Books and Butterflies

Definition: Procrastinator .... someone who postpones work (especially out of laziness or habitual carelessness)
Ahhh yeah ... I'm rarely ever careless so lazy it is. Come to think of it, if sitting on my ass with a good book is a ever an option, it's the one I'll pick. But nothing like a deadline or two to give me a kick in the butt. This morning I am going to Artique for my 'orientation'. Each co-op member works one day a month at the gallery so I expect that will be the focus of the session. Monday afternoon is my move in date. Hubby has done a great job building the display set up.

After a couple of good days in the studio, I'm thinking this new gig at the artist co-op will keep me on track. I'm quite excited about it all which also means I have a bazillion ideas coursing thru my brain ... oh oh! .... I will also have to watch that my other personality trait, butterfly syndrome, doesn't derail me ... "hey look, there's a beautiful one over there ... no, wait! ... look over there! ... and there! .... OMG!, did you see that one!"

I didn't know that ....

Apparently the term Polar Vortex is not a newly coined description for the deep freeze that's encompassed a good portion of North America this past week. It was first described in 1953! Gotta love Wikipedia ...  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polar_vortex . Gotta love Mother Nature even more ... She's such an artist! (as is photographer Thomas Zakowski).

Just Thinkin'

Spent my morning coffee time hanging out with potters from faraway places, whose words written in cyberspace, made me think .... and that can be dangerous for a middle aged brain!
MK from Sawdust and Dirt ruminates on the challenges of getting ones self back in the groove of work. I too have been dancing with the devil called procrastination since the rellies left after the holidays. When I read his post I had to ask myself why ... I think it's because the beginning of a new cycle means I have to do the grunt work before I can get to the good parts. The studio has to either be cleaned or at least tidied of the crap and clutter accumulated since the last kiln was unloaded - I like to start with a clean slate. And oh, right, of course all my workable clay has been used up so there goes a couple of days worth of work softening clay, recycling a few buckets of scraps and wedging ... yeah .. not my fave things to do. But the good news is as of this afternoon - its done ... 120 lbs of clay wedged and mug balls weighed and ready to go ... now the fun starts!!

MH from Whynot Pottery also posed the question of why are potters often other potters' best customers ... Why do we collect and use the wares of other potters? Hmmmm ... I can't speak for others but in my case I was a fan before I was a potter. I hardly have any of my own pots in my house but I do have a fair bit of pottery. When I hit the coffee cup cupboard in the morning, the best part is having to decide which potter I am going to share my morning cup with.
And I am sorry for all you potters struggling to keep your studios warm in the latest weather phenomenon called the 'Arctic/Polar Vortex' ... someone had fun coming up with that one! Cold studios are no fun to work in. We're kinda balmy here in the Canadian Southwest (aka the Pacific Northwest) but with my heater on the fritz, even I've taken a beverage break late this afternoon to warm my toes and hands by the fire.
Ahhhh...come to think about it ....it's too late in the day to start throwing. I'll get back at it first thing in the morning ..... ;))

New Venue

A few weeks back I got a call from Artique, our local artist co-operative, asking if I might be interested in applying for a spot in the co-op's gallery. I was, I did, and I got word just before Christmas my application had been approved.... yeah! ... a spot where I can take the pots to town! My little gallery here at home doesn't get a lot of traffic as we live 20 minutes or so 'south of town', in a rural area. In our little isolated city, that's considered a long way to travel ;). I have resisted applying to the co-op in the past because meeting and talking to the folks who buy my pots has been an important consideration for me. However, economics being what they are these days, getting more pots in front of more customers has become even more important.

So now the holidays are over, hubby and I have been working a plan for modular display furniture. I have to provide my own setup for the gallery and my assigned spot will change every 4 months so I need something I can morph with each move. I have been collecting display ideas for sometime as the ol' table display method I've been using for markets and fairs wasn't cutting it for me any longer. We've decided to do a version of this display setup ..... 

I'm Baaack!

To all those potter (and other) bloggers out there, who are hanging in there, still blogging, in the midst of the overwhelming choice of online and social media venues ..... you have inspired me these past months. So much so, I have decided to rejoin you in the blogging world once again.

To my customers ... I hope I can make it easy for you. My main website will be your source for general info about the studio, location, hours, etc. This blog and my Facebook page will be where I will do my best to keep you up to date on the latest happenings in the studio and beyond.

Happy New Years, everyone!

Notes from the Market

At the Market

At the Market - Gotta love the view!

Our booth and the view from our booth

Last night was our second to last Hot Summers Night Market - that went by quick! Next week we have company in town so we will take them to the market and go as browsers for a change. We will finish out the summer market season on Aug 26th just before the Powell River Studio Tour.

Last night was a so-so night for sales but a very good night for conversations .....

..... I'd like to give a shout-out to a new potter friend, Cathy, from Brandon, Manitoba. Thanks for dropping by Cathy - I was blown away to hear you follow this blog! Can't wait 'til you move to town. Cathy and her hubby Paul are doing what we did and many others are doing these days. They have bought a house in our beautiful little seaside town of Powell River and are working on it over time with the plan of settling here long term. I think it's pretty exciting to see Powell River morph from the mill town I once knew, to a town where folks are finding a renewed, relaxed lifestyle and starting new careers or retiring from old. 

..... One of my potter friends, Jill McPhail, had her booth set up next to mine. Jill heads up the pottery group at our local Fine Arts Club and is a great hand-builder with both clay clay and polymer clay. You can check out her work at her Facebook webpage - Funktifyd Creations.

..... I also had one of the Sunshine Music Festival organizers drop by. She asked if I had considered having a booth at the festival. I told her yes - if I can get enough pots made before then. Booth fees include tickets to the event so if we go, we can sell pots AND enjoy a weekend of music.

I am trimming and finishing this week (I am one of those potters who actually LIKE trimming)  - butter bells, salt pigs, batter bowls, Cos'n Laura's bowl (speaking of Cos'n Laura - she made me a potters apron this week - awesome! - pics to follow soon), platters and of course, mugs. Rick made me a great little jig yesterday to help with the altering of my salt pigs. I was reluctant to stop work to pack up for the market so am eager to get back to the studio today. It's been one of those sleepless nights - I could have been down there at 4 AM but that would be pushing it so I am doing this instead. OK, time for a coffee .....

and panic sets in .......

..... Yikes! It's Aug 6 already ..... I have 2 or 3 Hot Summer Night Markets to go to in August plus there are only 3 weeks left before the Powell River Studio Tour weekend and I am running out of pots! I am going to have to work my butt off to get another kiln load or two through in that time. Interspersed in that 3 weeks will be summer company - hey! extra bodies - maybe I can put them to work to earn their keep :>) I was also considering putting in an application for a booth at the Sunshine Music Festival on Labour Day weekend. That would be a blast but I don't think I can do it all.

I have a few rescues and re-do's to do as well - Cos'n Laura's bowl, a replacement for the mini pie plate didn't quite make the trip home with it's new owner, and a replacement mug to save a fella who is in the doghouse, because he broke the one they just bought. Oh and did I mention - I had 2 large leaf plates waiting for the next bisque, only to be wiped out by a disaster of the feline kind. The cats (3 of them) love the studio. Cali (short for California - yes, there is a story there), especially likes to tromp through the shelves as it's a way for her to avoid Tisha, the dog. She must have stepped on the plate edge as I found the first one with a chunk broken off. You think I'd have figured it out after that one bit the dust but no, I didn't move the other one. Then I heard the clunk as it broke yesterday!

As always, I'm excited to be back in the throwing groove! I'm just as excited to be out of glazing mode. When it comes to glazing, I wish I could do a Dorothy - click the heels of my pointy red shoes and be done with it! Don't get me wrong. I love all that goes into finding, making and testing glazes and glaze combinations and I am as excited as kid at Christmas when it comes to opening the kiln. However, it seems the application part always turns out to be a cumbersome, messy chore. I keep telling myself it will get better as I get better but that hasn't happened so far. The last go round, after watching Conner Burns spray at MISSA, I bought another HVLP gun (I wrecked the last one by not cleaning it properly) and gave it another go with some of the larger pieces. Results wise it went OK but I couldn't get the damn compressor pressure down to where I wanted it and then - OF COURSE - I dropped the gun fully loaded with the lid half off the cup - and ya know the rest! .... glaze all over me, and all over the cement patio (now stained with red iron oxide patterned by the sole of my work boots) - the patio was the only place that had any shade that day. On a positive note, I am becoming more familiar with the glazes I use so I am getting many more happy results - and less pots destined for the Ugly Pot Pile. Also, my last test results produced a wonderful black semi-matte plus a nice complimentary soft pastel blue and/or cream glaze to go with the new black and the Aspen Blue as shown on the teabowls here. ...... hmmmm - that wasn't me was it, talking a few posts back about having a new mantra re limiting the number of glazes I use ..... I tell ya, it's my downfall  - or maybe not :>) - it's just way too much fun and there are so many to choose from!