I've Been A Bad Blogger

The Draper Arts and Crafts Festival was another success for me. Not as good as last year due to the fact that there were at least 6 more potters than there were last year. Every year there are more overall  booths...a good thing for Draper City but not necessarily a good thing for me since I am not really seeing an increase in attendance. It didn't rain but it turned suddenly cold and shoppers weren't dressed for it. Difficult to shop, it seems, when you are shivering.

After 210 firings, alternating between cone 06 and 5, one morning, the kiln had a message for me. After I did a little research, turns out the thermocouple was done for. Not even sure how I made it through the last firing.  To be continued........                                      

This Saturday!!!

I do not know where the time flies away to but it is that time of year again. The last few times the festival day has been really cold with rain all day long . I think we are getting a break this year....finally. I will be in spot 80 in the pavilion. Come by and check out all the great vendors, especially me (ha ha) and say "hi".

Divine Vine

Well, I am liking the results, but this will still be one-of-its-kind. The overall technique is too tedious but the carving, however, has already been repeated on a vase. Free-style carving on leather hard clay is just too much fun.

Almost

Glazed but not fired yet. I painted a very dark glaze into the carved vine design then wiped away the excess with a damp sponge. Then, I painted a white glaze all around and about the vine design. Seemed like a great idea at the time, but soooo tedious and time consuming. Music helped. Definitely a one-of-a-kind unless I figure out a quicker way. Hope it was worth it....always an experiment.

Slab, Slip and Micro Tools

Up until now, my favorite way to create with clay, was to use a pottery wheel.  Recently, however, I've been messing with a slab roller. I'm enjoying the pinch pot look that I can get on a large scale with the use of a slab of clay, a cloth lined bowl as a mold and a wooden spoon to dimple the surface. To create a contrast, I used about 5 coats of dark slip on the B-mix clay and the micro tools just make carving details fun. The bowl is 11 inches in diameter and still drying. Stay tuned for the finish.

Oh, the weather outside is frightful, but the doodle is so delightful.....

Why is a scrap piece of paper or, in this case, an envelope destined for the recycle bin, so inspirational for doodling? I have a spiral notebook with a wonderful collection of blank, white paper.  You'd think that would be the best option to keep my ideas organized. That's the theory, but I think my ideas don't want to be organized. A nice sharp pencil with a scrap piece of paper during a snow storm named George, is the best for inspiration in my little world. And don't forget the comfy couch.

Upload, Update, Uptight!

Blogger is a never ending challenge for me, but I do love the archive of my work that I can create and so here I am. I was trying to Blog from my phone where most of my photos reside but Google made life difficult. I managed to move photos from phone to laptop without Google getting a hold of my album contents....so invasive of Google to hold photos hostage unless I use their app on my phone. Hence...Uptight in title. Upload...I did manage...yah me, and now for the update. The November Soup Bowl fundraiser was a great success. All 107 bowls were sold and they ran out of bowls before they ran out of soup! This was the 4th year it was held and I think that word finally got out about what a fun event it is. Every year people, tell me that the soup bowls are better than last years'. Personally, I get bowl blindness! After making 50 bowls for each event, I can't even tell. So I will take their word on that. Our new challenge is to make 150 bowls for next years event.Yikes! The Clay Class is not that large but I see how creative and skilled everyone is. I am sure we can do this. "Determination" is our middle name, and, to make sure, we are starting right now! And by the way, that's my new 34 oz. teapot. Happy New Year to all!