.... Wax on, wax off, Grasshopper ....

.... wax off? you say ... and how do you go about removing those unwanted wax splots and finger smudges? (it never fails ... I do it every time!) Here's a tip .... have a spray bottle of isopropyl (aka rubbing alcohol) and sandpaper on hand. Spray the wax on the wax spot and rub vigorously with sandpaper, repeat as needed and ... voila ... wax begone!

See those little cut up squares of cone box sponge. I use these to apply the liquid wax resist (I colour my wax with food colouring - altho' it's more effective on white clay than red). Dip the sponge in warm water, squeeze the water out, dip the sponge in the wax and squeeze out excess wax and apply. The sponge rides nicely on the edge of the pot, leaving a clean, straight, line of wax. Periodically, rinse the sponge in the warm water. I get a much better result with this method than I do fumbling about with a brush.

Done!

Oh, thank goodness, I am done with the red clay! When I am working in my white stoneware, I look forward to the once or twice a year when the red clay comes out but now that it seems everything in the studio is covered in a lovely coat of red ... I am done .... I am so done!














Today is bisque kiln loading day. Hubby built me a handy dandy sanding box that hooks up to my shop vac. We're all hooked up and masked up ..... let the loading begin.

 








 and speaking of everything being red ....
Happy Valentine's Day!

It ain't pretty (except maybe the toes;))

On Sunday morning I read the Whistle Creek blog post on karma and how life can throw you a curve in an instant. Later hubby, grandson E and I headed out for a dog walk along the beach. Encountering some slippery rocks E took a little tumble but was ok. We gave him a warning about watching where he stepped. Yuuup! .... not 3 minutes later over I went! ... or at least my body did while my foot stayed stationary. A day later I'm sporting some colourful bruises and a sprained ankle. It's not limb or livelihood threatening, thank goodness, but Dennis's words were ringing in my head, for sure. I guess I'm going to be left foot pedalling at the wheel 'cause I have some trimming that won't keep for long. Stay safe, my friends!

Dorgies and Plaster Bats

The scrap bucket was full so it was recycle time today. Lily, of the dynamic duo, Lily and Dash, was all for helping out ... yeah sure she was ;) ..... These two dorgies - 8 yr old rescue dogs, have been with us for a year now. Last January, our old lab cross Tisha, who lived to be a ripe old 14, had been gone for over a year and hubby was campaigning for a puppy. I was not up for all the peeing and chewing that goes with a puppy so suggested we adopt an adult dog ... maybe a senior as they are so hard to place (like I'm going to be one day ;)). Our search took us to the Langley Animal Protection Society (LAPS). Here are the mug shots and the write up that stole our hearts .... Travandashblog Lovey Weds. By mid Feb Dash & Lily were ours and our double doggie adoption adventures began! ohhhh yeahhh .... there are tales to tell but those are stories for another day.

Back to boring, snoring, recycling .... today I thought I'd share how to make a great clay recycling bat - a design courtesy of my ceramics prof. When it's a 2-5 hour drive (depending on the city we head to), including a $125 round trip ferry ride, to get to the pottery supply store, recycling clay becomes a necessity. To use, I mix 25% of my recycled clay with new clay so I'm not using the recycled clay on its own.

The basic frame is made with two 24" 2x2's and two 18" 2x2's, pre-drilled and screwed together, with the 18" pieces placed between the 24" pieces. Outside diameter is now 21" x 24". Four 21" 1x2's are added to the bottom, to both brace the frame, and raise the bottom of the finished bat up off the table to permit drying from underneath. 3.5 inch coated decking screws are screwed through the outside the frame every 4 inches. These act as anchors for the plaster to hold onto once set.

Place the frame topside down on a sheet of plexiglass or hard plastic coated with a thin coat of liquid dish soap or mold soap. Use masking tape to seal the frame to the hard surface.

The plaster mix is 9 kilograms (19.8 lbs for my US friends) #1 Potters Plaster to 6 kilograms (13.2 lbs) of water mixed per normal plaster making processes. Pour the prepared plaster carefully in between the braces up to the top edges of the frame and the bottom side of the braces. Set, clean and cure for at least a week. Voila .... Super Bat!

Pots in the Gallery

The picture isn't the best (most of the gallery lights were off) but my gallery display at Artique is in place. Kudos to hubby, who did a great job with the shelving! I dropped by on Fri to see if things needed re-arranging. Yes, they did, which meant a few pieces had sold. Yeah!

Yesterday I muddled about in cyberspace updating my website. It's built with one of the tools offered by my webhosting provider and although it's not the worlds most intuitive software (Soholaunch), it's free with hosting package. I spent a lot of time with it two years ago, rebuilding my site when I thought I would try online sales. That effort (online sales that is), turned out to be a bit of a bust. Marketing online is itself a bit of a science and I just didn't have the cycles to go down that road. My daughter, a quilter, has tried to convince me to give Etsy a go as it's the one online handmade sales channel that does some marketing for you .... but I don't know .... in my heart, I just think pottery is one of those things better purchased in person. 

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).