Rock & Shop Market is Today!

Official Announcement: Shop local this Holiday season. Mark your calendars for the 10th Rock & Shop Market TODAY from 1-5pm at the All Saints Chapel in Downtown Raleigh, NC. Located in a beautiful old church at 110 S East Street, 2 blocks behind Moore Square at the intersection of Hargett and East Streets. We've expanded to over 65 designers selling their wares, with music by Schooner, Starmount & DJ Melissa York, plus food and beer provided by Only Burger & Aviator Brewery! Admission is $3. First 50 attendees receive a free shopping tote. For directions and a list of all the designers visit www.rockandshopmarket.com. Plenty of free parking is available in the fenced lot adjacent to the church.

Personal Note: I will have a table set up to sell my pottery. Come buy or say "hi"!

Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow

The Handmade Market today was fun and exhausting. I was happy to have the company of Joe, Sarah, my sister-in-law, and a handful of friends that stopped by to look and chat. I didn't sell as many pieces as I predicted, but I met a lot of people, gave away plenty business cards and took some cues as to what people want to buy and wish I offered more of.

There were three types of customers that came through: the collectors, the gifters, and those attracted to shiny, pretty things. Collectors look for something unique, evenly distributed weight, with balanced form, and they don't seem let price govern their choice. They see what they want (almost instantly), then check the price to make sure it's reasonable. The largest group, the gifters, look for semi-functional/semi-frivolous mid-range priced items. They will usually narrow the selection down to two or three items and then debate (with a spouse) for several minutes which their mom or in-laws or friend would like best, or be able to use the most. Those who like pretty, shiny things trend towards that cereal bowl they will use whenever clean, a pair of tea bowls for an obscure, cherished tea, or the eye-catching serving bowl that they can picture the perfect dish for at Thanksgiving. They usually have a hard time deciding between two things, may circle the other vendors, and then return to debate a little more before deciding.

My teacher Julie would chastise me, but I develop relationships with my pottery. This doesn't mean I regularly use them or display them, but it does mean I hang on to them and have a difficult time putting them up for sale. Last night as Joe and I were pricing my new pieces for the sale, he convinced me that it was time to part with some of those that I'd been greedily hanging on to. I had stacks of lovely, unique serving bowls that I agreed to display in the show, although I secretly hoped they wouldn't sell and even tried to hide the under the table... but they were found!

Several years back, I had turned in a large batch of enormous bowls to be fired in the gas kiln at NCSU, and to my dismay they came back nothing like expected. The kiln had lost power mid-firing causing the glaze to bead up in places creating these amazing bumpy terraces on the surfaces of the pots. Eventually I grew to love these. My mom has one on her mantle, but I sold one of my favorites today to a woman I immediately knew appreciate the bowl, because she immediately knew that was the bowl for her collection.

Kiln Opening!

We were very pleased with the way the Antique Iron fired! We got the full range of brown, red, green, and even a touch of blue. The only disappointment was that several of the pieces have spots where the glaze did not take, which was likely due to me stacking waxed pots before dipping them. Lesson learned: no stacking after waxing!

Ready, Glaze, Fire!

I have three glazes in my little garage studio: Chun Red, Heather Green (I can't recall the exact name of the glaze, but this sounds about right), and a new one - Antique Iron. We (this includes myself and my kiln-master husband) just mixed the Antique Iron and this will be our first time firing with it. I have no idea how this glaze behaves, so I took care not to put it on too thickly and Joe used all the tiles that were available to catch any runs. The sample tile for Antique Iron is a teal color, but looking at other potters' results online, it might break brown, red or teal. This leaves me eagerly awaiting the results tomorrow evening.



This afternoon I went by the Crafts Center to pick up three finished bowls, glaze several plates, and take one vase back to be bisque fired. I ended up tossing one plate because there was an s-crack on the bottom, but there were still four left, and for the most part, they match. Because I still have so much to learn and experiment with, I feel like I still haven't developed a body of work from a common form. Experimentation is fun and good, even if it means my pieces go together more like the Jolie-Pitt family than the John and Kate plus 8 family. This is probably a common feeling, but my expectations of myself are always just a bit higher than my skill level and results.

In other news, I was accepted to the Handmade Market which will take place at Marbles Kids Museum on November 7th. When I applied, I don't think I was really aware of how soon November 7th would creep up on me! Joe has been more than accommodating in helping me plan my booth and try and get my pots fired in time, and he has certainly earned his title, "Kiln Master". I took part in the very first Handmade Market back in May 2006 helping coordinate the charity raffle and then sold some of my wares at their second event that November. This is a fun group of people and I look forward to doing it again!

Duking it out with Orangestone

Almost to a fault, I am overly ambitious and a bit of a wishful thinker. Joe loads his plate up with more food than he can eat, and I loaded up the Jeep with more clay than I could throw. I've been throwing with Loafers Glory, a creamy white clay that is close to porcelain but still a stoneware. Last time I went to Claymakers in Durham, I purchased 100 lbs of Orangestone, a clay I have been admiring for several years. The first day of throwing, I spent several hours with nothing to show for my work. The clay holds water differently than Loafers and although I could get great height in my cylinders, as soon as I tried to shape and form it, the clay would slump back down leaving a very heavy base. Finally, the next day I decided to scale back the size of my attempts and finished with a stout little lidded pot, perfect as a sugar bowl or a place to stash trinkets or candies. He now has a big brother and several rice bowls. The process of changing clays was almost like starting over for me, but I know it will only help refine my skills and flexibility in working with various clay bodies.

Kiln Loaded

Joe and I loaded the kiln this afternoon for a bisque firing. Once this firing is finished, I will have forty new pieces to glaze including cereal bowls, serving bowls, a large plate, several pitchers, a variety of other small pieces and several handfuls of herb pendants. I am nervous and excited about the upcoming glazing because I have one glaze I have not yet tried and am hoping to improve my use of the other two which had mixed results last time. I used a red and green which was great for the holidays, but where the two mixed pooled in the bowls produced a bubbly texture I don't want to repeat.

This tall, lanky pitcher just missed the firing as it was still drying. I absolutely love throwing pitchers, but get a little squeamish about the handles. The shape and placement of the handle is such a big decision to make! I has to balance the figure of the body and spout and be aligned so that the pourer's hand doesn't get exhausted using the pitcher. It will probably take me years to develop my personal optimum form, but this one has close to the look of what I'm going for. The handle is probably just a smidgen too high, but that is yet to be determined until I test it out.

Handprints and Pendants

Last night, Joe and I played with my new letter and number stamps, and I made herb pendants by pressing herbs from my garden into the clay. I am thinking of using these for necklaces and as tags for herb pots. This craft smells absolutely wonderful as the pressing releases the beautiful aromas of oregano, thyme and rosemary. This morning, I had Daniel do a handprint. He wanted to do more, so as soon as this one is dry enough to move, he and I will get busy.

Class Update

My Wednesday night class with Julie Olson has been getting my creative juices flowing and reminding me of tricks of the craft. So far, getting back into throwing is not unlike getting back on a bike after not riding for awhile. My hands seem to know what to do, and I love it.

Julie has demonstrated three-pull cylinders, handles, mixing bowls, batter bowls, pasta bowls and plates. My favorite has been the wide-rimmed pasta bowls. It makes so much sense to have a place to rest the bread instead of trying to chase the sauce away during the meal! The biggest encouragement from Julie has been to detach myself enough from my work so that if it isn't good I can let it go. I've often tried to save pieces from cracks and blips only to waste precious time and energy. The time would better be spent starting over and improving my skills.

I'm in the process of applying to a couple of shows for the fall and winter and have been thinking through the preparations such as how many pieces I need to prepare, what I'd like to sell, and how it should be marketed. I have no business experience, but I enjoy throwing and like the idea of a show or two to motivate me. I also need to start thinking about Christmas and wedding gifts. Why buy when I can make?

New Pottery Studio

Check my personal blog, www.pocketsmiles.com, for a picture of the new setup!

Still need to add: lamp, board or plaster bat for wedging on top of the freezer, chair for guests.

Day 1 Back at the Wheel

Today wasn't as rocky as I was expecting. I managed to squeeze in enough time in between grocery shopping and feeding Daniel lunch to throw two pieces. The first is a small mug; the second is a serving dish. I'm not sure yet if the leaf fits, but it was fun to play.

Working Form

I took two classes from Julie Olson while at the NCSU Crafts Center. This artist is full of great ideas and is amazing at challenging students to pursue excellence. The first time we threw something decent looking, she'd have us slice it in two to look at the evenness and irregularity of the cross section to help us find our weak points.

Once piece of advice she gave me was to develop a working form - a shape from which all pieces were to be derived. The vase to the left might be my favorite piece so far. I love the glazing (thanks to the magic of gas firing at the Crafts Center), but the shape is what counts. The base is spherical and the middle is rounded almost like a pregnant belly. I can picture the bottom third developing into a nice bowl, the bottom two thirds being a great start for a pitcher and the top third being inverted to form an interesting cup or serving dish. It could be thrown and split vertically to serve as a start for an oblong serving dish. There are endless possibilities.

The challenge for me now is to get enough practice at the wheel where my skills return and I am able to throw this shape consistently enough to where it feels like second nature. Julie told me that a potter has to throw the same thing about a hundred times to reach that point. Whew!

Hello Wheel

It has been a very long time since I have thrown a pot. I believe November 2007 was about the time my belly got too big to bend over the wheel, and soon after I spent most of my time breastfeeding and changing diapers. I've made several attempts to throw again, but nothing has really stuck. Daniel seems to finally be at a stage where I could potentially get back on the wheel and let him play in the room with me. This week I am going to attempt to still work my regular job during his naps and try to put in a couple hours with him in the afternoons or mornings, depending on what the week allows. There are two shows I may apply for this fall/winter: The Handmade Market and Rock and Shop. This would give me some good motivation to get back into a hobby I seriously loved.