Vacation photos

Just got back from vacation.  We flew out to Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, Antelope Canyon and Bryce Canyon.  We had an OK time in Vegas but really enjoyed our time seeing the gorgeous scenery as we drove around the Grand Canyon.

We spent a couple days walking the rim at the Grand Canyon (pictured left, top).  The best photos were taken the first late afternoon after a rain storm.  The smog cleared and the shadows were great.

Then we went to Antelope Canyon (left, bottom).  That was our favorite and so much fun.  We had an Indian guide take us through the canyon and he new all about the settings on our cameras.  There are better photos of this one but my computer is still down and I am using my phone photos in this post.

Last we went to Bryce National Park (Right).  We hiked down into the canyon.  It took 2 hours and was fine until the last 1/2 hour of a 45ish degree incline.  My legs were jello afterwards.

So, I am back in the studio for a few days and have made salt and pepper shakers, teapots, fruit bowls, vases, a box, a hanging wall vase and heart dishes.  I am at the point that these items will not make it into the kiln for the show in Crozet but are backup for the next show in Virginia Beach in June.

I will be putting items into the kiln for a bisque firing tomorrow after I do the slip trailing.  After that I will take some new items to the Ciel Gallery for the May show "Into the Garden".  The gallery crawl in Friday, 6-9pm.  Maybe I will see you there.  I will also stop by Ruby's Gift and drop off some new items.

I will begin glazing most likely on Thursday since it's supposed to rain the next 2 days.  I anticipate doing 3 loads to get ready for the next show.  There is so much because a lot of the back stock from the fall shows have been sold on Etsy or sent to various galleries over the winter.

Cookie Jar, Teapots and Vases

Very exited about this weeks glazing.  These are only a few of the pieces out of the two loads and I was happy with 99% of it.  A few of my favorites are shown here but you can see more on the Facebook Page.   I made a new green, which you can see on the leaf piece.  It is a pale green so I plan on mixing in a little more green colorant in the next batch  Although I like it because it matches my new decor in my living room.

The pot to the left is my new cookie jar.  I made myself all new pieces for my kitchen counter since I painted the room a powder blue.  I made canisters, butter dish, salt and pepper, salt cellar, olive oil bottle, utensil holder and a tea caddy.  The tea caddy includes a jar to hold tea bags, sugar jar, sweet and low cup and spoon rest.  My hope is that this will keep my family from leaving them all over the counter now that they are contained in a nice tray.

Two of the pieces will go to the "Into the Garden" show at the Ciel Gallery in May.

Lately I have been trying to stock up on items for my upcoming art shows.  I have one in May and one in June.  I also go on vacation this week so no work will be produced for a week.  At this point only a few more pieces can be made for the May show but I need to have pieces ready for glazing after it for the four day show in June in Virginia Beach.

New Glazes

Last week I did a glaze load with my new glazes.  I was happy with about half of the pieces.  The problem came with the green color.  For whatever reason it turned out the same as the dark blue.  The next time I glaze I am going to try a different green.  Most of the pieces were made with the speckled brownstone and half the plain brownstone.  I have decided that I am most happy with the plain brownstone.  I really like how the brown clay shows through the glaze where there is texture.  Individual photos are on the Facebook page.

Pitchers make me happy

Today is the first day of Spring and it's also National "Be Happy Day".  So I decided to make something that makes me happy.  I played around with three different forms.  The piece in the front was supposed to be a gravy boat but ended up more the size of a pitcher.  Next time I will make it about 1/2 the height and maybe make a tray for drips.  The middle sized pitcher is a good size for a water pitcher and the large one is really just for putting flowers in or for home decor.   I also made 2 appetizer trays.

Yesterday I loaded the bisque kiln and I will glaze either tomorrow or Saturday.  Both days are showing that they will be warm with no rain. When I spray the glaze outside the temperature needs to be comfortable or else my fingers freeze.  My hands are in water a bunch during glazing days.  Sunday we are back down to 50 with a chance of rain and I can work inside the studio with the heater on.

Back from vacation

Got back from vacation last night.  I was gone for just over a week with my mom, sister and her 2 kids (10 & 11).  We went to Tampa (Busch Gardens) and Orlando (SeaWorld, Aquatica and Universal Studios)  It was fun but exhausting.  Busch Gardens was my favorite, mainly because I had not been there before.

So I get home and have something like 400 emails. Most needed to be deleted because they were junk or I had read them while on vacation.  I spent time unsubscribing to a number of websites.  When you get them opened daily it doesn't seem like much and I always think I may need a coupon someday, but I don't shop very much so they just had to go.

While I was gone I also got notifications on a number of shows I was accepted into and I will update those on my show schedule page.  I will be doing the Boardwalk Art show in Virginia Beach in June and doing the Art in the Park in Blowing Rock in August, September and October.

This morning I made two vases then I did the slip trail beading and some dragonflies on pieces ready to go into the kiln for a bisque firing.  Then I loaded the kiln.  I am very excited about this batch. There were a number of elaborate pieces.  I can't wait to glaze in a couple of weeks.

New Art at Ciel Gallery

Today I dropped off inventory to a new gallery.  I am now a consignment artist at the Ciel Gallery in Charlotte, NC.  I am excited to have a place where I can display my "art pieces" in my hometown.   They are having their soft reopening on Friday after being a mostly mosaic gallery.  They will now have a number of new artists.  Sadly(or not) I will be on vacation so will be unable to attend the gallery crawl this month but I plan on going to the Grand Opening on April 4th from 6-10pm.

I also stopped by Ruby's Gift in NoDa to add a few small items to the inventory there.  They carry mostly small gift items.

When I get back from vacation I need to get moving and get my inventory up.  Hopefully the weather warms up.  It's so much easier to work when it's comfortable.

Large Vase

Gorgeous weather today, around 70 degrees.  I decided that it was time to make a large vase so last night while watching the Olympics I sketched then cut out a template for these vases.  My plan was to make 3 of the smaller ones so that I could have 2 for my mantle but after cutting out the slabs for these two I decided I better stop and I am glad I did.  It took all day to make these and I was tired when I finished.

Yesterday I had an interview at a gallery here in Charlotte and will hopefully find out soon.  I will give details if it happens.  Then I went to get clay and glaze ingredients.  Hopefully I will get a test load in the next few weeks.

If you are on Facebook, be sure to check out my page and "like" it so that you can see more info about what is happening in the studio.

Beautiful Weather for making new pots

Beautiful Day out today.  It has finally warmed up to my favorite temperatures for working in the studio. Sixty four today and 70 the next few days.  Sadly it will slowly drop back down into the forties by next week.

This is my first day working with a brown clay.  I had decided that perhaps the texture would show up better using a darker clay.  Time will only tell whether I like working with it.  It seemed like the pieces were not joining as well but perhaps the slabs were too dry.  The two large pieces on the left were completely new forms and the two on the right have shapes used before but new textures, handles and openings on top.

Tomorrow I will make pieces that include a wheel thrown base (teapots, fruit bowls and vases).  I will probably run out of clay by next week and will make a trip to the supply store for clay and glaze materials.  There are some new colors that I would like to make and test soon.

Soon, I will be getting some work done on our hard wood floors and I am going to update my kitchen/living rm area.  There will be new paint, curtains and a sofa.  Plus as I have mentioned before new pottery for my kitchen.  I will try to post before and after photos.  Also, I will be taking two -week long vacations in March and April.  All this while trying to get enough inventory for two shows and possible new galleries by mid May.  Oh and lets not forget Mother's Day sales on my online shop.  It's all easily done as long as the weather does not revert back to "yuck"  This is the coldest winter I have seen here in Charlotte in the last 8 years since I have been doing pottery full time.

Heart Dishes and Yarn Bowls

I've been busy the last week.  This morning I was trying to think of what to make and I thought about Valentines Day and how nesting bowls would be nice.  So I planned on making simple bowls but when I had thrown the first bowl I decided that it was too simple.  So,  I made a split and ruffled rim giving it a lacey look.  These won't be done for Valentines Day but I think they still make a nice gift for a wedding, birthday or Mother's Day.

It was a bit too cold today for working.  It was in the forties and my space heater wasn't quite doing it.  Luckly all I was making were 9 heart dishes and 2 pear bowls so I finished in about an hour, then went out for about 15 minutes later in the day to finish.

Yesterday I worked on yarn bowls.  I make each one different and this time I like how they turned out.  Hopefully most will make it through the bisquing and firing process without breaking or warping too much

Yesterday I also got word that I have been accepted into the Crozet Arts and Crafts Festival in Crozet Virginia on May 10th and 11th.  This means that I will not be participating in the CCM Pottery Festival this Spring.  I will be having a Christmas in July Sale at my studio in July for anyone local that would like to come out and see what I have new this year.