Once you've registered, I'll send you links to hotels in the area, and Mapquest directions if you need them.

View Larger Map

The firing will be unloaded on Wednesday November 2; you can pick up your work or have it shipped, or I will deliver locally.

Fine Time for a Thermocouple Failure

2011-09-15T20:54:00.000-07:00

But when else would it fail, except when it's in use? When it's just sitting there? How could you tell?

So one burner was out, not sure for how long, but clearly long enough to slow down the firing. Glad I got an early start (relatively speaking!) this morning. I've got 11 going on one side and nine rigid on the other...sigh. Which is worse, a little overfired, or a little under? I would usually opt for "under" on the thinking that I can refire, but this time I'm going to try Door Number 2. I hope I won't be in this situation again, but I probably will, so here's a chance to learn something, for future reference.

Thursday Inspiration - Karen Swyler

2011-09-15T04:49:00.000-07:00

Repeat with variation, negative space as sculpture: Karen Swyler is a master.

Still Summer!

2011-09-13T08:24:00.000-07:00

Here's the glazing pavilion, as seen from my studio window. Glazing in the warm morning sunshine is a welcome reminder of the joys of self-employment, math be damned.

"Thursday" Inspiration

2011-09-10T05:28:00.000-07:00

Check out Brad Schwieger's thrown & altered forms:

To Do Monday

2011-09-06T05:16:00.000-07:00

• Glue on magnet backs
• Finish private order
• Contact 2 potential outlets
• Throw 25 lbs
• Teach class

I've downloaded Open Office software, which is a free version of the MS Office Suite, and used it to create spreadsheets for the rest of the year: what's coming in, what's going out, and the difference between the two. That'll light a fire under ya, let me tell ya.

Which is a good thing.

A Funny Thing Happened After the Orders were Filled

2011-09-04T07:38:00.000-07:00

Though I still have orders to fire, all the ware for existing wholesale accounts has been thrown, so when I sat down at my wheel today, I could make anything my little heart desired, for the first time in a month. The only problem? I couldn't think of anything to throw.

Mugs, I suppose - never have enough of those. But I'm kind of all mugged out. This is something I didn't anticipate when doing all my careful (well, sort of careful) planning: I don't feel like throwing. I need to, because I've got a bisque scheduled on Wednesday, and if I am going to seek out a new consignment outlet this month, I need to have something to put in it...but, meh. I just don't feel like it. I never seriously considered that I might have to force myself to throw!

I ended up making some bottles, not too bad, that are giving me ideas for some other things...

What do you do, when you get stuck?

Hey Jack! Over Here!

2011-09-03T13:57:00.000-07:00

Like, well, everyone, I have a crush on Captain Jack Sparrow. Not so much Johnny Depp, who is a fine actor and surely a fine person, but is otherwise just some guy. His character, however, makes me think I was born in the wrong century. Except for being a selfish, narcissistic, violent criminal, (oh, and fictional...though in light of the aforementioned qualities, that might be a plus, on balance) he's sort of my ideal man. Imagine my delight to read that archaeologists believe that 18th century pirates of the Caribbean had a fascination for fine pottery!

I feel like I did when I learned that the Enterprise-D has a ceramics studio.

Willpower

2011-09-02T08:37:00.000-07:00

Through a colossal effort of will, I managed not to unload the kiln before the door was fully open. Well, except for this one, because it was twinkling at me:
Most of these are destined for Attrezzi in Portsmouth, Bayview Company in Saco, and Cry of the Loon in Casco.

Thursday Inspiration

2011-09-01T11:54:00.000-07:00

In keeping with our class theme for this session - "Around the World" - I really wanted to show students a selection of Yixing teapots. Much to my surprise, it took all of my powers of google-fu to come up with good images. Not that there aren't lots of Yixing and yixing-style pots out there -- they are just so poorly photographed, or the web images are so tiny as to be useless. Anyway, here's what I got:

And then I remember Richard Notkin!

A right little ray of sunshine he isn't; but what compelling pieces!

September Goal Setting

2011-09-01T07:39:00.000-07:00

September - also known as "The Month When I Eat Nothing But Tomatoes" - is upon us, and it's time to get back into my old habit of monthly goal setting. I notice that the beauty of self-employment is also the beast: the lack of any structure to the days hurts my productivity. (My lack of discipline is an ongoing theme, I know, I know, but I think I am not alone in that & hope my attempts to address the issue will either a)help someone else or b) crowd-source the problem: generate ideas from all of you as to how you deal.)

So, Goal One: I need to create some structure, around the nugget that I have: Monday and Tuesday evenings, I teach classes. And I know I need to complete a firing cycle every two weeks. So, let's say Wednesday is firing day, whether bisque or glaze. That means Thursday is cooling, Friday unloading, and either waxing, or grinding, pricing, and packing. Other tasks fall into place: if I know I must bisque on Wednesday, it follows that I must make enough stuff to fill the kiln before, say, Monday, in order that it be sufficiently dry. Let's see if this helps: Baby steps.

On my other note - sales - I have Goal Two: I need to gain a wholesale and a consignment account in September, and obviously, make enough inventory to satisfy all accounts. I have a list of places to approach, and appointments with two prospects. Selling, I find, is exactly like pulling handles or trimming feet or glazing. Remember how you didn't like pulling handles, back when? And now you do, because you got better at it. (At least I observe many student whose experience follow this trajectory.) Everything is more fun after the steep end of learning curve flattens out.

I think those two fairly large goals are enough to be getting on with for September. Now I'm off to make some salsa: the tomatoes are gaining on me.

You Know What I Hate?

2011-08-27T13:57:00.000-07:00

You're glazing your butt off, just motoring along. You know how when you hit the groove, and glazing becomes fun? And then some bloody hurricane comes along and ruins it.

I was really loving it, brushing, trailing, listening to Beau Soleil because when I tried to listen to NPR the stupid emergency alert was going off every 20 minutes. Yes, yes, I know, Irene is coming -- anyone who doesn't know that by now needn't worry, because they must be already dead. I still have two good outdoor glazing hours, but now the winds are picking up - already! - and it's time to drag all the outdoor stuff indoors (or, more properly, into the various outbuildings.) Can't get to my glaze kitchen because Paddy O'Furniture is laying up in there; so much for the bucket of oribe I was planning to mix. I also should really secure the summer-studio-cum-glazing shed; it won't do for the door to blow open and all of my glazed ware get soaked.
Anyway, enough griping. We here in central Maine are likely to get off fairly lightly; regarding the expected tropical storm force winds, the National Weather Service has this to say:

MINOR DAMAGE MAY OCCUR TO OLDER MOBILE HOMES. RESIDENTS SHOULD MOVE LOOSE ITEMS INDOORS... SUCH AS GARBAGE CANS AND OUTDOOR FURNITURE... AS THEY WILL BE BLOWN AROUND. NEWLY PLANTED OR YOUNG TREES AND SHRUBS MAY BE UPROOTED IF NOT SECURED PROPERLY. ISOLATED POWER OUTAGES WILL BE POSSIBLE.

Anyway. I ought to go and secure my garbage cans & such. Wherever you are, be safe!

Thursday Inspiration!

2011-08-26T10:41:00.001-07:00

It's not just for Thursdays anymore!

Lucy Breslin is a Maine potter whose work makes me dream of starting a movement called Slow Pots; you know, the equivalent of the Slow Food Movement. Labor intensive and painstaking methods can be well worth the effort, and success is not measured by the number of pots on the board at the end of the day.

Uh-oh, I think I feel a class theme coming on...

How to Not Hate Etsy

2011-08-25T11:56:00.000-07:00

Remember when I broke up with Etsy? Seems like it was only yesterday, but it's been more than 18 months! So much has happened. Etsy has changed. I've changed.

It's not what it sounds like! I'm not going back to the way it was before, the endless forum-haunting, photo-tweaking, and re-listing. I just think there may be a place for Etsy in my life; my expectations are different this time. For one thing, we won't be exclusive. Etsy was never committed to helping my business. I know that now. Et$y is only after one thing. But I know what I want out of the relationship. All I really want is the Facebook tab.

Yes, that's right. I am doing it for the Facebook tab. Which isn't even a tab anymore but a tiny little link on the lefthand side.

This all came about as a result of all that math I was doing a few days ago. I left out a possible way to increase to kiln yield strictly in terms of dollars, and that is to sell more retail. Right now I have several big consignment and wholesale accounts, but only a few friends to whom I sell retail. (I used to sell to my friends at half-price, which I called the Friends & Family discount, but then it stretched to included acquaintances and co-workers and friends of friends. How do you tell someone, "I'm sorry, but while Suzy is a close enough friend to qualify for the F&F discount, you are not. It was a near thing, but I have to draw then line somewhere." Basically everyone I ever met was getting the half-price deal, which was unfair to my wholesale accounts, so I stopped doing it. Now it's immediate family only, and they are usually getting seconds anyway. But I digress.)

So. I needed a way to offer items for retail sale. I do sell through the sister blog to this one, but Etsy provides a way to showcase multiple items at once, and to have those items available on Facebook whenever anybody happens to want one. And it's only 20 cents every four months, per item.

So it's time to bury the hatchet with Etsy. With that in mind, I've compiled this list of all the things that drove a wedge between Etsy and me in past attempts. Here are my Top Ways to Not Hate Etsy:

The very best way to use Etsy and not hate it is to be a shopper. It's a lot of fun from that vantage point.

Stay out of the forums! This deserves subsections:

They are hatcheries for drama. I really don't give a shirt about resellers on Etsy, or someone copying someone's design, or what everyone thinks of the new relevancy search.
I can't resist clicking on those "Here's how I made a bajillion sales yesterday, and you can, too!" threads. Every single one of them was a list of things I was already doing ("Promote! Change your photos! Re-write your listings! Relist frequently! And if you are doing those things and the aren't working, do them more!" It's really frustrating and aggravating, so it's best if I just don't read them.
There's a creepy dynamic there between true believers, who worship at the church of Etsy, and people who apparently think Etsy is genuinely evil and yet they still keep selling there. Don't get sucked in.

Don't fall for that re-listing scheme. The more sellers relist, the more sellers need to relist to stay high in the search, until the ideal time between relistings is infinitely brief, and everyone is relisting everything, always. Counting on shoppers finding you through searching your category is a losing battle. Sure, it can happen, but when it does, it's like found money. I found $60 on a bar floor one time, but I wouldn't write it into a business plan. In fact:
Don't count on Etsy for anything. Money in the pot is the pot's money. A listing is 20 cents every four months, for which you get a link through which someone could buy something. It's up to you to do everything else to get the link in front of people, or nothing at all; it's only 20 cents.
Don't pelt your Twitter followers with links to your listings, unless you want them all to hate you.
This one might be specific to me, but I am choosing the "Made to order" option this time. Not custom -- perish the thought! -- but I will make pieces as people order them. That way I don't have to have a bunch of inventory here, languishing, when it could be sitting on a shelf somewhere, selling or helping something else sell.

I guess that's about it.

Just don't say "I told you so."

Tenth Time is a Charm

2011-08-22T06:46:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday to me! I spent the first hour of it having the traditional conversation with Suburban Propane, some variation of which I have every single time I call for a delivery:

Me: Good morning, could I get a propane delivery?
Lady at Suburban Propane company: We just delivered to you two weeks ago.
Me: Yes, well. Thanks. But I need another delivery.
Lady at Suburban Propane: It's August.
Me: I know. I use propane to fire my kiln, not to heat my house.
Lady at Suburban Propane: What does the gauge read?
Me: The gauge doesn't work.
Lady at Suburban Propane: Have you been using the kiln alot?
Me: I only need to use it three times, and if it runs out in the middle of a firing, all the propane that's gone towards that firing is wasted. So I prefer not to run out.
Lady, dubiously: Alllll-right, I'll let the driver know....

What's worse, I guarantee I will have to call at least once more, and probably twice, because the driver will look at the order and say, "Nah, she's nuts. I just delivered there." It's almost like Suburban doesn't want me as a customer, because I use too much propane, necessitating a lot of pesky deliveries and stuff.

If it didn't cost hundreds of dollars to install tanks I would have switched companies months ago. As it is I am considering becoming cranky. So far I have been relentlessly pleasant and polite, but maybe the problem is pleasant, polite conversations are less memorable than cranky ones.

I'm not that good at cranky, though, and it ruins my day as well as perhaps the person on the other end, who has lots of customers to remember, not just me. Still, I am losing patience. They presumably utilize a computer to store information; there must be some way to make a note on my file that if I call for propane, it's because I need it.

Math is Tough

2011-08-19T06:19:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I agree with Teen Talk Barbie: math is hard. Or not so much hard as immutable, inexorable, and scary. In fact I didn't even do the math, except in a most general way, before I quit my job, because if I had I am certain I would have been intimidated out of taking the step. Sometimes it's necessary to burn the boats.

But now the boats are smoking hulks, and I need to make my new situation work. So I figured out how much, in clay & glaze materials & propane, each firing cycle costs, how many firings I can do per month, and how much income I need to replace.

Skipping all the overly personal stuff about what my precise income needs to be, I determined that I need to take $1100, wholesale, of salable ware out of each kiln load. My last load added up to about $750, or would have if everything had been salable, which it wasn't and it never is. We have a gap of about $400 between ought and is. I am at this time selling every single item that comes out of the kiln: for the last 3 or 4 firings, every single piece has already had a destination - a sold destination - when I loaded it.

First thing I notice: I need to charge more for the big pieces, big bowls and platters especially. They have a high failure rate and they occupy kiln space inefficiently; I can make twice as much, or more, money from a shelf full of mugs as I can a shelf full to serving bowls. Bowls are also magnets for little bits of debris that would bounce off a casserole or mostly likely miss a mug altogether. But I can't change that yet, since I am filling orders the prices of which are already set.
What I can change: I just purchased (from Ebay) some kiln shelves that fit my space better. I was still using the old shelves from my old kiln, because I couldn't afford all new furniture on top of the expense of kiln building. But these were a bargain & will increase the two layers on which I can use them by about $100 each. So there's half the problem solved.

I also need a few new stilts; I need some 6 inchers, I've only got soaps & half soaps, and not many of the halves. I also have a few bits of broken kin shelves to act as spacers. I've got about one million soaps, so I don't even have to buy brick, I jist need to get down to INFAB in Lewiston and get tehn to cut my brick. I think I can fit another layer in, doing that; that's around $100 depending on what is on the layer. So that's 3/4 of the problem, also for short money.

Which leaves a $100 gap. I have a couple of ideas - miniatures? - and of course there's always the ol' price increase option. I could also try to replace some of the income through classes & workshops, which seems like cheating, somehow, but whatever works. I am stone out of things to cut back on, so increased frugality is not an option.

Anyway. This is just the beginning of the math process, so I am sure other ideas will occur to me. I wonder: do other potters do this, or is it more seat-of-the-pants?

I am not tempermantally well-suited to seat-of-the-pants.

Side Effects, and How to Pour a Plaster Drying Block

2011-08-15T06:56:00.000-07:00

There are all kinds of small issues involved in ramping up ceramic production, issues that you don't really think about until confronted with them. Stuff like, where to keep the extra ware while it is in progress. (Answer: Build more shelving, and clean up the studio. A lot of the crap in there is just that, crap.)

I've been noticing that I can no longer keep up with my reclaim clay. I used to scoop out a slabfull of slurry every few days, and that was enough to keep the buckets to a minimum: one wet bucket & one dry. I had to bring in a second wet bucket and then a third; when I make more stuff, I also make more trimming scraps and throwing slurry. Answer: I need to increase my drying space, by making another plaster slab.

I've actually never cast anything in plaster before, as I had heard horror stories about how, if you don't get it exactly, precisely correct, it cracks or crumbles or just never dries at all. But I happened to have a 4-pound box of plaster lying around (can't remember what I bought it for...) so I made a small, test block: no problems at all. Onto the real thing!

First thing: you don't need to get pottery plaster, if you are just making a drying block. Pottery plaster is better for molds because it is finer and takes detail better, but for my purposes plaster of paris from the hardware store is just fine.

Second thing: Prepare the mold before you do any mixing. I used the lid of a case of paper. These are easy to come by -- ask at Staples. Or any office, even the so called "paperless" offices, will still use a case or two of paper every week. I coated the inside of it with vegetable oil (no need for fancy sprays or mold release soap.) In hindsight, I perhaps should have used paraffin; the corners of the mold sprung leaks under the greater pressure of the full-sized block. Paraffin might have prevented this; as it was, I stopped them up with gobs of clay on the outside of the box.

Third: add the plaster to the water, NOT vice versa. I filled up a bucket with cool water: Four pounds of plaster needed 5 cups of water, which is more than the directions stated, but it was obvious once I started that the suggested 3 cups were not going to be enough. So, for 25 pounds, I'll use about 30 cups of water.

Fourth, when you add the plaster, sprinkle a handfull at a time onto the surface of the water, wait for it to sink, and then sprinkle the next handful. Do this as quickly as the material will allow. Toward the end I had to mix with my hand, to squish the lumps.

Have a scraper or smoother ready. The plaster might be thick enough that it won't flatten out by itself.

Plaster sets up very quickly but it takes a long time to finish curing. I won't use my new slab for a week, to make sure it's ready.

New Name

2011-08-15T05:06:00.000-07:00

I am going to re-name my business Mishaps Pottery! This time a cone pack exploded.

It could have been worse -- the pack was on a shelf that was overhanging the burner channel, so it's likely that the debris mostly fell in the channel, but you just know some of it got in something. I was also lucky that the "important" cones - 012, 05, 8, 10, and 11 - were still standing. The oopsie only took cones 3, 6, and 9, and who needs those anyway? This event inspired me to make up a bunch of cone packs in advance, so next time the will be all dry & ready to go.

At this point no one will believe this but I am not a complete and total clown! And what matters are result, right? We'll see those on Wednesday. Stay tuned!

Tumblin' and Rollin'.

2011-08-06T05:19:00.000-07:00

I can cram an amazing amount of stuff into my little kiln when I need to! Thank God you can tumblestack greenware.

The glaze firing is, obviously, unloaded, and I am rolling right into the next cycle with this bisque. I learned something with this firing. (I mean, something besides "Check the propane gauge before beginning." Although it turned out that the gauge was broken so it wouldn't have mattered.) I learned that my kiln climbs faster in heavy reduction (within reason). This doesn't entirely make sense to me, as I know that an oxidizing flame is hotter. My theory is that pushing in the damper forces the heat to stay in the chamber instead of rushing right out the stack. This is good news, as it also fires more evenly in a heavier reduction; no surprise there. Also, some of my glazes are much more interesting and successful in a deeper atmosphere.

I learned another thing, too, from yet another error: I've always prepared the soda salad with soda ash, baking soda, and whiting. I forgot the whiting this time and saw no difference in the outcome. I never did know what it was for, but now I can guess: nothing.
All of my pots have destinations and are packed up for their journey, but here are some images of the pots my apprentice-for-a-day brought to the firing:

One bad note: I did have a kiln shelf crack in the firing, sending a shower of debris into a few pieces. I lost a big bowl and a couple of smaller ones, open shapes being more susceptible to such mishaps.

Temptation

2011-08-05T05:38:00.000-07:00

I have two standing rules regarding unloading the kiln: I won't open the door until a twist of paper, stuck in through the spy, does not smoke or smolder. This tells me that the kiln is below 450°. The second rule is that I will not unload any pots until I can do so with bare hands. Even my most sensitive glazes are not more sensitive than my hands, and if they were I'd replace or reformulate them, because a glaze that can't handle hand-comfort level also can't handle the dishwasher or the microwave.

But boy: the temptation. I am dying to know if the whole kiln is as good as the front sundae dish, and also, there something funny going on further back, like maybe a pot slumped?

Anyway. I'll find out soon enough. Well, not soon enough, but soon.

Thursday Inspiration - Tara Wilson

2011-08-04T14:41:00.001-07:00

"Pots physically capture and record their firing process is similar to the way sedimentary and metamorphic rocks speak of their history."

- Tara Wilson, Artist-in-residence, Archie Bray Foundation, Helena, Montana

See lots more here.

Can You Bisque in a Soda Kiln?

2011-08-02T05:43:00.000-07:00

Yes.

When I was planning the kiln, I looked everywhere and asked everyone this question: Can you bisque in a soda kiln? As an answer I got the same thought that had already occurred to me: You might get fuming on the ware that interferes with how the piece accepts glaze. I went ahead & built the soda kiln anyway, because a) my old kiln was about ready to fall down, so I had to do something; and b) if it turned out that the soda kiln was inappropriate for bisquing, I could always buy an electric - a readily available (if expensive) solution. But I am now in a position to answer: The soda kiln can double as the bisque kiln. I have observed some minimal fuming; a few pieces appear a bit darker in spots, as if they've been lightly toasted. But I have not noticed any difference in glaze application. So, mystery solved. If you are pondering, consider this question answered.

Not that I have any reason to do so, but I could probably diminish the fuming even further by scooping the remnants of the soda salad out of the burner troughs.

So Embarrassing

2011-07-31T10:59:00.000-07:00

You won't believe what happened.

First, and totally, completely unrelated, and not at all germane to this post, don't you hate those blogs that are all, "Look what I made, aren't I cool, I am so much cooler than you!" I like a blog in which the author admits to being a fuck up once in a while. Don't you?

Onto our regularly scheduled post, already in progress:

During the firing yesterday? I ran out of propane.

I am still not sure quite how that happened. I think I misremebered when the fuel truck was last here, and therefore how many firings the tanks had already served. I do know how it could have been avoided, however: there's a handy-dandy gauge provided for that very purpose, which a person who is not a fuck up might have checked.

Rest assured that I am past the self-castigation & am laughing, now, because it isn't the worst thing that could have happened; the burners started losing pressure around 012, so I put it into the deepest reduction I could get, given that there wasn't any fuel, and then shut it off and closed it up tightly.

I had an firing buddy loading with me yesterday, and she stayed for the early hours of the firing. Special message for her: DK, it's gonna be longer than I thought, to get the pots back to you; but they will still come out well. And thank you for your help.

Anyway. Delivering work to Portsmouth & Portland today, hopefully with a sales call in Kennebunkport of Ogunquit. Before I go, I need to ge ton the phone with the porpane guys to get a delivery before Wednesday, with I attempt this firing again.

Thursday Inspiration

2011-07-28T11:03:00.000-07:00

See more here and here. See Margaret building a teapot here!

Lots Oribe

2011-07-27T13:11:00.001-07:00

You ever have one of those days when you just can't get out of your own way? Today is sort of like that. Or more like the universe is making my to-do list for me.

I did manage to unload the kiln. This load was heavy on classic turquoise oribe, a dependable glaze for me. I also tested a green oribe, which was darker and moodier, with some gunmetal lowlights. This was successful enough that I think it will become a part of my palette. Note to self; the upper right hand corner of the kiln was pretty dry, like the soda didn't fully reach it. Might be better to put more heavily glazed pieces in that area; alternatively, I might push the damper all the way in during the soda application, to force the vapor to circulate around the kiln longer before rushing out the stack. (Will that work? I don't know. I just made that up.) It might help in another way; this load seems a bit underreduced, which is no problem for cobalt & oribe, but the flashing slips are quite pastel. Doing back to back firings this time: Next load goes in on Saturday.

The pots here are headed for Portsmouth, NH, to a fine kitchen goods shop called Attrezzi.