Not Knowing

It's very hard not really knowing how far this economic instability is going to travel. This morning I was reading about how larger institutions like hotels and grocery stores and shopping malls are starting to have their properties foreclosed by banks. WOW. That is wild. Makes pottery seem at once insignificant and yet simultaneously enormously relevant.

Objects made by hand are so crucial to the well-being of a great society. I've spoken with a lot of people who assume that somehow technology is going to solve all of our problems. I disagree. If we are to survive and prosper, I really think that it will be due to our ability to empathize and to share in the stories of others. I have been reading A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future by Daniel Pink, and I am finding so many social relevances that (I hope) may finally be put into play. Give it a read. I hope you are as surprised as I was.

Making LOTS of stuff - including pies and mashed taters

HAPPY THANKSGIVING to everyone.

This has been an insane week. So many firings that I cant remember a day without loading or unloading pots. Kiln shelves dont even get cold to the touch before they are heading back into the toaster. Had my first "seconds" in weeks this morning. Some of our Forest Green pots came out with thin spots around the rim of a few pots. No fun!

A few people have asked me to post more images of how we make our plates and oval trays. So here they are! We're going to do a short weekend workshop on making and using these wooden forms. Hope we can pull it off sometime in either Feb or March.

Wet, Wild and Wintery Monday Night

Coming home from Hockey on Monday night, the slushy roads were just bouncing all this colored light everywhere. Had to grab a few shots. Definitely food for future photoshoots.

Working on holiday cards and thank you cards

We have been trying to figure out ways of thanking our patrons who see us through all the rough spots any studio has. They show up in inclement weather for openings, they find us at shows when we get our booth space moved, ... most of all, they appreciate all the work we do in the studio. They bring our work into their homes and along with it... part of ourselves.

So, we've been working on ideas for holiday greeting cards and potential thank you cards.
Here are a few ideas.

Stairway

How to tell when your stairs have been designed by an engineer.
They STAY level the whole time you're building.

The past few weeks are beginning to resolve into some sort of cohesive image. The trench is done. The furnace repair parts are in hand. The plumbers are coming out Friday to hook it all up. We have finished our last out of town show. And last night, as darkness came over everything, we put the deck railing on our new steps. Still need to do the stair railing but with the forecast saying nothing but rain and snow for the next week, it's hard to work outdoors.

So here are some pics of what we've been up to. Enjoy.

The Fine Craft Show in Rochester

We're finally home after a long weekend at the Fine Craft Show in Rochester.
We met some new faces, made a few new friends, and had a good time. As with all of our shows this year, sales were off. Probably made less than half what we made at this same show two years ago. Somehow it doesn't surprise me at all.

The good: This show IS the tops when it comes to making an artist feel good at a show. They pamper you in the most awesome ways. Friday night before the preview party, artists are invited to a chili dinner. Some chocolate brownies helped us recharge our batteries after an exhausting setup. After closing things up at 9pm we made our way over to our host's house. Judy was the most amazing host anyone could ask for. Morning came and found us breakfasted to the hilt and ready for a new day. Dinner Saturday night was with Teddie and her husband at their home (along with about 8 other artists from the show). Feasting on salmon and pork loin is not what most shows are like for us! Sunday morning we awoke to an artist's breakfast at the museum. During show tear-down we had even MORE help than we had during set-up. Judy came and helped pack us out. The Kings were there to help schlep our boxes out to the van/trailer. Talk about a different way to look at a show. This was just about the best way one could imagine a show coming together.

Tomorrow we have a tour group of docents coming down from the Memorial Art Gallery to attend an exhibition of Edo period prints from Japan at the Johnson Museum at Cornell. After their tour at Cornell, they are stopping by here for a short talk on the influence of Japanese ceramics on our work (past and present). Should be a fun time!

Pride and Awe

This morning I am sitting here with tears in my eyes. When I listened to Obama's acceptance speech, I just cried. Watching these images of huge crowds of people taking to the streets cheering for the outcome of the election. It makes me proud. I am so glad my daughter got a chance to see this. The past eight years have made her a real cynic when it comes to politics. On my end, I have felt that way since Carter left office. Today I have hope. Real hope. It feels like the world shifted just a little bit, maybe a lot. It makes me proud to know that an intelligent, caring, hopeful, African-American man is in the White House. Rather than delve into all the negativity that this election season dragged up, I am so excited to be looking forward with optimism. This is just the coolest thing in the world.

Halloween Antics

Our first ever and FAVORITE bumper sticker. There are times you just have to say
NO to crazy freakin' wanna-be VPs.

Here are a couple pictures of Aurora's costume this year.

Through a Glass Lightly

Before the BIG DIG... just after we tore the concrete steps off.

A month later, the stairs are nearly done, the gas and waterlines have been run and the trench has been filled in.

I've been making so many pots these past few weeks that I needed a break tonight. Ironically, I have also been spending most of my mornings building stairs for the house. A month ago we tore out our concrete stairs into the house. Then we laid gas and water lines to the studio. With the trench backfilled and (somewhat) levelled, it was time to get stairs BACK into the house. With winter on the way, we all knew that the deck stairs and the sliding glass doors would not be a viable option much longer. We've all been slip sliding down the deck stairs on leaves and pine needles covered in frost and ice. Not fun.

This weekend Robert and I dove into the stair project headfirst. By Saturday afternoon we had rented a posthole digger and had made the footer holes and had begun the framing. Today we finished off the stringers for the stairs and the deck framing. All the treads have been cut and the decking is cut and ready for painting. My hope is that the week's weather will hold and we'll have perfect painting weather. If so, we could be done with this whole project before next weekend. Whew! That would be nice!

Meanwhile, I have had a few opportunities for capturing some interesting images. I love the way looking through glass changes so many things.

Glowing Light of Fall

Yesterday evening, while watching glaze on pots dry, I looked out the studio windows. The most gorgeous glow was saturating the last of the fall colors outside. So, I grabbed the camera and made the most of good light!

More Pottery Pictures are coming next month

Too many orders to fill, pack and ship this week to get more pottery pics shot. Sorry.

You'll just have to be satisfied with the fun stuff we've been shooting while driving around in the fall weather. Great time of year for awesome colors. Trees are just dripping with luscious yellows this week.

More pots in two weeks! I think I'll need a little break from throwing after this huge push for the Fine Craft Show at the Memorial Art Gallery.

Weekend images

This weekend was a study in contrasts. Saturday was rainy, cold and colorful. Sunday came on bright and windy.

Saturday found us at the Bowl-o-thon put on by Cary Joseph at the CSMA in Ithaca. I dont know the full tally of potters who showed up, but it was a lot. Gave us a chance to meet and greet, and hopefully raise funds for the CSMA. Good cause and good fun!

Cheery with sunshine, it made staying in the studio downright impossible. Sunday was gorgeous. First thing in the morning, Nancy and I went out for a brief photo excursion. The light was amazing.... perfect Fall lighting. Great yellows everywhere, and wet wet wet from Saturday's rain. Made for a good time.

OLD pots

First cylinder with Grapefruit Green - my first glaze!

I've decided to dig up more of my old OLD work. Stuff from high school and shortly thereafter. So, tonight's romp through amnesia alley brings us to my first few pots... one thrown and "altered" and the other is my first simple cylinder with my FIRST ever home-made glaze. I still look at this glaze with amazement and wonder what would have happened if my first experiments had met with greater success. I think, by and large, frustration suits me better than success.

When folks ask what it takes to get some of our glazes I never really know what to say. I could hand out formulas till the cows come home and it would be of little to no use. This Grapefruit Green is a perfect case in point.

This glaze was mixed with a paintbrush (didnt know enough to seive a glaze)... remember folks, we're going back over 20 years at this point in my glazing history. Application was by brush. So here is a glaze that was designed back in the 60's by James Chappell (Potters Complete Book Of Clays And Glazes), used LEAD as the main flux. Hey, we had lead in containers in the glaze lab, I wore gloves and mixed according to the book. Probably what everyone does their first time in the glaze lab.

A week later, after firing and while dealing with my frustration over the NOT green color.... and munching down some funky fast food burger.... I started reading the rest of Chappell's book. All of a sudden instead of seeing just the recipes, I started reading about materials and toxicity. I nearly shit myself. I had no idea how dangerous lead could be, both to myself and to any users of this final piece. I came to realize through further reading in the following months (and years) that even with well formulated stable glazes, colorants can affect solubility and safety of glazes.

So here is my first ever glaze, in all of its toxic glory.... loaded with lead and chromium.

Luna

I don't often write about our cats. They aren't studio cats. In fact, Nancy is of the mindset that animals shouldn't live in the studio due to all the dust. So, here in all her sunny glory, is Luna. Soaking up the rays on one of the rare perfect sunny fall afternoons.

Last Weekend of Art Trail

Today marks the beginning of the last weekend of Art Trail.

I love Art Trail. We meet the most amazing folks during these two weekends. Oftentimes these chance encounters become long term friendships. Last weekend was just fantastic. There really is nothing quite like having folks excited about being in your studio, seeing how pots come into being. It really changes how they view pots and the making process.

Here's a great Art Trail this weekend!

lolchicken

Politics and bedfellows and chocolate torte

I dont think anyone wants to read about my political views. Others have said much of what I would say, albeit usually with greater eloquence. So I will be brief. Today I came across a fantastic letter to the next president of the United States.

About food.

http://www.alternet.org/environment/102678/dear_mr._next_president_--_food%2C_food%2C_food/?page=entire

If you read nothing else of a political/social bent before the election, please read this.
Rather than all the depressing deplorable and reprehensible campaign posturing, this letter really tries to look at what our future holds. It is filled with optimism and collaboration. I am sure someone will say it is overly simplistic, and as one person replied on the comment section, they are just happy to have cheaper gas. As a nation, we seem to consistently miss out on seeing the greater picture.

Next topic of contention: Facebook.

A week ago a friend invited me to check out facebook.com. Having heard about the social network for a number of years, I figured, sure, why not? At first I think some part of me enjoyed the pseudo-nostalgic aspects of it. The quasi-voyeuristic nature lends itself to the isolation of the computer user. For folks too lazy to pick up a pen or even a telephone, this is the perfect way to stay in touch with friends. When someone suggested that Twitter is the new insta-blog; a more immediate way to connect with friends and family... all I could think was: oh god. we have been reduced to a culture that wants a sound bite for everything including our drab, boring-as-shit lives. Talk about depressing.

So what did I find after a week on Facebook? I found my past. I found lots of folks who I went to school with and I found/remembered the reasons I didnt stay in touch with many of them. Somewhere between humiliation, embarrassment, and frustration there was a sliver of hope that things improve with time. For now, I will call this the mythology of self: that we imagine ourselves to grow better with time. We dont.

From this mythology of my past came the demons, demi-gods and heros. All come to raise their heads from the shadows and beg the question of where I fit, where I belong. After a fair time to think on how that period in my life played out, I can safely say that my past is where it belongs; behind me. My future lays before me, with maps spread out, plans laid, and choices abound.

I guess this is where clay came into my life. Clay pushes me hard. It is never the same day to day. There is always something new to be learned, to be tried, to learn from, to fail. In my talks with my daughter I try hard to remind her that failure is the better part of learning. Trying and succeeding all the time has serious limits. Failure is a good thing and can be tons of fun too! Just ask anyone who ate the failed versions of my flourless chocolate torte.

I think I will end this entry here and hope you read the letter to the prez that I posted above. It definitely is food for thought. I am off to mix up concrete to patch the mighty big holes in my basement where we pulled water and gas pipes through the wall. Something satisfying about fixing holes in the foundation of your home. That idea seems fraught with analogy and I've had enough of that for the day.

Workin' on the Trench

I think this image says it all: Art Trail, gallery open, and backhoe waiting to fill the trench back in.

Today marks day seven of the BIG DIG. It started out as a simple goal to bring water and natural gas to the studio. I never thought I would be the one laying the pipe. Turns out, my labor is a whole lot cheaper than my plumber. So for the past four days I have been fitting the pvc pipe together, then gluing it all up today, and finally fishing the stainless steel gas line through the pvc conduit. Fun fun fun.

So here is what our driveway and yard look like right now. Of course, this is right in the middle of Art Trail! Figures.

The good news is that if all goes well tomorrow, I should begin backfilling the trench tomorrow, with the gas being hooked up probably before the week's end. Then it's back to making ice cream bowls for all those folks waiting for them!

Interesting Animari - the Kinetic Moving Sculptures of Theo Jensen

I am speechless. You simply have to see these to believe them. Watch the video.





Theo's website: http://www.strandbeest.com/

Art Trail Weekend is off to a great start

This Art Trail weekend is off to a wonderful start. The weather is fantastic, sunny and clear, not a cloud in the sky. We had a really nice crowd most of the afternoon. Lots of fun conversations. I love meeting folks who have seen our sign (sometimes for years) and finally decide this is the time to stop in. Everything changes. Once they see the inside of the studio, the gallery, our workspace... it makes everything more intimate, more social, familiar. All good.

Folks think it's very funny when they come through the door and I look just like the guy on the postcard. Yeah. That'd be me three years ago, more hair....
http://www.arttrail.com/artists/SOLLA.html

What made the day truly unique and meaningful... had not nearly as much to do with Art Trail or our studio. I FINALLY managed to punch a BIG hole into our stone foundation of our house so I can run a gas line to our studio. Made the hole for the waterline earlier in the week with our friend Jeb. He made it look easy, so I figured I would tackle the gas line on my own. Took most of the day, all of my energy, and ALL of the profanities I could muster. But the rocks parted, the sky smiled on me, and in the end, we have a PIPE sticking out of our basement. The mice think this is cool. Tomorrow, pictures of the holes in the wall and the trench in our driveway.