Baskets and Bows

      

    Just a quick post before the holiday hiatus!  I finished 3 new baskets this week.  I made one on a whim and it led to 3 and I think it may possibly become an obsession!  The porportions and volume are really fun to experiment with.  I really like the slight awkwardness of the long, boat-like one.  I would love to hear feedback and suggestions--lay 'em on me! The original one can be seen on my etsy: Basket

      They still have a ways to go with slip and decorating, not to mention glazing and firing too!  I'm so glad I got them to a point where they can chill for a week while I am away from the studio (it was so hard to leave today!! I really love my studio!) 

     Last week I pulled some mugs out of the kiln, and they looked great!  I don't often toot my own horn, but they are the best I have produced in a while-all that experimenting is paying off!! They were barely cool to the touch before I had to whisk them off to a local cup show.  I did take pics though, which will be posted soon. (Promise!)

  Anyways, what I am truly excited for right now is Christmas! We are driving home tomorrow, here's to hoping the kitty is ok with being in a car for 9ish hours.  A couple non-studio pics for once:



I made the bow for the gift on top and all our gift tags are handmade.



Our gifts for family and friends-many of them handmade!



Here's my partner in crime, life, and in raising a well-rounded cat, with some beer-making equipment.

          Safe travels and a Merry Christmas, Happy Hannakuh, Happy Solstice, and/or Happy Kwaanza to all!! 

Is it awkward?

  Is it awkward to post a blog that does nothing but link yours to another blog?

Odyssey Resident blog post about our holiday sale:

http://odysseyresidents.wordpress.com/2011/12/12/holiday-discount-pottery-sale-fundraiser/

Perhaps yes, but nothing is so awkward as the word awkward itself.  So many a's and w's. 

anyhoosier. good day ya'll!!

The day I first heard a sonic boom:

 Been really busy lately getting ready for the holidays, amped up my working in the studio, and I've really been putting a lot of work into my etsy page.  As I was trying to figure out how to take photos, I realized how bizarre photo set-ups look, especially when you compare them to the photos that come out of the process: 

Set up and resulting photo:

               So crazy right? I think the more bo-janks my set up looks from a real-life perspective, the better the photos end up.  Anyway, it would be more efficient to use portfolio style images for my etsy, but I read somewhere that it helps potential buyers to see pots in a more domestic setting.  Like the above basket with fruit in it:

Love this new shape!! I have 3 larger ones in process in my studio.  Here's a link to my etsy (<--click there)

And for anybody who has ever had doubts about the quality of some things on etsy, you will surely enjoy this hilarious blog:  regretsy

Alllsooo, since my grandmother liked the Thanksgiving card I sent her so much, I will also share it with you. Enjoi!!

      

Happy Holidays, Bitches.

Thanks for stopping by!!

              

        

    

aaaaannnddd, done.

         The frantic clamoring and rushing to get a show up always leaves me feeling like "whoa". after its done.  You just get used to the rushing and filling every second of the day with "go, go, go!", then the reception happens, then you're done. and suddenly the blinders drop off and you realize there's a whole world of things you haven't done. And that maybe a couple days away from the studio may do some good for your psyche.

So here I am, 6 days after the show.  I definately took a little break from the studio, but not too relax.  Actually, I think I may have forgotten how to relax around the time Bush got re-elected. Really.  So, no relaxing, but I did buy a desk for $5 (and have done a multitude of other things, including adding lots of stuff to my etsy!)  So I undertook repainting the desk. 

Here it is before I began: 

Here is the handles that came on it:

       And of course our curious little kitty had to know what this new playtoy was all about...She managed to get paint on her nose because she needed to pass it by her kitty sniff test.  There are also a couple footprints in the paint on top of the desk...*sigh, jasper...

    But painting went rather fast and here it is drying.  I got these sweet little copper knobs to complement the green paint.  should. look. awesome!

   
    And...so far it seems like it may have been a fail.  I must have not sanded it enough, because you can run your fingernail over the paint and it will peel away...Or it could be that the paint isn't drying because it doesn't get over 55 in our house...So its sitting in the middle of our living room, just like this.  If the paint still peels Saturday, I am going to have to scrape ALL the paint off, sand down further past the previous finish, aand repaint. SUCK.  No matter what: I will get an adorable desk out of the situation. I am determined to put that $5 to good use (and the 25 the painting materials cost)

   I may have been better off relaxing to a movie, but that's just not my type A nature.

Gettin' down with the plum

      Remember the milk dud mountains?  Their surface are finished and they got installed on the wall today!!

           Here is a pic of all of them on a ware cart, patiently waiting to be hung each in their own distinct place:

     This is an in process shot:  They were painstakingly numbered and installed exactly on the wall in specific places. yep. Took. a. long. time.  But I feel like I really learned a lot from making this piece so I am completely satisfied and happy with the process.

     I did several layers of inks on the surface, then did more detail with prismacolors.  Here are a couple individuals:

   

 

     I did do quite a bit of measuring that really helped in the installation process.  I measured exactly how far the circles were from the midpoint of the overall composition, and took notes on where the pieces fell according to a vertical diameter line, thus the need for a plum line during installation. It still took me about 9ish hours of install time, but not as bad as if I had tried to do it free-style.

Our resident show opens this Friday, and there is still so much to do--my head is spinning!! But it is going to be great fun and we are all really excited!

Something else I am really excited about it is these cups:

They aren't exactly what I was hoping for, but I feel like there is a lot of potential here.  They look the most like my drawings that I have been able to achieve on functional work.  After our show I am excited to nerd out and really try to develop this further. 

Anyway, very soon I will be updating my website to include newer images and adding many things to my etsy.

--That is all.

Thanks for reading!!

Ima a milk dud machine...

Check these out:



       I am working on a new wall piece for our residents show (which opens Oct. 28th!), and right now all the pieces look like giant milk duds!! They definately won't when the piece is done, but it makes me chuckle a little while I'm working on them. Someone did ask if I get hungry for milk duds while I work. And....no. But it does make me thirsty for beer. Or maybe thats cause I've been in the studio a lot and that makes me want beer. Or maybe I just really like fall seasonal beers. Whatever, I'm too poor for beer so its too bad anyways...

 I really like this image of the duds, they look like round mountains with no vegetation. Or... milk dud mountains! (wouldn't that be delightful?)


    I have also been working on many new forms and surfaces. Here is one little tray that I really like so far. The slip on him is a light green; I am so excited to get him fired!!

 
    Here is a pot I made for fun. I am really enjoying the design, I hope others do too! It is definately influenced by all the geometry writings I read over the last couple months.

    I have been experimenting a lot with my surfaces and designs. I have a whole slew of pots to fire as soon as I get the glaze tests through the kiln--woot!! I will be posting images of those soon hopefully.

Until next time:
      Gilbert says goodnite!!

AAARRRGGGH!!

Just a quick rant:  I'm sure most artists will identify with my predicament.

I work too much to work!! I am very lucky to have found a job so quickly when I moved to Asheville to start a residency at the Odyssey; its apparently not easy around here though it only took me a week and my partner about 3ish...

but now I have been working at the restaurant 6 days a week!!! and on my only day off I have a shift as resident on duty for 8 hours.  ballsacks.  I work best when I have a good long day to play and work on several projects.  but I have no full days to work on work.  I have like 4 hours every couple days. I have asked for less hours, and the manager's very cordial reply was "ill try, but no promises"....that does not make me feel reassured.    so i want to find another job, only i dont have time to find a different job. and i cant just quit because jared's (my partner) paychecks wont catch up for a couple weeks.

aaand to compound my stress level, we have a resident show, southern highlands craft sale, and a studio stroll, all coming up in a month.  fuuuuckkk.  sometimes i feel like i should just quit the jobby job and make crazy amount of work and just work my ass off to sell it.  easier said than done though, so too risky.  (i like good food and a roof to live under)

well, i hope i dont sound like a whiney twat.  things will work out, however they happen.  keep me in your thoughts/prayers/meditations/daily human offering/whatever you do-- send good energy my way man.

take care darlings

oh and pics of new studio soon, i promise.  i took some but they were grainy yucky.


----little update-I quit!! I moved here to do the residency, i'm not going to let some serving job take over my life.