Tuesday, November 30, 2010

random blather

I’m must be gettin old. I missed 5 weeks of my exercise class that I go to on Monday nights. I was teaching at the studio for several weeks, then it was my Dad’s 67th birthday, and I couldn’t miss that. Then, it got so bleeding cold here, the last thing I wanted to do was slip and slide my way to class to get all sweaty and then go back into the cold and have my sweaty hair freeze. Anyway, I went to class last night and then went to bed early (is 8 hours and 53 minutes of sleep too long?). Today, my back is killing me, my left ankle and foot hurt and I have to go teach a pottery class tonight. Wow, I sound crabby, I’m not, I’m just sayin, getting old sucks! I’m not even that old, but I sure feel every one of my 39.5 years today.

There is a pretty strong Chinook arch today, so the weather should be mild (0 Celsius?)...much better than the -29 Celsius last week (It makes you feel like wearing shorts when the temp rises 30 degrees over night) but the Chinook related headaches are a pain. I never used to get them, but I started getting them last year and now I know what everyone else complains about.

The mountains are very clear today, they are right there, in your face and bright and toothy.

Not sure what I am going to demo tonight. Lately I have been making a mess of my demos instead of inspiring creativity. My bowls have flopped, my facets have ripped open, the elongated platters rip in half as I am “dramatically” stretching them out on the canvas table, and my slip trailer develops a case of gas and barfs slip all over the freshly decorated plate (at the very end of course so that I have to try and scrape it all off or just try to blend the burp into the overall pattern). Maybe I will stick with what I do best (bowls), how boring....I need to replenish my stock of everything, so perhaps it will be casseroles tonight, or pitchers with fancy rims....who knows, I will find out when I get there. I need to buy some clay too, so first thing after work I will be off to CC and pick a box or 2 up.

On a non clay note, my computer should be here in 3 days (Yippee!!!). Can’t wait!!!

I have been reading a few discussions in the blogosphere regarding the pro’s/con’s of selling via Etsy. I posted a while back that I was thinking of starting up an Etsy account, but the master procrastinator that I am, I never got around to it. Now that I will have some enhanced technology, and if I can get around to setting up a mini photography studio in my condo, I might give it a try. I will take all the sage advice that is being offered on this topic and hopefully put it to good use when I get my shop up an runnin. I really need to get some proper shelving in my “store room” at home. Right now it is a disaster zone with pots all over the floor amidst wrapping paper, painting supplies, an easel with an UGLY painting on it, and other sundry crap.

Enough rambling and babbling,

TTFN (What?, Did I just say that?)

Maybe I should say something like:

Make pots purposefully and make purposeful pots.

Nah, how about:

Go get dirty...

Monday, November 29, 2010

kinda funny and not pottery related at all

I downloaded an app onto my iphone the other day called “Sleep Tracker”. The idea is that when you plug your phone in and lay it beside you on your bed at night, it will monitor your movements (thrashing/flailing) at night and listen to the sounds that disturb you (ie: babbling, snoring, burglers, aliens etc...). Then, when you wake up, you can look at your sleep patterns in a graphical format and actually listen to what noises woke you up, or that you made. I turned it on Saturday night and this is a transcript of my night....snoring, snoring, snoring (I have to admit it, I do snore...a little), rustle rustle, mumble mumble mumble....”fhaoptjgksau everywhere....They’re Everywhere” (I sounded a little scared there) “ha ha ha ha” (couldn’t have been that scary ‘cause I laughed right afterwards)...got a little boring for a while, just deep sleep, and then....”hpepjaehse epilepsy and stuff”.....(WEIRD)

I thought this would be a neat little app. I know I talk in my sleep, & I have actually woken myself up in full conversation. I have not been remembering my dreams lately either. Sometimes my dreams are quite vivid and I will remember them clearly the next day, but not so much now. I thought this would jog my memory if I could listen to what I say at night. So far, not so much, but it was funny to listen to. I also thought I might be able to figure out why I wake up in a twisted knot of sheets and covers. I must wrap them around me really tight and then roll over and over and over until they are a hopelessly twisted mess....no clue yet as to how that happens.

pots in progress

Except for those pitchers, it has been a while since I have posted any pictures. This is some of what I have been up to lately

This is one of the 4 large plates I threw this weekend with a lot of slipped dots etc. This was the 2nd reincarnation of this pattern as the first time was obliterated by the plastic when I was loosely draping it. After I got the slip on again, I concocted an elaborate tent for it to rest under over night.


This is a funky little butter dish I was working on last week

A tea pot from last week as well


A vase from last week too

A funky tray


More teapots in progress. I trimmed and assembled these on Sunday, and then I threw a couple more.

Friday, November 26, 2010

Christmas is coming early!

I bought it this morning! I should have it in my hot little hands sometime between Nov 30 and Dec 6.

What did I buy you ask? I bought a MacBook Pro!

I am very excited!! Can you tell?

Thursday, November 25, 2010

So close I can taste it....


Tomorrow is the big day. I am going to buy my computer. I actually don’t know how much it is going to cost right now. I knew, but now I don’t. Apple only has one sale a year, and that is the day after the American Thanks Giving holiday (aka black Friday). I am not expecting anything crazy like half off, but a couple hundred off would be nice. Then...I wait. I’m waiting now, but it’s gonna get worse once the deed is done and I have to wait for the UPS guy to show up next week (?). I am having it delivered to my workplace and then I’m gonna have to wait again to get it home to open it up and start playing with it. It’s gonna be better than christmas and all my birthdays rolled up into one.



This is what I’m proposin to get, they all look the same though, but this one is the 13” macbook pro

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

This past weekend

Well, I am back from a few days off. I went up to my old place of employment on Thursday to flog some of my wares. I managed to sell most of what was rolling around in the back of my car (you never know when an impromptu pottery sale might break out). Friday was spent in the studio throwing several pitchers and utensil holders, as apparently that is what my old co-workers wanted, and I only had 2 when I went up there, so they want at least 4 pitchers and one wants a good pot to hold wooden spoons. I went to the Telus Art Market on Saturday after work at Ceramics Canada. I go to see what the other potters are up to, and to hopefully glean new ideas. I gotta say, not impressed. There were a lot of jewelry booths (I think there are little children chained up in basements all year stringing beads), foodie booths full of candy, fudge, tapinad mixes, hot sauce sellers, wine stopper makers, cedar planks all dressed up to grill fish on etc, but only 4 or 5 pottery booths. I have seen most of them before, and their booths were tiny and uninspiring (to me anyway).
I then spent Sunday in the studio from 10-3:30 and then went over to my parent's house for an excellent roast beef dins with all the fixins (yams, yorkshire pud, roast potatoe, salad etc). I spent 90% of Monday under the covers. It was so bleedin cold out that I only ventured out to go get some groceries, and then burrowed into my cocoon again as soon as I got home. I must have been either a bear or a caterpillar in a previous life as I did a lot of hibernating and cocoon making.
This is a picture of some of what I threw on Friday and then trimmed on Sunday.


These jugs all have handles now and are patiently drying.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

YUCK!!!

I guess winter is here...This is what it looks like from the window at work.
I took this with my phone, so I can only assume that is why it is a little purple. It is actually quite white out there....and cold. It is apparently -13 degrees celcius, but with the wind chill it feels like -20 or so I think.

Monday, November 15, 2010

To Mac or not to Mac, that is the question...

Since I did so well at the Christmas sale this year, I have decided to bite the bullet and get a new computer. I have been using my current laptop as a paperweight for the past 6 months and only using it when absolutely necessary. I have been conducting all my work via my iphone (email, blogging, surfing, etc). The sale on Saturday will give me just enough money to buy a new computer without having to use a credit card. I have decided that the way I want to go is to get a Mac Book Pro. The only thing I have not decided on is what size. They have a 13” model now, but I am waffling and might decide to go for the 15”. I am just not sure if I would actually notice the difference. I am by no means a techie, and there are a few system differences that I just don’t know if I would even notice if I had them or not.

This is the list of Why I want a Mac:

-fantastic battery life (13” has a 10 hour battery life per charge, and the 15” will last 8-9 hours). My computer is currently only running on battery power....pain in the u know what, and it only lasts 1.5 hours per charge.

-backlit keyboard – I love the fact that I do not have to turn a light on to work on the computer.

-excellent screen resolution

-magnetic power cord connection – The reason my current Lappy is not working as it should is the fact that the power cord connection is broken. I have to use my parent’s old one to charge a spare battery while I work. You might ask why I don’t just use their computer....The screen is broken (has a big blue stripe running through it) – both of these issues are not worth the repair costs to fix. The magnetic connection is in itself genius – no more tripping over the cord and potentially damaging the laptop.

-No virus issues

-I can run pc stuff on the mac

-the software included with the computer is actually useful and works.

-Lifespan – Everyone I know that has a Mac has had theirs for way longer than the PC users I know. Therefore the cost over time is actually less for a Mac.

-My opinion, and it is just my opinion, but from what I can tell, you can do way more creative stuff on a Mac. I need to be able to create promotional material (cards, invites, posters) and it just seems that it will be easier and BETTER on the Mac.

 

If you are reading this and are currently using a Mac, please feel free to comment on this. Let me know if you have any suggestions on hardware/software, or if you think that I might not actually need a Mac, that would be appreciated as well.
I have 2 weeks to mull this over. I should have all my sale proceeds by then and I will be off to the Mac store to test drive them, pepper the blue shirted smurfs there with questions and hopefully make a decision and hand over my hard earned cash.

Yahoo!!

Well, we all made it through another “Fairview Studios Christmas Pottery Sale”. This one was by far the most successful Christmas sale EVER. Our Fearless leader Dave (pottery owner and Irish drum maker extraordinaire) has been running this sale for at least 25 years, and he confirmed that our deposits this year were a record breaker. Not only that, but the hall was always full of customers and didn’t stop or die down until 11am. This sale has a reputation for being crazy. The customers always line up early, make a mad dash inside as soon as the doors open (you take your life into your hands if you open that door, you might get trampled). They rush around; fill their baskets, boxes etc and then line up to pay. All told, the sale that officially runs for 3 hours is usually essentially over by 10 or 10:30 AM and then it is like a ghost town for the next hour and a half. This time, we had people shopping right up until Noon. I don’t think there was a potter that didn’t sell well. I know I did well. I had 3 full tables of my stuff, and at the end, it was condensed down to 1, so I guess I sold about 60-70 percent of my work. I was a little bummed coming into this sale as the weekend before I had only managed to sell about 6 pieces at the CCAA sale.


All in all, it was a fantastic event.


Here are a few before shots of my tables. I could definitely work on my display a little more.






Friday, November 12, 2010

21.5 hours to go...

There’s only 21 hours and 30 minutes left until the insanity starts....

The semiannual Fairview Studios Pottery Sale starts tomorrow morning at 9am. I actually need to be there at 6:45 am. Yup, that’s right, 6:45 am. We cannot get into the hall tonight to set up as there is some event going on until the wee hours tonight.

We have a record number of potters in the sale this year (25), which will hopefully equate to record sales. The fall sale always brings in the crowds though. They always begin lining up outside by 7:45 in the morning, and we don’t even open the doors until 9am. They bring suitcases, laundry baskets, boxes etc and it is like a shark feeding frenzy in a pool of baby seals at 9am.

So, if you want to make your way down, the sale is at 848 Cantabrian Dr. SW.

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Wednesday, November 10, 2010

I made it out alive...

Dave is finally back! He arrived in town last night and came by the studio to make sure it hadn’t burned to the ground while he was visiting family and friends in Kansas. I guess it was snowing most of the way through (He woke up to the evil white stuff in Billings). As soon as he got to the Canadian border, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky.

He did mention one funny thing that happened to him. I guess he stayed the night in a hotel in a small town somewhere between Kansas and Montana and when he asked for a room, he was told that the pool was not available as the community used it that night. Turns out, they were baptising local residents. Dave was looking at the goings on in the pool through the observation area and someone told him he was welcome to join them. He told him he had already been baptised but the guy said that everyone could use a “retread”. Too weird.

I am glad he is back. 2 weeks of late nights have taken their toll on me.

Oh, one more funny thing...the other day I was driving down a street in my neighbourhood, and a black squirrel darted out onto the road and I could see it was going to get squished by the car ahead of me. I wish I had been able to capture this on video as it was quite amazing. The squirrel did a hand stand. He stopped but the momentum of his body kept moving his back end up and over his head, and then he twisted to the side to avoid landing under the wheels of the car. I believe he made it to the other side. I didn’t feel a bump as I passed by the spot where he was and I didn’t see a smear on the road behind me.

No Pottery for me tonight. I am going to the movies. Tomorrow is Remembrance Day, so I can take a wee rest.

Monday, November 8, 2010

I'm still alive...

I priced and packed all my pots on Saturday afternoon/evening for the Calgary Clay Arts Association sale. I awoke bright and early on Sunday and made my way over to the sale. We got ourselves set up (there were 3 of us that did not participate on the Saturday). I think that for a fledgling association that is just beginning to get itself out there, we didn’t do too badly. We had a pretty steady flow of customers after lunch. The sale ran from 10-4 and I am not used to full day sales. The studio sale that is put on twice a year is only from 9-12 and we do probably 80% of our sales by 10:30.

Anyway, I wanted to cut my feet off by the end of the day, but I still had to make my way over to the studio and lock it up for the day. When I got home, I collapsed into my large leather chair in front of the tube, but by 9:30 I couldn’t even keep my eyes open so I stumbled my way to bed and that is all I remember until I woke up at 6:30 this morning. Now that this sale is over, I am all prepped for next the Big sale on Saturday. This Sale has been going on for at least 25 years and the following is large.

I only have 2 more teaching nights and then I am done with that and will be back on my regular Tuesday night schedule and maybe I can have a life again. It has been crazy the last couple of weeks and I am still not quite sure how I have been able to do it and work a regular day job to boot.

I managed to refire all of my lustred work for the “Turning the Table” show that opens this Saturday as well. I picked the lustre up on Friday, got everything redone and loaded that night, and when I got back to the studio on Saturday afternoon, I was very happy. Everything came out just fine. I fired it to cone 016 this time and everything worked perfect. I had fired everything to 018 before, and I just don’t think that the underlying glaze softened enough to allow for a good bond between the lustre and the glaze. Anyway, I got it all priced, inventoried and packed. I had to deliver it to one of my CCAA cohorts so that they could deliver it to the gallery this week. I am quite pleased with the overall outcome and am looking forward to the opening on Saturday afternoon.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

round and round I go...

3 more classes to go! I only have to teach tonight, and then Monday and Tuesday next week. Every day at lunch I drive over to the studio and make sure that the studio is open, or that there is at least a key in the mailbox if no one is there. Walter (our resident perfectionist/potter/carver) is usually there, but you never know. Then today, I went over to Ceramics Canada (after I drove by the studio) to pick up some clay, and to see if the Green Barn order had arrived with my lustre. The answer to that is no. It should have arrived yesterday, but Trudy (da boss lady) thought it would be here tomorrow at the latest. My fingers are crossed so tight, I can’t stand it. This means that I will be pulling a very late night on Friday trying to finish those stupid place settings. I feel like I am in a race, but I can’t see the finish line, I don’t know who I am racing against, and I’m not even sure I am on the race track. So, if you see me looking a little harried and out of sorts, these are the reasons why: Not enough time and not enough energy. I can’t even sleep in on the weekend. I have to work on Saturday, pray that my lustre firing worked (if the stupid stuff even arrived for me to apply and fire it), and then I need to price and pack for the sale that starts at 10am on Sunday.

In hindsight, I should have backed off from teaching so much for Dave, but he was in a bit of a bind and needed someone to teach for him and I was the only option. The next time he gets a bee in his bonnet to go to Kansas, he shouldn’t plan to go right before the studio sale...just a thought.

Time is very quickly running out

I seriously need to get myself into gear. To be quite honest, I have not really gotten into sale mode yet. I think that with all of the things that have happened this year in my life (laid off, fitting into new job, company merger, trying to fit into a more secure role at new job) and in my family (both my maternal grandparents passed away, my great aunt is in the hospital), I have not really gotten into the production groove. Oh well, I have Friday night and Saturday afternoon to get ready for the sale this Sunday.

I had one sale job to do. All I had to do was put together the door prize box and slips. Well, the slips were not difficult, but man, do you think I could find time to make it to a dollar store for a box, or dig something out of my house to use? Nope. Connie came by the studio last night to drop off the info for the turning the tables show,
and to pick up the door prize stuff.

Now she needs to find a box.

I think I have enough pots for the show, but they are dusty, unpriced and unpacked.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Do "A", and "B" should happen...

My experience with firing kilns is limited. The first time I fired a kiln, it was the 40 cu.ft. gas kiln at our old studio. The only type of firing that I did was the glaze firing, as the bisque required a better understanding of how that monster worked. I only ever ended up firing that kiln a few times before we moved, and then all that learning was for naught, as we moved to firing to ^6 electric. Now, I have fired the electric kilns many times, and I have done bisque, glaze and on glaze (ie: lustre) loads. However, because they are computer controlled, I usually just load ‘em up, turn ‘em on, and go home for the night. They usually take 15-19 hours to fire a glaze, depending on how densely packed. On Monday, I fired both kilns at the same time, and they were both glaze loads. I went to the studio on Tuesday at lunch time to check on them, and they were both still firing away, but that is not unnatural. I returned at about 5pm that evening and to my surprise, one kiln had turned off properly, but the other one was still chugging away, and had not reached temperature yet. I freaked out. That kiln had been on for 19.5 hours and was still not to temp. I turned it off, then I said to myself, hold on....turn it back on, see how far it needs to go, call my potter friend Susan and see what she has to say about this. Susan has been potting/sculpting for many more years than I and she worked at Ceramics Canada for 20+ years and has a brain full of knowledge. She talked me down from the ledge, advised me to let it go for a bit longer, watch the colour in the peep hole etc.  I ended up letting it go until it was as close to temp as I could let it go before I had to go home for the night. It was only about 5 or 6 degrees away from ^6 at that point (It ended up firing for approximately 24 hours (crazy, I know). I went back to the studio today at noon to check that the inside of the kiln was not a hardened lump of melted glaze. Everything was fine, at least as far as I could tell by only seeing the top shelf results. I have a feeling that this kiln did not fire as quickly due to the fact that I had loaded it quite full, and I know that the elements are getting old, and need replacing, and the thermocouple might need swapping out too.

So, when you do “A”, and the “B” that is supposed to happen, doesn’t, don’t freak out. It’s all just one big learn’in experience.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

SIGH!!!

I unloaded a lustre load on the weekend. I am not happy at all. My lustre is rubbing off! I thought that I would thin it down with some mineral spirits to make it flow a bit better and also to make it go just a little bit further (I had read somewhere that you can do that). I think that was my mistake. Everywhere that it was applied a little thin is rubbing off. I have 2 more 2gram bottles on order, but wouldn’t you know it, I need these fired by the weekend. So, I am hoping that they arrive sometime this week, allowing me to fire them Friday night and have them ready by Sunday.

Aside from my lack lustre lustre, I also have a sale this Sunday that I am NOT prepared for. Nothing is priced or packed. I will have to do it all on Saturday I think. I work that day, but I can pack and price at the studio when I get there in the afternoon.

I am starting to feel like my failed lustre, I am stretched a little thin, and I might start rubbing off soon.