Who knew?…
Who knew there would be so much “busy work” being a potter?!
Who knew I would spend so much time behind my computer?!
I’ve been working all night re-typing & re-organizing my mail lists yet again.
Trying to keep everything up-to-date. Trying to keep everything current.
Trying to add all of the names from the new customers I’ve met this summer.
Updating the mail list I use for mailing traditional postcards.
Updating the mail list I use for e-mail announcements.
I’ve been typing all night – and I’m not even close to being done.
Who knew it would be so much work just trying to stay up-to-date?!

All of the wall pocket vases were stamped a few days ago.
Some of the wall pocket vases have been accented with slip in the stamps.
Some of the wall pocket vases were decorated & covered with flashing slips.
All of the wall pockets are now drying.
The ones with slip all over them may take a little longer?!

But don’t you love how the clay changes color and dries at different rates?!
Some sections getting lighter, some sections still wet and a bit darker.
The clay actually looks a little “dirty” as it’s drying… ironic, huh?

So they’re done for now.
I can let them sit and dry for a few more days… until they’re all chalky, light & dry.
Then it’s time to bisque, glaze and fire again!

After a couple days under plastic, the enclosed forms were stiffened up a bit…
but just enough to trim, stamp and squish. I hadn’t planned on working on them tonight.
But I checked the after class and realized that they were at the right stage of dryness.
I was a little afraid to leave them another day for fear they might dry too much.
If they get too dry, they don’t squish so much as crack when flattened.

So I trimmed some of the edges, then stamped the rim – and squished!
And now, it’s late, I’m tired… and these will have to wait for another day under plastic.
Next up – some slip decoration and a hole pierced through the back for hanging.
Then they’ll be ready for drying, bisque firing, glazing & firing again.

So the pile of “slop” reclaim is finally dried out enough and getting back to
a good clay consistency. So tonight I tackled the huge pile of reclaim.
It was a long night of wedging and incorporating the reclaim clay with some
new clay fresh from the box. Generally, when I’m bringing my “reclaim back to life”
I mix it with new clay so it’s not “just” used reclaim clay. I want to make sure that
there are plenty of small clay particles in the mixture – and not just my worn out reclaim.
So it was a LONG night of reconstituting my reclaim… mixing the reclaim with some
new soda clay and some new B Clay from Continental Clay.

Slice. Layer. Slice. Layer. Slice. Layer. Pound. Cut. Layer. Pound. Cut. Layer. Pound.
Slice. Layer. Slice. Layer. Slice. Layer. Pound. Cut. Layer. Pound. Cut. Layer. Pound.
Slice. Layer. Slice. Layer. Slice. Layer. Pound. Cut. Layer. Pound. Cut. Layer. Pound.
Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Bag.

Not a glamorous night of clay. But in the end, I now have a lot of clay to use.
And I got a good upper body workout at the same time!

Another pile of reclaim… another lump to wedge… another pile of “free” clay.

The birdhouses are drying nicely… so tonight I stained & glazed them all.
The sides are “stained” with black underglaze. The roofs & “awnings” are glazed.
Overnight they will get to dry a little more thoroughly… and go into the kiln tomorrow!
Right on schedule…

Well, I got a little busy… and the promised alliteration had to wait a couple days.
But I finally got into the studio to do some more work on the “textured terra cotta tubes.”
And the tubes are now taking shape – and becoming ceramic birdhouses!

This evening I worked on adding some of the finishing touches to the construction.
Now with roofs, “doors,” awnings, loops to hang by, and a hole which will be filled
after firing by a real wood branch for the birds to perch on.

Hopefully they will dry overnight. I put them on elevated plastic grids so that air can flow
all around them and they will dry more evenly… and quicker?! Fingers crossed…
If so, tomorrow I can stain them with underglaze, and glaze the roofs & awnings…
as I am hoping to get them into a kiln on Tuesday night, fire on Wednesday, cool Thursday
and unload late Thursday night… just in time for this weekend’s art fair in Hinsdale!

Tops. ‘Tachments. Treatments. Tomorrow.
… and hopefully more alliteration!!!

One of the most frequent questions asked at every art fair, including this weekend…
“How long does it take to make this?”

And there’s never an easy answer. I try to explain that it is a “process” and that
I frequently have several pieces all going at the same time, at different stages
in the process. This season I’ve created a picture postcard to handout at the art fairs
to help illustrate the pottery process in just 12 easy steps! Here’s quick preview…

1. Wedging

2. Throwing

3. Stamping

4. Trimming

5. Attaching

6. Slip Decorating

7. Bisque Firing

8. Glazing

9. Kiln Loading

10. Firing.

11. Admiring

12. Marketing

As for marketing… no one’s going to do it for you if you don’t do it for yourself.
Luckily, I have many years of corporate retail advertising & marketing experience
prior to my pottery career. I think that experience definitely helps any artist
who is trying to make a go of it as a full-time, self-supporting artist.

For a more informative description of the complete “process,” be sure to check out
the “Pottery Process” page on this website – see the top right corner to find the tab!

With the Schaumburg Prairie Fine Arts Festival right around the corner…
and final preparations, pricing & packing well under way, I decided to add one
more kiln just to add a little more pressure into my already hectic week?!

So today I helped load a cone 10 reduction kiln with a few more pieces for the show.
I’m sharing the kiln with two other studio members who are getting ready for their
art fairs the following weekend. The back stack of shelves is all Marian’s, while the
front is a mix of mine , Karen’s and Marian’s.

So the kiln is loaded and will be fired all day tomorrow… cooled on Thursday…
and unloaded on Friday just in time to come to the art fair – without a moment to spare!
Glazed, stacked, packed and ready to go… after Karen makes one last check!