After a beautiful (yet windy) afternoon of riding…
I went back to the studio this evening for some more fun… and more stamping!
Including another batch of mugs, this time made with B-Clay for the back of the kiln!

And there’s never enough bowls, right?
But don’t ask my Mom, she already thinks I have FAR too many bowls in inventory!

Plus, after a lot of stamping… I also cleaned my studio. Long overdue.
Okay, let’s not get crazy. There’s still a LOT to do. But I did make some good headway.
And, prepared another great surprise for my class this coming Tuesday night.
It’s going to be a big night of demos catching up from last week’s impromptu night
with Amy Higgason. So it’s going to be a night of plates, ovals and lidded jars!
And a special surprise “treat”…

So I’ve finally scheduled my next soda kiln firing for Wednesday, November 10th.
Now I’m trying to make all of the work I’ll need to fill it. And to be ready for
my Holiday Home Show which is now just four weeks away! So tonight I stamped,
and stamped, and stamped… larger bowls and smaller cups to become votives.
Looks like tomorrow I might have a LOT of trimming to do?!

This afternoon in the studio, I tried to “finish up” all of Amy’s demo pieces from last night.
A little touching-up, a little cleaning, a little trimming – and now they’re drying! I also took
some time to stamp the plate that I made last night as part of my “scheduled” class demo.
So now, that too is drying, but just to the point where I can trim it!

Yep… it was so much fun last week, that we decided to keep the fun going!
And continue with the cleaning, organizing & inventory-ing again this today.
Luckily we got through the bulk of the pottery – but I still have a lot to tackle.

Why does it seem like my storage room will never be organized?…
even after two full days of work – and filling up two dumpsters with garbage!!!
I’m sure I’m not the only one with this ongoing struggle…

Sounds like fun, huh?
Yes, after a long summer of art fair packing & unpacking… let’s just say
that my storage room was “more than a little” out of control. Yikes!
Crates here… boxes there… pottery everywhere!!!

Luckily, my best “art fair assistants” (aka  – my Mom & Dad) also like to
clean, fold and organize things. Lucky me, huh?! So we spent the day down
in the storage room reorganizing my inventory. We pulled out all the crates,
unpacked everything, dusted, cleaned, separated and even did some re-pricing.
I found a few inconsistencies of prices between similar items. So we developed
some new pricing parameters and everything now makes sense. Plus, I can now
see more clearly what inventory needs to be replenished.

Also, while down there going through everything…
we also pulled out a LOT of pieces for the annual “Tired Of Shlepping Sale.”
I think it will be largest collection of clearance, demo & “shlepped” pieces ever!!!
Yep… coming soon to a Holiday Home Show near you!!!
That’s my place the weekend before Thanksgiving… mark your calendars!

This morning I got up early and went back to the studio to unload my kiln.
Okay, it was still a “bit” warmer than I would have liked it to be. Whatever – it was hot!
But I needed to unload it and get them ready for the weekend’s art fair. So I put on the gloves
and started unloading right into boxes to bring them home. Then they were added to the rest
of the boxes, packed into the van and they were headed off to the art fair set-up!!!

And I was quite pleased to see my kiln full of adorably cute monsters staring back at me!

We worked all afternoon, and into the evening, setting up my booth in the Lower Barn.
It’s always a lot of work getting it all put together – so we LOVE the Friday set-up. Although
it always feels odd to set up and leave… with it all there sitting wide open. luckily they have
security guards all night. And it is always SO nice to show up tomorrow morning and be
pretty much ready to go. And I’m hoping that my new little “monsters” are a big hit!!!

I stopped in to the studio to check on my kiln… and it was still above 600 degrees!
I pulled the peeps – and now I’m hoping that the kiln cools quickly overnight.
My plan is to go back early in the morning to unload if possible?! I’d like to get it
emptied and bring all of the new “monsters” home so I can price & pack them
for this weekend’s art fair!

Okay, so the terra cotta “detailing” has begin… more festive fun!

I wonder at what point will my “snail-mail” postcard mailing list become obsolete?…
and I can switch everything over to e-mail, blog & Facebook?! Will that day ever come?
Or do some people still look forward to tradtional postcards of art fair listings?

I know my gut tells me that I should continue designing, printing & mailing postcards.
I think that they are important. I think customers like them. I think people keep them.
I know my Mom keeps cards from her favorite artists on her refrigerator all summer!

But then as I’m updating mail lists, sticking on labels, buying postage stamps, etc…
I keep wondering if it’s all necessary?! E-mails are free. Facebook is the current
“favorite” in social networking. This blog is my personal favorite. So… what to do?
Not everyone is on Facebook. Not everyone is willing to give you their e-mail. And I
have a LOT of names & addresses in my old-fashioned mailing list. It’s a tough decision –
and I’m not sure there’s ever going to be a clear-cut answer. So until then, I guess I’ll
keep doing all of them?! So back to the computer & more mail list updates…

With “Art In The Barn” just a couple weeks away, I kind of feel like I’m ahead
of schedule by loading my kiln tonight… and firing tomorrow. No last minute
unloading and shlepping hot pots to the fair for me this time!

Tonight I loaded my work into a high-fire kiln for a cone 10 gas reduction firing.
I am sharing the kiln with my friend & studio neighbor Karen Patinkin. The back stack
is mostly mine, with the exception of her big bowls on the top. The front 2/3 of kiln
was loaded with Karen’s stunning large platters with intricate glaze detailing and
some of my smaller “kiln filler” bowls around them! Tomorrow we fire…
and it’s up to me to get it lit up & started very early in the morning!