I know, I know, I've been totally baby obsessed and have only touched clay once in the last 4 months.
Unfortunately, my twins miscarried at the age of 18 weeks and 6 days. I'm still in the throws of woes but it looks like pottery is back on the agenda.
I don't currently have a job. The work I was doing before the pregnancy was winding down because of the upcoming difficulties in camera lifting equipment while pregnant with twins and because of the possibility of going on bedrest at any given moment.
These are no longer issues. Since I don't have a day to day job right now, I need to keep busy. And since I didn't really do any pottery during the pregnancy, that's something I can do that I won't associate with my sadness.
So while I hunt for a regular job, I'll be spending a good portion of my days furiously making mugs so I can have a very full shop for holiday season 2011.
So I'm sorry to have left you all for so long but it's time for Buster and me to get back to business!
Any requests?
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Sunday, December 5, 2010
I played in the clay
It's been a few months since I've had the inclination to do any pottery but I gave it a go again today.
It made Buster very happy. I haven't been as attentive to him as usual because he's an outside cat which means he might carry that bacteria that pregnant women are supposed to avoid. So if I do pet him, I have to wash up right after. I haven't been ignoring him, just not as attentive as usual. So he was quite happy to sit above me while I spun clay for an hour and then I gave him a good 5 minute nurfle.
Made a bunch of mug bodies. But I think when I go to put handles on them tomorrow I'm going to find the mugs to be too obnoxiously large to keep. Just wasn't quite on the ball like I usually am. But that's no surprise. It's been months, I'm pregnant, and my coordination is off.
Oh well, I had fun, Buster had fun, and maybe something will come of it!
It made Buster very happy. I haven't been as attentive to him as usual because he's an outside cat which means he might carry that bacteria that pregnant women are supposed to avoid. So if I do pet him, I have to wash up right after. I haven't been ignoring him, just not as attentive as usual. So he was quite happy to sit above me while I spun clay for an hour and then I gave him a good 5 minute nurfle.
Made a bunch of mug bodies. But I think when I go to put handles on them tomorrow I'm going to find the mugs to be too obnoxiously large to keep. Just wasn't quite on the ball like I usually am. But that's no surprise. It's been months, I'm pregnant, and my coordination is off.
Oh well, I had fun, Buster had fun, and maybe something will come of it!
Friday, October 22, 2010
Finally did something!
I've been out of the pottery studio for a couple of months now because my pregnancy has me wanting to do nothing but sit and veg.
But today I actually did something useful. I loaded the kiln. Huzzzah! I might actually be able to fire it on Sunday and have new things to glaze on Monday. Woot!
And just to make it easy on myself, I loaded it full of big stuff. So this load will probably yield about 10 total items rather than 50. I'm hoping that will encourage me to get enough stuff glazed for a glaze firing later next week.
But today I actually did something useful. I loaded the kiln. Huzzzah! I might actually be able to fire it on Sunday and have new things to glaze on Monday. Woot!
And just to make it easy on myself, I loaded it full of big stuff. So this load will probably yield about 10 total items rather than 50. I'm hoping that will encourage me to get enough stuff glazed for a glaze firing later next week.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Just in case anyone is interested
I am still writing, I'm just writing about my pregnancy rather than pottery at the moment. But I also realize that not everyone who reads a pottery blog wants to read about a pregnancy. So I started a new blog so those who are interested can read it and those who aren't don't get stuck with irrelevant life updates.
So, here's the link to First Time Twins, my blog about being pregnant with, then hopefully raising a pair of twins.
So, here's the link to First Time Twins, my blog about being pregnant with, then hopefully raising a pair of twins.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Ummmmm, I'm confused
Would someone please explain this bowl to me?
Obviously it's quite lovely. Thrown nicely, the glazes work very well together. But here's what I don't get - why would someone want handles in the inside of their bowl? Doesn't that kind of defeat the purpose of a handle? It's $175 and it seems practically useless to me.
Is this some special bowl where handles designed in that fashion have some logistical purpose that I'm not aware of? I'm perfectly willing to accept my own ignorance if that's what this is. I had no idea why you might want holes on the side of the bowl just under the rim until I saw a bowl like that with chopsticks sitting in place. I'm hoping there's an answer similar to that one that I'm just currently unaware of.
And no, I don't go searching out quandaries like this. And I really hope the artist isn't insulted that I don't get it because I really do see that it's very well made. I just don't understand why it was made. I'm hoping to be enlightened here. I saw a link in my shop stats and my bowls just happened to be right next to this one on that collection page.
*UPDATE* The going theory in the Artfire forums is that you stick chopsticks upright in the holes to keep them from rolling away. I suppose that could be the purpose but the artist says nothing about holding utensils and calls them handles so I'm still a bit skeptical.
Obviously it's quite lovely. Thrown nicely, the glazes work very well together. But here's what I don't get - why would someone want handles in the inside of their bowl? Doesn't that kind of defeat the purpose of a handle? It's $175 and it seems practically useless to me.
Is this some special bowl where handles designed in that fashion have some logistical purpose that I'm not aware of? I'm perfectly willing to accept my own ignorance if that's what this is. I had no idea why you might want holes on the side of the bowl just under the rim until I saw a bowl like that with chopsticks sitting in place. I'm hoping there's an answer similar to that one that I'm just currently unaware of.
And no, I don't go searching out quandaries like this. And I really hope the artist isn't insulted that I don't get it because I really do see that it's very well made. I just don't understand why it was made. I'm hoping to be enlightened here. I saw a link in my shop stats and my bowls just happened to be right next to this one on that collection page.
*UPDATE* The going theory in the Artfire forums is that you stick chopsticks upright in the holes to keep them from rolling away. I suppose that could be the purpose but the artist says nothing about holding utensils and calls them handles so I'm still a bit skeptical.
I won, yay!!
I put forth some information about the deal that was going on at Artfire and by doing so, I won an awesome prize. I won a new tabletop photo studio! Wooot! Holla!
It arrived quite a while ago, but I had, um, issues.
You see, I set it up, and took all sorts of pictures of it (yes, picture of the stuff that's supposed to help me take pictures) and immediately broke one of the special bulbs from the really awesome lights. Before I ever turned it on.
Aren't I brilliant?
So I was a little upset and starting packing everything away. And then when it came time to tear down the actual the tents, I could not for the life of me figure out how to get these pop up things unpopped! I was turning them every which way and pushing and pulling. I brought up the instructions from the website and that didn't help.
And that's when the pregnancy hormones kicked in. Swear words spewed, tears flowed, tents got thrown across the room, it was pretty ugly. Full on hormonal melt down.
When the husband finally came home, I threw the tents at him and made him do it. Once everything was nice and packed, I hid them under the china cabinet until I could look at it all again.
I braved the equipment today and took some pictures that I'll be using to post some new products this week.
So now that I'm over it, just want to say Thanks Artfire! I love my new studio!
This photo has not gone through any retouching yet. I'm not even sure it's going to need any cuz thanks to the new lights, the whites are actually white and it seems pretty evenly lit to me!
It arrived quite a while ago, but I had, um, issues.
You see, I set it up, and took all sorts of pictures of it (yes, picture of the stuff that's supposed to help me take pictures) and immediately broke one of the special bulbs from the really awesome lights. Before I ever turned it on.
Aren't I brilliant?
So I was a little upset and starting packing everything away. And then when it came time to tear down the actual the tents, I could not for the life of me figure out how to get these pop up things unpopped! I was turning them every which way and pushing and pulling. I brought up the instructions from the website and that didn't help.
And that's when the pregnancy hormones kicked in. Swear words spewed, tears flowed, tents got thrown across the room, it was pretty ugly. Full on hormonal melt down.
When the husband finally came home, I threw the tents at him and made him do it. Once everything was nice and packed, I hid them under the china cabinet until I could look at it all again.
I braved the equipment today and took some pictures that I'll be using to post some new products this week.
So now that I'm over it, just want to say Thanks Artfire! I love my new studio!
This photo has not gone through any retouching yet. I'm not even sure it's going to need any cuz thanks to the new lights, the whites are actually white and it seems pretty evenly lit to me!
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Kitty updates
Buster found a bug.
And we have 2 cats that like to wrestle to claim the bed that's on the corner of my desk. So my husband was kind enough to bring home a BIG bed so the two of them can share it without being all squished. Here's how they usually look trying to share the bed.
And now that the big bed is here, here's how the 17 pound cat handled it.
And here's how our mini kitty, only 7lbs handled it.
*sigh*
And we have 2 cats that like to wrestle to claim the bed that's on the corner of my desk. So my husband was kind enough to bring home a BIG bed so the two of them can share it without being all squished. Here's how they usually look trying to share the bed.
And now that the big bed is here, here's how the 17 pound cat handled it.
And here's how our mini kitty, only 7lbs handled it.
*sigh*
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
I know I'm not posting much
Howdy howdy,
I realize I'm not posting a whole lot but this blog is not abandoned. Right now my life consists of channel surfing from the couch because I'm simply too exhausted to do anything else.
I'm told I should get a second wind in a few weeks so hopefully I'll have more pottery stuff to talk about again.
But I just didn't want you to think that the blog has been forgotten cuz it hasn't. Just kinda paused.
I realize I'm not posting a whole lot but this blog is not abandoned. Right now my life consists of channel surfing from the couch because I'm simply too exhausted to do anything else.
I'm told I should get a second wind in a few weeks so hopefully I'll have more pottery stuff to talk about again.
But I just didn't want you to think that the blog has been forgotten cuz it hasn't. Just kinda paused.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Some Artfire News
If anyone has been pondering jumping ship at Etsy or if you just want to put your eggs in another basket, NOW is the time to try Artfire. Even if only to test it out.
I have really found Artfire to be a great site for commerce. The foundation is strong, there are new tools everyday, customers of all kinds (buyers and sellers) are heard and their opinions are turned into action, and the admin here work their asses off to not only provide all of this for us, but to be available whenever a question is asked.
And now they are making it better by offering full services at only US $5.95 per month! If you lock it in, that's your price for life. But they will only do this if they get 20,000 shops to do it. That goal looks pretty attainable. The ability to sign up for the deal has only been active for a day and there's already 2,550 signed up.
To put that in perspective, that's only 20 cents per day. What can you get for 20 cents on other sites that allow you to sell your stuff?
And there are no other fees. No backend final value fees, no additional fees for each thing you list, nothing like that. That's under $6 a month to have a fully functioning store of unlimited size and sales on the net.
So lock in your price here so we can all get in on this deal!
I have really found Artfire to be a great site for commerce. The foundation is strong, there are new tools everyday, customers of all kinds (buyers and sellers) are heard and their opinions are turned into action, and the admin here work their asses off to not only provide all of this for us, but to be available whenever a question is asked.
And now they are making it better by offering full services at only US $5.95 per month! If you lock it in, that's your price for life. But they will only do this if they get 20,000 shops to do it. That goal looks pretty attainable. The ability to sign up for the deal has only been active for a day and there's already 2,550 signed up.
To put that in perspective, that's only 20 cents per day. What can you get for 20 cents on other sites that allow you to sell your stuff?
And there are no other fees. No backend final value fees, no additional fees for each thing you list, nothing like that. That's under $6 a month to have a fully functioning store of unlimited size and sales on the net.
So lock in your price here so we can all get in on this deal!
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Ok, new topic
I'll plug in pottery whenever I can but since I'm slowing down at the moment, I'm not sure how many new thoughts I'm going to have on the subject.
After 2 rounds of IVF, I'm pregnant! And according to the hormone levels, it looks very likely that it's going to be twins. We'll know for sure in about 2 weeks.
So this means I've got cramps, I just want to sleep all day, I can hardly eat just because nothing is appealing, and I've got heartburn. None of these things helps me to hunch over a wheel for hours on end. I'm hoping that things will stabilize at some point and I'll want to do something with my life other than nap in front of the tv. But right now, napping in front of the tv is about all I can tolerate doing.
After 2 rounds of IVF, I'm pregnant! And according to the hormone levels, it looks very likely that it's going to be twins. We'll know for sure in about 2 weeks.
So this means I've got cramps, I just want to sleep all day, I can hardly eat just because nothing is appealing, and I've got heartburn. None of these things helps me to hunch over a wheel for hours on end. I'm hoping that things will stabilize at some point and I'll want to do something with my life other than nap in front of the tv. But right now, napping in front of the tv is about all I can tolerate doing.
Friday, September 10, 2010
New topic?
I realize this blog has pretty much just been about pottery and I would assume that the followers of this blog follow it because they are interested in pottery.
I write for a couple of reasons. First, for my own future reference. Second, because I feel like I have words that I want to go out into the world but I don't want to burden anyone who isn't interested in hearing them. Third, I suffer from open book syndrome where I have absolutely no shame whatsoever in telling people anything and everything about me. I am even compelled to do so from time to time.
So here's my question for you all. I'm starting a new life phase and really want to chat/bitch/moan/rejoice/talk about it. But it has nothing to do with pottery at all. Would you prefer that this blog stay entirely on topic (pottery) or would you keep reading (hopefully enjoying) if I talked about my personal stuff as well?
There's a little poll in the upper left so let me know what I should do.
I write for a couple of reasons. First, for my own future reference. Second, because I feel like I have words that I want to go out into the world but I don't want to burden anyone who isn't interested in hearing them. Third, I suffer from open book syndrome where I have absolutely no shame whatsoever in telling people anything and everything about me. I am even compelled to do so from time to time.
So here's my question for you all. I'm starting a new life phase and really want to chat/bitch/moan/rejoice/talk about it. But it has nothing to do with pottery at all. Would you prefer that this blog stay entirely on topic (pottery) or would you keep reading (hopefully enjoying) if I talked about my personal stuff as well?
There's a little poll in the upper left so let me know what I should do.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
I left Etsy, Part Deux
Readers of my blog know that I left Etsy quite a while ago. Quite frankly, Etsy sucks.
Now, all things are subjective of course. And I realize that not everyone shares my view on this.
So I present you this
Etsy's one function, the sole reason it exists is to provide sellers with a working shopping cart. Here is someone complaining that their customers are unable to complete any transactions. I think she was quite fortunate to have customers willing to go the extra mile and tell her what the problem was rather than to just walk away and find what they wanted to buy elsewhere.
And how does Etsy respond? The first response is to say "contact us so we can look into it". Um, the original post says she's already contacted you several times you douchnozzles. And what's the second thing we here from the admins? "Don't find a way to make these sales on your own because that would be fee avoidance!"
They are so damned worried about getting their pennies that they would insist that a seller lose several days worth of sales due to a broken shopping cart rather than to find a way to allow those customers to finish a transaction!
Etsy - you get paid to provide a shopping cart. You are not providing this person a shopping cart. Ergo, you don't deserve to get paid.
There are not enough swear words in the English language to express my thoughts on this!
Now, all things are subjective of course. And I realize that not everyone shares my view on this.
So I present you this
Etsy's one function, the sole reason it exists is to provide sellers with a working shopping cart. Here is someone complaining that their customers are unable to complete any transactions. I think she was quite fortunate to have customers willing to go the extra mile and tell her what the problem was rather than to just walk away and find what they wanted to buy elsewhere.
And how does Etsy respond? The first response is to say "contact us so we can look into it". Um, the original post says she's already contacted you several times you douchnozzles. And what's the second thing we here from the admins? "Don't find a way to make these sales on your own because that would be fee avoidance!"
They are so damned worried about getting their pennies that they would insist that a seller lose several days worth of sales due to a broken shopping cart rather than to find a way to allow those customers to finish a transaction!
Etsy - you get paid to provide a shopping cart. You are not providing this person a shopping cart. Ergo, you don't deserve to get paid.
There are not enough swear words in the English language to express my thoughts on this!
Friday, August 13, 2010
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
I've been showing up in a lot of collections
I've received over a dozen notifications that I've been included in an Artfire collection.
Woot!!
Woot!!
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