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.

My Karmic Reward

I feel like I was rewarded by the Universe this week.

For the past few weeks I have been going through stacks of books, clothes and household goods, purging things I no longer use or want. I got myself into an organization tizzy and for days I was clearing out cupboards and shelves, and even one person from my life! It became addictive and refreshing to create empty space. I picked up my book on Feng Shui to start over again.

Something about the fall makes me want to start fresh; open the doors and windows and let the air rush through the house. There are new birds here as the fall has almost arrived. I heard a new owl last night. Now there are two.

The pile in my garage had grown large enough and I decided to load it into my car to drop off at the thrift store. I went inside to look around and I found the cedar chest I've been wanting for two years. My heart soared! It was $80 and a little beat up, but still a beauty. Refinished, these things run $400. Of course I bought it and now it is home, awaiting dusting in my garage.

More Peppers

My progress seems unreal lately. I have been churning out these things like a madwoman. I am so happy to have found a system that seems to work. I can pour two molds each day while working on the previous days' molds. I don't want you to think these are production pieces. Though they are, they are still handmade and each one is sculpted by me. The mold serves as a template. After I remove it from the plaster cast, I cut each lid and add some decorative finishes onto each one. Each pepper is an original. I had my tarot cards read recently at a friend's house. The cards said that I would experience a new beginning in the fall. And that my problems of the spring would seem forever away. This was the first time I'd had my cards read by someone other than myself. It was a great reading. She was surprised at the good fortune of my reading. Anyhow, it is just fun to see the connections here. I am quickly filling my kiln for the next firing.

Ryan saves the day...

Today Ryan saved my day. How lucky I am to have my own personal Superman from time to time... someone who opens jars of olives and finds solutions to my studio madness. It's funny how we all see things so differently.

I have produced several peppers with the slip casting. The small bell peppers have been going well and I have about 8 completed- glazed and ready to go. Hooray for me! But I have had significant troubles with cutting the lid on the larger poblano pepper. I have cut and trashed about 8 so far. It is essentially a vertical lid that needs to fit well. I tried several different cuts, thinking I was onto something, only to have the damn thing slide off once the clay dried. Ugh! Stupid clay!

Frustrated with my wasted efforts, I contacted my mentor to help with finding a solution for the lid, but he never replied.

Ryan offered to help me with the cut. He came into the studio, assessed the shape of the pepper and drew on the shape of the lid that he thought would work best. "It's simple physics" he tells me. Yea, I'm not a physics girl. Science is difficult for me. Art and color are easy. So I made the cut and it seems like it will work. It also seems like an obvious cut now that it is done. So Ryan saved the day today, in the ceramics studio. I can work through a series of these designs without having to trash the mold. My new goal is to have about 50 of these things done by November. I think I can do it.

27 Elmos

I never thought I'd be making ceramic Elmos for my kid's birthday party as favors for her friends. But here I am doing it. My daughter absolutely adores Elmo. Her short television viewing each day gives me a few moments to myself, to read or unload the dishes or check my email. These short breaks from mothering are truly priceless...at least at her wee age of two. One day I'll look back and miss these times where she is so needy. But for now, I'm loving her love for Elmo.

So as time has it, her second birthday is coming up sooner than I imagined possible. And faced with the idea of buying more junk for kids' party favors, I have decided to make some ceramic magnets for the children. I decided to use paper clay again for this project. I really don't like this clay but am using it for 2 reasons: I have a bag to use up before it starts molding, and it is rather strong and lightweight so will likely work well for this project.

I started rolling out a slab of paper clay. Then I cut out circles with a small jar and made them slightly oblong for the head. I rolled out some balls of clay for the eyes and nose, which were pasted on with slip (liquid clay) and pressed in with a tool to create the eyes. I smoothed it all out (hopefully) to hide the creases and imperfections in the clay, then drew on his happy smile and signed the back. Wallah! Here are the Elmos! Once they are dry I will paint and fire them. I made way more than needed, but figured some of them will be messed up in the process. It's always good to be prepared. I was a girlscout for 6 years. I'm pretty sure I learned something from it.