Giving GIMP A Try

I have really missed blogging. Our computer sits in our dining room, and with the kids home snow day after snow day, there is simply too much competition for computer time. I gave up. Alas, we have had two good weather days, so I have been catching up with old blogging friends over a nice cup of tea. I decided to figure out how to put some photos with this post.

We had our January Clay Club meeting last night at Elizabeth Westveer's studio. We discussed ideas for this year's meetings and John Britt videoed a few demos (including mine). He'll post them to the Clay Club blog and You Tube later in the week.

One demonstrator was Patty Bilbro. She demonstrated centering two large lumps of clay one on top of the other, rather than trying to center one huge lump. I took a few photos.





Hooray! We have a photo!


The other demonstrator was Doc Welty, who showed us how to create raised surfaces with shellac resist.

I needed Brian's blog post as well as GIMP's online tutorial to walk me through how to resize the images for the web. I ran into a snag after finishing and saving the picture of Patty. The second photo I tried to resize was instead "layered' onto the first, as well as cropped to show only Doc's face. The only way I could figure out how to get rid of the first image and bring up the second one without the cropping was to close GIMP and restart it.

It seems that GIMP offers a lot more then I need in a photo program. I don't manipulate images or even really crop them much. I don't change anything in the photos of my pottery except sizing. And since the forecast is calling for snow tonight, I'm going to congratulate myself on this baby GIMP step, and turn the computer over to the kids again.

I can always tackle GIMP in the spring.

What an Honest Critique Can Accomplish

Don Pilcher does have a point. By now, everyone has read one or both posts, and whether or not you've engaged in the controversy or lurked as a bystander, you've got to admit that he is on to something when he writes about the lack of frank, honest discussion about pottery. But are blogs the place to find that?

While Pilcher might not be interested in reading snippets about a certain potter's daily life, I am. I like seeing pictures of your kids and pets, and I like posting about my own. I like that I can rant and rave about the weather, current events and our latest home project turned nightmare. I care if you read, but I am not offended in the slightest if you pass on a post.

Honest discussion of pottery does happen here in the blogosphere but not in any linear, organized way. In recent weeks, Tracey Broome has used her blog as a sounding board for some true soul-searching and the direction her work is taking. While any critique of her work is generally positive, and accolades make us feel good, I'm not sure her point was to seek out approval or support. Maybe it was just to get it out of her head. What difference does it make?

Our Clay Club meets once a month. Last year sometime, we had a critique. Several of us novice potters brought work to be critiqued by the likes of Michael Kline and Linda McFarling, among others. I plopped the basket (pictured above) up on the banding wheel in the center of the room and stepped back. What I received was a true gift: honest, informed critique from potters who know their craft well. There were a few folks who loved the pot as is (and were appalled that anyone could find anything wrong with it), and I was grateful for the compliments. The difference was being able to view the pot on its own merits versus being able to see the potential the pot held. I returned to my studio with an armload of ideas and my work improved dramatically.

I guess what I'm tring to say is that if Potsapalooza were meant to be a manifesto on my current ceramic work, I probably would have far fewer readers. And I would have named it something more serious.

One Down, One To Go

The kiln fired off without a hitch Saturday morning. I'm very pleased with the results. It's weird only using 4 glazes though. It makes glazing go a whole lot faster, but somehow it just seems wrong. I'll post pictures of the pieces using my new found photography skills next week. I forgot to take a before photo of load #2.

In the meantime, I've been getting ready for the TRAC Studio Tour. There is always more to do than I realize, especially when you throw in the end-of-year school happenings and the fact that I am missing a very useful spouse. And I am hosting the Clay Club meeting at my studio tomorrow night from 6-8 pm. Drop by if you're in the neighborhood.

With the studio, gallery and bathroom already clean, maybe I'll finally have a moment or two to myself before the rush of visitors this weekend. Then again, I'm sure there's a pile of laundry with my name on it.

I'm Just Not Ready

Last fall, before I had even really started working in my new studio (heck, I hadn't even finished unpacking), I eagerly joined TRAC, signed up for the December Studio Tour and dropped off pieces for jurying for their galleries. I didn't expect to have the work accepted and indeed it wasn't. No big deal. I knew I had better work inside of me.

Now a year later, my work has improved, I am learning the best way to fire my Bailey and am entertaining the idea of galleries. I was accepted as a member of Toe River Crafts and my wine bottle coasters are for sale at Mountainside Wine in Spruce Pine. My home gallery is open most days, and I get visitors several times a week. I have an America Creates online gallery as well as an Etsy shop (currently empty though). Now, TRAC's jurying deadline is fast approaching.

I'm just not ready to spread myself that thin. At a recent Clay Club meeting Cynthia Bringle said that most new potters tend to try to do too much too soon. Since I've been making pots for 15 years, I'm not exactly "new", however, I am definitely inexperienced at marketing, managing my work and my time. Unfortunately I missed the deadline for a Professional Development retreat at Penland. I've got to start using that planning calendar. I think my inability to get new pots posted on Etsy is also telling of my overextending myself.

So for the remainder of this year, I will continue to make work and improve on what I currently have taken on. I've got http://www.singingtreepottery.com/ up and running. I might enter a juried show or two, but I think galleries will have to wait until next year.

Whew! Glad I don't have to stress about that anymore.