Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

Yesterday was a day of note here at Fine Mess Pottery, because the first of the spring orders arrived. I received an order from the veterinarian for whom I make the cat cremation urns - which is not, strictly speaking, a seasonal order, but welcome nonetheless. Shortly thereafter, I got a message from Clare at Monkitree: Sugar bowls! Butterdishes, garlic keepers, mugs! Oh, and bring me anything wonderful that you think I ought to see!

I'm paraphrasing. But two orders in one day: good news indeed! Especially because yesterday morning I drove out the The Artisan's Barn to pick up my work for the last time; Barbara, the proprietor, has had enough. Bummer.

Yesterday was also the first day in ages that we had bright sunshine long enough to photograph pots, in my stone-knives-and-bearskins arrangement in my living room that requires actual sunshine as lighting. So I stopped everything to take some shots.

And, lastly, I taught a make up class for one that was cancelled due to snow. As with many make up classes, it was lightly attended - people often choose their class times because it's the only time during the week that works for them.  The folks who were there were a fun and dedicated group, and we got to spread out a little. I did a demo for them on making a homemade mini silk-screen for slip imagery, which I've written half a blog post about; just need to see the results to finish it.

Today was webwork and trimming platters. Remember in college, when you felt like studying for one class, but you really should have been studying for another, because there was a test tomorrow? So you ended up not studying for either. (Oh wait. That wasn't you. That was me.) I learned from that experience! I really should have been preparing the kiln for the bisque, and finishing the cat urns, but I didn't feel like it. It's chilly in here, because we are trying to make the last few drops of oil stretch until the beginning of March, and I just didn't feel like getting my hands wet. I felt like staying in bed and  processing the shots I took yesterday, and posting them in the pottery shop. I've had a little flurry of web sales, so I needed to replace a few images anyway. So I did that. Here are the new links:

Salt and Pepper Shakers

Porcelain Buttons

Oribe/Bauer Casserole

Tenmoku Mug

I also trimmed the platters I threw the other day, compressed the hello out of them, and re-covered them to dry slowlyslowlyslowly.

And tomorrow? Tomorrow I am back in class with my Handbuilders in the morning and my Beginners in the evening. And in between, lunch with Mom and a trip to the gym!

Trés Trays

No, wait, that means "very trays," which makes no sense. But "Beaucoup  Trays" doesn't sound as good, and "Many Trays," dumber still. So, let's go with A Whole Bunch of Trays. I like sets. Not necessarily matching sets, as in bowls or mugs, but dissimilar objects that are meant to go together. I've been making olive oil bottles, with handbuilt drip trays, which led to soy-and-wasabi sets, and S & P sets, and oil & vinegar sets, all with trays, of course. 

When I got done with those, I started on a butter dish jag. Not my usual thrown/assembled covered butter dishes; I wasn't in the mood for that much commitment. So I made a few butter trays (for the cat-free home, as they lack covers) inspired by my student Holly Johnson of Hurricane Mountain Pottery. Holly brought a couple of very simple handbuilt trays to class, and I had to try out the design. 

Notice the little cat feet in the third photo. Happy Jack is quite enthralled with my studio work; if he had opposable thumbs, he'd be my apprentice.

Unsurprisingly, to me at least, my results are quite different from Holly's; her trays are slimmer and more elegant, mine more meaty. I am making for the soda firing (please God, someday soon!) and have been working on foregoing much of the wet surface decoration to allow for the the action of the flame. I do find that different artists using the same techniques will nevertheless have markedly different results. 

After a bit, I decided I was after something even simpler: 

This one is just a fat tossed slab with the sides and corners pressed up. I am looking for a good turquoise Oribe glaze for soda, that I can brush into the interior, to make a nice contrast with the peachiness of the soda vapor glaze. Any suggestions?

Arguing Eggheads

These s & P shakers will be in the first bisque, tentatively scheduled for September 5th, and then in the first soda firing, Sept. 10, unloading the 12th.

Brown Paper Packages Tied up with String...

I am a sucker for a pretty package; isn't everyone? At least, that is what I am counting on. In an effort to win some wholesale orders for salt & pepper shakers, I am sending out a prettily wrapped sample shaker to a handful of past and potential wholesale accounts, with a little folding card extolling the fine qualities of stoneware shakers. If it nets me a single order, it will be worth it; and I had all the fun of choosing boxes, tissue, and rafia colors.

I am starting to think marketing could be fun. My first job, not counting babysitting, was at a Dunkin' Donuts. I worked my way up the ladder from waitress to finisher, which mean I got to fill, frost, and decorate the donuts. I always had a mental bet with myself that I could make customers pick, say, blueberry filled donuts, on any given Sunday, just by the way I presented them. I am recalling that lesson now: presentation is almost as important as product, when it comes to selling.
Which is good news for an artist. It means you don't have to cater to the tastes (or your best guess of them) of the market. You just make what you are driven to make, and if it is presented correctly, people will buy it.
Or that's the theory. They bought those disgusting blueberry donuts, anyway.

My Favorite Obsession...

...continues into the new year. Happy 2010, everyone!
Also, I started a new page for wholesale customers. Not much there yet, but it's a start.

Goal Setting 2010

I feel like crap. Not literally crapulent, as I didn't drink much last night, being the designated driver, but I like typing the word.  I just feel the kind of head-achy and run down I always feel when I don't get enough sleep. I am blessed and cursed with an internal chronometer which does not allow me to sleep past 5:30, regardless of my bedtime. So my first resolution for the New Year is, get some damn sleep.

Beyond that, more of the same seems to be in order. It will take a continuing effort to prioritize studio work over dust-wildebeest-elimination and Harry-Potter-re-reading, but that effort proved worthwhile last year.  Some specific goals:

1) I have a connection to a Portland gallery that may be willing to mount a show of my sculptural work. Deadline for that prooposal is January 18, so I need toget cracking putting images together. 

2) I do seem to have a minor obsession with salt & pepper shakers lately. My history suggests that I may not remain obsesssed, but will probably always enjoy making them, so I am going to develop a wholesale line, just of S&P shakers, right now. They are small, and very easy and relaxing to make, and I get such joy out of the precious little finished products. Also, not many artists are making them; fewer still handmade from start to finish. 

3) The kiln! I haven't forgotten the kiln, though there will be no building on it until spring. I don't know if it will get done this year, either -- my house needs a roof. But I will continue to peck away at it, buying a hundred bricks here and a hundred there, unitl I have the materials amassed. 

4) Finally, hard head wins the day over magic beans; the IPTOG stays. I am making this a concious choice, as it still has a part to play in stabilizing our household income. I could feel myself drifting away from it, almost sabotaging myself at work, in perhaps an unconcious attempt to take the matter out of my own hands; but quitting (or getting myself fired!) would be foolish at this point. Really, it isn't that bad; it's just that I can think of so many more interesting things I could do with that 20 hours per week. 

I'd love to hear your goals and resolutions!

The Joy of the Unnecessary

There's something about the unnecessary accessory that appeals to me. In a way, handmade pottery is all an unnecessary luxury, when plastic or cheap mass-produced ware will serve the same function as well. Sometimes I like to make things that push that quality, that sense of unnecessary luxury, to a point that almost feels decadent. The sets I was working on yesterday feel like that to me: not content to be mere salt and pepper shakers, they have to have their own little tray, to literally underline their preciousness.

Now I read that, and it sounds stupid, as it often does when I try to explain why I make what I do. I am better off quoting Stephen King, when asked why he writes horror: "What makes you think I have a choice?"

Anyway, getting to the point: Lookie what I made!

Shakers for CMC

Here they are, right off the wheel....

...and here, after I've had some fun with them!

Soda Pots

Here are some pieces from our recent soda firing. I lied, I am not going to post the ugly ones, after all. All of these pieces are for sale at http://finemesspottery.blogspot.com

Salt & Pepper Shakers

In honor of my brother-in-law, who mistook a salt pig for a sugar bowl last weekend, with funny results. Well, less so for him, of course.