After three days of glazing & wadding, I finally loaded my kiln tonight.
And it might be my tightest packed kiln yet?! So now it’s time for a couple hours
of sleep, a quick shower and then it’s pack to the studio to get the firing started!

But first… a few photos…
Here’s my studio cart filled to the brim with glazed & wadded pots.
Thanks again to my Dad for making me a wonderful cart that works so well.

And here’s the Lillstreet soda kiln empty… just waiting to be filled up!

After about an hour of loading, the back stack was finished. I have a lot of work, and wanted
to get the most bang for my buck, so I packed the kiln pretty darn tight. Barely any kiln shelf
is showing as every surface has a pot or a tile covering it! I’m pretty pleased with myself…
notice how close to the arch my tall textured slab vases fit right in there!!! Sweet…

Part way through the front stack, I realized I didn’t have quite enough large pieces glazed.
So I went back up to my studio to glaze a couple more oval casseroles and a few serving
bowls. Then it was back down to finish off the loading!

I always find the front stack (of two shelves deep) to be a little tougher than the back stack.
I think it’s because the back stack is smaller and earlier on… so you still have a lot of sizes
to choose from and feel like you have a LOT of room to fill still. When you get to the front
stack, reality starts to set in and you start to realize you might not be able to squeeze
everything in?! Along the way, you start to get creative. I decided to split the two-shelves
into two separate stacks. And when I got to very end, I ran out of tall pieces, so I “floated”
a kiln shelf instead of leaving any dead air space at the top.

So, close to five hours later, my kiln was loaded… at long last.

Another late night of glazing at the studio.
I got a lot done, and yet somehow there still seems to be a lot more to do?!
Back again tomorrow for a full day in the studio and the final push…
more glazing, wadding & loading the kiln tomorrow.
No rest for the weary… gotta get it done!!!

Tonight’s glazing marathon was quite productive…
and yet I’m expecting another even longer marathon tomorrow night!
Still a lot of bisque waiting on my shelves?!!! So much to do still…

After gracing the table during class tonight, this vase of red roses has made its way
back to my studio. No one claimed them?… I had offered them up as a prize to the
person who made the best bowl tonight. A little incentive to push it a little further,
give it a little design, make their coolest bowl ever. But somehow… I think we all got
too focused, and somehow sidetracked, and before we knew it, everyone had cleaned up
and class was over. And the roses were still there…

One bag of clay.
Twenty-four cylinders to become mugs.
Quick & productive in the studio this morning!

Tonight at the studio seemed like a “mixed bag of tricks.”
My HGTV knobs are being fired in a cone 10 kiln downstairs.
I loaded my greenware into another kiln to be bisqued tomorrow upstairs.
And I made cone packs for next week’s cone 10 glaze firing with Karen Patinkin.
Seems like I have a lot of “something” going on all over the studio!!!

More of my “catch-it-while-it’s-clean” studio photo tour… a little closer up this time!

With the folks from HGTV coming over this afternoon to film me in my studio,
I knew that I had to make it presentable. Had to clean up the mess that I work in
from day to day. The wareboards with clay covered in plastic. The piles of bisque
in every corner. The overflowing garbage can. The dust & trimmings on the floor.
I had to clean up my act a bit… and make it look good for the camera!

Luckily, one of my studio neighbors has been on vacation, so her studio worked
perfectly as an “overflow” for some of my extra things while they were here. I think my
studio has never looked as nice as it did today. Thank You HGTV for making me clean!

It’s a fairly small space. Some days it feels smaller than others.
Because it’s so small, I think that I need to keep it pretty well organized too.
There’s not much space for piles of useless things. Everything is part of the process.
And it’s important that I keep the flow going.. make, bisque, glaze, fire, repeat.
Otherwise things would pile up even more. And my studio would feel even smaller!!!

So here’s a quick photo tour of my studio… while it is still clean.
After all, tomorrow is another day…

And the wonderful rolling cart my Dad made for my studio. It has removable shelves
that slide in and out on both sides of the cart. With plenty of levels for shelves at different
heights. Ideal for storing drying greenware… or waxed bisque pieces… or glazed pots for
when I roll them downstairs to the soda kiln!

Buckets of glaze on the floor… containers & buckets of slip on the shelves…
plus boxes & tubs on the top two shelves full of Summer Camp supplies!

And now… more insight into my peg-board obsession…

Plus, you know that I’m not above a little shameless self-promotion!
Hopefully, my groovy little signs made it onto some HGTV footage… free publicity?!!!

But let’s not get crazy… my wheel is still filled with trimmings! I haven’t really cleaned it
since I moved into my studio. I just empty the splash pan of the dried remains, then back
onto the wheel it goes. Why wash it? It’s only going to get dirty again!

Well, today was my day in front of the camera. Who knew?…
that my little “addiction” to kiln filler & textures might get me on HGTV?!
That making little textured rattles might get me noticed?! Crazy, huh?!

Let me back up a bit…

A little over a week ago, I was contacted by the Producer of an HGTV show.
You know, one of those shows where they go in and transform an average couple’s
home with cool design. Showing the creative choices, installation, design choices…
all leading up to the “Big Reveal” where the couple sees their new room for the very
first time. Well, this is one of “those” design shows!!! And here’s the host…

Yep… that’s Meg Caswell. Winner of HGTV Design Star season six.
One of those Reality TV shows where they compete in design challenges weekly
and get voted off one by one. Until the last one is standing… and she gets a TV Show!!!

The initial contact came through the Producer who did a search and found my work
on the Internet. Good thing I’ve been keeping my blog up-to-date, huh?! She contacted
me and asked if I would be interested in creating some custom ceramic knobs & door pulls
for the kitchen they are renovating. So of course I was intrigued… and FULL of questions.
We did some e-mailing back & forth, including some samples & “mood boards” being
shared. She also stopped by my studio to check it out, meet with me… which I now realize
was probably also my “audition.” Once we had worked out the details, I was in…
and now facing a production deadline to get all of the knobs & pulls done in time
for the “Big Reveal” taping.

Luckily, we came upon a creative solution… where I would make the knobs in a very
similar style to the textured Relic Rattles I’ve been making for about a year. Handbuilt
stoneware, textured, stained and fired to cone 10… minus the rattles! The plan gave us
different shapes, different textures and different stain colors to play with. I gave the
Producer a few samples that she shared with Meg. Her choice was to go with two shapes,
each with their own texture, and one stain color for continuity.

So I’ve already made the knobs… “squares” for the cabinet knobs, and “horns” for the
drawer pulls. They’ve already been bisqued in my last kiln… look closely, they were the
“still too wet” pieces sprinkled around the kiln… masquerading as simple “kiln filler.”

Today was my day in front of the camera!
Complete with Meg, a full crew, professional lighting, wireless microphones, makeup,
craft services, the whole “shebang”! I guess I never quite expected the full production?!
But there I was, suddenly in front of the camera, with Meg… cameras rolling!

The plan was that we were going to do a little banter, discuss the project, look at a few
rattles I’ve made as samples, do some interactive demos where she plays with clay,
and so on. Everything went really well… despite the fact that it was SO hot in the studios!
No one expected 80-degree days in mid-March… so no one planned on air conditioning.
I’m sure we’re both going to be glistening with sweat. Even though the makeup guy did a
couple touch-ups along the way.

Hopefully they got some good shots of my work and my studio while they were there.
And the witty repartee and banter with Meg will come off well on-screen. Even though
I’m pretty confident that my hours & hours of “brilliant, Emmy-award worthy” footage
will be edited down to a mere 20 seconds or so!

We finished the initial filming – the interactive studio work with Meg… “the Talent.”
Then they left for a short time to do some prep-interviews that will be spliced into the show.
While they were gone, I set up two more demo areas so that they film some B-roll film
that they might intersperse – montage shots of me working on the actual knobs!
Complete with a change of wardrobe to make it “appear” as though time has passed
and the process is well on its way making the actual hardware the homeowners will see
in the “Big Reveal.”

So… that’s the story so far.
I’ve kept it to myself for the most part. It was kind of in the category of “too good to be true.”
I didn’t want to hype the project until I was sure it was going forward. I was afraid that the
plug might be pulled at any time… apparently, not to worry. It was a very professional
production. All of the people were great to work with. And I wouldn’t mind doing it again!

I just hope I don’t look too stupid on screen.
Or too sweaty…

When I find out the air date, I will definitely keep you posted.
I will also do a blog entry about the step-by-step process of the actual pieces I’m making.
Until then… you’ll need to wait for the “Big Reveal” also!!!

Tonight I unloaded my “still-too-warm” bisque kiln… with gloves!
And proceeded to wax the bottoms of everything while I was trying to find
a place to store them until I find a chance to start glazing! Tough to find a
space shelf… things are piling up! Which I guess is a good thing, right?

I love waxing.