$4.95 Etsy Shipping Sale

We still don't have our new modem, so I'm typing at light speed since my connection could drop at any moment. UPS hasn't been able to deliver because of "Emergency Conditions" which I think means the trucks couldn't get around at the beginning of the week, so they are so overloaded and behind schedule that they can't get to us residential customers.

Due to those same weather conditions, which by the way have not been all that bad, local sales have been dreadfully slow. So, I'm having a shipping sale until Tuesday December 21st. It's a win-win-win. I sell some pottery, you save on shipping, and my local Postmaster gets more business which he desperately wants!

Happy Holidays!

All Systems Down

Ugh...last week we started noticing a lot of static on our phone line. Jay diagnosed the trouble back to our modem. We're still waiting for the new one to arrive.

In the meantime, Jay thought it would be an ideal time to clean up our computer. The speed has been ever-so-slowly decreasing over the past few months. After attempting to reboot upon finding two viruses and various other computer meanies, the old girl refused to boot up.

Jay was able to find another operating system, and so I have temporary and fleeting internet access until the weekend, when we'll have time to recover all of our necessary files and wipe the hard drive. What a pain in the ass.

On the positive side, I received my Generosity Chain box from Tracey (thanks Tracey! I'll thank you properly with photos next week!), and at last night's Clay Club meeting, I got a Michael Kline mug in the holiday swap.

Hopefully, I'll be back online next week. So until then, I'm really not ignoring you.

Latest Cone 6 Firing and TRAC Studio Tour

Occasionally I can find myself feeling a bit smug when my carefully laid plans fall into place. I scheduled a cone 6 firing the week of Thanksgiving so that if anything went wrong (or I had too much work), I would have time to refire before the TRAC Studio Tour.

The kiln was packed tight and towards the end of the firing I found cone 7 flat on the bottom, but 6 barely budging on top. I was playing around with the damper when I noticed that my right burner was OUT! I couldn't get the pilot to stay lit, and after realizing that the remaining burner couldn't do the job, I just shut the whole thing down, grateful that I had left myself enough time to refire.

To my delight and surprise, when I opened the kiln the next day (and remember with cone 6 you can open sooner), the pots which I had feared underfired looked quite nice. In fact, my yellow glaze looked marvelous. I believe the kiln gods were sending me a message: you're overfiring!

Jump to this week, home from our annual Thanksgiving trek to the Outer Banks, and it was time to spruce up the gallery for the Studio Tour. I had all these new pots to visit with, shelves to move and, ahem, a bit more glaze clean up to do. Two sick children wiped my smug grin off of my face in a hurry, one kid at the start of the week, the other coming down with the same bug yesterday. Then my phone line is full of static and the internet keeps going out. I had several phone conversations yesterday outside at the phone box. Fortunately, the dryer vent empties right there and kept my feet warm.

All's well that ends well though. I managed most of my "to do" list. I had the good sense to recognize my own limitations though, put away the butter and flour, and called Jay to buy cookies on his way home. They're pretty tasty, too. I did make some Amber Ale Cheese spread.

If you find yourself in the WNC mountains this weekend, plan on visiting with some of the world-class artists who live and work up here. Or come to the artist reception Friday night 5-8 at the Spruce Pine TRAC Gallery.

What the Heck Are These For?

A couple of days ago, I decided I needed to revisit an idea from a customer which required some slab work. I could have used the slab roller, but I need the slabs large and round, so I just used the giant rolling pin. I'm not sure why I was surprised to wake up with a sore shoulder. I've had tendonitis in both of my shoulders at various times in the past. Just another dumbass move.

I know it doesn't look like much yet.

So while I nurse my shoulder for another day, I'm mixing some test glazes. Before I can do that, I have to organize and label the test tiles from last fall so as not to retest something. I would have labelled them sooner, but I've been engrossed in a book about procrastination. If anyone has any cone 6 reduction recipes, please share. I'm also going to try Val Cushing's method of converting a cone 10 glaze to cone 6. Has anyone had any luck with this?

As you know, my studio came equipped with lots of extras, including glaze ingredients. I have Ilmenite, Granular Rutile and Iron Chromate. Does anyone have a recipe that uses any of these? Would you just sprinkle the granular rutile on the shoulder of a pot?

I also have a small blue trash can with little baggies of a white material. I know what you're thinking. I suppose the studio would be a grand hiding place, but who would leave something so valuable behind? Anyway, John Britt did a cone 10 melt test for me, but couldn't determine what it was. It looked like it melted, but then balled back up into little bits. I'm going to do a cone 6 melt test.

Meanwhile, the bisque is firing, and I'm set to load a cone 6 load Sunday.

Probably Not the Brightest Thing I've Done

Deadlines suck! Just when you think you've got it all under control, you remember the piece someone wanted you to try making, or a cat jumps on a bowl and forces you to alter it, or you find yourself reaching for just one more ball of clay. The result is a fair amount of work that is not bone dry yet. Why can't I exercise the necessary self-control to keep to my schedule?

The TRAC Studio Tour is in two weeks. I actually have plenty of time to fire everything. However, we are going to the Outer Banks for Thanksgiving, so I'm going to lose some precious work days. And besides, I wanted to take some of the work from this yet-to-happen firing with me. You know the drill: work backwards from a reasonable unloading date and you have your last bisque date. In my case, unload Tuesday means last bisque Saturday.

But impatient me can't wait. There is so much work to glaze that I'll be dead on my feet if I wait until Sunday. So, I had to make the choice to fire 2 half-full loads, or one full. And although I am a half-full type of gal, I decided to load it all, turn on the lowest element and hopefully the wetter work will dry out. I'm usually very conservative about drying times, but the wet work isn't cut or altered, so I'm hoping I'll be okay.

I pretty proud of how full the kiln is, considering I still don't have shelves that really fit. In fact, the top two half-shelves are both broken. They come in handy in a pinch though.

Now I just have to decide when to actually start firing.

A Collection of Small Miseries

Several weeks ago musing about mud blogger Carole Epp posted about how she was self-publishing a book of her figurines to accompany an exhibit of the same work. She wanted blog readers to comment with their favorites, and from those comments she would choose two readers to receive a free copy of the book.

Jim Gottuso and I were chosen, and I just received my copy of the book today. The book is gorgeous and the work is exquisite and haunting. My favorite is "She wanted to see no more evil".

Quick Thoughts on Local Politics

I do my best and worst thinking while I'm wedging clay. I had loads to wedge and weigh today, and I was nearly in a state of despair when "Chalkhills and Children" by XTC came on the iPod and saved me.

I voted yesterday because I always vote. After the fucked-up stolen election of 2000, I came to realize that one person can make a difference. Our country and perhaps our world would be a vastly different and arguably better place had President Gore been in office when the 9/11 attacks happened. I'll agree with many of you who have had it with attack ads, phone calls, and the sheer stupidity of our government. I still feel it's my right and duty to vote, so I do it.

We've lived up here in this mountain community for 2 1/2 years now. I've met plenty of locals and lots of folks who have relocated here. It's a gorgeous and inspiring place to live and work. That said, the local politics are strange indeed. Although I REALLY want to, I won't name names, but I've just got to share some stories from this year's election season.

As part of the debate team, my daughter had the priviledge of assiting a candidates' forum a few weeks ago. Some of her observations include:

One candidate who played solitaire on her phone during the forum.

One candidate who quoted the Bible.

One candidate who said he wanted to bring real jobs to our county, not pottery making or beading.

One candidate who refused to follow the forum rules with regards to how much time he could talk.

In addition, Monday night I met a woman who had not voted ever since she had been offered money by a candidate at the polls 40 years ago. For real. In fact, this seems to be a time-honored tradition up here. The alleged perpetrator handed out $20 bills "for your time, not for your vote" and won re-election yesterday.

Where is an election official when you need one?