Happy New Year's Eve! I hope everyone had a great Christmas and  that everyone has something fun and safe planned for tonight. I am having a happy day pottery wise. I found an old drafting table that is the right height and great size for my garage studio. It cost a cool 45 bucks so I am one step closer to having my home studio up and rolling. I got to spend a little time with my sweet dad. He has an old pickup truck and had to haul the drafting table home. Then we took the old lawn mower to have it repaired. Hot time in Dixie. While I was bombing around with Dad my husband called to tell me that I had received a called from the studio that ALL of my pieces had sold! Of course, I have to wonder who bought them. Did the instructors and my classmates feeling sorry for me and so they bought them? Am I pitiful or what? Anyway...I avoided the untold humiliation of having to go pickup all my unsold pieces. Whew! So, I guess I am officially a professional potter. Now I just have to master the craft. Here's to 2014!

“Thankfully, persistence is a great substitute for talent.” 
― Steve Martin, Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life

Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.
Dalai Lama 

"I think I can. I think I can. I think I can!"
Watty Piper The Little Engine That Could

Feeling fragile

      I went to the studio Saturday. Before I got to got I wandered around the Christmas Sale where I entered my pots. They were no where to be seen. That left me feeling fragile. Did they even put them out? The sale started Friday evening with a huge Gala with food and music and lots of fun.I didn't go. I was afraid to be seen masquerading as an artist. People paid 25 dollars to attend. You would assume they would have something out from everyone who entered pieces. I doubt seriously that all 12 pieces sold they first night. I only hoped not to be humiliated by selling nothing. Today I volunteered at the sale from 1:00 to 4:00. Again, I didn't see any of my pieces. In 2 rooms, I opened cabinets to restock. None of my stuff was there. It was only 12 small pieces. Was it overlooked? Was it thrown out as garbage? I am feeling fragile and too ashamed to ask.

Mugs 18 and 19 

Mugs 16 and 17 were too wet to trim. I threw 2 more mugs and glazed a bunch. Then I made an owl Christmas Tree ornament. I have a goal of making 50 ornaments a month. Each month a different ornament. Only 49 to go. :)

Wednesday night I volunteer again. Will I see my pieces?

Confidence is a very fragile thing.
Joe Montana

Mug 1 is out of the Kiln...Trimming, weird handles, and 2 more mugs

Mug 1 is out of the kiln. I guess I am pleased. The handle is a good size. The mug is a nice size. The nose is too small but I guess I can't have everything. Also out of the kiln are Mugs 2 and 3.

I like this mug also. The glaze is Moody  Blue. I like the detail on the handle.

Mug 3 with Another Blue glaze. I guess I like it too.

I pulled handles for three mugs last night. I only like one. I tried to do the handles the way Gary Jackson showed on his blog, Fire When Ready. http://firewhenreadypottery.com/ It was not a success.

I only like this handle. Alas.
Then I threw Mugs 16 and 17.

I hope to get back to the studio on Saturday because I have a lot of glazing to do.
"Every artist was first an amateur." Ralph Waldo Emerson

Happy Saturday

I took ten tiny samples to sale at the studio's Christmas sale. I am afraid they will not sell and I will be embarrassed. Nothing ventured, nothing gained or so they say. We'll see. I overheard my studio friends talking. One person talked of the 64 pieces she was selling and another spoke of the 300 pieces someone else always sells. Oh my. With the entry fee and the percentage that the school takes, I am just hoping to break even.
I did have an enjoyable afternoon in the studio. I added faces to 2 of the plain mugs that I put handles on Wednesday night.

Then I wandered around the studio looking for stuff that was bisqued or glazed. I found Mug 1 waiting to be fired. The green mark is food coloring that telling the kiln keepers to fire in the next batch.

I think I put Moody Blue glaze on Mug 1.

Then I settled down and threw a few more mugs. I am using 1 pound per mug now.

I guess these are Mugs 11,12, 13, 14, and 15.

The 2 small cylinders will be egg separators. I am selling 10 of those at the Christmas sale and 2 mugs.

I had a happy, peaceful afternoon. I stopped in to check on my parents. My Dad fell last Sunday. He looks like the wrath of God but his doctor thinks all will be well. He fractured his forehead or a bone around his eye socket and may have a bit of a dent in his forehead but at age 85 surgery might not be a good option. We will see. My mom was feeling great after a vigorous yoga workout. Wow!

An Evening of Trimming and Pulling Handles

 Wednesday night is usually my class night. We are out for about a month and a half for Thanksgiving and Christmas. The studio is open so I went and worked on mugs. I glazed mugs 2 and 3. Then I trimmed the next 7 mugs and pulled handles for them. My handles need a lot of work. I carved a bit on the first three mugs. to the right is Mug 4. I like the shape. I wish I had made the carved area wider. I think the handle is OK.

“Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day.” 
― A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh
(Someday soon, I hope)


Below is mug 5. I used a stamp with circles but it has too dry for the stamp to make much impact.
You can see the problem with my handles very clearly on Mug 5. The top part is Way too thick. Ugh.

“Never, never, never give in!” 
― Winston Churchill

I suppose that quote is a tad dramatic for my project.

Below is Mug 6.I like the pattern on it the best. I'm not too sure about the handle. I guess we will see when it is finished. 

“It does not matter ho slowly you go as long as you do not stop.”  - Confucius

The final four. I was getting tired and didn't add anything to these but the handles. All different sizes and different shapes. As I cleaned up I walked past another student in my class.She was adding totally uniform handles to perfectly uniform mugs. I wonder if I will ever get to that point.

                                Mugs 7, 8, 9 and 10.

 "Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” 

                                                                                        ― Samuel Beckett, Worstward Ho

So, at the end of a pleasant evening had 7 trimmed mugs. The are covered and setting up. I hope to get back in a day or two to finish them.

A better day

Skulking around the bisque fired pots I spied a really nice mug with perfectly shaped, perfectly spaced square indentions. I decided to copy it. I have no shame. This is mug number 3. I hastily trimmed it and began making square indentions in a sort of pattern. I like it OK. I pulled the handle and after it sat around for a while I added a few indentions to the top and the bottom of the handle. The handle is stuck waaaaay out there but other than that I like the mug pretty much. I've done a lot worse. Then I set about throwing 1.5 lb. mugs for the rest of the afternoon. I ended up with 7.5 cylinders. The first 4 were better than the last ones. One fell apart so it is going to be an egg separator. Hence, the .5. All in all a pleasant afternoon in one of my favorite places. I feel a bit better.

 Here are mugs 4 5, 6, and 7. I forgot to take a picture of the next 3.5. Last Saturday there was a beautiful boy at the wheel beside mine. He was making a soaring pitcher that was perfectly shaped. I assumed he had a degree in ceramics or had been developing his skill for years. How wrong I was. There was a great deal of ohhing and ahhing over his pitcher and it was revealed that he took up pottery 4 months ago. Whoa! I felt so defeated. Even though he was pleasant and seemed like a nice enough person, It was hard to like him.
The strapping young hunk was also throwing today but he was having a bad day. His work sort of fell apart. He cleaned up and left in disgust. Mama said there'd be days like this. I am ashamed to admit that that made me feel good.

Healthy discontent is the prelude to progress.
Mahatma Gandhi

Another weary night with one mug to show for it

This is the second mug with stamps added along with a handle. I tried to square off the bottom of mug 3 and it was a mess. I ended up crushing it. Not too impressive. I am feeling pretty discouraged but will keep on trudging along.

Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than 
unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.

Karl Kuehn of Kuehn Pottery

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kuehn-Pottery/115827038431295

I don't know if this is an original quote but it sure does fit my situation. We will see how omnipotent persistence and determination are with what appears to be my total lack of talent.
Oy!