Despite feeling like I got very little accomplished last month, I seem to finally be catching up on having a few piggy banks in stock and ready to go to new homes. I am slowly getting them photographed to add to my Etsy shop.
The “Bull bank” is one of my favorites.
Then again, I have a soft spot for anything glazed in shino!
I am happy to say good-bye to January and hello to February… we are getting closer to Spring every day.
When the holiday rush was over I found two coasters that were forgotten. They were wrapped in plastic and still leather hard. I had been trying to talk myself into braving the cold studio and getting some work done. Opportunity was calling my name! I got out there, applied some slip and once they were dry enough, carved a design. I was so proud of myself for finally getting something done. Jeff laughed because there were only two, and I wimped out with a simple design. Cut me some slack… it was really cold in the studio!
After the bisque firing I applied liquid wax to the rims and then filled in the carving with Amaco’s Jet Black Velvet Underglaze.
Once the underglaze was dry, I wiped over it with a damp sponge. I am not too fussy with the clean up. Most won’t show through the glaze. When it does, I don’t mind the “blurry” look.
I poured the glaze on to the coasters, quickly pouring off the excess. If any spots get on the rim I just wipe it up with a damp sponge.
They came out of the kiln on Monday, so now I have a complete set of……..TWO.
With our new heater in the studio we should be able to be more productive on a regular basis this month. Coasters are on my “to make” list.
PS… Thought you might like to see how we treat the backs of our coasters. Cork buttons with adhesive backing. They come in a large roll and are relatively inexpensive. I believe they came from Widgetco.
I have organizational skills, I just don’t always use them! It’s something that I am working on. Some time ago I was in IKEA and fell in love with a Raskog cart. It came in my favorite color, the price was right (about $27) and it came home with me. My first inclination was to use it in the studio for tools. After putting it together and letting it live in the house for a few weeks, I decided I wanted it for storing art supplies. It has worked out great. I can roll it to where I need it or I can hide it away in my office. It also makes a great stand to hold the pyrometer when we are firing the gas kiln!
It doesn’t look very organized right now. I guess I need to get my organizer, organized.
We recently ordered new IKEA shelving for our gallery. They were offering free shipping so I ordered another cart with the sole purpose of studio use. The color offerings were fewer and I settled on burnt orange.
Before the cart, I had all my tools in containers and crocks on my worktable, making the table very cluttered for rolling out slabs and doing any hand building. The cart gives me flexibility to roll it near my wheel or next to the worktable. I have also been able to roll it out of the way when we are having a group in the studio for lessons.
After re-organizing my “art cart”, I should tackle some closets…
Jeff worked into the evening, loading the kiln and bricking the door, while I cooked dinner in the warm kitchen. Hmmm… I wonder who got the better end of that deal?! He lit one burner and “candled” the kiln for a couple of hours, turning the gas off just before we went to bed. Early this morning he turned one burner back on. We always fire slowly, and this time probably a little more slowly. Jeff has a vessel sink in there that is being re-fired, hence the extra caution. I am sure the firing will go late into the night.
We have been glazing pots for our first glaze firing of the new year. The weather has put us behind this month. We should have fired this kiln a week ago. With the extreme cold and the recent snow, it just didn’t get done on time. The majority of this kiln load is orders. So far everyone has been understanding about the delay.
When the temperature is barely above freezing during the day, and dips into the 20’s at night, we have to be sure that our kiln is loaded, door bricked, and ready to fire in one day. Pots can’t sit in the kiln overnight when it’s that cold. After we load today and brick up the door, we will look at the weather forecast and decide whether to fire all night or start in the morning. If it’s not too cold we can turn a burner on low for a few hours tonight to keep some heat in there until morning.
I always start glazing sponge holders first. I think of it as a warm up exercise. It helps me get into the groove of doing my least favorite job.
There are about thirty piggy banks and salt pigs in this firing. I hope I got all the names with the right color combinations! I will have a few extras to put in the Etsy shop. It’s always good to have a few that are ready to ship. Ideally I would like to have at least a dozen on hand. That is my goal for the next month.
On the home front, I actually took out the down comforter for the bed. I have rarely used it since moving to North Carolina. I am not sure who is enjoying it more, us or Sophie cat!
I love this vessel sink! So much that I would love to keep it. Unfortunately it doesn’t fit in with our 1960’s brick ranch style house. Jeff threw the bowl on the wheel using stoneware clay. The cobalt brushwork was applied when the clay was leather hard. He fired the vessel sink in the salt chamber of STARworks wood kiln. The end result it reminiscent of the pottery Jeff made while working production in New Hampshire for both Salmon Falls Pottery and Northwood Pottery.
If you click on the photo, it will take you to Jeff’s Etsy shop.
Jeff installed a gas line and this new heater, in the studio this week. The propane company delivered the the tank and did a pressure test yesterday. We were so afraid that the snow storm would delay our delivery date and we’re very thankful that they arrived on time. Of course the temps for the next few days will be 50-60 degrees! Winter is far from over and we are now ready for the next cold spell.
It seemed like a treat to work in a warm studio. It was 69 degrees in no time at all!
These are some lunch size plates that I have been working on. They are modeled after Jeff’s coaster design. I will glaze them the same way. Ash glaze sprayed in the center, un-glazed rims. This is STARworks East Fork clay. The rims will be a warm toasty color.
I almost put handles on them, but at the last minute decided against it. Maybe the next round will get handled.
No one who lived close enough, wanted to join me out there for a glass of wine!
Prior to the storm, our friend Laurie stopped by with a jigsaw puzzle. It was a relaxing way to pass the time on a snowy evening.
Thursday morning brought sunshine and a slow warm up. The snow shouldn’t stick around too long.
Jeff and I each spent some time outside clearing our small parking area and long driveway. This morning I put the flags out. Not sure we will see any customers, but we are open for business!
These big guys cracked me up yesterday when I walked into the studio! I just had to snap a photo. The big piggy banks seem to be growing in popularity. Due to the weight of the their large bodies, I have to attach the legs and sit them on their butts for awhile to allow those legs to stiffen. You can see that the third piggy is “Roman”. I have had a quite a variety of names to stamp on piggy banks for this go around. Along with Roman, there is Olive, Viggo, Vincent, Ambrose, and Hubertus!
It’s been nice to start the year with lots of piggy bank and salt pig orders, but I have to admit that I miss having a little down time to read a few books or work on other projects. But the bills keep coming no matter what time of the year and with the extreme cold here in the south, I am sure my electric bill will be a whopper!
Income is a very good thing.
I spent the eight weeks leading up to Christmas assembling piggy banks and making sure that I stamped names correctly, and then glazed them in the right combinations. Every so often I take on a challenge from a customer and do something new. This year the request was for a personalized “Bull” piggy bank. The buyer had a few requirements, but pretty much left the rest up to me.
I had a lot of fun making this one.
I was so happy with the results that I am going to add it to my repertoire.
The buyer was really happy with him as well.
When I created him, I didn’t know that there was a new movie coming out based on the children’s classic book “The Story of Ferdinand”, which I loved as a child. Maybe the “bull” piggy bank will be the best seller this year.
