good news and new handles

Well, I am saying goodbye to my little hatchback tonight. I have had it for 5 years now, but the lease is up and I needed to make a decision. Buy it out, refinance for another 2 years w/o a warranty, or trade it in. I opted to trade it in. So tonight I am picking up my new car. It is a compact SUV, but is definitely bigger than my little one. I should now have more cargo capacity to allow me to transport more pots. Who knows, maybe I will hit the road and do out of town summer craft fairs next year. I have always found it a struggle to fit both the pots and display materials (even as minimal  inside one vehicle comfortably and safely. I have often though that if I were to get in an accident, I could easily be killed by multiple pots being dislodged from their cartons and winging their way up towards my head.

Last year was a year of loss for me. I was forced to “let go” so speak of almost all that I owned. This year will be the year of renewal, I can only hope that the turmoil of the past 11.5 months will settle down and life can carry on at a more sedate pace. It is still looking good for a move in date somewhere in the 2^nd week of June, so I will be taking some much needed time off to calmly reorganize my life and get settled again.

In pottery news, I have been working on a new type of handle/knob for my casseroles. This is one area where I have always struggled to get something that looks good. My handles have either looked like they were an after thought, or were either too big or too small. I have thrown knobs, used strap handles, pulled and attached or pulled in place lugs, rolled lugs etc. Sometimes they come out nice, but usually they either look contrived, or tortured into submission. Then one day I was watching YouTube videos and came across a Bill Van Gilder video of how he makes a “shell” handle by gradually slapping and stretching a coil into a “shell” shape. I have played around with it on rims of batter bowls (see previous posts) and then I added a whole bunch of them to a rim to add some height and decorative interest. Then I had a thought that they would look good if they were more 3D. So I made 2 of equal size, bulged them out a bit and then attached them edge to edge to achieve a hollow yet full knob for the lid. I added 2 smaller “shells” to the side for lugs. I think this worked out fairly well. I will play around a bit more, but so far it’s looking good.

And last but definitely not least, I won the draw for the Michael Kline cup for the Christa Assad fundraiser and it arrived in the mail the other day. It is the sweetest little thing and drinks very well. It will find a nice home in my new condo with all the other pots from other potters that I already have.

Reminder - Fairview Studios Spring Pottery Sale - May 31st, 2014

I just wanted to send out a reminder that the much anticipated Fairview Studios Spring Pottery sale is on May 31st this year. If you have never attended one of our sales, you should come and check it out.
The atmosphere at the spring sale is pretty laid back (in stark contrast to the organized chaos of our Christmas sale). There will be coffee and snacks for you to enjoy while you peruse the selection of pottery. We will also be drawing for 2 door prizes (gift certificates towards your next purchase)
So if you are looking for that one of a kind wedding or shower gift or just a little something for yourself like a fantastic teapot or a large coffee mug, you really should come by and have a look.

No entry fee, no pressure, just pots, lots and lots of pots.

Go Go Gadget!

I have been compiling a list of the things I will need when I move back in to my condo and then slowly checking them off as I get them. So far, I have made all of the really big purchases and now I am left with the small items like kitchen utensils, bathroom accessories, area rugs, place mats etc. Once I started the list of these smaller items it started to feel like I was in a tornado of spatulas, potato peelers, toilet bowl brushes etc. The list just keeps getting bigger, because you never know when you might need a battery operated garlic press/lemon squeezer, or a deviled egg maker, or an ergonomic/wind powered melon baller. You just never know.

As it stands right now, I will have somewhere to sit, eat and sleep when I move in, if all deliveries occur when expected. I won’t be able to wash my clothes until mid June, but I can deal with that. I should also be able to cook, store food and wash dishes. So all in all, things are going well. I should be back in my place by June 11^th ( I hope). It might be sooner, but I’m not counting my deviled eggs until they hatch. 

Come on, who DOESN'T need a waffle maker that makes keyboard waffles, or one that does doll house furniture, or a wiener dicer, or even an alien inspired silicone egg basket? 

Paint!

I was up bright and early for our 7:30 am progress meeting for the condo restoration. This is what I was greeted with. Paint on the walls and cabinet bases waiting to be installed before the flooring goes down. There are a few details to be worked out, like how to finish/hide the gaps between the walls and the ceilings and the un paintable fire stop caulking that had to be installed to meet code requirements. The floors need to be polished/ground down where the leveling compound was troweled on and then the flooring can be installed. We asked for a move in date, and although a specific date was not given, he did say the second week of June, possibly as early as June 5th. Anyway, here is a blurry picture of one wall of my condo with it's new coat of "froufrou" yellow.

Bowl with scalloped rim

I spent a few hours in the studio over the weekend. I glazed a load of pots, loaded the kiln and fired it off on Sunday. I also messed around with a "fancy" rim on a rolled rim bowl. I made several batter bowls with the new curved handle and thought that it might be interesting to repeat these handles all the way around the bowl to add height and interest to an otherwise plain bowl. We will see how it does. The potential for failure increases dramatically with multiple attachments and the rim can warp, or crack with the stress of mucking about with it. Fingers are crossed that it makes it. I still need to clean it up, but it was way too floppy/fragile at that point.

I'm 1/4 Scottish, spending money is hard for me...

I was out spending money last night. I had to select, at minimum, a fridge and a stove. The kitchen cabinets are going in pretty quick and they needed the dimensions of the appliances before installation. So I bought the fridge & the stove, then I got a table and 4 chairs. The table is pretty much what I have been looking for, but had not been able to find anywhere until now. It will be tall enough to act as a counter as well as comfortably seat 4 people. It has two 13” leaves, so the table will be short for the most part, but if I want to have a dinner for more than just me, I can. Before, If I wanted to have guests over we would have had to eat in shifts. While I was there, I tried out some living room furniture. I did not think I would buy anything, but there was a leather sale going on. I have not paid for it in full, but have put a down payment on it and will clear up the rest in a couple of days. My bank card just can’t handle that much activity in one day. I got a leather sofa, large leather chair and an ottoman. I may change my mind on the ottoman, we’ll see. Next up, a mattress, bed frame, side table, floor lamps, area rug, etc etc.