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.

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 Did Have Some Pictures...

...to go with this post. However, in a moment of distraction I inserted the SD card into the wrong slot in the computer. Now it is lost in there somewhere and with it, the pictures of my newest work. I suppose Jay can find time this weekend to take the darned thing apart to retrieve the card. And I suppose that I will pay closer attention to what I am doing from now on.

I am working at the Toe River Craft Shop in Celo tomorrow. And we'll see if both kids' schools can manage to get them on the correct bus to deliver them there after school. And, boy-oh-boy, we are going to Dollywood Saturday. Jay's company is providing the tickets and lunch. I think they do this every year. We were all set to go last year, and then I wrecked my van.

In other news, I had a piece accepted into TRAC Fall Celebration of the Arts 2009. The Opening Reception is October 10 at 7 pm. Hope to see you there.

So, you can look forward to seeing shots of some big-ass baskets next week. I haven't made large-scale work like this since college. I made three out of Brownstone for a cone 6 load, one of which I think is too big to fit into the Runt for bisquing. Not sure how I'll solve that problem yet. I made two others out of Zella Stone along with a dozen smaller, tray-like vessels. Next. I'll move on to some more wine bottle coasters. I really need to stock up.

I wish I knew what to call some of the things I make. I also wish I had a better answer for the folks who ask me what my pots are for. "I make them with no specific funtion in mind" is a pretty lame answer, but it's the truth. If I like a piece of pottery and can afford it, I often buy it. I rarely think about how I am going to use it. I just know that I want it around.

Fellow potters, what do you say when someone asks you what your pots are for?

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.

Back in the Saddle

After a successful Studio Tour the kids and I headed off to stay in Nags Head with friends. Awesome weather, food and drink but the fun didn't stop there. Their daughter travelled back to the mountains with us and they joined us mid-week for Independence Day follies. Add another family of four to ours plus the three from Virginia and we had a full house indeed. I'm still buried in laundry.


With all the company gone by Monday morning, I hit the studio hard. I have two arts and crafts shows coming up, and thanks to the TRAC Tour and my almost daily visitors, my stock is dwindling. I have high hopes of firing a cone 10 before Bele Chere in Asheville July 24-26 and a cone 6 before the Mt. Mitchell Crafts Fair in Burnsville August 7&8. I just keep thinking positive thoughts. Besides, I've been told that sleep is overrated.



Meanwhile, I became a member of Toe River Crafts in Celo which is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year. There is a special exhibit of member work and the above basket sold within a few days. I'm so sad to see them go sometimes.



I don't have any shows lined up for the fall but my main goal is to piece together a website. My head is full of ideas, but I really need to keep a slow pace: first make the work, then market it. I already can't keep up with my Etsy site and I feel like a bit of a failure. As for the website, I reserved my domain name 6 months ago and am looking into using some kind of template for the time being. I can always redesign it later, but I just don't have the time nor the inclination to reinvent the wheel.



So it's back to work. With the kids home for summer break, carving out studio time has been a challenge. I've been coaching my kids on how to be self-reliant while I'm working. This means not interrupting to tattle, cleaning up after themselves and making good lunch choices. Yesterday, Allison ate 1/4 of a watermelon and potato chips and onion dip.

Shameless Plug

These are the two pots I have at the TRAC Gallery in Spruce Pine. The white basket is from my cone 10 load last fall and the heart bowl is cone 6 oxidation. Both glazes are in need of improvement. I think it was Shane Mickey who mentioned at a Clay Club meeting how eager we potters are to leave behind the pots from our last firings. I tend to agree with him.

Armed with my new-found cone 6 reduction knowledge and a healthy amount of chutzpah (not to mention the constructive criticism I received at a critique), I can't wait to see my new work with new glazes.

I'm glaze firing on Saturday June 6. Come on down! I'm #17 on the map http://www.toeriverarts.org/tourmap.shtml