Blame it on the Rain

 

I guess we'll just blame it on the rain. 

Day One of the 2025 Maine Pottery Tour was down about half from last year. We had a few good hours in the morning, but spotty rain all afternoon, topped off by a downpour just at 5 pm when we were putting up the tent walls. I had a bit of a crowd for the kiln opening, although most were my students, who had work in that kiln, and people they brought with them. It was a lot of fun! And I was lucky to have the help of Liz Downs manning the sales table, because I could not have done both. The firing was very good, which was a great relief to me after its rocky start. Oh & the unnecessary  $200 baso valve arrived in the mail yesterday...at least I will have one on hand if it should act up again. 

Day Two awaits! Rain is continuing, so I don't have high hopes, but maybe I will make a couple hundred dollars more. If not, well, I still have the ware, and stores awaiting. 

If clay life has taught me anything, it's that you can't control everything, and the weather is at the top of a very long list. You learn to roll with whatever happens. 

I Peeked!

 I have to wait to unload the kiln, because I promised we'd do that Saturday morning during the tour, but I couldn't wait to look! 

Where Does the Lone Ranger Take His Trash?

 

🎵To the dump, to the dump, to the dump-dump-dump...!🎶

I didn't see him while I was there today, though. I had a mattress & box spring to dispose of, as I finally got a new one. Replacing those has been on my list for like 20 years! Other than that, here are my three days in the studio. You know the ones: Yesterday, Today, & Tomorrow. 

• Yesterday: A couple hours in Vassalboro to help my sister move (although I mostly waited around to meet the movers.) Also made chicken vegetable soup & loaded the kiln for the firing I will unload during the Maine Pottery Tour. 
• Today: the aforementioned dump trip; an hour or so posting my Maine Pottery Tour event to community calendars, and sending out press releases; the last few things into the kiln; and tonight I've got class
• Tomorrow: hopefully firing the kiln! And doing a bunch of yardwork to get ready for the tour. 

April Rewards!

I had no idea so many people were into stickers! Since I started the patreon page a year ago, I've had several people ask if I would offer stickers. Like everything I do, it took me a while to get around to it, but I did get there: this month's reward at the $5 level (the Water tier! Earth, Water, Air, Fire, get it?🙂) and up, is a sticker! You may remember this image from the t-shirts I created - you can still get one of those here -  and I still had the .jpg lying around. Stickers it is! 

I used a company called Sticker Invasion, who are reasonably priced but maybe a bit slower than the larger operations? My sense is that it's one guy, doing everything, not unlike Fine Mess Pottery, and I do have a soft spot for very small businesses. 

I ordered some extra, so I will have some for sale at the Maine Pottery Tour (come visit!) 

I've also ordered screens made from Little Chair Printing, with which I can screen print tshirts, aprons, and tote bags. I did make the sane decision not to try to offer a screen-printing event at the tour, but now I have a whole year to re-learn this process, so I can do it next year. Those practice pieces - the ones that are actually successful - will probably find their way to patrons too, probably at the Air & Fire Levels. Maybe I will make artwear out of the ones I goof up! 

Maine Pottery Tour 2025

It's the same, only it's different. 

Longtime readers may remember that I founded the Maine Pottery Tour in...2012? Or 2011, I forget. I didn't have grand ideas, at the time; I just needed an event after a long winter. Here in greater Augusta, we're blessed to have six or seven studios within a few miles of each other. I persuaded my potter-neighbors to all hold our spring open house events on the same day, to share promotional efforts & make it more of a thing. 

And what a thing it became! It has grown every year. 

But this year, I'm not organizing it. I did, up until last year's tour, and while it was a lot of work, it was also a lot of fun. Or maybe fun isn't the word I want...it was satisfying, like figuring out a puzzle. How much/fast can we grow without each individual event suffering? I tried to grow the audience along with the tour itself, because the individual studios' success was the whole point. The tour itself was just a means to that end. 

Inevitably, it grew beyond my ability to manage it. It was always a volunteer effort, and everything we did to make it better also made it more work. More studios also mean more work, and more questions to answer. I couldn't carry it anymore. 
Lucky for me, Milly Welsh of Zwellyn Pottery was willing to pick up the torch. We both understood that it had to become a paying concern if it were going to continue - and Milly thinks she can do that. 
So far it seems to be going great! There are 80 studios this year. Because Milly & her team run a web development company, they were able to automate many functions, lightening some of the load. 

Anyway! This year I was looking forward to having time & energy to promote my own event as zealously as I previously promoted the tour as a whole. It didn't happen quite like that - I spent more time making pots and - confession - more time just not working. That's actually pretty nice, not working sometimes, have you tried it?
Now here we are three weeks out & I'm back in the groove. I sent out the 75 postcards that came as part of my tour package, but my mailing list is like 300 people. It's actually cheaper for me to create my own Fine-Mess-specific postcard & send those out to the rest of the folks. The image above is what I came up with. I wanted to include some process photos, because to me that's what makes the tour a happening; without the demos & the projects & the kilns, it's just shopping. I've always worked to make my event more than that. The shopping is what makes it possible, but building connections between artists and audience is its real purpose. 
If you're anywhere near Maine the first weekend in May, I hope you'll come visit me. Read more about what's on offer at Fine Mess Pottery here; plan what studios you'd like to visit with the Plan My Tour app. 

It's time to think about...

 ....the Maine Pottery Tour! 

Oh, wait, no it's not!! As proud as I am of the work I did building up the tour to the event it is today, I am only delighted to have handed off that work to Milly Welsh and her team. Now is about when I would be sending out an email checking in with studios to see who would be participating this year. 

I'm almost giddy that the tour will go on but I don't have to do it. 
One of the big things I am excited about is putting the time & energy I was spending on the tour as a whole towards promoting my own event. I haven't been unhappy with my turnout but I do feel like there's room to grow.

So! While I do not have to start thinking about the tour yet, I will soon. Soon, but not today! Today I am sorting, pricing, & packing pots to go to my consignment accounts, finishing some leatherhard ware, and hopefully making a video for my Patreon page. I'm going to try This One Weird Trick I saw on instagram & make a succulent planter. It's very fun & easy! I love contrast of the rough, tree-bark-y exterior surface with the smooth, refined interior. I think the soda kiln will be a great surface for it & preserve the craggy, natural quality of it. Picture it with Hen & Chicks or Zebra plants in it. 

That vid will be for paid subscribers, so if you are interested, subscribe today! Paid subscriptions start at $1.50/month. 

Happy Accidents

Remember the firing when I accidentally shot the brass sprayer wand into the kiln? That was funny*! It could have been much, much worse, but as it was only the pieces wearing flashing slip were affected, like these seashell refrigerator magnets. They were supposed to be tan, grey, & bone - you know, seashell colors! The copper in the brass that fumed the kiln when that wand melted turned them all varying shades of grayish blue. Worse, it fluxed the flashing slip so that the wadding fused to the backs. 

Well, I decided blue is not the worst color for a seashell - and wadding is soft & easy to grind off, deliberately. I got to grinding & finished by gluing magnets to the back. The epoxy is curing now - these will be available for the Maine Pottery Tour, next weekend. 

*No it wasn't.

 

Signs of Spring: Cleaning up the Summer Studio

Before...

It's one week before the Maine Pottery Tour, and I am determined not to put off all the hard work until the day before. One of the most daunting tasks? Clearing out the summer studio of it's months-long accumulation of junk, actual trash, leaves & dirt. It's meant to be upwards of 60° & sunny today - perfect outdoor cleanup & hauling weather. I mean, I can think of things I'd rather be doing, but duty calls. I once read a quote from David Campbell: "Discipline is remembering what you want."I unfortunately can't remember what he actually did that was noteworthy, but the quote itself makes sense: when I keep my mind on the outcome I want - eyes on the prize, you could say - it's pretty easy to motivate myself to do the work that needs to be done. 

Usually. Longtime readers will remember that I sometimes struggle with depression. When that rears its ugly head, it can interfere with my discipline, because not only do I not remember what I want, I don't actually want anything! Not enough to make an effort for it. I had a longish bout with this in the early spring, that I finally connected with the creeping-up of my dosage of the weed gummies (legal in Maine) that help me sleep. For a couple of years, I've been taking a 5 mg dose nightly, & sleep-wise, it's been magical: I fall asleep & I stay asleep for 7-8 hours. In March, trying for a bargain, I bought a bag of 20 mg gummies, thinking I would cut them in 1/4s; but sometimes I forgot & bit them in half. Once or twice i even took a whole one. This bumped up my tolerance FAST & as a result I was taking a lot more than previously. Turns out that stereotype about weed is at least partly true, or true in some cases. It interferes with dopamine production - dopamine being both the motivation & reward hormone for accomplishment. I knew it didn't feel like my normal depressive episode, because there was no attendant Black Despair - I just felt no desire to do anything, and no little zing of satisfaction when I did manage to get something accomplished. None of usual tricks to break my low mood cycle worked. I went through my days feeling like I was dragging a jersey barrier behind me. 

Anyway! A couple weeks ago I dropped back down to my micro-dose, and my attitude & energy levels returned to normal, but by then I was badly behind on tasks that needed to be done. Now I am scrambling to catch up, but some things I am just going to have to let slide. 

Not the summer studio, though! That will get done today. I also have mugs that need handles & decoration, & a few shelves left to grind & wash. I hope you find some time to get outside today, & do something more fun than grinding kiln shelves! 

 

Meet the Potters of the 2024 Maine Pottery Tour!

Maine Pottery Tour, May 4th & 5th

 

Regular readers know that I annually organize the Maine Pottery Tour. I'm in the thick of it right now, ordering postcards, making ad buys, gathering up longitude & latitude for each studio on the tour. My favorite part is always creating the postcard. I'm especially pleased with this year's version. These postcards have become collectible! Shoot us an email at info@mainepotterytour.org if you'd like to receive one in the mail. 

We expect to have more than 70 studios on this year's tour - the largest ever. We have somewhat less funding than in previous years, so we're having to skip the spendy magazine advertising, & will need to double up on free and low-cost social media & small newspaper ads. 

As I have for the past few years, I will be doing a kiln opening Saturday morning of the tour. There will also be wheel demos, plates for visitors to paint, a drawing to win a piece, and - new this year! - bonuses for folks who rack up visits to 5 or 10 studio on our new applet, launching next week. I'll announce that here when it's ready to go. 

I'm hoping to see you at the 2024 Maine Pottery Tour! 

Day Dawns Bright

 

It's 5 am; the flower moon is setting on Day One of the 2023 Maine Pottery Tour. Come See me at Fine Mess Pottery in Augusta today! 

Occupational Hazards

 I was so eager to get a glimpse of the results of Wednesday's firing, I singed my bangs at the spyhole! One eyebrow is a bit crispy also. 

We'll be unloading this kiln tomorrow morning during the Maine Pottery Tour. Come join us! Or visit any time during the weekend to shop, see demos, maybe paint a plate! For some unknown reason I feel more ready for the tour this year, or maybe just more accepting that yes, things will go wrong, things will be forgotten, & it will all still work out just fine. 

Hope to see you at the Maine Pottery Tour! 

My favorite day

​

I'm always happy on unloading day. Well, almost always. I certainly am today! This kiln load was a little light, because I have an unloading scheduled for May 6, during the Maine Pottery Tour, & I wanted to make sure I have enough pots left for that. 
The soda was a little heavy this time...weird because I always weigh out the soda & measure the water, it ought to be the same every time. Maybe the damper was closed a bit more than usual? I don't know what else would cause a noticeable amount of variation. 

Although I do like variation! I like having some peachy, some grey, some bone, some darker pieces when I set up my display. 

This result was 1300 grams of soda - 600 soda ash, 700 baking soda - in 3 gallons of warm water, sprayed while cones 8, 9, & 10 were falling. I typically lay 11 down. 

These pots will mostly be available during the Maine Pottery Tour. A few will be making hteir way to shop - Bay View Company, Monkitree, and  - new! - the Maine Potters Market. (More on that later! :) )

My kiln is probably cool now so I'm' off to finish unloading. I hope to see you during the Maine Pottery Tour! 

Getting Ready!

 

A peek into the spyhole! Unloading Saturday at 11

This might be my busiest day of the year: the day before the Maine Pottery Tour! (& yet here I am blogging, lol.) No matter how prepared I think I am, there is always too much to do on this day. Get change, print flyers, price pots, double check the Square app, set up the road signs. I would normally set up the shelves on Friday but we are meant to get high winds today, so that seems like a Bad Plan. Guess I'll just have to get up way early tomorrow!

Anyway. I was pretty excited to see how nice things look thru the spy, can't wait to unload with visitors tomorrow!! 

Third Firing is in the Books!

 Despite having the mother of all colds (definitely not covid; I have tested 3 times now - 2 at-home & one pcr), I could not wait to unload the third glaze firing of the new soda kiln this morning. Got some amazing color - kind of a bronze-y gold - on the bare bmix body; and the Bauer orange, that reliable standby, got almost uniformly glossy & bright. See for yourself!

There were a couple disappointing factors, tho - some of the pieces were made before I started slow-drying anything with slip decoration, and as a result there was a little bit of popping off. Slow drying seems to have solved this problem, so yay; but of course those individual pieces will have to be seconds. 

And speaking of seconds, some of the Dotopia pieces - the ones with Oribe dots, as opposed to yellow dots - some of those will have to be 2nds also, because a lot of the dots jumped right off the ware & onto the kiln shelves (mostly) or other pots. This is a super annoying new problem, which I suspect is caused by a change I made it response to advice, and upped my bisque temperature from ^08 to ^05. I can't see any advantage to this - just higher fuel costs - & now it has made my glaze behave badly. So, not to put to fine a point on it, fuck that. 

Some dot pots that didn't have that annoying problem

You might think I am unhappy with this firing but - au contraire! - I am quite delighted. I got a lot of good pots, I know (at least I think I know) how to correct the problems, and best of all I feel like I am getting a good handle on how to fire this kiln. I think the level of reduction & amount of soda were just about perfect. 

I am always happy when I am learning new things. 

Some of these pots are off to Mainely Gallery in Belfast; a few - mostly mugs - are headed for Bay View Company; and the rest will be available for sale here at my studio during the Maine Pottery Tour. 

Coffee Pour Over Cone

 I've resisted making these for a long time, because I figured like lots of specific-use items, there were some specs I didn't know, & wouldn't know until I went to use it. I didn't (& don't) have time right now to do the experimenting that would be necessary to make coffee pour-over cones that work well. 
But, then I got a jump start from my colleague at Portland Pottery: fellow instructor Brian Buckland. Brian had drawn this image on the whiteboard in our shared classroom: 

Brian makes these a lot - you can purchase one of his here & here, if you've been wanting one! or visit his studio in Buxton during the Maine Pottery Tour. Anyway, Brian is incredible generous with knowledge & information, & he filled in the last 2 pieces I needed: how much clay to start with (2 pounds) , & how big is the hole in the bottom (1/4 inch.) 

Here's my first attempt: 

I took a slightly different approach to the base - I gave the tray a little upward curve, thinking it would seat itself better on a wider range of mug widths. I think I will leave the outer surface of the try unglazed, to create a little more friction so it won't slip around while in use. I also made a more conventional one, with a flat tray at the bottom, but that still needs to be trimmed. Looking forward to testing out both of them, & maybe making more if they work out well - hopefully I will have one or two in the kiln I unload during the pottery tour. 

We get by with a little help from our friends! 

Website Design Refresh!

 Oh, I've been sitting on this so hard, because we were waiting until it was ready for the big unveil! Milly Welsh of Zebralove Web Solutions has built a new, updated website for the Maine Pottery Tour. 

Important features: a pop-out page for each studio, with a little blurb about them and/or their pottery tour event, and a search function so if folks are looking for info about a particular studio. Behind the scenes, Milly has built in a function so potters can update their own listing, uploading the photos they want & writing the blurbs themselves. This is great for me, obviously, but also for the potters of the tour - they are in complete control of how they are presented to the world. Here's my page.

The tour is April 30th & May 1st - we usually schedule it the first full weekend in May but this year that's Mother's Day, & I'd lose half the studios if I chose that weekend. 54 studios this year! Hope to see you there. 

Win for the New Year

 

Remember back in November when I was struggling with that grant application, for funding for the Maine Pottery Tour from the Maine Arts Commission? I received notification this week: my project was funded! I am, as you might expect, super excited about this; it'll mean getting paid for my organizing work, and also much more money for advertising & other efforts to get the word out. 

Nice to get a win right out of the gate. I don't want to jinx anything but 2022 might be the best year we've had in a while. It's the Year of the Tiger, in the Chinese zodiac; the tiger is emblematic of courage, strength, the defeat of evil (& couldn't we ALL use some of that! ) The water Tiger specifically is about self esteem & about learning. 

Anyway! if you are a Maine potter or ceramic sculptor & want your studio to be a stop on the Maine Pottery Tour, give me a shout at info[at]finemesspottery[dot]com. Looking forward to our best year yet! 

So, I applied for a Grant

Towards the end of October, the Maine Arts Commission announced a grant opportunity: the Arts Jobs grant. Usually grants have some very specific parameters, and though I always read through them, usually by the 4th sentence I'm thinking, "Well, that lets me out." Not so the Arts Jobs grant! 

I've decided to apply for funding for the Maine Pottery Tour. You miss 100% of the shots you don't take, right? Give it whirl, shoot your shot, pay ya money & take ya chance, right? No harm in trying. 

I mean, that's how it ought to go, but I can only do it if I do it with my whole self. I can only find the confidence to apply at all if I am 100% convinced that I should win this grant - no wait, I will win this grant, because it's an awesome project and I deserve it! I have that electrified feeling like when you are about to ask your crush out on a date. 

I have to keep reminding myself that the worst thing that happens is, my project isn't funded, and that's exactly what happens if I don't apply at all. Things will just go on as they have been. I have to keep reminding myself that it's not: Win & you get the money! Lose & it's into the shark tank with you! 

Now, it's been decades since I applied for a grant and it's fair to say I didn't know what I was doing, even then*. But I am remembering: I did win that grant. Actually I won an earlier one, too, a tiny undergraduate grant. HEY Y'ALL I AM BATTING 1000 ON GRANTS! So far. 

After approximately ten million rewrites & reviews, I have submitted this application. Deadline is Thursday - hey, I made the deadline, so far so good! - & I don't know when the notification date is, but the award cycle is December 1 of this year, so the notification must be soon. Wish my luck! Or break a leg, or whatever the kids are calling it these days. 

In other news, the propane guy is coming tomorrow! Although I can think of several things that could delay it further, assuming all goes well I could be loading a bisque by this time tomorrow. :)

Pottery Tour on 207!