Oh !

I almost forgot to wish everybody a Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!! My husband and our cat, Mew.

New Year's Resolution

To start an Etsy store.....................you can see I've already added a link to the currently empty store - I hope to have it filled shortly after January 1st......Check in and keep me honest ;)

Unexpected Beauty

Really Large frost crystals that formed all over the hood of my car last night. My husband Dave came in from the cold this morning to point them out to me..........mmmmm pretty :)

Something Old Something New

It's with mixed feelings that I welcomed my new Brent wheel into my studio. I've been using the same wonky old wheel that my parents bought used for me as a Christmas present my senior year of high school. I know that's weird to be attached to my wheel......but we've been together for a long time. The Brent is quiet....very quiet......Ol' Wonky is definitely not quiet, she kind of sounds and feels like riding on an old roller coaster at the fair. Brent goes slow fast and everything in between. Ol' Wonky only goes fast and faster. Oh well such is progress I suppose........I think I'll let them live side by side for awhile.

Distressed Leather

This is the finale results of the pots that I used the slip with sodium silicate and iron oxide. hmmm.......interesting.....I think I'll have to explore this further.

I Love this Poem

When the Clay Calls

By Nora Naranjo-Morse

From her book - Mud Woman: Poems from the Clay (University of Arizona Press, 1992.).

This clay starts calling to me only days after I've sworn it off
wishing to leave tired hands to rest,
wanting to release myself from the browns and reds
that bend easily into gentle curves,
instantly becoming a child's face
a woman's skirt, or her husband's smile.
Resting from lines I review,
have reviewed,
and will review again.
Dusting off the sanded earth
as coarse surfaces level into fluid forms
I had not yet discovered,
so smooth and yet richly textured with life of its own.
I am in awe of this clay that fills me with passion
and wonder.
This earth
I have become a part of,
that also I have grown out of.

Work, Work, Work, Work, Work

OK ........ I really love being a potter. My favorite thing is probably working on the wheel. I can loose myself in the motion of the wheel and the clay.....and I love the feel of the wet clay in my hands. I love hand building.....I love firing my kilns especially my large gas kiln and my raku kiln (yup....I like to play with fire) It takes about 5 bisque loads from my Skutt to fill the gas kiln. That's alot of pots! Confession.....I don't like glazing .....it's the only part of the whole process the feels like work to me. Since I spray alot of my glazes I have to wear my Darth Vader respirator which fogs my glasses and makes me feel totally claustrophobic! Oh well....I've got a show this weekend so I guess it's off to work I go.