Going Back in Time

Today I went through an old portfolio to look for some drawings that I will make into Art Postcards. Back in college I was really into drawing with pastels. I would draw my dreams in the middle of the night, and even give my beloved cat, Sneezer, a piece of chalk and let him bat it around the paper. He was drawing too!

Going through my portfolios of the past reminds me of who I used to be and how far I have come. It is a time travel of where I was back then and memories of dreams that only make sense to me. These things I would never remember if I had not written them down, or drawn a picture of it. I see where I was influenced; by books, teachers, friends. Sort of like a photo album, but more personal.

I think have a few different series to use as postcards: Angels and Demons, Sex, and Flowers. Some of these I will post online for free downloads that fans can print themselves. I will also have an option to buy the cards already printed. I am a big fan of sending out personal notes. I guess I just like to write!

Anyhow, please check back soon for the downloadable postcards. I need to photoograph and post.

Lights, Camera, Action!

I had my first photo shoot for the peppers last weekend. After my bad firing, I went into panic mode and quickly re-glazed and re-fired the peppers. Even though I had hooked up the kiln wires not quite right, somehow I lucked out and the firing went as planned. The peppers looked great! Ahhh, what a relief! All of my pieces went into this firing and the pressure was on to have them completed and looking awesome for the shoot. My friends and I had planned the shoot several weeks ago and had been working up to this moment.

I arrived to my friend's house and the photographer and other artists arrived shortly after. We set up the room for the shoot by covering the windows and blocking out all other light sources, set up the photography lights, and tacked the photo paper onto the wall. I set up my pieces and the photographer got to work! What a great job she did! The peppers look fantastic! And the high resolution camera she used picked up the shine of the glaze.

Now I have to do my part in marketing these things. I've listed them on Etsy at http://www.etsy.com/shop/AnneInClayland
And I will post on Twitter and Facebook to try and generate some fan base. I am also looking into local outdoor shows like farmers markets and art shows. Just in time for the holidays, I hope my fans will find a place in their homes for my work. The pieces are truly beautiful, one of a kind and of a limited edition. They also make for great collector pieces if you'd like to group them together.

A Bad Week

I had a bad week last week. All kinds of things went wrong... my water system blew up and we lived like Little House on the Prairie for a few days - washing hands out of buckets of water, dirty dishes piling up on the counter, and taking sponge baths for a couple of days. Next, my daughter and husband came down with Roto Virus, vomiting through the night (and on me as well) and a 2am hospital visit for Mia. And to top things off, what would be more complete than a faulty kiln firing? The peppers that I have been so feverishly working on for weeks, though not completely ruined, are a mess right now. Somehow... I guess I didn't put the cone in correctly, or I got a faulty cone (yes, lets blame the cone and not me).

Anyhow, the cone is fused to the sitter inside the kiln. I called for help and it looks like I can fix it. The glazes on the peppers didn't vitrify, so the kiln must have under fired. I am so glad I went out there at 10pm to check and see if it turned off. The latch fell which should have turned off the kiln but the kiln was still running. I have enough experience to know to shut if off manually and check it in the morning when it has cooled. Although this feels like a disaster, I have faith that things can be saved. I did lose a couple of peppers - the glaze fused the lids shut. But that is a glazing issue. I'm still learning. These stupid vertical lids! They are so difficult! So once I get the melted cone scraped off the cone sitter I should be able to re-fire the pieces and get some good results. Hopefully? My photo shoot for the peppers is this Saturday. I better make it there with something to show for myself.