Slowly slowly...

Just finished this snail mug for a friend of mine whose life motto is "slowly, slowly," meaning things often take their own sweet time, including our own growth and development. So, just relax and let things unfold. This motto could also apply to how long it took me to finish this mug!

Good things come to those who wait, right?...  Erh, wait, perhaps you live by "Early bird gets the worm"???

Take a hammer to your dreams?

In the process of moving the studio, this old piece resurfaced... I just couldn't toss her in the "junk heap" so she's now stuck in a corner of my new place.

Called "Dream On," the sculpture is of a woman's head up on two pillows. At one point, she had a propellor on her head but that broke off a couple of years ago...

 Maybe I'll put her in the yard at the house somewhere. I just couldn't take the hammer to her.

What do you this is the best process to follow with early work? Smash it? Save it? Give it away?

Glaze planning

I labeled this post "glaze planning," but the truth is I have been very lazy with keeping up a glaze journal and documenting. That works out just fine when I'm doing the tried and true – but not too good when trying to develop new work. 

It's been serendipity when things worked out well, and  plain ol' bad luck when they didn't! Not a very productive way to run a studio practice.

So, I'm committed to changing that. I have been starting out with rough ideas/sketches. Then, taking digital photos as I proceed so that I have an image to tie the notes back to... It gives me a better reference point, especially since my cycle of making, glazing and firing has been interrupted so much lately.

I'm using a new cycle of cups to try out some underglaze/glaze combos. I'll be firing tomorrow. The most promising of these will be used on larger and more complex pieces coming up. And with my notes and photos, I should be able to figure out what I did!

Studio time!

Finally got some time to get into the studio, unpack some more boxes, move things around and settle back into a semblance of routine. I made more space for hand-building and will bring in my slab roller, which is still at the other studio for a bit. 

Moving right along

We're moving the house and studio a pick-up load at a time. You uncover a lot of treasures (and some awful stuff too) when you start dismantling the place you've lived for almost 20 years... The biggest surprise: I had no idea I had acquired so much bountiful goodness in the way of art supplies! I'm rich in art supplies!

We've been making the trip and back every week,

leaving enough time to enjoy the beauty of our surroundings. Check out these pics, taken during a visit last year. (It's really not this green here yet, but will be soon!)