Fire in the Hand

Kilns

2011-07-28T22:58:00.000-07:00

Had a lead on a gas kiln this week and went to take a look at it. Turns out it was a no-go, but it was still exciting! I took down the make and model number of the kiln and read through a repair manual online the night before, which gave me some idea what to look for in terms of wear on the kiln. After looking over the prospective kiln, I had a great conversation with someone who works on electric kilns and learned just a *ton* about what to look for in a used kiln and what to watch out for. I feel more confident that I will end up with something good that I will get a lot of use out of and will be (most importantly) safe to use in my garage!

New Business Card Idea!

2011-07-25T14:38:00.000-07:00

So here's my third or fourth stab at business cards for Understory. Both the front and the back are images from my pieces which is very cool. Let me know what you think about how they look, how easy they are to read, etc. I went with a fairly straightforward font for all of the wording.

Progress Report

2011-07-25T14:12:00.000-07:00

Umm... slowly, that's how things are progressing. Let's see, I've been working in the studio space when I can (which isn't as often as I would like) but it is beginning to be comfortable finally. I still have to install those couple extra outlets and breakers, but since I don't need them *right now* they can wait until after the Loring Art Fair. (Everything can wait until after Loring at this point ;p). It feels like I have plenty of work space, but I would love more storage space. I'll get some of that soon since they are working on the basement right now and there are a couple of pieces of furniture that will go into the house when they are done.

The two biggest challenges are firing and glazing now that I don't have kilns in the same building I'm working in. Ideally I will have a bisque kiln at home within the year, but until then I have been transporting my greenware (very carefully) to the Fisk Building in NE and firing it at Spirit Dancing with Fire. Luckily I have a shelf there where I can leave the bisqueware until it's glazed in their gas kiln. I'm looking into other options for firing though. There are a couple of places closer to home (Fire in the Greenway, Norther Clay Center) that have their various advantages, disadvantages and costs associated with them. Maybe another option or two on the horizon through other potters. Of course once I leave SDwF I will have to figure out how to deal with the studio glazes I have been using, some I can replace with similar glazes, some I can mix myself. It would be wise I think to figure out how many I really need, establish my "color palette" so to speak.

My work situation will be changing soon (hopefully for the better). It will mean more hours, but will be more physical and hopefully more fulfilling, plus less driving and less gas for the car. It's hard to feel like doing the business plan will be useful when my income and expenses are in a state of flux and it all feels to up-in-the-air. I don't want to do all the boring number stuff just to have to change it in a month because it no longer accurately reflect my business model. Hopefully by the end of the year I will be able to make a realistic picture of my costs of production and have a better handle on the "how" of my production in this new iteration of my art business!

Meanwhile, I am updating my website with the first information about the name change, and I am working on new business cards as well as some sort of informational enclosure about the transition to hand out this year. Oh, and I keep forgetting to send out an email to my mailing list reminding people about Loring and also preparing them for the name change! Gotta remember to do that very soon.

Change in plans

2011-05-20T12:20:00.001-07:00

I decided not to do the Wayzeta show this weekend. Everyone in the house has been sick (and some still are) and our oldest daughter has a lot going on already. My studio is still in disarray and I have yet to establish any true production routine yet. Anyway I was feeling really stressed about it and glum that I was going to be missing yet another family event when I realized I could make it better. This is one advantage of the "day job". It doesn't pay much, but it does mean I don't feel like I have to do every event I get into regardless of my health or what is going on with my family. Loring is going to be a big show and while I know it isn't until August, that realllly means I only have 4-6 weeks to make work and get it glazed before then. I'd like to have a couple of super brilliant pieces for this event which will take some time (meaning that I'm not just going to be cranking stuff out the whole time).

About that whole "cranking stuff out" thing. That is something I want to get completely away from. I'd rather focus on perfecting each piece, making less of them and selling them for more. It gets really boring to make the same thing over and over again. I have discovered that my comfortable limit for anything that is going to have a lot of detail in the leather-hard stage is about 6 at a time. Otherwise the pieces begin to get too dry and then your under the gun to get them finished (not so pleasant). There are a million production potters out there and I have no desire to compete with any of them because I know it won't make me happy! And I want to throw larger pieces too, maybe not huge, but definitely pieces with presence and more surface area for carving.

So I am doing a small event (or maybe two) this summer, but mostly I'm going to get my studio in order, get back to working on my business plan, and make work for the Loring Park Art Fair!

Cheers!

And now a picture with most of my stuff moved in!

2011-05-05T15:09:00.001-07:00

I still need to finish up my damp box, but the vast majority of my stuff is moved! Looks pretty good doesn't it? It will take a couple of weeks for the floor mats to get here, but that will be the last thing. Right now the kids are busy with circus performances and several grandparents are in town, but I am all ready to go after Mother's day.

Workspace is Complete!!!

2011-04-24T11:53:00.000-07:00

Check it out! Isn't it great? After all my hard work, the new space is finished, all of the windows are clear, and my wedging table and worktable are done complete with a fresh coat of sky blue paint! I discovered that the corded drill is *much* better for counter-sinking screws, but is also *really* heavy, and I used the table saw. Twice. And it didn't even eat me or try to take my fingers. It's so much brighter in there! Didn't even need the new halogen lights today. Can't wait to start moving my stuff in... but will have to switch gears to "show prep" mode this week. Switching gears is not really my strong suit. (grimace) I am much more of a focus-with-lazer-like-intensity until the job is done kind of person. Craftstravaganza is next weekend, so I need to price my work and get organized for my first show.

(Not So) Secret Plans

2011-04-16T10:10:00.000-07:00

One of the realizations to come out of my work so far on my business, is that a great way to make a business more profitable, is to reduce overhead. Looking seriously at what goes in to a) making pots - not a whole lot of expensive stuff, b) securing space to make them in - ie. rent and c) selling my wares - show fees and travel, there are a handful of large expenses. Some of these (like show fees) I can't reduce, and honestly will probably increase as I move from local, to regional, to national events. So in order to decrease my overhead I have been looking at one of the other big expenses - rent. Right now my rent is a fixed expense and I pay it wether I make one pot or one hundred pots in a month, but my bisque firing is included in my rent.

I chewed this one over a long time in my head, and on paper, and in conversation with my spouses (who were both very patient with my agonizing and dithering and thinking out loud). I thought about the porch (which has great lighting) and the garage (which doesn't) and I thought about summer (which has mosquitoes and kids who will be out of school and therefore at home). I imagined the kids running back and forth by my studio space on the porch and leaving their shoes scattered around... and decided the garage would be a better choice. For one thing, there's just more space out there, the floor is concrete instead of wood and... I discovered an outlet. It could be a dryer outlet, but it could be a kiln outlet! I view this as a SIGN. Also, the garage has really good wiring in it, and a circuit box.

So I decided to move my studio space home (as soon as I make room for it) and trade a fixed expense (rent) for a variable expense (additional firing fees for bisque). If I am able to buy a kiln and install it in the garage that will be a capital expense and a variable expense. I figure a (used) kiln would pay for itself in under a year!

The Mystery Outlet

2011-04-16T10:03:00.001-07:00

So maybe someone can identify this for me. This is the outlet on the wall in the garage. Probably a dryer outlet, but I can hope that it's heavier-duty than that. Research on kilns tells me that I need a minimum of 208 volts and probably 30 amps for a mid-sized kiln. We need to make sure that the wiring is copper (NOT aluminum) and is hefty enough for the load. The outlet is labeled 125/250 volts, 30 amps.

I haven't checked the breaker for this outlet yet. The breaker needs to be 40 amps (I think) but there is plenty of room in the box to install another one if we need something else. Can't wait for my father-in-law to take a look at this and tell me what 's up!!!

Moving The Beast

2011-04-16T09:45:00.000-07:00

This is where "the beast" is moving to (at least until I get a kiln). I have already scraped the paint off of all the windows on this side (you can see what a difference that makes in the second photo with the door closed). I think the paint is going to help to brighten up the space.

This side needs some more attention to plug the holes and then a layer of clear plastic before it is ready for the shelves etc. Note to self: need to make sure to leave enough room so that my father-in-law can look at the fuse box and outlet when he is out here in May.

Making a Space for the Studio

2011-04-16T09:32:00.001-07:00

There is a lot to do to make this happen, the first two big priorities being to a) make room in the garage by moving, rearranging, and getting rid of things and b) painting or whatever I need to do before I move things. I don't know if you can really see it in the picture, but the shelving unit at the back of the photo is called "the beast". It is really poorly organized at the moment (which really means that there is a ton of unused or under-used space on it) and is going to move across the garage to a new home as soon as I finish painting behind it and seal up the leaks around the very old doors. The air conditioners will go inside into the windows of the house soon and the box fans will likely stay outside with me (but I'll be using them. There isn't as much stuff over there as it looks like.

Then the next step will be painting the doors/wall on the studio side and putting up white paneling on the outside wall (less than $12 a sheet and it's already coated with something water resistant!). Two more panels will go up top in the rafters to help reflect light (and heat eventually) down. There will probably be more stuff-shuffeling and then I will be ready to move my stuff in.

Plans for Understory Pottery are progressing!

2011-04-09T08:37:00.000-07:00

A preview/ mock up of the new business card:

I found out that the Font I really liked that I downloaded for free is, in fact, legal for me to use for my business stuff. So that's a cool thing!

Oh, and I am so excited! My sister is studying web design and might be willing to design or help me design the new website for the name change!!!

Pricing Models and Insights

2011-04-09T08:29:00.000-07:00

I have at this point plugged most of the work I currently make into the pricing model to see if my already established prices cover what they need to cover. Likely, I am underestimating the time it takes me to make things, but hopefully not by much. It is rare for me to make just one of something, and of course the life of a pot has several stages that are by necessity (drying, kiln time) separated. So you have to guess about each section and they squish it together into a total estimated time.

The results were interesting! The majority of my work is already priced well. (yay!)

Where things start to fall apart are with pieces that are:

a) smaller but still have a lot of detail,

b) have more than one "piece" to them like a plate or a lid,

c) those multi-pieced things seem to to trend toward the practical rather than ornamental side so I suspect their "perceived value" will be less which makes raising the prices problematic.

Sadly, the honey pots are the biggest culprit. Currently I sell them at just above wholesale. (which is bad for business) Some of that is the included honey-dippper and my desire to provide dippers made in the USA by small business out of sustainable wood. Can't get those for peanuts and so it adds to the cost.

The upshot of all this is that there are pieces that will have to be rethought, eliminated, or re-priced (or maybe more than one of those).

So where have I been?

2011-04-09T08:11:00.000-07:00

The Springboard workshops were fabulous and informative... but a bit overwhelming. I think it would have been better for me to have had one of them a month with time to do the "homework" in between (because a week is no where near enough time). I admit I am kind of jumping around from topic to topic as questions come up in my mind rather than working the process straight through. Several of my marketing goals I took care of right away, but there are a couple (email newsletter to my mailing list for example) that I have been dragging my feet about.

As for the business plan, all the information is there. It just needs to be in the format that people expect. I have almost two full years of records including income, show fees, taxes, supplies, studio fees, things like business cards and signs, classes and professional memberships, and I have a much better working knowledge of the art fair circuit and its income potential. But it's slow going as I work through all the worksheets, tables, etc. It helps that I am learning a lot and what I am learning is already helping me improve by business acumen!

Financial Record Keeping ... Wheee!

2011-03-12T07:44:00.000-08:00

I have a spreadsheet. It's a multi-page deal, with different pages for my income (and tax figuring), pottery expenses (clay, glaze, classes, tools), business expenses (mailing, packaging, credit card service fees, bags and wrap, business cards, signs), and show fees (including travel expenses, and milage). After my Financial Management and Recordkeeping workshop last Tuesday, I still feel pretty good about it. With very few exceptions, it contains everything I will need to fill out the types of reports that people expect to see in a business plan (Income Statements, Balance sheets, Sales Projections)!

I think my big fear in filling out those worksheets is that I am going to find out that my dream is impossible, the reality of cold, hard numbers will just dash all my hopes, and my parents will turn out to be right about art not being "unrealistic" as a mean of support.

But the optimist in me says that I can't look for ways to make the end meet if I don't have a good idea of where the ends are. All knowledge is worth having.

Changes are Afoot!

2011-02-26T11:39:00.000-08:00

One of the things I have been struggling with as a business is getting all my marketing, thematic, and visual/logo "horses" to be running together. I have my name (Fire in the Hand) which is a reference to the Irish/Celtic goddess Brigit/Bridhe/Brigid, and also to the creative process in a very general sense. It's kind of a poetic way of saying "making stuff". And my thematic elements which have to do with nature as it relates to humanity. The symbolism that drives my influences is multi-cultural myth and story or derived from mathematics/science.

So already we have business identity/logo= red-orange & black, and thematic inspiration= green/brown/other colors of nature.

Of course when I started this adventure my work was much less mature and creating a strong business identity seemed to be a good way to go to make my work identifiable as it was evolving. (it will continue to evolve but I have noticed as my work matures, a process of narrowing of focus. I believe this is essential both for creative excellence, and cohesiveness in a body of work).

So I went to the Marketing workshop put on by Springboard, with my business card and signage all full of fire and my Artist's Statement all full of earth and I came to a conclusion: my brand identity isn't working against me (many pieces of it are beautifully done by talented people), but its not working for me either. My business cards and signage don't prepare people to view work about plants and animals, or introduce them to the themes and ideas in my work. They don't begin the process of appealing to the (right) emotions in a prospective customer.

I think a business name change might be in order. I know most potters just use their names and I guess I could do that. But since my work is about ideas and relationships (instead of being about the crafting of the pottery itself - which is a totally valid way to work, its just not my way of working) I think I would be missing an opportunity to convey some of "what my work is about" in not naming my business. The business name can be like a teaser trailer for a movie. It can set up a little bit of an expectation of what you will be seeing, and may draw the kind of people who would want to buy my work to my both (or website or whatever).

The current top contender for the new name is "Understory Pottery". The understory (or understorey) is the area of the forest below the canopy where the undergrowth, wildflower, smaller trees and moss and mushrooms grow. It is where most of the "critters" live. Linguistically it also implies what most people refer to as the "backstory" (what when on before the story currently being told), and can also imply the hidden or deeper meaning in a story. Or it's roots. Many new stories have roots in older myths, legends or folk beliefs.

Quick! name three modern stories patterned after Robin Hood.

Under-story implies the other big influence in my work - that patterns that repeat in living things and human art that are the basis for the human conception of beauty. This comes from my interest in sacred geometry, physics, and the idea that secrets of creation can be found in these fascinating repeated patterns and proportions.

Likely I will shift my entire color scheme to natural wood/green. Which suits me very well anyhow and will be a nice, cool, inviting color scheme for a booth particularly on hot summer days!

Springboard for the Arts - Business Workshop Series

2011-01-18T17:41:00.000-08:00

This cool local organization offers artist-focused business workshops on various topics, and I was hoping to take advantage of the price break at 6 or more classes to take 6 of them. Well with where things stand financially, that just isn't feasible. So, I am scaling back to the two essentials: Record keeping & Financial Management, and Simple Business Plans. Hopefully this will help me move forward on writing my business plan for my own benefit, and also to have prepared and ready in case I want or need to get a loan of any kind. I am trying to look at the time I will be spending away from my pottery business as an opportunity and look for the ways to make that time valuable. Keeps me from getting down in the dumps at least.

Here's the entire "course lists" that their offering this spring though:

part of Work of Art: Business Skills for Artists

1.)Career Planning for Artists 2/1

2.)Time Management for Creative People 2/8

3.)Your Promotional Toolkit 2/15

4.)Marketing for Artists 2/22

5.)Legal Considerations for Artists 3/1

6.)Recordkeeping and Financial Management for Artists 3/8

7.)Simple Business Plans for Artists 3/15

8.)Pricing Your Work: Getting Paid for What You Do 3/22

9.)Funding Your Work 3/29

10.)Artists and Web 2.0

Really Cool Jerome Grant Idea

2011-01-17T10:13:00.000-08:00

It's based on my Artist's Statement really. I want to develop a full one-person's show worth of work that illustrates and celebrates the connections between Art, Science, Nature, Mathematics, and People. Of that list of things some are more valued by our culture than others, and my hope is by relating art and nature to science, math, and people, ... see still working on it. The idea is roughly educational outreach, awareness raising, helping people see the connections being seemingly unrelated things and encouraging a personal investment in those things.

(sort of saying... "it *does* have something to do with you, directly and meaningfully, so maybe you should care about it just a little")

I'd like the work to be presented with poster sized signs containing information about the math and science behind the patterns in art and nature, complete with drawings, photos, etc. I am also thinking of contacting the author of The Beginner's Guide to Constructing the Universe for permission to quote or otherwise use some of his brilliant explanations since he is a primary influence of this idea.

Two steps forward, one step back

2011-01-17T10:04:00.001-08:00

It looks like in order to get my ducks in a row and really move forward in a significant way, I need to (ironically) take a big step back from doing shows for the year. Applying for the Art Fair circuit takes up-front money, which I don't have at the moment and by the time I do have it, I will have missed deadlines and won't have the inventory to support a full slate of shows anyway.

It also seems pointless to jump into the season in the middle and expect it to meet my financial needs. So this year I am doing 4-6 shows only and looking for a part-time job to do the lions share of bill paying. Hopefully this way I can apply for 2012's shows earlier (starting in the fall) and take care of a couple of capital expenses (new dome canopy) before the next full show season.

Also on the agenda is a business plan, and development of my *really cool* Jerome Grant idea. That should keep me busy and out of trouble for the next 12 months don't ya think?

I Have My Own Wheel Now - or New Studio Chapter Two

2010-12-19T09:15:00.000-08:00

So I have mentioned the move from the very communal studio space at Fired Up, into the smaller shared space at Spirit Dancing with Fire (in August, down the hall, it was a short move). Well, one of the things I didn't have that I reeeaaallly needed was my own potter's wheel. Ebay and Craigslist were no help for used electric potter's wheels and several of my potter friends had recommended the Shimpo VL Whisper, and it happens to be a wheel you can buy new for less than $1000. Thanks to my Mom, I now have one!

It arrived before the MN Women's Art Festival and the big snowstorm up here, so it sat on my porch, neglected and ignored, for a couple of days, and then in the back of my wife's car for a day or two, and then finally in my car after the snowstorm and festival were over (because we weren't about to try to get it back to the porch through the snow). Finally one of my potter-buddies offered to help me bring it up to the studio. Everyone wanted to see the new toy ya know...

It is as quiet as they claim! So far I also love the "freely turning wheelhead" when it's off because it works so well with my trimming style. (It works as a banding wheel when the motor is stopped.) I still haven't had time to do any throwing on it yet, but did get a bunch of pots trimmed. So now I am a fully functional and self-sufficient potter! yay!

Holiday To Do List

2010-12-08T14:42:00.000-08:00

Making some things for family members for the Holidays. I am sure they will all get there late at this point since I have custom orders to finish first.

Gecko tumbler for Karen

Octopus bowl for Gill

Large garlic/onion pot for Steve and Amy

Something for Bill and Lisa

set of 4 small light cups for Mom

Hoping to get all those done next week. Meanwhile, I need to finish up two large wave bowls, and a larger swan pitcher, plus two more Octopus bowls. I've arranged for people to get the other two custom orders. This Saturday is my last event of 2010! Kinda glad and ready for a break after this.

New Gallery is Open!

2010-12-05T19:14:00.001-08:00

Diana and John worked really hard to get the gallery done before the Friday night Preview Party and it turned out beautifully. They took down the slat board, painted the wall, put up shelving brackets for the glass shelves that Diana found at Axe Man. Then they put up a pegboard wall, and Jenna (their daughter) repainted all of the cube displays and other display stands the same color white as the wall. Diana found a couple of tall narrow shelving units on casters on Craig's list (with plexiglass shelves). She even painted the door cherry red, aaactuallly it was called Strawberry Daiquiri, but I don't expect you to have an idea of what that color really is, (it looks nice with the grey trim and is more interesting and exciting than the grey door), and a cute and friendly light by the door!

The Trouble with Green Glazes

2010-11-21T12:06:00.001-08:00

I have been working with my Chalcedony Green glaze... and the last batch had been underwhelming me, so I decided to add a little copper to the glaze. The whole batch of glaze... and I completely wrecked it. Its just UGLY now. And duh... I should have figured. Adding *just a little* copper to a glaze that is fired in reduction makes a red. A dull red, over a dull green with some random slate blue. U-gly.

The upshot of this was the realization that what I want to add (if I need to add something) is some iron. It will add a little bit of blue opalescence and hopefully not make it too runny. I can't wait until January and my glaze testing!!!! Meanwhile I need to mix at least a small batch of the glaze as-per-recipe again.

Wave Glazes Tested

2010-10-27T07:07:00.001-07:00

I got two pots out of the last firing that were "test" pots for the new batches of glaze I mixed and the glazes worked out beautifully! Compared to the pieces I glazed before when I originally mixed up the glaze at Northern Clay Center it's the same color(s). Consistency has been achieved! It's very exciting to know that I have a good reliable recipe. The picture shows the glazes on two different clay bodies, buff and buff with ochre. They are slightly greener on the darker clay.

New Inspirational Artists Added!

2010-10-12T14:46:00.000-07:00

I am finally getting around to adding link to the websites of some of the interesting, inspirational and wonderful folks I have met this year at art fairs and events. My life has been greatly enriched by meeting and talking to artists at events. Not just in "talking shop", where I have learned many valuable things about doing fairs from those who have been doing them longer, but also about being a creative person, and being an artist. It's energizing to talk to other artists about what they are doing and why, what their process is, and how they do their work. I have learned so much! Many thanks and gratitude to all of you!

Glaze Mixing and Maintenance

2010-10-03T17:00:00.000-07:00

I got to mix some of my new glazes today! (not quite as much as I would have liked, I had less Wollastonite than I needed, and less Titanium Dioxide) I now have a new shopping list for glaze components because I am out of things and low on other things. Crazy. But I at least have some stuff to work with which is great and I mix more later. It really didn't take me as long to pull the three batches together as I was afraid it would.

I have started a glaze maintenance notebook with pages for the glazes to keep track of them and a "master list". The regular mixing of the glazes to keep them from settling has already begun too. They got mixed Friday and today. Hopefully people will use them on Monday so I won't have to worry about doing that again until Wed. My goal is every-other day.

I can feel the start of a routine being formed in the new space which is pretty wonderful and a sign that things are getting more settled and comfortable. It's helped and been nice to have my people stop by and be able to keep me company. I don't know I would have made it through Friday's mixing of the glazes if Micki hadn't been there to keep me company.

Studio Organization Stuff

2010-09-29T17:41:00.000-07:00

As part of the move to the new studio I have been making stuff to keep track of things (otherwise know as spreadsheets). I made one for my "work time" to keep track of what I am doing and how much time I spend doing it. Tonight I am reworking the Glaze Checklist from Fired Up into something for me to use to keep track of the shared glazes at SDwF (Spirit Dancing with Fire). I think I will attempt to make this one on the Mac instead of using the big computer and using Excel. I have to admit I do miss the Microsoft Office Suite quite a bit and might just break down and get it for the Mac. I have years of admin experience using those programs and it seems like a waste of precious time to me to relearn how to do all that stuff in another system.

For those who make things it is already the holiday season

2010-09-26T15:42:00.000-07:00

I glazed some ornaments to go in the kiln this Monday. Early October isn't too early to have Christmas ornaments in your display because the kind of people who buy art for the holidays are already doing their shopping. I have completed my annual edition of the cauldron mugs. Really I should date and number them and maybe I will starting next year. This year I will also be making a couple of serving-size cauldron bowls to see if there interest in those. The Halloween season is short but important to a lot of people and really my favorite holiday of the year. Pumpkins are also waiting for their turn in the kiln. I am sure I will be making at least one more big batch before Thanksgiving ends the pumpkin season. For one thing I have several glazes I want to try out that I think will make excellently colored pumpkins, and people seem to really like them, so I like to oblige them. :)

I sat down and scrutinized my needs for my last events of the year and the galleries that want to carry some of my work for the holidays and have organized my time deadlines in order to get a handle on what I need to have done when and for whom. Whew!

Supplies Can Be Exciting

2010-09-21T19:56:00.001-07:00

So today, even though it was a tactical error of time management (as in I didn't really have the time and didn't realize how long it would take, neither did I know that I could call in my order and the could have it waiting for me), I was able to get some more clay and most of my glaze materials. Which means..... I will be mixing glazes very, very soon.

WHere Mim Finds a New Gallery Opportunity and a Cool Commision

2010-09-20T07:07:00.000-07:00

I meet some great people doing shows: artists, organizers, volunteers, customers. Patty Conlin and her PIC (partner in crime) Mona are two of those people and I have enjoy a couple of years now of seeing them at Art Fairs. Patty owns a gallery in St. Peter MN (Stones Throw Gallery) in addition to making absolutely exquisite gold jewelry, and wants to carry my pottery in her shop! But that's not all. She has a friend who is a photographer and bee keeper, so she had the brilliant idea to bring the three of us together in collaboration for the holiday gift giving season. Honey + honeypot + honey dipper = wonderful gift for the holidays!

The volunteer coordinator at the Lakeville Art Show is commissioning 4 urns from me to give to her children with their father's ashes in them. It's an exciting project and I am so honored to be able to do it. I can't wait to get back to the wheel and start making these things I have on my To Do list now!

More Studio Pictures

2010-09-15T17:46:00.000-07:00

Here's a picture of the kiln (I am calling the kiln The Crucible), and one of Diana's side of the studio with her wheel and the bisque kiln. Diana and Judy are both in the picture too. Not sure what Diana is going to call the kiln since it is *hers* after all.

Maybe This Will Make Me Into a Morning Person

2010-09-15T17:29:00.000-07:00

Firing starts early around here because it takes 12 hours, so we were all there at 7am on Tuesday to start the kiln. I was just an observer, but one of the things I observed was how amazing and wonderful all of the early morning light pouring in through the east windows was. Half the wall space on two sides of the room is glass brick facing both east and south. You can see the light from the window shining on damp box in my space in the picture.

Sunrise at the studio is magical.

So about the New Studio

2010-09-12T21:47:00.000-07:00

Fired Up decided a couple of months ago to sell their gas kiln and go completely electric. I totally understand their reasons for doing this, and even their reasons for the timing of this (the transition is complete for them before their fall classes start). But it is happening in the middle of my show season.

The gods of fortune have smiled on me in some ways. A friend and fellow potter decided to buy the kiln and rent the space it is in and I have "moved in with her" so to speak. I am not quite ready to give up combustion firing and reduction glazes. (Particularly after my class this spring that I loved so well and got so much wonderful information from.) But like any move, it involves expenses, time, breaks in routines, the slowdown of production in the middle of my show season, and a great many variables and uncertainties. Diana (the new owner of the kiln) has taken on a whole new realm of details that I don't envy and has been great a facilitating my participation in her fledgling venture. It is something we both envisioned doing "at some point" ..... just maybe not this summer. But here we are, taking the leap. All we can do is keep dealing with whatever details we can at the moment and hoping that it all works out for the best in the end even if that ends up being different than anything we can picture now.

It is tough to wait though for the changes to happen, for things to settle in, for work to develop some sort of routine.

I officially moved from Fired Up to Spirit Dancing with Fire as of the beginning of September. There will be some gallery space for finished work and the smaller room means everything is handier and closer. It will be good in the long run, but in the short run... I need a wheel of my own!

Business Plan Trauma

2010-09-12T21:23:00.000-07:00

I know that since I have a business, I should also have a business plan. And now that I am considering looking for a small business loan... well I *have* to have a business plan. The reason for the loan really, is the move to the new studio (yes I know I need to explain that). Things that were just laying around available to me, won't be available very soon, and I still have the rest of the year's shows to make work for. I need a wheel. Realistically looking toward next year and beyond I need a more sturdy canopy for outdoor shows. I need to build a customized set of shelving and stand for my booth (which I am capable of, but will involve overhead of time and money both). This will necessitate a larger vehicle.

Since my glazing class, I have been itching to do more glaze mixing, and I have several new glazes that I was only able to make in small batches that now need to be mixed in larger batches. For that I need the raw materials, a good gram scale, and a couple of other things. My mother generously gave me her immersion blender which she doesn't use much, so that's one less thing to buy/find. The customization of my glazes though is a big asset to my work and gives me more creative control and more creditability as a "serious artists".

Also I have accepted that I need to get some truly professional photographs done and the sooner the better. There are shows I can apply for this fall for the upcoming 2011 season that will cost more to enter, but have a greater likelihood of producing some serious revenue for me. I would also like to build my resume and that means entering work in exhibits which also require great photographs.

So I need to write the terrifying, complicated, business plan complete with financial details and projections. Mostly this is reminding me of why I hated both of the economics classes I took in college, and the accounting class I took in High School. It isn't that I don't have the information. I do, in my accounting spreadsheets, my artists statement, and my random lists of shows I'd like to apply for in 2011. It is in random conversations with fellow potters about pricing, marketing strategy, and the choices we all have to make about what kind of work we are going to do and who potentially we are going to sell it to. It is present in my plans to enger work to be included in exhibits, and finding a couple more galleries to carry my work regularly. But the method of organization that lending institutions favor is so foreign to the way I think and process information, that I find the entire process very intimidating. They *will* judge me based on this document I create and will choose to lend me money or not based on it. The business plan needs to be *really good* and well thought out. I need to put time into it that I really don't have right now, nor do I seem to have the focus to pull all of this stuff together.

Artist's Statement - Don't Leave Home Without It

2010-07-05T08:40:00.000-07:00

One of the essential accouterments of being an artist is an artist statement. You need longer ones for gallery submissions and exhibiting opportunities, and shorter ones for Fair and Show applications, and ideally a "10 second elevator speech", which is possibly the hardest of all.

An artist statement should give whoever is reading it an idea of who you are, what you do, why you do it and how you do it. Perhaps also why they should care about it.

So I finally think I have nailed down the essence of my work and formed it into a well written statement, that is interesting, compelling and informative. It is live and posted on my website (www.fireinthehand.com) and soon it will have links that match the colors in the rest of the site and a larger font size thanks to my sister who is studying web design.

You wouldn't believe how many version of this I have written to get here but it feels really good to have crystalized this crucial piece of marketing my work. There has been a lot of self-exploration and discovery along the way too so that's a bonus!

I Love to Carve Reliefs

2010-07-04T17:37:00.000-07:00

I am discovering that more and more I like to spend time with pieces. Particularly with the trees or with things I am intending to be truly one-of-a-kind rather than part of a series. There is something soothing and calming about focusing on one thing for an hour or so. And I find the exercise of thinking in two and three dimensions at the same time to be intensely satisfying.

Sometime soon I want to do a series of larger vessels with story panels on them. The first will be the Raven stealing the sun since I have a dozen sketches for that already. I want to start studying the bird form in more detail anyway and I find that carving plants and animals really helps to understand the way they are built and the way they grow or move in the world.

New Work Development - Plates

2010-07-04T17:32:00.000-07:00

these have all been glazed now, and the Fern plate sold at Bayfield in July/Aug. I am saving the Luna Moth plate to be photographed by a professional sometime soon. The work on a good "ocean" glaze continues and may almost be resolved. I need to mix a bigger batch and see if it test out OK.

D'Oh - Where I Realize Why Nobody Makes Comments

2010-06-20T08:43:00.000-07:00

I have reset the last few month's post to "allow" for comments. Didn't realize I had set the default to not allow comments. (sigh) I wish there were something I could do to go back and change all of them, but alas, since it is one-at-a-time I am not going to do them all.

Anyway, now that people can comment please feel free to do that!

Totally Unrelated to Pottery

2010-06-19T09:19:00.000-07:00

One of the things I occasionally like to do is practice my southern friendliness in public with strangers. I should explain that. People up here are nice, polite, even helpful, but they aren't friendly. The natural reserve of the Norwegian and German stock that settled here is still very much present, and while I am also of German and Norwegian stock, I was raised in St. Louis Missouri. People are friendly there. You say "hi" to the postal worker, or meter reader when you pass them on your street. Striking up a conversation waiting in line is not uncommon, not weird.

So, I was at the post office last week mailing a package to my mom. There was a little bit of a line, and only one guy visible. It has started raining and one of the patrons was just staying dry (he was on a scooter and didn't fully prepare for rain. I know because while waiting we all talked about it). One of the people in front of me was an older woman who had her package... and a batch of brownies for the postal workers. The brownies struck me as a totally charming, typically midwestern, reminder of simpler times, and I said as much to the guy behind me in line. One of the other patrons (a woman older than me but younger than the baker) piped up to comment that the "old ladies" on her paper route when she was younger would leave her cookies. I said that is makes me kinda hopeful about the world when some people still bake for public servants or other service people. The guy behind me said he felt better too even though "the oil is still flowing".

Some backstory is required here. I don't watch the news. I hear a little about what is going on, but for the most part I avoid it because it depresses me and is overwhelming. So I didn't know that the oil was still CONTINUING TO SPILL into the gulf. My dad was a chemical engineer... surely there would be an "off" valve right? I mean anyone who has ever had water problems in their house or apartment knows the value of being able to *turn off* fluid under pressure right? I mentioned that to Guy Behind Me. Apparently not, we had a bit of back and forth conversation about engineers, bureaucrats and the stupidity of trying to save a buck. In the end we agreed it was probably a bureaucrat not an engineer who decided to just *forgo* the safety valve.

The result of this foray into friendliness with strangers was pretty good overall. I'd give it a 7 because finding out that the people who were drilling in the Gulf were so colossally stupid was a real downer, but the brownies bring it up past a so-so 5.

Next Skill - Firing

2010-06-18T09:12:00.000-07:00

Last night I started a short class on firing an updraft kiln at the Edina Art Center. The kiln is outside so we were monkeying around with it as a storm was blowing in last night. We had to give up because it was really starting to come down. Straggling back into the air conditioned building all wet was a cold experience! When we went back out a little later, we were treated to cool cloud formations and patches of sunlight at 8:30pm. I love this time of year!

Now I have about 3 weeks to make work to go in that firing. (I think I am going to do that at my regular studio... its just more efficient.) Just the process of lighting the kiln last night as a test makes me appreciate the benefits of the regular scheduled firings at Fired Up. Lots of little details to be remembered some of which can mean the difference between a successful firing and a disastrous one and about a million valves to be turned on and checked. Still I am excited to be filling in this gap in my knowledge. Each thing I learn will mean more creativity and control over my art/craft. Soon I will have the tools to conquer the world!! Mwhaaaa

Or at least develop and fire my own glazes.

the Agony and Ecstasy of Show Applications

2010-05-28T20:14:00.000-07:00

First of all, I LOVE the Zap application process. A) I can keep a "bank" of good photos on it, that I can keep updating as I get better ones. Once they are there, they're already formatted correctly for all the applications so I don't have to do it over and over again to different specs. each time. B) I can pay through PayPal which means I can use whichever account has the most $$ in it (personal or business) or if I have to I can use my credit card. C) It's all electronic. Nothing to get lost or broken, I am sure they will be able to read my files, *and* it's instantaneous... no snail mail transit time.

(Also, I don't have checks out there that *might* be sent back to me, which makes the accounting process easier. I don't have to pay booth fees unless I am accepted to the show, which means I don't have to worry about having all the $$ for *all* the shows when I am applying. This is a big plus in my book.)

But man does it drive me crazy when people start asking for photographs. *nobody* prints photos of their work (because no-one takes their pictures with film, and if they *did* it would be *slide* film which is really expensive to make prints of). Photos are never as good, and frankly most portfolio pictures are taken to be shown projected or on a monitor (also lit). Yeah, it is relatively easy to go to Target with a thumb drive or something and print off pictures, but it never strikes me as looking as professional as the slides or the digital files, and you *know* you aren't getting a good print, let alone a *great* print. Since most photography is digital nowdays I don't understand why an organization putting on an event would *want* a pile of photographs printed from .jpegs when they could get the files themselves. Isn't it easier for promotional materials to *not* have to convert a photograph into something that will make descent add copy, catalogs, directories or fliers? (scratches head...) Seems like extra work to me.

I checked the CD's to make sure they would open. They are in jewel cases in bubble mailers. Hopefully they will all get there without the CD being *broken* this time. Again, in this day an age, why not have people email you their pictures? It's safer for everyone, and you, the organizer, don't have to worry about mailing anybody back their CDs. Sooo much more convenient.

I am mostly not a technophile but in some cases technology is *gooood*!

Glazing Mixing Bonanza

2010-05-18T19:48:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is the last day of glaze mixing for my class. We got our test tiles back and a *lot* of them turned out to be a) cool or b) beautiful. So many glazes so little time....

Anyway, Liz (a fellow classmate) is meeting me at Northern Clay Center tomorrow and we are going to mix like MAD. Mostly just 1000gm batches (about a quart) and just a couple larger batches. I will have to keep doing some testing at my regular studio and take good notes so that when I have access to the glaze mixing room again I can pick up where I left off with the tests.

I have to say, I love, love, love the process of mixing, testing and playing with new glazes. Ironic, since I really don't like baking. (Though when you think about it, baked goods may *taste* yummy, but they don't turn magical pretty colors in the oven.) I will post some pictures of finished work or test tiles soon!

Realizations

2010-05-13T10:28:00.001-07:00

I have been thinking about new work (luna moths, seahorses, octopuses, lilly of the valley, sunflowers, crows) and have come to the conclusion that not only do I not *have* to design a new shape for each new animal or plant I want to explore with my pots, I *shouldn't*. My work will look and feel more cohesive if I develop a few styles for each functional item (cups, bowls, plates, casseroles, etc.) but vary the decoration of them. I have also realized how important drawing is to my creative process, my creative problem solving, and my enjoyment of my craft. More time needs to be set aside for this. It helps me think, and visualize and I find it soothing to do. Like throwing, it is meditative.

Dandelions and Gratitude

2010-05-13T10:19:00.000-07:00

I have finally been able to take pictures of the Dandelion platters that are finished. I am really happy with the results, but not sure the photos do them justice. The raw clay is really a beautiful warm, dark brown that I *love*. Since it has the ochre in it (and a fair amount of iron I would guess) it forms a nice surface in spite of being unglazed. I have always wanted to take advantage of the great color of this clay in my designs and want to do more, more, more of this! It goes particularly well with the drawing/carving style of decoration which I have been loving to do. I didn't realize how much I missed drawing until I started doing more of it again.

The dandelions came about because they called to me. The idea of wishing, of wishes coming true seemed important to bring to my work. I am right now "living the dream" so to speak and making the dandelions honors that truth. Each one is a delight and expression of gratitude that life has lead me to this path and this place.

Fun with Chemistry - I know just enough to be dangerous

2010-04-30T19:00:00.000-07:00

NCC (Northern Clay Center) offers a class to learn how to mix and test glazes for the high-fire, reduction kilns which I am taking now. It has been fascinating to learn more about the technicalities behind the different materials that go into glazes, what they do, and how to manipulate them.

I haven't had time to make work to glaze in the class though because I am gearing up for the show season (I have two big shows a month in May and June). Inspiration struck today as I was packing up some bisque-ware from my studio, things that I wouldn't ordinarily bother to glaze, but would make *fine* test pieces for new glazes. I asked my friend Diana if she has any bisque stuff laying around that she was going to throw away and she *did*! She had some porcelain bowls, and a bunch of various things in a good basic stoneware body: some bottle forms, some goblet type forms. So now I have *lots* of things to test on, plus I do want to make some of my own stuff to glaze too even if it's just a few pieces.

I am going in to NCC tomorrow to mix up a bunch of test glazes: some yellows, a couple of temoku types, and several "fancy" glazes. Plus I want to experiment with the Coleman Purple glaze from the studio (that the picture at the top) to see if I can alter it to be "green with blue spots" rather than "red-purple with blue spots". I have learned enough that I have some theories of how to do that. Probably nothing will blow up while I am experimenting. Probably.

Sunflowers!!!!

2010-04-26T14:50:00.000-07:00

This weekend was great. I met a lot of interesting people some of whom were my fellow participants in the Crane Ordway building. Greg was one of those fellows (an example of one of his prints heads this entry). He grows and photographs sunflowers (and has also photographs them in the surrounding states and Spain). I was just blown away by the brilliant yellows, greens and blues of his photographs. But don't take my word for it see his website! http://gearheaddreams.com/index.html

St. Paul Art Crawl this Weekend

2010-04-23T07:22:00.000-07:00

I will be in the Crane Ordway building (across 5th st. from the farmer's market), but the entrance we are using is around the corner on Wall. We are on the *ground floor* all together in a great space with refreshments and comfy seating. Stop buy and look around, snack and lounge!

I am very excited about this event. My friend Janice who lives in the building has been hard at work arranging and attending meetings to make this possible. She's *great*. And the building is right in the middle of everything, just a block from St. Paul's Springboard for the Arts offices.

Some of my work was featured on a local (KARE11) new spot so my pots have *been on TV*!!!

Design Process

2010-04-15T07:14:00.001-07:00

Had a great conversation with a fellow Fired Up-ian yesterday who helped me with some design challenges I have been having. I have these berry bowls that are inspired by morning glories and I made plates for them that are shaped like morning glory leaves (roughly heart shaped). They don't work well together no matter how much I want them too. The colanders turn out nice (when the opal blue doesn't run off of them) and the plates are neat looking, just not together. So I have these plates that I need to do something with and I had a bunch of "opps" forget-me-not bowls ... they look *great* together. Yay! So coming soon... violet dessert bowls with leaf plates!

Tree Photos

2010-04-04T18:13:00.000-07:00

Blue Poppies

2010-04-04T18:05:00.000-07:00

So I threw some bowls to become blue poppies a bit ago. Some of them were pretty large (wheee!) and on some of them I shaped the petals more than usual. Having tested the velvet underglaze for the cone 10 reduction firing, I used it on this round of pots. That's the bright orange dots. Think pollen. (achoo) I have another test to go in the kiln for a variation on the center (a yellower orange and a yellow green in place of the white).

Next Round of Trees are out of Kiln

2010-03-26T14:21:00.000-07:00

I am *much* happier with these. Going with my instincts after the last batch came out of the kiln, I didn't glaze the "bark" parts. On two of them I used stain, rutile on one, and Spanish iron on another. The rutile looks *awesome*, but the iron is a bit too shiny and metallic looking. It is still better than the glazed ones though, and that metallic look might come in useful for some other project. The plain raw clay looked really great too. So, I can just wax them and get a nice result. (good to know). The matte green over the Northern Green celedon (a mediumish, olivish transparent green) looks good too.

The other big innovation this time was in the bowls of the goblets. I squished them so they were no longer round at the top. Wow does it work better. Just that little bit of adjustment makes the bowls fit visually with the tree trunks and the organic feel of the pieces. Also, the inevitable tilt in the bowls that happens when the pieces are fired to cone 10 isn't a glaring flaw. Yay! Design process is *good*!

Pictures of the finished pieces will follow soon and I have two more to glaze.

Making Flowers

2010-03-12T17:26:00.000-08:00

I made Forget-Me Nots today and I looking forward to several more days of throwing bowls that will become flowers. This batch will probably all be glazed in the purple since people (including me) seemed to like that better than the lighter opal blue. I am also planning on a deeper foot ring so that the "remember me" message can be on the outside of the foot ring rather than the bottom of the bowl.

My test tile bowl for the blue poppies turned out really well so I am excited to get some made so that I can glaze them! (That's tomorrow's throwing task) I tried out several of the Amaco Velvet Underglazes (three different colors in the yellow/orange range) but used them *on top* of my blue glaze. Guess what? They looked *great* even when fired to cone 10 in reduction and don't seem to slide much even on the surface of a very runny glaze, so my poppies will get their bright yellow-y orange ends on their white filaments!

I Love My People

2010-03-12T17:10:00.001-08:00

Finally back in the studio again after my travels. It felt great to be there among my fellow artists, catching up on their work and getting the unique kind of support and encouragement that only other artists can provide. Thanks to a couple of artists in the studio I once again feel like my work really is going somewhere and developing into something cool and interesting. I talked to a couple of people about grad school too and got a bunch of interesting perspectives, information, and ideas about ways to get the experience I need and the creative development opportunities that I want. I can get glaze mixing and firing experience at Northern Clay Center and take classes to improve my technical skills. There is apparently a *ton* of grant money out there which could net me at least periods of time to focus on creative development. Networking can happen through NCC or some other professional organizations in the area, and Springboard for the Arts offers classes and seminars in the business aspects of being an artist. S0.... maybe not grad school after all. My sister will be so pleased that her perspective won out! ;p

More Trees!

2010-03-02T18:44:00.001-08:00

Using my drawings and photos from trees around the neighborhood and trees from online photos, I have a new set of tree goblets! (There are actually 5 of them but the other two are already in the bisque kiln.) It's a good thing I finished them today too. They were getting a bit too dry to add branches. The picture is of an aspen, a jacaranda and a tree from our neighborhood that is hard to determine because... well it's winter here and there are no leaves... and it isn't one of those distinctive birch/aspen types that I can identify for sure without leaves. The two in the kiln already are from the neighborhood too. I think one of those is an oak, the other might be an ash tree. I will have to wait until the leaves come later to be sure!

Starting with Photographs....

2010-02-24T08:08:00.000-08:00

One of many pictures I took of winter trees against a blue sky last weekend. I have done quite a bit of sketching since then and working on exactly how the bowls of the goblets should fit in the branches of the trees. Some trees just seem made to support a cup shape. Can't you just see it there?

An Elegant and Beautiful Ratio

2010-02-24T07:31:00.000-08:00

Ever since I read "The Beginner's Guide to Constructing the Universe" I have been fascinated with the relationship between geometry and nature. Never having be more than a mediocre math student, the ancient philosophical underpinnings of mathematics are much more my speed than algebra ever was. I just purchased a new little book "The Golden Section" from Wooden Books (a beautiful series of black and white illustrated books about various things) and I am trying to figure out a way to incorporate the magical phi into my work. I also have a concern that trying to do that will stifle my work. Still, as I delve more and more into natural forms I can't help but believe that the understand of how leaves are arranged etc. will be helpful. It is also cool to see that my love for spirals has cosmic underpinnings. The phi spiral is found *everywhere*! The image in this post is the path of Venus around Earth as seen from Venus over a period of 16 years. It creates a pentagonal flower ... which could be a rose, a cherry blossom or any of hundreds of other wild flower and flowers of fruiting trees. Wow.

Time to Draw Trees

2010-02-06T19:28:00.000-08:00

I have had the thought several times in the last few weeks that now (that is, Winter) would be an excellent time to take my sketchbook out and draw some trees to reference later. It's perfect actually, since the trees look darker, and they are set against a (usually) white (ish) background. You can see their structure and shape so easily! Since I finished the goblets I drive by trees and think "ooo! that one would make a pretty goblet" and " isn't *that* a neat shape/tree/etc." Yep. Gotta find me some drawing time.

More Eggy Good-ness

2010-02-06T18:29:00.000-08:00

I finally finished the carving/sculpting on the last of my eggs. Wow was it a lot of work, but sooooooooo fun! I have to admit the last couple of days *flew* by even though I spent the entire day (both times) working on only one piece. I am really enjoying the creative process and finding that I miss drawing and other forms of art-for-arts-sake. It was cool also to be able to make faces on the tree-women based on my knowledge of drawing and of anatomy. Knowing what the bones and muscles look like underneath and understanding how they work and move is incredibly useful! This type of work engages my problem-solving brain and is quite relaxing and meditative. Must. Make. More... What? Vases maybe?

Eggs and eggi-ness

2010-01-29T18:19:00.000-08:00

I have decided I like this whole "series" thing. Not that the 4 season with the trees is particularly original, but it was a fun series to do and gave me some inspiration for making each tree unique. I don't want to fall into some sort of rut with the trees, but I don't think I am in danger of that for a while. Still too much to explore there.

My next series is an expansion on the eggs I have done in the past. The first set of eggs I threw earlier this week were OK but not great in their eggi-ness. I didn't spend enough time thinking about the angle/curve of the egg in relation to the lid/base and ended up with some frustrations in fitting the lid-bowl onto the base-bowl to my satisfaction. So today, since I finished all the other pots for the week, I decided to throw two more. I took my time about it. While not perfect, and they still required tweeking, I am much happier with their general shape and the fit of their lids. My goal is to end up with 3 that I really like for the "series". It will be a series of eggs in the World Egg, Cosmic Egg, Druid's Egg theme except instead of all being eggs with snakes, I am going to break those concepts out individually. One of them will be the snake and the egg that I have done before; the alchemical symbol for creation (Druid's Egg). One of them will be a "world tree" motif with a tree (of course) and various flora and fauna (this is the World Egg). The last one will be decorated only with glaze. I am going to do it in black with glazes on top of it to look like a two arm spiral galaxy complete with stars (the Cosmic Egg). I have some great pictures for this but it is the riskiest of the three since it relies completely on the glazing for its surface decoration with no drawn or sculpted elements. But I have a Plan(tm) to help with this. I actually have six eggs right now, which means I have "test eggs". I figure I don't really need a test egg for the one I have done before, which gives me a test for the world tree egg and potentially two tests for the cosmic egg. That will allow me to test a couple of glaze variations before I do my "good" one.

I have a feeling that even if I get it to turn out the way I am envisioning, that last one is going to be a bitch to photograph ....

More Work In Progress - Seasons of Trees Goblets

2010-01-23T18:19:00.000-08:00

I made enough pieces to create 4 tree goblets and have decided they will be four seasons of trees. As I was working on them it became clear which tree should be which season (there us one already on the bisque shelf), now all I have to figure out is how to glaze them to enhance their different and interesting shapes, and help evoke their seasonal tie. It is cool to be making a set of things like this!

Geckos Are Curious - Grant App. Pots

2010-01-11T18:37:00.000-08:00

and these guys are checking out the fruit bowl. It is not quite finished at this point (no toes yet) and I decided that the tails needed to be functional. So the tails make loopy sorts of handles for this bowl. You can see its bigger cousin lurking in the background of the picture waiting to get its toes too.

New Inspirational Artist

2010-01-10T19:04:00.000-08:00

We went to the new public library in Downtown MPLS while the kids were on their holiday break and wow is it neat! There was also a small exhibit there call "Precious Objects" that included two paintings by Magaret Wall-Romano. I added her to my list of inspirational artists with a link. Her work has areas of blended color and areas of very fine detail and realism. Lots of botanical elements without being chintz like at all. I love to look at her work over and over again since there always seems to be more to see. The picture is a detail of a much larger painting. Check out her website!

Jerome Grant

2010-01-09T16:15:00.000-08:00

I am going to apply this year for the Jerome Grant to help further the development of my work in preparation for applying for Grad school this coming fall. More to come in the blog about this. I thought it would be a good idea to make some new work to photograph for the application.

The application is due Feb. 26th... lots of work to do!

More Honey Dippers Means More Honey Pots!

2009-12-15T12:24:00.000-08:00

Drove into WI this morning to drop of work at Stone Soup Gallery (their new location in Hudson). The new store is *great*! I can't wait until spring when I will feel more like checking out the whole area which seems full of cool galleries and shops.

I also picked up a whole bunch more honey dippers from Jeff Nicol (cousin of the galler owner Jane Nicol), in a variety of woods. He lathe turns them all from wood reclaimed from the surrounding area. This batch has cherry, black walnut, old growth pine, mulberry, and one each of red and white maple. They are beautiful and range in color from almost white, to almost black! I will be in the studio making honey pots to go with them ASAP. :)

Memorial Bowls

2009-12-13T13:08:00.001-08:00

Right after I got back from St. Louis I made a series of bowls. It was partly self-therapy, partly grieving, and partly that I just wanted to make something to make it, not for a show or a gallery. So I made Forget-Me-Not bowls. They turned out pretty well and I am going to give them as gifts to my siblings and Mom for the holidays. I think I will continue to make them, maybe in a slightly smaller form.

Rethinking Geckos and Beverage Containters

2009-12-09T18:19:00.000-08:00

I got this great book for my birthday, 500 Cups and in it were several versions of what I am going to call the "pilsner" shape (the picture is of a glass pilsner). Some people call them goblets, some people call them tumblers, some people call them cups, some people actually call them pilsners. So I was thinking that the mug size with not-a-traditional-handle was just too awkward for most people, and yet people (especially coffee drinkers) want to have volume, volume, volume! Hmm... a dilemma. Enter the tallish, glass-like, cup with a narrow waist to hold on to and a wide "stem" of sorts (that is still hollow and will hold more stuff). Perfect! I made 3 on Monday and will "gecko" them tomorrow.

My other thought was... tea bowls! Tea drinkers love to find smallish cups for tea. Plus they are very cute and I can make little lizards for them. I may make "saucers" for some later ones or plates to hold the teabags or whatever. Not sure. Made three of those on Monday too!

So say goodbye to the mug size gecko cups and say hello to tea bowls and goblet-y, pilsner-like, cups.

How About Red Snowflakes with Spots!

2009-12-05T20:34:00.000-08:00

They may be white now, but I think I will glaze them in purple, red and maybe blue or yellow, and I think they need spots or spirals in green and other colors. Cuz' they need to be bright! Cheery! (We can all see plenty of white ones outside soon enough.)

The Holly Pots are done!

2009-12-02T20:49:00.000-08:00

Holly and a berry. Perfect for sushi, potstickers, crackers and dip for one, or crudites even if you want to be healthy. I made these from a bag of white stoneware given to me by a fellow studio member. Just a few of these for the season and then they will be gone! I saw an article in Clay Times about throwing oval bowls that I may use to construct these next year. Inovation is a good thing!

Yikes! A whole host of upcoming events!

2009-11-10T17:09:00.000-08:00

The kiln is busy and full as the Fired Up artists all prepare for upcoming events (including our Preview Party the first Friday in December) and the holiday season. I have been too busy working to take any pictures! Tomorrow I will start in on trimming the very full rack of thrown pots I have at the studio. Hopefully they will all be dry enough to bisque and glaze for the next couple of firings so that I will have work for the events below. :p

Places to find me very shortly:
Midtown Farmer's Market Fundraiser Sat. Nov. 14th http://www.midtownfarmersmarket.org/

Gaviidae Holiday Market starts Nov. 20th
(street level, convenient parking for Holidazzel - goes for 5 Fridays, 10am-8pm)

Soulful Giving Yule Gift Fair and Customer Appreciation Event Sat. Nov. 21st.
(Woodlake Nature Center in Richfield 10-am-3pm)

Been A While

2009-11-04T20:21:00.000-08:00

I have been throwing like mad, and today and tomorrow will be trimming like mad too! Pictures of Holly and Berry sets will be posted as soon as I have them. I may take a couple of "work in progress" pictures tomorrow.

Cinderella's Pumpkin Had Nothing on These!

2009-10-24T16:06:00.000-07:00

I made 18 of these and only have 3 left! Yikes! Anyway, it seems like they are a hit and I will have to make more next year. The pumpkins at the market today will provide inspiration for pumpkins to come.

"Double, double, toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble..."

2009-10-24T16:03:00.000-07:00

I love that quote from Macbeth! Anyway, they are out of the kiln. That's the good news. The bad news (for those of you who were wanting a cool cauldron mug with a snake on it) is that half of them have been sold already!

Sad News

2009-10-18T17:30:00.000-07:00

Sorry it has been so long folks. Dad has had health issues and has passed away. I have spent a bit of time traveling back and forth to St. Louis and my work has been on hold. I did get the last of the pumpkins glazed as well as the cauldrons this weekend while I was home. I leave tomorrow morning for the funeral and won't be back until Friday. Hopefully the kiln will fire this week (there may not be enough work).

Take care all.

More works in progress: Caudron cups

2009-10-06T19:36:00.001-07:00

Another whim of mine for the season. Cauldron cups with snake handles. Of course I will glaze them in black, and line at least some of them in green or maybe red, or maybe some of each....

More Porcelain: Vases, Salt Cellars and Tiny Bowls

2009-09-27T14:02:00.000-07:00

I made tiny bowls for salt cellars and tiny vases/bottles from that last bag of porcelain and they turned out really neat! My glaze experiment with the three types of opal blue on the shell bowl resulted in me liking the plain glaze best. ;p Go figure. But I am sure people will like the robin's egg blue glaze and I am interested to see what that will look like on stoneware. The cobalt blue mixed with the opal yeilded a very dark navy glaze which was OK but much darker that I had anticipated. (This is why we do test eh? to figure these things out). Anyway I took some pictures at the market with the phonecam.

Don't know what I will do with this but DANG they're cute!

2009-09-25T19:19:00.000-07:00

I found some pictures of torpid (hibernating) doormice (which aren't mice but are rodents still, more closely related to the ground squirrel). They are beyond cute. Maybe too cute for pots. They haven't yet told me what kinds of pots they might want to be... but someday... maybe there will be doormice pots.

Maybe cups with tail handles?

Next Seasonal item - Holly?

2009-09-25T19:13:00.000-07:00

So I was thinking it might be neat to make appetizer-y dish sets for the winter holiday season with shallow plate/bowls the shape of holly leaves in green and small round sauce bowls in red. Sets of four maybe?

They are so cool I had to make more!

2009-09-25T19:05:00.000-07:00

I decided that the 10 pumpkins I had so far wasn't really enough. One of my fellow potters at the studio was talking about wanting one, so I decided to make some more today. If the trimming all goes well I will have a grand total of 18 pumpkins this season. I am just making these two batches since they are such a seasonal item. The two in front are big serving bowls. You can get an idea of the size from the gecko mug in the background. (keeping in mind that the mug has been fired twice and has shrunk twice also.) There was a suggestions that soup bowls really begged a large serving bowl to put the soup in, hence the two large bowls. Maybe I will make classic tureens with lids next year.

First round of pumpkin pots...

2009-09-25T19:00:00.000-07:00

... and I have *pictures*! They aren't great because I took them with the phonecam, but you can see their cool swirly handles and such. I can't wait to glaze these puppies! The finished ones are three sizes: reg. mug size, large mug size and soup bowl with two handles.

Decisions, Decisions

2009-09-23T15:35:00.000-07:00

The main part of art fair season is winding down now, but I still have events coming up. At least one "biggie" per month in Oct, Nov, and Dec. I am trying to decide between several opportunities for other types of selling events around the holidays. There is a Blueberry Farm in WI that does an art sale for 4 weekends Halloween through Thanksgiving, and then Gaviidae in downtown is doing a Friday sale mid-November through the week before Christmas. I am pretty sure I can't do both because I won't have enough work. I am already not doing Twice the Gift this year (also in downtown) because the deadline is just too soon and I need all of my inventory for my remaining shows in Sept. and Oct.

The real trick is figuring out what will be the best finanically and what will be the best for my sanity ... they may not be the same thing! Wish me luck!

Next show

2009-09-16T07:44:00.000-07:00

Gearing up for the show in Maple Grove this weekend. My weights are cured and ready to use! I have restocked my bags and my give-away cards with the info about the symbolism. I have ordered more honey dippers, (Of the 9 honey pots I had this weekend only 1 came home with me and I even sold a couple that didn't have dippers!) and bought more salt and salt spoons in anticipation of the porcelain shells and leaves being done soon.

Art on the Kinni was great BTW. A *beautiful* site and the organizers were lovely people. (and I did pretty well, it is obviously a community that supports the arts!)

Art on the Kinni is WI tomorrow! Come see!

2009-09-11T20:26:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow is Art on the Kinni in Wisconsin! Should be a great event! The car is all packed, I have my supplies, my cash for change, my pots etc. and extra business cards.

For more info see this link to the River Falls Community Arts Base
http://www.riverfallscab.org/artonthekinni.php

Maybe I will see you there!

Replacement Weights for Canopy

2009-09-11T10:26:00.000-07:00

I am making new weights for this weekend's show to replace the ones that were given to me by a friend when I started doing all this. Up till now I have been carrying those weight plus four half-sized cinderblocks in my car for weights. Just in case you have never had to deal with cinder blocks - they're messy, they have a lot of sharp corners, and it means I have *two* sets of stuff to cart out of the van at shows.

The new weights are slim, sleek 4"PVC pipe with drainpipe cover ends. They will be nice and flat unlike the PVC caps which are twice as expensive and rounded, and since I used the drain covers the eyebolts thread right through the top!

I am going to try the "pour the dry quick-crete in the tubes and add water" method instead of mixing the wet stuff in something (that I have to clean up later) and pouring it in at tamping it down to make sure there are no air bubbles.

Cream pitchers for just a few, or a few more!

2009-09-06T18:09:00.000-07:00

The first picture is of two Swan cream pitchers. To give you an idea, the larger of the pitchers is about 12-14 oz. and the smaller one is about 8 0z.

The second picture is Snail cream pitchers in about the same sizes.

Back By Popular Demand ... With Pictures!

2009-09-04T09:47:00.000-07:00

By "popular demand" I mean my wife keeps asking me when I am going to make more of these. I have to admit I love the way they turn out... but they are so hard to photograph! The red is sooooo shiny.

Gill and Veils

2009-08-23T08:27:00.001-07:00

I had thought perhaps I should provide some info on the mushroom parts... gills and veils. The veil is a covering over the gills that can peel off and become a ring (or collar) around the stem.

"Gills, known as "lamellae", are plate like structures arranged on the underside of a mushroom's cap. The common button mushroom sold in grocery stores is a gilled mushroom."from Mushroom Expert.com

You can see gills, a veil, and the resulting collars or rings in the pictures on both "real" mushrooms and some of my latest "made" ones.

Market Pictures of New Work

2009-08-23T08:15:00.000-07:00

I took a few pictures at the market yesterday that I want to share. It was a beautiful day, so I got a couple of good ones! The ones I am posting are of the Clover honey pots, and the new Snail glaze pattern for the serving bowls and a Snail casserole. Both of them are Northern Green Celedon and Coleman Purple (which can look very blue, so the pictures are pretty accurate!). Let me know what you think!

The New Mushrooms Are SOOOO Cute!

2009-08-21T10:01:00.000-07:00

The new set of mushrooms turned out just great! Some of them are quite tiny, no bigger than 5"' tall, and I was able to get more detail in the veils and gills this time too! I am really loving playing with glaze combinations on the caps. So far the big winners are: the rusty red and celedon green (the glaze goes yellow around the green parts so it's like a freebie color!), the bright red with the turquoise green, and the purple with that same turquoise. The sun came out nice and bright just *after* I packed away all the photography stuff, but don't worry, I got some good pictures anyway!

Work Plans - Plus Poppies Are Back!

2009-08-14T19:06:00.000-07:00

There wasn't a firing this week, so pictures of new stuff. (sorry 'bout that) But I did get a fair amount of work done even with company in town. There will be new larger Pori bowls soon (pancake batter size) and I have decided to bring back the Poppy bowls for fall and winter. I started with some medium and large serving bowls.

I am figuring I need to make (as in throw, trim, decorate and dry) an average of 25 pieces a week. That is what I am working toward in some sort of routine.

The Mushrooms are Growing and Changing

2009-08-05T07:02:00.000-07:00

I love making mushrooms. They are the antithisis of my other work. I don't care if the caps are symetrical, if the "bottle" forms that make the bases are off center, if the caps tilt jauntily on their stems...all of those things are what make them interesting. I don't *want* them to be too even, too perfect, etc. They are an exercise in working with serendipity and an exercise in going with the flow. While the process of making them is getting more refined as I make more of them, there is still a generous amount of just seeing how they turn out, which is different every time!

And then I get to glaze them! I am having so much fun experimenting with different glaze combinations for the caps and decorating them with dots, stripes, spirals etc.

The picture is three of the last four larger mushrooms (cuz one sold already) and I just finished assembling a bunch of smaller ones yesterday a couple of which are almost *tiny*. They are going to be soooooo cute! Maybe I will post picture of some of those after they get out of the kiln.

Sky Blue Glaze Research

2009-07-29T17:31:00.000-07:00

So hopefully soon I will be able to make the test tiles using my new Robin's Egg Blue Mason Stain. I think I am going to combine it with the clear studio glaze and the Celedon in some different quantities to see what colors I get. I am also going to try diluting the Cobalt blue studio glaze with celedon to see if I can get a more "sky" blue that way (because that would be a *lot* easier.) Then I need to see how they are going to combine with the Opal blue that I want to use for the clouds to see how they work together!

This is all in preparation for make what I am calling for now the "optimism" pots. I think they will be mostly bowls, and a good sized cup with a generous handle.

Finally! Swan Cups on "Film"

2009-07-19T19:30:00.000-07:00

Here is one of the pictures of the swan cups that I took in the booth today. Since I didn't have time to photograph the work I picked up from the studio before the show, I wanted to take at least a few pictures before all of the swan stuff was gone! I have a few swan mugs left after the show, so I should get some good pictures for the Etsy site later.

Reminder! Etsy Shop in Vacation Mode!

2009-07-19T18:20:00.000-07:00

Just a quick FYI before we go out of town. Fire in the Hand on Etsy is on vacation until Sunday July 26th. I am taking a much needed trip with my family to visit my folks in St. Louis. I may still blog some this week, I had some good insights and inspiration at the show this weekend.

Friends, Artist, and Opportunities

2009-07-18T19:47:00.000-07:00

This has been a great show. My next door neighbor is an artist-crafter/friend that I met at a show last spring. She is transitioning her business focus from handcrafted soaps to natural and rust dyed silks and fine art photography. Her silks are beautiful and it is neat to see her making this change. I can't wait to see her photography work. She is encouraging me to join her for the St. Paul Art Crawl in October and I think I am going to!

Also, one of the judges talked to me about showing some of my work in her gallery (also in St. Paul). It looks like opportunities to expand in to another market are coming my way which is a very exciting thing!

Hey there St. Paul! Glad to know ya! Looking forward to getting to know you better!

My First Show Award Ever!

2009-07-18T19:34:00.000-07:00

I am very excited! Today at the Highland Fest I won Third place in Fine Craft at the show. Wheee! My wife was "manning" the booth when they came by and apparently she made a *big* noise of excitement. They she and the lovely lady from next door made a big to-do of arranging the ribbon for me to see it. It was sweet and wonderful. The second place winner was a glass artist that I have now seen at several shows and is an all around great guy. He is from the Duluth area and his business name is Neff Glass. My wife and I each have several pieces of his from Alexandria Art in the Park last year. He does really cool work and it is great to see him recognized as well. His new work looks like he has trapped a galaxy of stars in glass. Wow!

Results of Porcelain Experiment

2009-07-10T16:33:00.000-07:00

As promised here are pictures of some of the porcelain "experiment" pots. I am happy with some of the results, and underwhelmed with other results of the glazing. That light yellow sure looks nice with the strawberries though doesn't it? :) The littlest bottle is about 3 1/2" tall. They will get cork stoppers (from Widget.com - I love the name of their business!) and should be ideal for mixing essential oil with carrier oils for various things. (The opaque bottles help to extend the shelf life of oils.) I am trying to think of other uses for those little bottles, so if you think of anything let me know!

Porcelain Pots are Glazed!

2009-07-06T16:21:00.000-07:00

I was able to get the tiny cruets and the berry bowls glazed today along with some other things. Now comes the long wait until Thursday when they will come out of the kiln. I can't wait to see how they turn out! I will post some pictures on Friday.

The Shelves are Filled with Fresh Pots!

2009-06-30T20:43:00.000-07:00

I have been a busy bee throwing many pots in the last few days. My damp box is nearly full! (almost 5 full shelves of wet pots). My task over the next three or four days will be to get those pots ready for the bisque firing. They need handles and geckos, and nice neat trimmed feet. They need bees and knobs, and holes. When they are finished they will be swan bowls and cups, berry bowls, honey pots, and gecko stuff.

About Porcelain

2009-06-28T13:16:00.000-07:00

First of all, I love working with porcelain. For anyone listening that hasn't ever seen porcelain clay before it has been worked or fired, it looks a *lot* like cream cheese. And that is what it is, creamy, sensual, soft.... It centers easily and while it encourages you to work fast because it get *too* soft quickly, it isn't terribly more difficult to work with than the stonewhere I usually use. The buff stoneware I use is pretty soft and smooth though, very little grit in it and so it is more like porcelain anyway.

So you might ask why I don't work in porcelain all the time, or at least more than I do, and that would be a good question. The answer is, I don't really like pastels, and porcelain when it is glazed makes everything light and cool. What I like in glazes is the rich, dark, warm effect that glaze has on the dark stoneware clay fired to cone 10. Also, there is more color variation in the glaze because it reacts to the additional stuff in the clay that beautiful, pristine, white porcelain doesn't have.

Still I have to say throwing porcelain is a wonderful sensual experience. Even trimming the pieces is an experience in soft and *smmooooooth*.

Man-Handles and Dandelions

2009-06-27T14:38:00.000-07:00

My husband has lamented that I don't make "plain" things anymore. And that the mugs should be bigger. After the observation in the last post (about the male interest in my work), I put some more thought into his comments. I'll be honest, I don't want to make plain things. But, I can make mugs who's decorative elements don't involve their handles. Then the handles could be simpler and perhaps larger. I decided to call the future handles "Man-Handles". I wonder if I can trademark that term? And how would you go about that anyway? Is it expensive? The Man-Handles will be going on Man-Mugs, and if I get really crazy and make really big ones, they might just be Man-Steins.

I digress, I have also decided that I need to make pots with dandelions on them. Why you ask? Because dandelions symbolize wish fulfillment, and that is exactly what being a full-time potter is for me. Besides who doesn't think fondly back to childhood and blowing the seeds off of a dandelion to make a wish. And then there is just the idea of seeds...floating out into the world.
Not that pots float, but the idea of my work making its way out into the world is pretty cool.

Target Market Obervation

2009-06-27T14:32:00.001-07:00

So I was sitting at an event several weeks ago (as it happens the event turned out to be *not* a good event for me, wrong market, not well publicized etc.) with my wife and we made an interesting observation. The people passing my booth who looked interested, looked twice, looked longer or even sometime looked at all were more often men that women. Now, as a potter, that is a maker of *dishes*, I found this interesting. Makes me kinda wonder why. What is it about my work that seems to appeal specifically to men? (Is it the lizards? The colors? The shapes?) Hmm.... this might be a future poll of some sort. Be prepared!