So what's cookin' ?

We had an awesome firing this week. Took a lot longer to clean things up than it used to, but it added lots more pots to already full shelves. So, rather than bore you with more words, let's SEE SOME POTS!

New Pots just keep on coming

©2010 Cold Springs Studio Pottery - Alex Solla

©2010 Cold Springs Studio Pottery - Alex Solla

I haven't blogged much about making pots lately. By and large, it's because it has been very difficult to make work since the surgery. Each firing brings with it though, a sense of what is to come. No matter how great a firing turns out, the next BEST pot is always in the next firing. This week the firing was nearly all Cranberry. Unfortunately, Cranberry never photographs well. I have some ideas I would like to try the next time we set up to shoot... but for now you'll have to settle for everything except Cranberry.

©2010 Cold Springs Studio Pottery - Alex Solla

©2010 Cold Springs Studio Pottery - Alex Solla

©2010 Cold Springs Studio Pottery - Alex Solla

What's Going On In The Studio?

I get asked frequently: What's going on with the studio?

Well, errmm, uh, well... you see.. uh,.... there's this problem.... well... uh.
The problem is that making pots is a lot harder when your ostomy has herniated. My belly hurts a lot more than it ever did prior to being operated on. It makes it really uncomfortable to stand and lean against my stomach at the wheelhead. In fact, it makes things almost not worthwhile.





At first, my arms and chest had a really difficult time of things... due mostly to the muscular dysfunction I have been dealing with post-coma. The latest and more frustrating issue is this darned herniation. It is bad enough having a bag attached to my midsection, but now that it has grown in size to where I look like my tummy ate a coconut; it really gets in the way.





My hope is that within a year, I will find a surgeon willing and able to re-attach my plumbing and get this whole process reversed. The idea of another surgery is terrifying. (for those just tuning in, see my blog posts back in Nov, Dec and Jan for the exciting ramifications of coma-dreams)

You may ask yourself... so WHAT HAS been going on in the studio? For the most part, I am getting a small amount of pottery made each month since January. Not a lot, but good pots nonetheless. This month we managed to re-create a color we had been aiming for unsuccessfully for over 8 years: Matte Purple. I have been making teabowls and canisters and footed mugs mostly. Hannah has been making LOTS of plates and sorbet bowls. I have no idea what's going to happen when she leaves here at the end of the month. Ideas? Suggestions?



This week was spent photographing things instead of making pots. First series of images from today's shooting have been edited and here they are: TEABOWLS.

Trying to Get Ahead

Getting ahead is oftentimes a pointless endeavour. During the Winter 2008-09, I tried my darndest to get ahead. I figured if I threw enough pots, we would have enough to carry us through the Summer and into Fall. We did great. We have consistently had mountains of bisqueware just waiting for an open kiln. And yet we never got ahead.

Inevitably, something goes awry. First it was an acute case of diverticulitis that way-laid me back in June. Tuesday I go in for surgery to resect my colon. No fun. It means I will be down and out for 4-6 weeks. For the first two weeks, my mom will be here (from Miami!). R&R is such an uncommon thing around here. The concept of actually relaxing and recuperating is such an anomaly. But I am going to be a good patient, and I am going to utilize my time out of the studio to work on other non-clay things.

I have decided to dive feet first into the Strobist-world. Just in case you've never heard of Strobist, check out David Hobby's blog. If you make images with a camera, you'll find his blog an endless source of information and insight.

I also aim to begin working on articles I promised myself I would write during the winter. I think this will also be a perfect time to pull together various ideas for classes I would like to teach. Writing a curriculum always stirs up writer's block in me, so this is a fine opportunity to reach around the subject from the other side.

Until I am back in the studio, Hannah, Nancy and Aurora will have to make do without my throwing. I have made a pile of pots this past week, and hopefully will see many of them glazed before the end of the month. Here's a quick shot of what's been happening in the studio this week.

Learning Slow

Sorbet bowls stacked

Teabowls, canisters, and mixing bowls

Or should I say slow at learning? Or learning to be slow?

This has been a very intense week for me. Between preparing for surgery, finishing orders and trying to get projects finished in the house... I have been going non-stop. While working on installing two new ceiling fans I realized I had to stop. Not because I wanted to, or because I was done... but rather because I had hit a wall and had no idea how to finish the project. Wiring has never been easy for me, but I enjoy the problem solving aspect. This was a toughie though. Lots of odd permutations of three-way switches and too many wires for the boxes. So I sat down and stared at it. For hours. I stopped working at 10pm, after nearly 4 hours of sweating and trying to bludgeon my way through. Two hours later I woke up and called my construction-guru Lee. After ten minutes I had a completely new approach. Solved the problem. Next morning Nancy and I finished off the fans, wrapped it all up, and sure enough, it worked PERFECTLY.

What did I learn? Slow is a good thing. Go slow. Learn from the slowness.






I had planned on getting a glaze firing through on Friday. Didn't happen. Three orders are waiting to ship... waiting on pots from this firing. Instead of rushing things, I waited till Sunday to fire. I had more energy, more time to glaze pots, more time to ensure I wasn't missing something. This morning I got to unload the kiln at 7am. What a gorgeous firing! Everything I needed for the orders turned out great. Such a relief.

I have been needing to take pictures of things in progress in the studio for weeks. Now that Dana and Justin are gone I find it a lot harder to get the camera out. We share a love for taking pictures... and without their feedback, I find it much harder to take the time to play. (play meaning take pictures, experiment, try new stuff)

To that end, I played today. I took my new light diffuser, set it on the stand and rigged it so that I could filter some of the light in the kiln room. Made the images very different. I think, as I slow down, I am starting to see the light differently. Our eyes crave contrast. Not sure why. Probably has to do with pattern recognition. But our camera sees so much less range tone-wise. By filtering some of the light, the camera can see closer to what my eyes perceive. At least, I think that's what is happening!

So what's next with this slow learning? Well, being down for 4-10 weeks post surgery is going to mean NOT making pots for a while. What else can I do during that time? That leads to a lot of questions and opportunities. I dont normally have down-time. Perhaps this will allow me to pursue some of the writing I have wanted to do. Maybe I'll get more reading done? Maybe I will catch up on all the bookkeeping I have been procrastinating on. Perhaps I will be able to add more images to our WholesaleCrafts.com site. Heck, for that matter, maybe I will finally be able to organize all of my images. I need some way of figuring out where all my images live. Ideas?

New Pots on Etsy today

Finally had a few minutes this week to get new images shot of some of our recent work. Lots of pitchers in these last few firings, so it was time to get some new images made. Also tried some experiments with our cranberry glaze. Took it a bit hotter and it is a MUCH better glaze now. Really like it. Unfortunately, since we dont normally have time or need to fire much hotter, and it makes all of our other glazes look weird, we need to reformulate the Cranberry. Should be ready in a few weeks I hope!

The Butter Yellow is a glaze we semi-retired last year. It just wasn't moving off the shelves nearly as fast as all of our other glazes. Sure enough, we tell folks we aren't gonna make it anymore and suddenly there's a furor! Go figure. So we brought it back for this year. When this batch is out, we're done with it.

Teabowls

I have been in a mood for teabowls lately. Considering how few I make each year, this is sort of odd. Each one seems to have more rippling and folding or twisting than the one before it. The decorating is mostly slip trailing and facetting. The facetting is usually done with a spring on a cheese cutter, but this week I am finding my plain old wire to be more interesting. Here are a few images.