Fun new pieces

Today I worked on these new pieces.  I actually did them from start to finish in one day, usually I roll out slabs and texturize them, let them dry over night, then build them the next day.  Now that the weather is 80+ degrees out the slabs were getting dry enough to work with by the time I rolled out the last batch.  My back is hurting but I am glad to get it all done in one day.  Tomorrow I will work on olive oil bottles.  Then on Wednesday I plan to glaze.

This is my last full week of work before getting too busy for work for awhile.  I also have to fit in this week shoveling mulch, next Monday I shampoo carpets and heavy clean, Tuesday my mom arrives, Wednesday I drop work at Falling Rivers in Albemarle and shop for groceries, Thursday I host Bunko at my house, Friday work, Saturday my sons high school graduation, Sunday my sons graduation party, Monday work, Tuesday take new work to new gallery in Matthews, head to the cabin with mom,  Saturday work on shed at cabin with hubby (which has been taking forever because of rain), Monday mom heads home, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday work, Friday shut down Esty shop and get pots ready for Earth and Fire Festival, Saturday workshop then drop of pieces for Earth and Fire, Sunday off to England for 10 days.  Whew. TMI?

Re-Organizing

This month I am doing a re-organization of my inventory.  I will be consolidating my different lines and putting them in different gift shops and galleries.  For example, gallery 1 will display all my blue and brown dragonfly line, Gallery 2 the green mist, etc. I am hoping that having a consolidated look will be more appealing to buyers.

I will also be bringing a batch of new work to the Falling Rivers Gallery in Albemarle and to the Earth and Fire show in Kings Mtn.  Then at the beginning of July a new shop will open in Matthews that will carry some work as well.  This will also hopefully refresh my online sales because I will be bringing new pieces back from the gift shops and adding some to the Etsy shop.

Eventually I would like to have only my new work everywhere, but I do need to sell my older work before then.  There are some quality pieces that were made just a few months ago.  So if you see something in my Etsy shop, now is the time to grab it because any day it may be gone.

New Booth Display

This weekend I had a booth at the Carolina Clay Matters Pottery Festival.  This was the first time using my new display and I learned a few things.  First was that I need to make some hanging items.  I had intended to have some ready for this show but I just ran out of time.  The curtains were hung so that I could take a booth photo for applications for new shows I would like to enter. They became a problem when the wind started to blow, knocked over the pitcher in the corner and had to be taken down.  Hopefully this one will be good enough for now because I don't plan on doing any more shows until the fall besides the Earth & Fire Pottery show in Kings Mtn.  There I will be using a table or my old shelves and it's not a full set up anyway.

Also, I learned which items needed to have a higher quantity on hand. Plus, I was surprised to learn that the periwinkle blue draws attention.  I did not expect that and had only made a few items in that color. The new work seemed to be received well and I am excited to move forward.

Today I cut and stamped some slabs that I will finish assembling tomorrow.  I started with pieces I hope to enter into a few competitions I will be entering in June and July.  There are probably enough pieces for the Earth and Fire Festival but I would also like to bring a bunch of the new work over to the Falling Rivers Gallery early next month.  Then I need to stock up for the Fall shows.  The new work takes way longer so I do need to keep at it.

Today I also sent in my application for the Atalaya show in Huntington Beach, near Myrtle Beach.  I had stopped by there last year and thought that it looked like a high quality show.  Hope the weather works out.  Could be really hot or hurricanes, since it's in September.

My favorite pots

Yippee.  I finally got the glaze results that I was looking for.  I did two glaze loads this week and these are my favorite pieces.  There are more posted on my Facebook page.  I did have some other colors which I will work on next week but I think that these will be my favorite.  I did have one really great piece that the lid stuck and while I was trying to bump it loose, I knocked off the knob.  I will glue it back on and it will become an art piece in my house.  I will make another one soon, since it would have been my favorite piece.

Next Saturday is the Carolina Claymatters Pottery Festival from 10-4 at 8300 McAlpine Business Park in Charlotte, NC.  I will be at booth 25, right in front of the barn.  Be sure to stop by if you are in the area.  I will have my new work on display and there will be 55 other potters showing their best work.