Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Can I make it in time?

I have an order for a tea set (tea pot, creamer, sugar, 4 cups and saucers, serving tray). It is for a wedding present and needs to be delivered to Vancouver Island before September 25th. I only just got the notice on Sunday. The people that have ordered it are friends of my parents, and I have known them since I was knee high to a grasshopper. They ordered a tea service last year for a wedding as well, and I was able to get my parents to drive it out to them, as the wedding was in Canmore, and they were able to have a visit. This time, the wedding is on the island, and this will be a test of my pottery packing skills. I will just Fed Ex it I think. Might be expensive, but I will work it into the cost. I will probably do it in the same colours that I did the last one. They were very rich. A nice matt dark toasty brown on the outsides of everything, and the liner glaze will be a translucent celadon green. It reminds me of chocolate mint wafers....mmmmm.

I will be working on it tonight, and hopefully I can have it bisqued and glazed in time to ship to arrive with time to spare.

On a slightly different note, I have signed myself up for a new show this fall. The Calgary Clay Arts Association is putting on a sale at Mount Royal Station. It will take place on the 6th and 7th of November. I will do the Sunday, as I work at Ceramics Canada on Saturday, and you know what they say, a bird in the hand is worth 2 in the bush. I will of course be participating in the Fairview Studios Sale on November 13th, as this sale is definitely a must. I net most of my yearly pottery revenue from this one sale, and it is only 3 hours long, that is amazing. So, 2 winter sales is a bit scary for me, I never know if I have enough “good” stuff for one sale, let alone 2. I know that this would be no sweat for most professional potters, but truth be told, I am lazy, and oh yeah, I also work 2 other jobs (not including teaching at the studio once a week). But I work slowly when I am in the studio, I usually only make a few things at a time, and I take lots of breaks in between each piece. I walk around, look at what others are doing, read a book etc...I can make myself throw lots, but I know when I am getting tired, I get sloppy, things don’t work out properly or not at all. It’s funny, because I like throwing. On the other hand, I really hate glazing, but I can make myself work long stretches without a break. Maybe it is just the desire to be done with it and not drag the process out forever.

I’ll see if I can find a picture of that tea set I did last year. I fear it may be on my computer at home that is now more paper weight than computer :(

In case you are interested, I posted a couple of videos on Youtube this past weekend. I will put them on the blog in a minute...

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