Tools, Toys and Training

I don't care how you phrase it. Getting new tools for me is like getting a new toy. I love the learning curve of having something that tests my old skills and teaches me new ones. The excitement isn't just the newness though. Somehow for me, the growth part is the exciting aspect. The try and the fail. Both.

Since we are diving into this new photography business with both feet, I figure we need to be ready to make a serious splash. When I started making pots over twenty years ago, my confidence level was nearing its apex. Ten years later, a grad program and a divorce later, my confidence was riddled with bullet holes.

After talking things over with many friends, we're trying to approach this new venture with our eyes looking towards the horizon and not at our feet (and definitely not behind us!).

To that end...
I bought a new camera today. Here's my new baby. I think we need to give it a name.

On top of that, I picked up this tome of an instruction manual for it at the bookstore the other day. Started reading it, and so far haven't been able to put it down for longer than half an hour.
Every now and then I look up, hoping that the UPS truck is backing up our driveway ... with my new camera!

Glaze Tectonics - Another Platter Finds a New Home

©2010 Alex Solla - Glaze Tectonics
9998D - Sold

Today a wonderful woman came into the studio, not long before we were scheduled to close. She and her mom took an immediate liking to our Glaze Tectonics series platters. We get a few folks a week who gravitate towards these beasties. They are huge. Even a small one is over 20#. Today they went home with this one. Now there's a new platter heading to Chicago!

9998D detail - Sold

9998D detail - Sold

Happy Birthday Brother o'Mine

Today is my younger brother's birthday. We just talked on the phone for the past hour. Every month or two, one of us will call the other. Sometimes it doesn't amount to much. Other times, the conversation bears wonderful fruit. I never expected we would have this.



Two years ago he nearly died. So close that when my mother called to ask me about pulling him off life support I screamed and cried. I flew to Orlando a few hours later. He was in the trauma unit, with tubes of every sort running in and out of his body. They had just had him in surgery for five hours to rebuild his face. At the time, we had no idea what had happened. Turned out he had been hit by a car as a pedestrian, and left for dead on the side of the road. His face was crushed on both sides, his right leg was nearly severed. For the next three weeks my brother would live in a chemical coma while his body healed. None of us knew what damage had been done to his brain.

When he started to come around, we found out that his motor cortex had suffered damage. His right side was paralyzed. It would be over two months before he would move his arm. His leg took even longer.

Fast forward two years: He walks, runs, and takes his awesome dog with him almost everywhere he goes. Hazey is the coolest dog I have ever met. Smart beyond words. When my mother brought Hazey into the brain rehab ward to visit with my brother... that's when things started to improve. That dog made the biggest difference in his life!

So here we are. Two brothers whose lights were very nearly snuffed out. Two comas, two years, twice as much stress as any family should bear. No mother should see her child (grown or otherwise) laid out with precious little hope for survival.

But we're here.

Tonight's conversation was amazing because I heard in my brother's voice many things I have never heard before. They gave me hope and pride. I am glad to know that he's growing up and that some day he'll live the life he wants to have. I have hope that he will keep looking to his dog to teach him all the things he needs to learn. Having been raised by wolves myself, I can think of no better teacher.

Happy birthday little brother. Glad to see another year for the two of us.

Redemption Song

This week has been tough. Since last Sunday's post, things went downhill wicked fast. I spent the better part (worst part) of twenty four hours in the local hospital with what we were afraid was a heart attack. After every bizarre test known to man, it was declared that my heart was fine, but lots of other things weren't.

By the time I left the following afternoon I had been diagnosed with diabetes (which I didn't have pre-surgery) and an anxiety disorder. Nifty eh?

Not like I have anything to be anxious about right?

Closing the studio down has been far more difficult than I thought it would be. Every time I try to explain it to someone I am met with doubt or questions about other ways of working... folks just really dont seem to get it. I guess I have to be okay with that.

Some part of me wonders, if people are actually bothered by us closing, where the hell have they been for the past half-decade? We've done mass mailings on so many occasions: Holiday studio sales, seconds sales, Art Trail... and each year we've seen fewer return customers. Weird to say the least.

Moving on to something new seems the most logical progression. I haven't been shooting as much this month. It has just been too damned hot to think, much less shoot. As I sit here, nearly 10pm, the house is well over 80 degrees and I cant stop sweating. A cold shower sounds inviting. I can't wait for this heat to break, for the wind to blow and for it to pour down a cold soaking rain.

So what does all of this have to do with Joe Strummer and Redemption Song? Hell if I know. Joe just makes me feel better. Something about his timing/rhythm and the depth of his lyrics... it just sits well with me. Helps soothe my frustrations and allows some semblance of peace to wash over me. I've heard dozens of folks cover this tune. From Bob Marley all the way to some folks I won't name for fear of embarrassing myself by admitting that I have seen some very odd bands. I wish I had seen Joe Strummer perform. Watching his life stream by on dvd just isnt the same.

Here are the details about the closing of the studio:
August 21st, 9am-noon... three hours.... that's it. Pots are available NOW!
YES, the prices GO UP every hour of the sale.
Think scarcity, think collector's item, think about the fact that I won't be making more pots. Zilch.

Get here early and save yourself the frustration of wondering why all the pots are gone. We are already out of some things: ice cream bowls, soup mugs, pitchers, oval vases. We have LOTS of plates to choose from. Tons of bowls. But at noon on Saturday the 21st, we close this chapter. If you want pots, don't wait till the very end. The best selection of pots is NOW.


Postcards are at the printer. Should be in the mail to everyone sometime the first week in August. An email blast will go out in about two weeks. Between now and then the pots are flying off the shelves as tourists are flocking in every day.

Fingerlakes Dragonboat Races - July 2010

It took a while, but I finally was able to pull together some of yesterday's images into a slideshow. Enjoy!

Enter the Dragon (with apologies to Bruce Lee)

Today Ithaca hosts the Fingerlakes International Dragon Boat Races. Teams from all over are here. Mayhem rolled together with enough sweat, testosterone, water and fun made for a very fun race. I only stayed for the briefest time this morning. I took a few pictures while I was near the waterside. My goal is to have these posted to Zenfolio before tomorrow evening, but between now and then, I want to edit a few and really beef up a few others.

So, check out www.alexsollaphotography.zenfolio.com.... prints will be available.

Made it to Monday

Here are Monday's images of what remains in the gallery. Today is our last installment of functional pottery from the gallery. I will do a few posts this week of the BIG platters from the Glaze Tectonics series which are also available.


Top Row left to right- Blue small serving bowl $48, Forest teabowl $40, Turq dessert plate $24, Matte purple salad plate $30, Blue oval footed vase $70, Large glaze experiment platter $100
BOTTOM row-- pear teabowl $40, Forest teabowl $40, robins egg diner mug $30 ea., dessert plates $24 ea., matte purple sorbet bowl $24



TOP ROW --- Teabowls in matte purple, blue, pear, forest $40 ea., Canisters in blue and matte purple $50 ea., turq footed mug $36

BOTTOM ROW--- Pear small serving bowl $48, HG Butter dish blue (ish) $30, blue tumblers $24 ea., matte purple canister $50, footed mugs in turq and forest $36 ea., small blue teabowl $36




Top row--- small blue serving bowl $48, Pear small serving bowl $48, matte purple small serving bowl $48, forest canister $50, blue dessert plate $24, blue small mixing bowl $60, robins egg dessert plate $24.

Bottom Row--- Turq footed mug $36, blackberry oval footed vase $65, forest sorbet bowls $24 ea., blue canister$50, forest canister $50, forest footed mug $36, turq footed mug $36




Large blue serving bowl $100, med blue serving bowl $70, matte purple sorbet bowl $24, blue sorbet bowl $24, Blackberry tall teabowl $40, matte purple sorbet bowl $24, blue teabowl $40, turquoise sorbet bowl $24, Blue dessert plate $24, med blue serving bowl $70, small serving bowl Pear $48, med turquoise serving bowl $70, small lime serving bowl $48, various plates $24-36 ea., lime soup mug $36, butter sorbet bowl $24, Tangerine small serving bowl $48

Sunday's Pottery Images - Happy Fourth of July!

More pots from the studio. We are starting to see waves of tourists which means that these pots diminish on a daily basis. Speak now or forever hold your peace. Once they're gone... they're gone.

607-387-4042 voice/fax
email: info@coldspringsstudio.com



left to right--- Medium mixer in Pear $80, Large Serving bowl in Turquoise $100, sorbet bowls in pear, Blue, forest $24 ea., blackberry dessert plates $24, small mixer in Robins Egg $60, Med serving bowl in pear $70




TOP ROW---Lime sm serving bowl $48, sorbet bowls in sunset $24 ea., salad plates in lime $30 ea., diner mug in Tangerine $30, oval trays $60 ea.

BOTTOM ROW-- Dinner plates in assorted colors (lots more avail) $36 ea., sm mixer $60, diner mugs in cranberry $30 ea, salad plate $30, Lime sm serving bowl $48, sorbet bowls in sunset $24 ea.






left to right top image -- Lime small serving bowl $48, tangerine dessert plates $24 ea., lime soup mug (the only one!) $36, butter sorbet bowl $24, sm serving bowl tangerine $48, footed mug in Sunset $36, Diner mug in lime $30, sorbet bowl in Butter $24, med serving bowl in Tangerine $70

left to right, second row--- sm serving bowl tangerine $48, sm teabowl in sunset $36, cranberry diner mug $30, tangerine teabowl $40, sunset red footed mug $36, butter sm serving bowl $48, lime sorbet bowls $24 ea., sm serving bowl lime $48, diner mug tangerine $30.

Saturday's pots

That's right, if it's Saturday it must mean MORE pots.

Prices are posted under each image.
Call or email if you have questions:


607-387-4042 voice/fax
email: info@coldspringsstudio.com

Oval footed vase, $65
Med serving bowl, $70
Diner mug in lime, $30

In Butter Yellow: Med serving bowl, $70
Small serving bowl, $48



Med serving bowl, $70 Sunset red, Dinner plate, sunset red, $36ea.



Ruffled vases in Tangerine and Sunset $48 ea.
Sunset basket, $100



Butter or sunset teabowl (yunomi) $38
Lime oval pitcher, $70
Sunset and lime sorbet bowls, $24 each.




Butter yellow sorbet bowls, $24 each
Med serving bowl in Sunset, $70
Spoonrest $12


Dessert plate in Tangerine $24 (lots of other colors too)
Dinner plates in Butter, and lots of other colors $36
Oval footed vase, $65 tangerine




Tumblers in Tangerine and sunset $24 ea.
Spoonrests in lime $12
Diner mugs in Butter yellow, $30 ea.
Sorbet bowls in Tangerine (and cranberry in the back) $24 ea.



Small serving bowls in Sunset and Tangerine $48 each
Butter teabowl, $40


Lime oval pitcher, $70
Lime diner mugs, $30
Lime dessert plate, $24
Tangerine spoonrest $12

Friday's Posting of the Ever-Dwindling Pile 'o Pottery

More pots. Prices are posted under each image.
Call or email if you have questions:


607-387-4042 voice/fax
email: info@coldspringsstudio.com

Dessert plates (in lots of colors!), $24 ea.
Large mixing bowls $100 ea.
Medium mixing bowls $80 ea.
Small mixing bowls $60 ea.

Dessert plates (in lots of colors!), $24 ea.

Canisters, $50 ea.


Salad plates, $30 ea.

Dessert plates (in lots of colors!), $24 ea.
Large mixing bowls $100 ea.
Medium mixing bowls $80 ea.
Small mixing bowls $60 ea.

Dessert plates (in lots of colors!), $24 ea.
Large mixing bowls $100 ea.
Medium mixing bowls $80 ea.
Small mixing bowls $60 ea.

Dessert plates (in lots of colors!), $24 ea.
Large mixing bowls $100 ea.
Medium mixing bowls $80 ea.
Small mixing bowls $60 ea.

Thursday's pots from the studio

More pots. Prices are posted under each image.
Call or email if you have questions:


607-387-4042 voice/fax
email: info@coldspringsstudio.com


Dinner plates, (lots of color options - call and see what we have!) $36/each.

Canisters, $50/ea.

Canisters, $50/ea.



Canisters, $50/ea. Spoonrests, $12/ea.



Canisters, $50/ea.

Matte Stony Blue small mixing bowl, $60

Salad plates (we have LOTS of other colors too... call and ask what's in stock) $30/each.

Lime Green teabowl with slip trailing and stamped texture, $40

Matte Purple Teabowl, $40.