tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14222610999353124642024-03-12T19:31:45.501-07:00Uga Buga BowlsThis is my pottery blog. Offering pottery tips, general musings, and sometimes a video or two.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03834196556216136587noreply@blogger.comBlogger77125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1422261099935312464.post-77103473338684542892011-09-27T19:25:00.000-07:002011-09-27T19:25:40.452-07:00Makin biscuits!<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I love runny, drippy glazes. And I really like experimenting with them. Unfortunately, no matter how well I kiln wash my shelves, I end up doing a lot of maintenance to clean up the drips from the mugs and plates that secure themselves to the shelves.<div><br />
</div><div>So I've made some biscuits! By extruding a thin coil, I was able to make several of these triangular clay things. All of them are nice and flat and each one is the same height as another. I intend to kiln wash them, and then I can put them under any pieces with potentially runny glazes.</div><div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0LZF35WdzJIIA0P857e0qMx8Jj6njNq669YffVMKviPe17QP1vcffE3Pll5qGBfqNBvUoIJ6g2XM7Em_2x8fxiKVY4358On4rIfKELB0WysZKu7xtuSrcYGF_gg8WHfY92peTJpksbrU/s1600/IMG_20110927_191746.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0LZF35WdzJIIA0P857e0qMx8Jj6njNq669YffVMKviPe17QP1vcffE3Pll5qGBfqNBvUoIJ6g2XM7Em_2x8fxiKVY4358On4rIfKELB0WysZKu7xtuSrcYGF_gg8WHfY92peTJpksbrU/s320/IMG_20110927_191746.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I chose a triangular shape because I can add several together to help guard my shelves no matter how large a piece might be.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Part of the goal was to make them as short as possible so I don't lose a lot of kiln space.</div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03834196556216136587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1422261099935312464.post-29665245849696530062011-05-17T21:13:00.000-07:002011-05-17T21:13:05.443-07:00Studio revampI'm currently applying for a job as a production potter. It's pay by the piece, and she's currently wanting 100-200 pieces per week. If I get this, it will be a fabulous job for me.<br />
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But my studio was needing a major overhaul because built for efficiency it was not. It also needed a major spring cleaning. It's a shed, it gets gross over time. So I finally got around to it and did the overhaul!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKYghDX2Ud8gzoFn1Li8q8-QJK-McVLOBzWSVLFg2xeW9b9w5etgNZ8a2ivP4NiUrvS9hD6f4mitTmtB37IhjOTvSi0p7bM81KRQs-v6Dn_upCqOIPd08XuFNn8DtZdkGExT9Mk-znZpc/s1600/shelves+at+door.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKYghDX2Ud8gzoFn1Li8q8-QJK-McVLOBzWSVLFg2xeW9b9w5etgNZ8a2ivP4NiUrvS9hD6f4mitTmtB37IhjOTvSi0p7bM81KRQs-v6Dn_upCqOIPd08XuFNn8DtZdkGExT9Mk-znZpc/s640/shelves+at+door.jpg" width="478" /></a></div><br />
These are the shelves behind my door. They used to be covered in random crap but I threw all of that out.<br />
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1) A hand held bug zapper. Like I said, it's a shed, and it's fly season.<br />
2) Small shelves for random personal items. I've got some incense, safety goggles, duct tape, stuff like that.<br />
3) These shelves will be set aside for only the production pottery. The pieces are 4.5 inches tall so I changed each shelf to a height of 7 inches. I think these shelves will hold about 150 of the items.<br />
4) My MIL gave me this house coat which is a little too small for me. It's now going to be my pottery overalls type of thing.<br />
5) Went to McLendons and got legs for the shelves so I could raise them up. Shelves on the floor never get used and this way I have storage underneath.<br />
6) Recycled clay that's ready to use.<br />
7) Bucket/extra seat. I keep kiln wash in the bucket.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh32kwNJKkJNeyb4BnBlG8BJycBOxUYCZhyzsrxeAW5ABKeb2QXEsbg3FjuAFdpbC5wxl2YG6fZNoQC7K9-KN-B83Z6Y5YeunhBRbMahbCeR4iWj5lMqnM-TK7CzLVeF3b_6fUKIazvaNs/s1600/table.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh32kwNJKkJNeyb4BnBlG8BJycBOxUYCZhyzsrxeAW5ABKeb2QXEsbg3FjuAFdpbC5wxl2YG6fZNoQC7K9-KN-B83Z6Y5YeunhBRbMahbCeR4iWj5lMqnM-TK7CzLVeF3b_6fUKIazvaNs/s400/table.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">General work table.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">1) Buster bed. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">2) Bug repeller thingy. It's a shed, I don't like bugs, I'm doing my best.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">3) Heat lamp. Our geckos died so we had an extra heat lamp lieing around.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">4) Recycling/drying center. Scraps that need to be dried go on the black wire shelves. The pan under the shelves catches whatever falls through and is where I reconstitute and mix the scraps. The white things are plaster molds that I use as drying bowls for the reconstituted clay. They sit on a wire frame of a table so they can dry from all sides.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheL5PV2KLOqUkMQUpQPZmo14GE6vteQfGPzZgBYnLLrlMWhx1eso4SrAaypXYFzSetUkbefzCrfE4pMegtg98GQqZGBMscn_wWcOrOicv1IdxxyEoiVMQqnvXzWgTmOoOh343g03R33j8/s1600/clay+storage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheL5PV2KLOqUkMQUpQPZmo14GE6vteQfGPzZgBYnLLrlMWhx1eso4SrAaypXYFzSetUkbefzCrfE4pMegtg98GQqZGBMscn_wWcOrOicv1IdxxyEoiVMQqnvXzWgTmOoOh343g03R33j8/s320/clay+storage.jpg" width="320" /></a>Clay storage under the table. Put most of the clay on a dolly so I can easily just pull it out rather than wrestling under the table.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRfv_Xg06rUki8y-bZ-9PzFmTYq1lTHDFWts-rkVRStviJbH28zffcFqO1LOq09LGucbLaz_u02l2iX8R32ctn27Pb2D-9SWb4vz3PomJldgGCn9A8pSqrRUqfgDbBqFjGXv4XxJmZrNk/s1600/peg+board.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRfv_Xg06rUki8y-bZ-9PzFmTYq1lTHDFWts-rkVRStviJbH28zffcFqO1LOq09LGucbLaz_u02l2iX8R32ctn27Pb2D-9SWb4vz3PomJldgGCn9A8pSqrRUqfgDbBqFjGXv4XxJmZrNk/s640/peg+board.jpg" width="476" /></a>Peg board of stuff I actually use. Plastic bags, random tools, big spoons for mixing the clay, extruder. Peg board, it's a wonderful thing!</div><br />
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<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYLO6LN_ifUd_64LnWcCucHGwNYZGbS9XCBSRXWf7CAOZA2LoLJ6lNjm47FjEZofpbLMdR_NWd9v4_aPBprssEpSgw1FUIPTXSKIsqjgmxJX1f8y0MsgmoPitVvWDXhff7vPweFfecuhQ/s1600/stamps.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYLO6LN_ifUd_64LnWcCucHGwNYZGbS9XCBSRXWf7CAOZA2LoLJ6lNjm47FjEZofpbLMdR_NWd9v4_aPBprssEpSgw1FUIPTXSKIsqjgmxJX1f8y0MsgmoPitVvWDXhff7vPweFfecuhQ/s400/stamps.jpg" width="400" /></a>Finally have a place to keep the few stamps I do use!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiErsr-6AnZyuZ2VLJ_Epkh66LR-hpRdHzhYv7dKN2PecAykk_3mpitet9Vv-KSYwOxJUiembumYkTbSq9eIaZ0DdWD-Pu3AwWhjp69hUCo0kxybSlJhvsI4nz2JCwOm1BeRXIrL6w96JY/s1600/metal+shelves+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiErsr-6AnZyuZ2VLJ_Epkh66LR-hpRdHzhYv7dKN2PecAykk_3mpitet9Vv-KSYwOxJUiembumYkTbSq9eIaZ0DdWD-Pu3AwWhjp69hUCo0kxybSlJhvsI4nz2JCwOm1BeRXIrL6w96JY/s400/metal+shelves+2.jpg" width="298" /></a> </div>Moved the other set of metal shelves near my wedging table because they used to be half buried, tucked behind the table.<br />
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1) Plastic bags that have been used or torn.<br />
2) Water storage. I don't have a sink so I have to bring out bottles of water. Empties on the left, full on the right.<br />
3) Odd clays. These are special clays that I have set aside for some reason. You're seeing some bags of blue clay, purple clay, and some of natural colors that I've marbled together for inlay.<br />
4) Random crap that I need to have available but don't use very often like a face mask and some stamps.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5coE7-HCYvwMhgZFQEfzX4SiQ2wVHqaexDVXyDHvs-mG9mLd3-5l-LZsHsMl3sNUZN034ebhnDjmliwj2fsMYJ0-XkoEhbVFPGLc28KeiOUCq16aAGaqntFEsSh7c8ZtnROAxiFBMMlA/s1600/wedging+table.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5coE7-HCYvwMhgZFQEfzX4SiQ2wVHqaexDVXyDHvs-mG9mLd3-5l-LZsHsMl3sNUZN034ebhnDjmliwj2fsMYJ0-XkoEhbVFPGLc28KeiOUCq16aAGaqntFEsSh7c8ZtnROAxiFBMMlA/s320/wedging+table.jpg" width="310" /></a></div>1) I finally have REAL shelves for drying and storing my work!<br />
2) Wedging table<br />
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I'll store the clay from my potential new job under here to keep it separate from the clay that I buy. I don't want to lose track of what my boss provides for me, I want to be sure to only use her clay for her products.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQM-ZuuA374J9OJxn0txoOdAxGQsdQz0siy5I62vnQzsWP6Ched9TbH54s1DujjhveLaESbxn720oa60GFai_j4bOl36TpI2tDjhwdFRqgYGhO2KBSQLEJBjoJCep1EPPdQoVe4g-SFAw/s1600/wheel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQM-ZuuA374J9OJxn0txoOdAxGQsdQz0siy5I62vnQzsWP6Ched9TbH54s1DujjhveLaESbxn720oa60GFai_j4bOl36TpI2tDjhwdFRqgYGhO2KBSQLEJBjoJCep1EPPdQoVe4g-SFAw/s320/wheel.jpg" width="239" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">1) These shelves used to be where the number 2 thingy is. Buster would plop on top and grab at my hair while I throw. But I'm not allowed to touch him much for the time being (he carries a bacteria that you're supposed to keep away from when pregnant and we're trying to get pregnant again) so hopefully moving this will encourage him not to touch me.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">2) I broke down the wimpy boards I was using for shelves and turned them into ware boards and set them up at a good height for transferring stuff from the wheel to them. Easy to grab the board and toss it into the number 1 shelves, and they also fit into the production product shelves.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">3) My wheel! And all the crap I need to be able to grab right away.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCb1MYGE3Kef0YwI8AkX-b3MdokS1vJiNj4LrPJ47OiJJSy5164k42npFFQeSSkj0hy6YUJVy5mVmjkSxhptBfZhU3B7ZS-yuKw7MEdboVgMqtd3ZLuaTWYzwtKglvhGTKMM-pcn18Hw0/s1600/wheel+and+buckets.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCb1MYGE3Kef0YwI8AkX-b3MdokS1vJiNj4LrPJ47OiJJSy5164k42npFFQeSSkj0hy6YUJVy5mVmjkSxhptBfZhU3B7ZS-yuKw7MEdboVgMqtd3ZLuaTWYzwtKglvhGTKMM-pcn18Hw0/s400/wheel+and+buckets.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">1) Yes I watch tv while I throw. Stuff is just cooler when you've got Dr. Who on screen while you're making it.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">2) Stamps and stuff that I hardly ever use.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">3) Slop bucket.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">4) Bucket for stuff that's throwable and doesn't need to go through the whole recycling process. Like pots that didn't work that just needs a little bit of wedging.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">5) Art cart that my mom got for me. It holds bats, has 3 little drawers for that stuff I need all the time, and it's on wheels. Each of the 4 sides has storage so it's kind of the all in one cart.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And that's what my studio looks like now!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03834196556216136587noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1422261099935312464.post-26382189491345336602011-04-10T18:57:00.000-07:002011-04-10T18:57:33.086-07:00Didn't burn down the houseIn the past, I've been too scared to run the kiln while sleeping. It just seems to invite danger.<br />
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Well, last night I started it in the evening and let it run the nine hours on high over night. The house is still standing! <br />
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But I forgot about the fact that I'd have to wait a full day for it to cool enough to open. The wait is killing me!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03834196556216136587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1422261099935312464.post-24849013420502930112011-03-24T16:53:00.000-07:002011-03-24T16:53:41.184-07:00Found It!!!I finally found it! A replacement splash pan! YES!!!<br />
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These are no longer made but they fit my Shimpo RK-2 wheel. I don't know why they aren't made anymore. 2 piece splash pan that just slides right on (no taking the wheel head off) and the connecting piece has a shelf.<br />
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I purchased the shelf portion about a year ago when it randomly showed up at Seattle Pottery Supply, but a corner of it was broken off. So when I walked in a few days ago and they had both pieces in pristine condition, it was like a light came down upon it and angels sang!<br />
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The guy said that it's the best condition they've seen one of these in for over 15 years. And I got it!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWw4O9R7rISg7mLRIGB5w5l7WPxcMxPprysFHvkTM5ZDK83VVIVEHY-xvaEt-xGgQzn7gMy7RBV5zipuo30SSUO2Mih3tSMeVjyMdQTPVjtSTiioplzvXd-hEl8lj2FPKjyJNmUybkdvw/s1600/IMG_20110317_123624.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWw4O9R7rISg7mLRIGB5w5l7WPxcMxPprysFHvkTM5ZDK83VVIVEHY-xvaEt-xGgQzn7gMy7RBV5zipuo30SSUO2Mih3tSMeVjyMdQTPVjtSTiioplzvXd-hEl8lj2FPKjyJNmUybkdvw/s320/IMG_20110317_123624.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03834196556216136587noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1422261099935312464.post-38910460364980427992011-03-24T16:42:00.000-07:002011-03-24T16:42:49.838-07:00Pics of my feet 02<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKrICRcBmlcZLFKh557u0otT_a3t-rZO4tomNK54WFdBlJtSqnkMZkI6-IZk1H6dzcqzDLKom97HynrTE6qqAMySj0F4GAL0IVJs20FvYVrEEW3RUMOpaeEGPWESxmSZj7_Me8Jmv0pOs/s1600/IMG_20110124_132842.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKrICRcBmlcZLFKh557u0otT_a3t-rZO4tomNK54WFdBlJtSqnkMZkI6-IZk1H6dzcqzDLKom97HynrTE6qqAMySj0F4GAL0IVJs20FvYVrEEW3RUMOpaeEGPWESxmSZj7_Me8Jmv0pOs/s320/IMG_20110124_132842.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6NhzOeONV7jGIQk68Iy5sT-L8GQeN2fyz4nt8kvMFBJGm9E-1fbuwvz9dkXg3AeW_HdeJSGG9WXp_zcPpwmg7pcTriAg1P0r5HJfIUg_c9FgWbWIkulHA7IGl9zYM314QYBW95DkCd2s/s1600/IMG_20110313_124944.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6NhzOeONV7jGIQk68Iy5sT-L8GQeN2fyz4nt8kvMFBJGm9E-1fbuwvz9dkXg3AeW_HdeJSGG9WXp_zcPpwmg7pcTriAg1P0r5HJfIUg_c9FgWbWIkulHA7IGl9zYM314QYBW95DkCd2s/s320/IMG_20110313_124944.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwUplYeQ5DB6Mdb2pRNZ6e6Utub7JP4dMPnAKecrRyW74g14jTBaSZuhfI79wv1wpiO0vuk9tQ140eMISn8byIbck2QPOnY8yCDliw76VpeEys3XY7Op3aRERQibmqxzgGwHJV9F8yrrU/s1600/IMG_20110313_124953.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwUplYeQ5DB6Mdb2pRNZ6e6Utub7JP4dMPnAKecrRyW74g14jTBaSZuhfI79wv1wpiO0vuk9tQ140eMISn8byIbck2QPOnY8yCDliw76VpeEys3XY7Op3aRERQibmqxzgGwHJV9F8yrrU/s320/IMG_20110313_124953.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03834196556216136587noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1422261099935312464.post-83672428922016539992011-03-07T16:21:00.000-08:002011-03-07T17:49:39.212-08:00Artfire SEOOne of the many reasons (and there are many) that I have opted to sell my pottery via Artfire instead of Etsy is the sheer intelligence of the marketing team headed by Tony Ford.<br />
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Where Etsy does what it can to promote itself as an entity, small sellers be damned, Artfire is constantly learning and then turning around and teaching us sellers how to be successful for ourselves. When I head into the forums and ask questions, the knowledge I receive from the staff at Artfire would rival any education I could find elsewhere. While one day I do hope to go back to school and earn a degree in Marketing, I'm grateful that Tony and his cohorts are so generous in sharing their knowledge.<br />
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To that end, they have written several guides on SEO. All of this information is linked throughout <a href="http://www.artfire.com/">Artfire</a>, and Eos of <a href="http://www.artfire.com/users/SteampunkSweatshop">Steampunk Sweatshop</a> has compiled all of the information into one handy document.<br />
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So enjoy the fruits of their labor and learn all they have to teach you through these <a href="https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B_uSa41_lOOdMTYzYmI0MGMtMjgzMy00NjY1LThiZWQtM2U1ZWMwMTgzOTRi&hl=en&authkey=CJau4vEI">SEO Guides</a>!<br />
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And keep checking out new information that Artfire puts out for their users. SEO and marketing strategies are changing all the time and they really do work hard to keep us in the loop.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03834196556216136587noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1422261099935312464.post-3566830197459511552011-03-02T20:58:00.000-08:002011-03-02T20:58:10.877-08:00Just trying something<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXtv3rvAdejj_lAcjEIen9ATnvh6dwvNpFMBMAXAXEc4saXbdLqhJCdZao27Q9qrDbo5vm0T2G9DU2k3NWSS7MyvTrbXJzkBL5wyL_k8oN61pE0QzFYxragqRiB4iaT-Qw1RxAwLLQhgY/s1600/QR_Droid_46291.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXtv3rvAdejj_lAcjEIen9ATnvh6dwvNpFMBMAXAXEc4saXbdLqhJCdZao27Q9qrDbo5vm0T2G9DU2k3NWSS7MyvTrbXJzkBL5wyL_k8oN61pE0QzFYxragqRiB4iaT-Qw1RxAwLLQhgY/s320/QR_Droid_46291.png" width="320" /></a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03834196556216136587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1422261099935312464.post-79083433289152731672011-02-04T21:43:00.000-08:002011-02-04T21:45:05.213-08:00Well, that didn't workMy test tiles showed that one of my reds over clear glaze makes a really nice red that shows off stamped designs.<br />
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So I diligently glazed a lovely set of teacups in clear. Then I put on a coat of the red. Then I put on a second coat of red around the top half, just in case that was too much glaze and it decided to run. The goal was to intensify the red.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjevdOh_uaDoaspXnSvTf4cE-XM8sZLTI5JHv0D5MWxxmw9BAsjAK7XQtMcD-BZNOi4E1MlX1oio4QeiD8BdQHHTtgOm-aBlnJ3CBL96ZS5jV8-EO9JTmgrmXEtelL1gtSJf1DVlmMWfqo/s1600/P1060130.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjevdOh_uaDoaspXnSvTf4cE-XM8sZLTI5JHv0D5MWxxmw9BAsjAK7XQtMcD-BZNOi4E1MlX1oio4QeiD8BdQHHTtgOm-aBlnJ3CBL96ZS5jV8-EO9JTmgrmXEtelL1gtSJf1DVlmMWfqo/s320/P1060130.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Instead, I got a lovely transparent red over the bottom half of the cups, and instead of evenly darkening around the top, the red and the clear decided to separate so that I ended up with fully glazed cups, but there are globs of red and globs of clear.<br />
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Interesting. Might do that on purpose some day. But for this set of cups, that's not what I meant!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSzmWu1b_1hyphenhyphen-c41Qo_hCezimkCkEwm6qbJcUZ91J2mjqzMBr795ouZo-lThlmMd4htBVE9cD3mXi68BU50u7KEhsion7LAb_oHdIcHnz5pHEuDqqQVj6Iety3UD6NvEdBgI1yq-Ebe68/s1600/not+amused.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSzmWu1b_1hyphenhyphen-c41Qo_hCezimkCkEwm6qbJcUZ91J2mjqzMBr795ouZo-lThlmMd4htBVE9cD3mXi68BU50u7KEhsion7LAb_oHdIcHnz5pHEuDqqQVj6Iety3UD6NvEdBgI1yq-Ebe68/s200/not+amused.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
Who wants a really cheap set of 6 red teacups? I know where you can get some.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03834196556216136587noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1422261099935312464.post-59152987241250051032011-01-16T14:19:00.000-08:002011-04-26T10:27:13.939-07:00Product photography quick tutorial***Update***<br />
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Some of us have done testing and have discovered that a plain white background really does results in more clicks and more sales of products. Yes, I still think that the black I advise here is pretty darned sexy, but the numbers simply don't lie. The black background will give you a museum feel to your items, but pure white will sell more of them. Other than that, what I wrote here is still valid.***<br />
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***And now the original blog post***<br />
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Pottery is notoriously difficult to photograph.<br />
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If you are able to get enough light on it, the light tends to reflect showing horrible bright spots. If you don't get enough light, customers will have trouble really seeing what the product is.<br />
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I had to make a demo of my ability to use screen capturing video software so I opted to make a quick photoshop tutorial on product photography so I could share it with you.<br />
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Here are some of my random tips for taking the photos.<br />
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1) Invest in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002SOBPH8?ie=UTF8&tag=firtimtwi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002SOBPH8">good lights </a>and a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001TKCZVM?ie=UTF8&tag=firtimtwi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001TKCZVM">light tent</a>. No matter how much I white balanced my camera, when I was using either natural lighting, or the lighting in my home, I had to do a lot of work color correcting after the original photo was taken. Since receiving some optimized lights, this has become unnecessary.<br />
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2) The larger the light tent, the better the light diffuses. Most of my products are rather small and could easily be photographed in a very small light tent. But I've found that the giant light tent results in few bright spots on the pottery.<br />
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This is my current setup (but take pictures when the sun is down so you can control the light)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_gKZiutRIwwNbU0uhmruPMT-gCyxE7v-Qbx8ie_Tn8w0AL4PIgntYM0ked9Ov-5vnqpnfHQTokPK7qwTBfrcL3Bq5qsd95yXSLeV9vGQf8jVfNvFEfUEEhYy0kx_VuPY4aqlWgUShFeE/s1600/P1040353.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_gKZiutRIwwNbU0uhmruPMT-gCyxE7v-Qbx8ie_Tn8w0AL4PIgntYM0ked9Ov-5vnqpnfHQTokPK7qwTBfrcL3Bq5qsd95yXSLeV9vGQf8jVfNvFEfUEEhYy0kx_VuPY4aqlWgUShFeE/s320/P1040353.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
And this is the smaller tent in comparison to the one I've actually decided to use.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOFjpoDv6YXlDf-CqaNwXAVduecsSEjPGg_tpzElqUKK_MEzjirwuSUKF43KhdrQn7fxCpYkHqVegmZq29uhgPwKZsCRVJnBWNn4yztEWhznO85Xu7MFXBmwZ-v3NeFAGdu0PNcx3XUl8/s1600/P1040354.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOFjpoDv6YXlDf-CqaNwXAVduecsSEjPGg_tpzElqUKK_MEzjirwuSUKF43KhdrQn7fxCpYkHqVegmZq29uhgPwKZsCRVJnBWNn4yztEWhznO85Xu7MFXBmwZ-v3NeFAGdu0PNcx3XUl8/s320/P1040354.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Obviously the smaller one would be much easier to deal with, but the images I get when using the larger one do turn out better.<br />
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3) Go for a black background. I've tried several different colors, patterns, textures, etc, and nothing has popped like my new black background.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiioKzSJ4QLNBLiBfcLEDA1ZzFRGKB59FoIxWfxgXryiEf3CyGfiQh78UWRQe5LwMOiv-ZhMg0TM5FeE0fc-sgneyIuo1N9Ynaoy_hLXelrL-koukQd5KMhqcBt4X4VGPqpGw9NdD1PGRQ/s1600/blue+bowl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiioKzSJ4QLNBLiBfcLEDA1ZzFRGKB59FoIxWfxgXryiEf3CyGfiQh78UWRQe5LwMOiv-ZhMg0TM5FeE0fc-sgneyIuo1N9Ynaoy_hLXelrL-koukQd5KMhqcBt4X4VGPqpGw9NdD1PGRQ/s320/blue+bowl.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Whatever color background you use, it's likely going to reflect in the shine of the pottery and slightly alter the color. Or maybe it's our eyes doing that, I'm not sure. As much as I liked my gray background, it still looked like a product sitting on a background whereas with the black, the product seems to stand alone and lift from what it's sitting on.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYz6Ge6VNcymvC_-ZX0aP0ACxiRlYNOKcwKmxEcME4HxAxBo_6EA-jp4fBua4Gz7dPoNkQxyquuA0zOvTJRGo52gwJq0DYGrhDmjgZc1aOJ59pEwzFYzyHlmt2N6FGR5jXomVVuZBDq4E/s1600/P1030465.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYz6Ge6VNcymvC_-ZX0aP0ACxiRlYNOKcwKmxEcME4HxAxBo_6EA-jp4fBua4Gz7dPoNkQxyquuA0zOvTJRGo52gwJq0DYGrhDmjgZc1aOJ59pEwzFYzyHlmt2N6FGR5jXomVVuZBDq4E/s320/P1030465.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheyfxJtIaUNvy6WpDhCAAGl1X28Y5RyeYVr68jf7zP-jvkHiP9TGld-pw6hSYGUFm2rcIQ_jxAVk6pIf8H_4e4RqbTcc4MHLhCPWZ0cPnY3bQH1put3-lvjdWg8js4ViTyf3oY8rHAsy4/s1600/P1040217.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheyfxJtIaUNvy6WpDhCAAGl1X28Y5RyeYVr68jf7zP-jvkHiP9TGld-pw6hSYGUFm2rcIQ_jxAVk6pIf8H_4e4RqbTcc4MHLhCPWZ0cPnY3bQH1put3-lvjdWg8js4ViTyf3oY8rHAsy4/s320/P1040217.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
4) Position one of your lights slightly behind the product. When setting up lighting for humans, this is called a "hair light". It adds a touch of highlight on the back of the person (product) which helps lift it from the background.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:9BsfuImtpPDH_M:http://www.moresaleswithvideo.com/images/white_balance.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:9BsfuImtpPDH_M:http://www.moresaleswithvideo.com/images/white_balance.jpg" /></a>5) Once you have your picture set up, white balance your camera. The setting usually looks something like the symbol to the left. Read your manual on how to do this. This will teach your camera what white is under your specific lighting conditions so that the colors of your picture are life accurate. This will save you a ton of editing later. <br />
<br />
<br />
6) Use long exposure. The more light you add to your product, the brighter the hot spots are going to be. But if you mute the lighting, let it be a little bit dark, and allow a longer exposure time for that light to get into the lens, you'll end up with much softer bright spots.<br />
<br />
I've tried just about every setting on my simple <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0011Z23V2?ie=UTF8&tag=firtimtwi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0011Z23V2">digital camera </a>and I've found that using the ASM setting, on shutter priority, allows me to adjust the exposure. Before each picture, I press the exposure button the back, fiddle with it, and then when I focus the camera, it shows me what the image will look like from that exposure setting. Adjust as needed. For most of my pictures, I'm finding that 1/4th of a second is usually the best setting for my setup.<br />
<br />
7) Use a tripod and the camera timer. The secret to clear crisp photos is using a tripod, setting the timer, and taking your hands OFF the camera for the actual photo taking. 1/4th of a second doesn't sound like a long time, but when you have to keep the camera absolutely still for that long, you'll find that your pictures are blurry because of minute movements while that shutter is open. Even the motion of pressing that button for a quick shutter, you'll find that it's moving the camera more than you think it is. Put the camera on a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fs%3Fie%3DUTF8%26x%3D0%26ref_%3Dnb_sb_noss%26y%3D0%26field-keywords%3Dtabletop%2520tripod%26url%3Dsearch-alias%253Delectronics&tag=firtimtwi-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=390957">tabletop tripod</a><img alt="" border="0" class=" cjfbpyjxusnagcbtwcgd cjfbpyjxusnagcbtwcgd cjfbpyjxusnagcbtwcgd cjfbpyjxusnagcbtwcgd cjfbpyjxusnagcbtwcgd cjfbpyjxusnagcbtwcgd cjfbpyjxusnagcbtwcgd cjfbpyjxusnagcbtwcgd vqwwitldxpwjfcssvwma vqwwitldxpwjfcssvwma" height="1" src="https://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=firtimtwi-20&l=ur2&o=1" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important;" width="1" />, focus your shot, set the timer for 2 seconds, press the button, and take your hands off and wait.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Editing</b><br />
<br />
No amount of editing can make up for a good picture taken in the first place. Seriously. It takes at most, 10 minutes to try to get a really good shot in the first place. If you take a mediocre shot, you're going to spend 2 hours trying to edit it and the results aren't going to be as good as when you just take another 10 minutes to get a good starting picture.<br />
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<img alt="" border="0" class=" cjfbpyjxusnagcbtwcgd cjfbpyjxusnagcbtwcgd cjfbpyjxusnagcbtwcgd cjfbpyjxusnagcbtwcgd cjfbpyjxusnagcbtwcgd cjfbpyjxusnagcbtwcgd cjfbpyjxusnagcbtwcgd cjfbpyjxusnagcbtwcgd cjfbpyjxusnagcbtwcgd cjfbpyjxusnagcbtwcgd cjfbpyjxusnagcbtwcgd cjfbpyjxusnagcbtwcgd cjfbpyjxusnagcbtwcgd cjfbpyjxusnagcbtwcgd cjfbpyjxusnagcbtwcgd cjfbpyjxusnagcbtwcgd cjfbpyjxusnagcbtwcgd cjfbpyjxusnagcbtwcgd vqwwitldxpwjfcssvwma vqwwitldxpwjfcssvwma" height="1" src="https://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=firtimtwi-20&l=ur2&o=1" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important;" width="1" /> <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>If you're starting with a good picture, you're still going to want to do some editing to make your picture clickable. No matter how clean your background, the dust and pet hairs are going to show up fiercely on it and you'll want to clean those out of the picture. And you'll also want to make sure that the black is truly black in your picture, and not just a really dark shade of gray. By manipulating the levels a touch, you can really pull your product off its black background.<br />
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Remember, most of your customers are clicking over from Google or Google Shopping and your picture is being shown as a thumbnail among many other pictures. You want your picture to look sexy, even when it's itty bitty to make people click on you to see your larger picture.<br />
<br />
So here is the quick tutorial on making a good picture particularly Google sexy. Remember, we are going for subtle enhancement. We don't want to edit it so much that it's no longer and accurate depiction of your product. I've had this product up on <a href="http://ugabugabowls.artfire.com/">Artfire</a> for at least a year now, and 12 hours after I made this video and posted the new picture, it was sold.<br />
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<object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/xGNx-ZpDDCs?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/xGNx-ZpDDCs?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03834196556216136587noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1422261099935312464.post-79450494394369054742011-01-10T14:34:00.000-08:002011-01-10T14:34:17.319-08:00Wooden StampsI really like stamping on clay but tend not to do it very often because I hate the stickiness of it and I tend to ruin more pieces than I enhance.<br />
<br />
I've tried bisque stamps, I've had some success with rubber stamps if I spray with WD-40 first, and metal stamps don't seem to be cut deep enough to get a good image.<br />
<br />
So I'm trying my hand with wooden stamps. But I really don't like the wooden stamps commonly found in the pottery supply stores. I find them to be too abstract, too big to work on the curves of a mug, or just ugly designs.<br />
<br />
So here's my little plug for the day. I've found <a href="http://www.artfire.com/users/catfluff">Catfluff on Artfire</a> and she's bringing over some wonderful stamps from India that work really well.<br />
<br />
The designs are like those you would find in a Mehndi or henna design book. I think they might originally be made for applying henna, I'm not sure about that. They are abstract, yet have design to them. A very nice balance. And the wood is cut deeply enough to make deep impressions that I'm hoping will be visible after the glaze application.<br />
<br />
I'm finding that the finger shaped stamps are great for borders and handles. They are thin enough to be visible inside of a curve but wide enough to really make an impact.<br />
<br />
Over the course of an hour, I used this single stamp over and over again. I started with the very wet handles and then moved on to the slightly too hard leatherhard mug body. At no point did the stamp stick.<br />
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The wood is porous enough to absorb a touch of the moisture so the physics of the wood on clay make a natural release agent. And the cuts are deep enough that the moisture evaporates almost immediately so the stamp doesn't get waterlogged as you continue to stamp. It's just the balance I've been looking for.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTXP8WYZmFAxda56UhCq_AlYudxJSvzc2KTHQxSpSUdrBJUPJB7WkHDFZVegiAtB-b-LBzyRsDTaboKyNm1wrZB8ndFPC7f7i2kCEC27oC3PqD5o2hwniyz7ulp3c4QAvR8gqZ1XQW80Q/s1600/P1040074.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTXP8WYZmFAxda56UhCq_AlYudxJSvzc2KTHQxSpSUdrBJUPJB7WkHDFZVegiAtB-b-LBzyRsDTaboKyNm1wrZB8ndFPC7f7i2kCEC27oC3PqD5o2hwniyz7ulp3c4QAvR8gqZ1XQW80Q/s320/P1040074.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcLyWkaTateDzcIvTBdI5yDmPJoFq01ok7HOrfnSd2PCt-xnX1jE8LzDlwVumFPqypRqY511siXjPnd3IzeV5TasOC3iAhqQLwfthqxnF13QriwTNcLaGUsUqrT9qacfuIMNgjeH3loUg/s1600/P1040075.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcLyWkaTateDzcIvTBdI5yDmPJoFq01ok7HOrfnSd2PCt-xnX1jE8LzDlwVumFPqypRqY511siXjPnd3IzeV5TasOC3iAhqQLwfthqxnF13QriwTNcLaGUsUqrT9qacfuIMNgjeH3loUg/s320/P1040075.JPG" width="320" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggiXxunUPS8F0hVlwoNfrGd05VYRm1XaC8Y8KUGBcdWmAw64k0bnBo8HMGDfnnRl4SsOyWO7-fmeOcS8iKUFJOrqV7C7YiMHR16ocAXXn7O60ND3P17pvVTLzBm85zUlCyAGgYh5e77b8/s1600/P1040076.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggiXxunUPS8F0hVlwoNfrGd05VYRm1XaC8Y8KUGBcdWmAw64k0bnBo8HMGDfnnRl4SsOyWO7-fmeOcS8iKUFJOrqV7C7YiMHR16ocAXXn7O60ND3P17pvVTLzBm85zUlCyAGgYh5e77b8/s320/P1040076.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Here are the stamps I've purchased (so far) but I've only played with one. And I'm very happy with that one.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJXUMRP6VFBWy_QNQImTfBYLnLFlcc86XZF8PZAaRKXolpKfzmq8O3lnIhDVM6-jjwTyrC6XIZCDMKurtgKIlOsbSBw71Fpmd6Q0qwnZCk6Ek0RDKUD7JCKo20Tk4yQ9uhCZ4mr8HbtPE/s1600/P1040084.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJXUMRP6VFBWy_QNQImTfBYLnLFlcc86XZF8PZAaRKXolpKfzmq8O3lnIhDVM6-jjwTyrC6XIZCDMKurtgKIlOsbSBw71Fpmd6Q0qwnZCk6Ek0RDKUD7JCKo20Tk4yQ9uhCZ4mr8HbtPE/s640/P1040084.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03834196556216136587noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1422261099935312464.post-991839512408519792010-12-26T01:25:00.000-08:002010-12-26T01:25:15.151-08:00Looks like I'll be back soonI know, I know, I've been totally baby obsessed and have only touched clay once in the last 4 months.<br />
<br />
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. <br />
<br />
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.<br />
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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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
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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!<br />
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Any requests?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03834196556216136587noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1422261099935312464.post-60123840924657151722010-12-05T00:26:00.000-08:002010-12-05T00:26:01.500-08:00I played in the clayIt's been a few months since I've had the inclination to do any pottery but I gave it a go again today.<br />
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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.<br />
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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. <br />
<br />
Oh well, I had fun, Buster had fun, and maybe something will come of it!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03834196556216136587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1422261099935312464.post-87867148883860507672010-10-22T16:53:00.000-07:002010-10-22T16:53:46.271-07:00Finally 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.<br />
<br />
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!<br />
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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.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03834196556216136587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1422261099935312464.post-31222944173676349242010-10-18T23:53:00.000-07:002010-10-18T23:53:15.762-07:00Just in case anyone is interestedI 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.<br />
<br />
So, here's the link to <a href="http://firsttimetwins.blogspot.com/">First Time Twins</a>, my blog about being pregnant with, then hopefully raising a pair of twins.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03834196556216136587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1422261099935312464.post-68088847848940472342010-10-04T21:31:00.000-07:002010-10-05T00:15:11.461-07:00Ummmmm, I'm confusedWould someone please explain <a href="http://buyoutsidethebox.com/hand-thrown-pottery-cut-handle-bowl-885">this bowl</a> to me?<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://buyoutsidethebox.com/upload/inventory/31/AB02240714_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://buyoutsidethebox.com/upload/inventory/31/AB02240714_1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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. <br />
<br />
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.<br />
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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.<br />
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*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.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03834196556216136587noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1422261099935312464.post-69578235448801399052010-10-04T17:50:00.000-07:002010-10-04T17:50:53.220-07:00I 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!<br />
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It arrived quite a while ago, but I had, um, issues. <br />
<br />
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.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsFVCp6Gw5JWGLvLnIehN1YGniw8aD4GY4nFnBJtCNfzZCmSPOj1MVqu5kHPA4LO6Tf-U7AsCq85XXwMNckX7pRrYQcegnGanHQ0YunlUlGnBKSutwwCHwrzzq6Wfz5uy-wpMA9ibfNjs/s1600/P1030701.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsFVCp6Gw5JWGLvLnIehN1YGniw8aD4GY4nFnBJtCNfzZCmSPOj1MVqu5kHPA4LO6Tf-U7AsCq85XXwMNckX7pRrYQcegnGanHQ0YunlUlGnBKSutwwCHwrzzq6Wfz5uy-wpMA9ibfNjs/s320/P1030701.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<br />
Aren't I brilliant?<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
I braved the equipment today and took some pictures that I'll be using to post some new products this week.<br />
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So now that I'm over it, just want to say Thanks Artfire! I love my new studio!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju_Lh3f1aG6HXTbEhr3SuxnLP6JOVgK_mgHVO-8_wFcHm9lbxAVKHlk8saY3vUGXKa8nVME-lXey2jPeS8zFupg4xP78fgAOtFlgzJ3snjF45pAaHYchugtOqA0WQ07aX6lGbvIQetBLQ/s1600/P1030703.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju_Lh3f1aG6HXTbEhr3SuxnLP6JOVgK_mgHVO-8_wFcHm9lbxAVKHlk8saY3vUGXKa8nVME-lXey2jPeS8zFupg4xP78fgAOtFlgzJ3snjF45pAaHYchugtOqA0WQ07aX6lGbvIQetBLQ/s320/P1030703.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBqBuL5veAS3VFLAJm0k8Yi9L9rVNLKppGNX7MS6JCORNys-D6zs0WuGguISlDbO33PRTjOcADeBwCudmRs4H3IDX2fw_goW1uM77Tk5URXPpu3GTSy_-w2gBCQ1_pCtWEkhKzafBSpF8/s1600/P1030704.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBqBuL5veAS3VFLAJm0k8Yi9L9rVNLKppGNX7MS6JCORNys-D6zs0WuGguISlDbO33PRTjOcADeBwCudmRs4H3IDX2fw_goW1uM77Tk5URXPpu3GTSy_-w2gBCQ1_pCtWEkhKzafBSpF8/s320/P1030704.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiHSGveKESMaGT2jzuwDh46VH3hz9S_7uL7BDpx2azmzBNadqw8YlAv-Ls4KzD18c-3-HSyHpew-f6Sfz6LsD-EdA2paZgbrua4kCGxrj91KFa16LZfY6ynnXP8eZFY_arkjHaxaSIQM4/s1600/P1030705.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiHSGveKESMaGT2jzuwDh46VH3hz9S_7uL7BDpx2azmzBNadqw8YlAv-Ls4KzD18c-3-HSyHpew-f6Sfz6LsD-EdA2paZgbrua4kCGxrj91KFa16LZfY6ynnXP8eZFY_arkjHaxaSIQM4/s320/P1030705.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuUxOWzlfdmcs1Wz-YmrkTVTpn4hmJkVPknblEq6iLmo-RY2ziXYL1QVnQqGJNFgv9v-M2j1G9GjUPzV9nOdg1fKnOttXMSTiKG1G54Yy1JuVqY2Xjm7nUuvu_IE01zwho5Jq5e4rH7mg/s1600/P1030702.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuUxOWzlfdmcs1Wz-YmrkTVTpn4hmJkVPknblEq6iLmo-RY2ziXYL1QVnQqGJNFgv9v-M2j1G9GjUPzV9nOdg1fKnOttXMSTiKG1G54Yy1JuVqY2Xjm7nUuvu_IE01zwho5Jq5e4rH7mg/s1600/P1030702.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<br />
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!<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhcb7M0jJp-BqF1Eg_cwuWkUJzZ3yW-n4AGV1UMQr9aPAa6qYqePnxXGQKXHjj4tSWzQ_1py1dWKBBXnKDaZc9zbn8atywz2RpQSNAJ-biJXzQgnUBCswzgFcBwcRtQ-ZFPumvRjIdBP4/s1600/P1030741.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhcb7M0jJp-BqF1Eg_cwuWkUJzZ3yW-n4AGV1UMQr9aPAa6qYqePnxXGQKXHjj4tSWzQ_1py1dWKBBXnKDaZc9zbn8atywz2RpQSNAJ-biJXzQgnUBCswzgFcBwcRtQ-ZFPumvRjIdBP4/s400/P1030741.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03834196556216136587noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1422261099935312464.post-2014919617371939142010-09-30T22:03:00.000-07:002010-09-30T22:03:35.779-07:00Kitty updatesBuster found a bug.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinK0fkV5ca9zeFnKBm-t5wpqwx6EVjgqRjbnDYNQjlnqbqzYljynex6ukIeHc0ejAV2E7lilMb_C5nUvXNTApcQl6PNF06GQCBBNv_vLr9nCJCnhpJgYECBm5cEclJIHaJKhowT4EK-a4/s1600/IMG_20100930_170115.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinK0fkV5ca9zeFnKBm-t5wpqwx6EVjgqRjbnDYNQjlnqbqzYljynex6ukIeHc0ejAV2E7lilMb_C5nUvXNTApcQl6PNF06GQCBBNv_vLr9nCJCnhpJgYECBm5cEclJIHaJKhowT4EK-a4/s320/IMG_20100930_170115.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaYyCmTRjR2Len8hihp5U9IO1ZiDaWGBVmD9lntAwhDDiLYu5-is6-qFVImH_aAcSUUp560XrdejorNt9J1a_2rzTS9PH_87uNr9NXfVugggNBEiDwk1gzZMUtmOoh-SGEjIJAozebr0U/s1600/IMG_20100909_192231.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaYyCmTRjR2Len8hihp5U9IO1ZiDaWGBVmD9lntAwhDDiLYu5-is6-qFVImH_aAcSUUp560XrdejorNt9J1a_2rzTS9PH_87uNr9NXfVugggNBEiDwk1gzZMUtmOoh-SGEjIJAozebr0U/s320/IMG_20100909_192231.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
And now that the big bed is here, here's how the 17 pound cat handled it.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTV50sdQznRMcsdYORgqnaGzQyUdJofTOMMIdZWs5FaBcTihC2HyZklVciDCa6hvq8uwkwH0aKohjWkMuxmRZbhtUOJutJGPBZaT__BRagNBikwkOCWKaeeJRxvEo3s3rOv1wn5faRQJ8/s1600/IMG_20100930_215011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTV50sdQznRMcsdYORgqnaGzQyUdJofTOMMIdZWs5FaBcTihC2HyZklVciDCa6hvq8uwkwH0aKohjWkMuxmRZbhtUOJutJGPBZaT__BRagNBikwkOCWKaeeJRxvEo3s3rOv1wn5faRQJ8/s320/IMG_20100930_215011.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
And here's how our mini kitty, only 7lbs handled it.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoG9wbTHpL0UoxrBnCfyngYoOdrMCQOGapxJBUAaSETDAAeGsF2cW1RT3GVVtaDuFIRKVP8qy6TQU1RJD19ka1Hhb4StEg0MANLGL0A-KmUAIQ0HfUmy95dOiAUQaZarzk17IFuAi3wfo/s1600/IMG_20100930_215751.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoG9wbTHpL0UoxrBnCfyngYoOdrMCQOGapxJBUAaSETDAAeGsF2cW1RT3GVVtaDuFIRKVP8qy6TQU1RJD19ka1Hhb4StEg0MANLGL0A-KmUAIQ0HfUmy95dOiAUQaZarzk17IFuAi3wfo/s320/IMG_20100930_215751.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<br />
*sigh*Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03834196556216136587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1422261099935312464.post-4884291170463743722010-09-28T15:47:00.000-07:002010-09-28T15:47:56.524-07:00I know I'm not posting muchHowdy howdy,<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
But I just didn't want you to think that the blog has been forgotten cuz it hasn't. Just kinda paused.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03834196556216136587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1422261099935312464.post-39294254602289168012010-09-15T17:13:00.000-07:002010-09-16T14:51:22.088-07:00Some Artfire NewsIf 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. <br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
And now they are making it better by offering full services at only <span id="convert" style="cursor: pointer;" title="Select Currency">US $5.95</span> 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.<br />
<br />
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?<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
So lock in your price <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.artfire.com/groupdeal">here</a> so we can all get in on this deal!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03834196556216136587noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1422261099935312464.post-69561926709656311072010-09-14T17:50:00.000-07:002010-09-14T17:50:27.573-07:00Ok, new topicI'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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03834196556216136587noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1422261099935312464.post-81938601884076628912010-09-10T22:33:00.000-07:002010-09-10T22:33:02.327-07:00New 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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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?<br />
<br />
There's a little poll in the upper left so let me know what I should do.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03834196556216136587noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1422261099935312464.post-25395680572661123362010-08-29T12:02:00.000-07:002010-08-29T12:02:25.506-07:00I left Etsy, Part DeuxReaders of my blog know that I left Etsy quite a while ago. Quite frankly, Etsy sucks.<br />
<br />
Now, all things are subjective of course. And I realize that not everyone shares my view on this.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6612023&page=1">So I present you this</a><br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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!"<br />
<br />
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!<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
There are not enough swear words in the English language to express my thoughts on this!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03834196556216136587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1422261099935312464.post-78592659989263562992010-08-13T12:42:00.000-07:002010-08-13T12:42:55.765-07:00Kiln Day! D'oh!Not the best kiln day I've ever had.<br />
<br />
Before:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs217.snc4/39185_10150247276810118_329314880117_13882479_2492542_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="297" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs217.snc4/39185_10150247276810118_329314880117_13882479_2492542_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
After:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs305.snc4/40598_10150251989330118_329314880117_14009557_4873875_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs305.snc4/40598_10150251989330118_329314880117_14009557_4873875_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03834196556216136587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1422261099935312464.post-58677323433214147952010-08-11T17:05:00.000-07:002010-08-11T17:05:41.656-07:00I've been showing up in a lot of collectionsI've received over a dozen notifications that I've been included in an Artfire collection.<br />
<br />
Woot!!<br />
<br />
<br />
<style>#widgetcont p{ padding:0; margin:0; } .title_brown, .title_brown a, .title_brown a:link, .title_brown a:active, .title_brown a:visited, .title_brown a:hover { color:#dfa754; font-weight:bold; }
.title_charc, .title_charc a, .title_charc a:link, .title_charc a:active, .title_charc a:visited, .title_charc a:hover { color:#333333; font-weight:bold; }</style><div id="widgetcont" style="background:url(http://static.artfire.com/modules/my_collections/images/widget-bg-ltall-white.png) no-repeat; width:484px; height:806px; margin:0 auto; padding:0 0 0 0;"><p class="title_charc" style="font-weight:bold; padding:100px 0 5px 0; text-align:center;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=829">The Bluest Blues</a></p><p style="width:140px; height:140px; text-align:center; float:left; padding:10px 0 0 15.5px; margin:0;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=829"><img style="padding:0;margin:0;border:none;" src="http://static.artfire.com/admin/product_images/thumbs/--30000--29041_product_1271761645_thumb_crop.jpg" /></a></p><p style="width:140px; height:140px; text-align:center; float:left; padding:10px 0 0 15.5px; margin:0;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=829"><img style="padding:0;margin:0;border:none;" src="http://static.artfire.com/admin/product_images/thumbs/7630_product_1232309476_thumb_crop.jpg" /></a></p><p style="width:140px; height:140px; text-align:center; float:left; padding:10px 0 0 15.5px; margin:0;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=829"><img style="padding:0;margin:0;border:none;" src="http://static.artfire.com/admin/product_images/thumbs/9236_product_1387306383_thumb_crop.jpg" /></a></p><p style="width:140px; height:140px; text-align:center; float:left; padding:10px 0 0 15.5px; margin:0;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=829"><img style="padding:0;margin:0;border:none;" src="http://static.artfire.com/admin/product_images/thumbs/21260_product_977563475_thumb_crop.jpg" /></a></p><p style="width:140px; height:140px; text-align:center; float:left; padding:10px 0 0 15.5px; margin:0;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=829"><img style="padding:0;margin:0;border:none;" src="http://static.artfire.com/admin/product_images/thumbs/--60000--47741_product_1739851313_thumb_crop.jpg" /></a></p><p style="width:140px; height:140px; text-align:center; float:left; padding:10px 0 0 15.5px; margin:0;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=829"><img style="padding:0;margin:0;border:none;" src="http://static.artfire.com/admin/product_images/thumbs/--30000--26157_product_1177499005_thumb_crop.jpg" /></a></p><p style="width:140px; height:140px; text-align:center; float:left; padding:10px 0 0 15.5px; margin:0;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=829"><img style="padding:0;margin:0;border:none;" src="http://static.artfire.com/admin/product_images/thumbs/--60000--47226_product_2142450868_thumb_crop.jpg" /></a></p><p style="width:140px; height:140px; text-align:center; float:left; padding:10px 0 0 15.5px; margin:0;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=829"><img style="padding:0;margin:0;border:none;" src="http://static.artfire.com/admin/product_images/thumbs/28592_product_32986406_thumb_crop.jpg" /></a></p><p style="width:140px; height:140px; text-align:center; float:left; padding:10px 0 0 15.5px; margin:0;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=829"><img style="padding:0;margin:0;border:none;" src="http://static.artfire.com/admin/product_images/thumbs/--30000--4822_product_1585154433_thumb_crop.jpg" /></a></p><p style="width:140px; height:140px; text-align:center; float:left; padding:10px 0 0 15.5px; margin:0;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=829"><img style="padding:0;margin:0;border:none;" src="http://static.artfire.com/admin/product_images/thumbs/--30000--3272_product_28298384_thumb_crop.jpg" /></a></p><p style="width:140px; height:140px; text-align:center; float:left; padding:10px 0 0 15.5px; margin:0;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=829"><img style="padding:0;margin:0;border:none;" src="http://static.artfire.com/admin/product_images/thumbs/5930_product_489138990_thumb_crop.jpg" /></a></p><p style="width:140px; height:140px; text-align:center; float:left; padding:10px 0 0 15.5px; margin:0;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=829"><img style="padding:0;margin:0;border:none;" src="http://static.artfire.com/admin/product_images/thumbs/--30000--19923_product_2009872050_thumb_crop.jpg" /></a></p><br style="clear:both;" /><p style="width:350px; float:left; text-align:left; padding:4px 0 0 15px;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=829"><img src="http://static.artfire.com/modules/my_collections/images/view-collection-button.png" width="154" height="43" alt="View This Entire Collection" title="View This Entire Collection" style="border:none;" /></a><br /> <a class="title_charc" title="Curated By: JenniferLynnProductions" style="font-size:11px; font-weight:normal;" href="http://www.artfire.com/users/JenniferLynnProductions">Curated By: JenniferLynnP...</a></p><p style="width:85px; float:left; text-align:right; padding:15px 15px 0 0;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com"><img src="http://static.artfire.com/modules/my_collections/images/artfire-logo-dark.png" width="69" height="24" alt="Buy and Sell Handmade on ArtFire.com" title="Buy and Sell Handmade on ArtFire.com" style="border:none;" /></a><br /><a class="title_charc" style="font-size:11px; font-weight:bold;" href="http://www.artfire.com">ArtFire.com</a></p></div><div style="clear:both; text-align:center; font-size:12px; font-weight:bold;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com/vintage">Vintage Fashion</a></div><br />
<p><br />
<style>#widgetcont p{ padding:0; margin:0; } .title_brown, .title_brown a, .title_brown a:link, .title_brown a:active, .title_brown a:visited, .title_brown a:hover { color:#dfa754; font-weight:bold; }
.title_charc, .title_charc a, .title_charc a:link, .title_charc a:active, .title_charc a:visited, .title_charc a:hover { color:#333333; font-weight:bold; }</style><div id="widgetcont" style="background:url(http://static.artfire.com/modules/my_collections/images/widget-bg-ltall-dark-grey.png) no-repeat; width:484px; height:806px; margin:0 auto; padding:0 0 0 0;"><p class="title_brown" style="font-weight:bold; padding:100px 0 5px 0; text-align:center;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=807">Home is Where The Heart Is</a></p><p style="width:140px; height:140px; text-align:center; float:left; padding:10px 0 0 15.5px; margin:0;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=807"><img style="padding:0;margin:0;border:none;" src="http://static.artfire.com/admin/product_images/thumbs/6372_product_954301478_thumb_crop.jpg" /></a></p><p style="width:140px; height:140px; text-align:center; float:left; padding:10px 0 0 15.5px; margin:0;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=807"><img style="padding:0;margin:0;border:none;" src="http://static.artfire.com/admin/product_images/thumbs/7516_product_731983454_thumb_crop.jpg" /></a></p><p style="width:140px; height:140px; text-align:center; float:left; padding:10px 0 0 15.5px; margin:0;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=807"><img style="padding:0;margin:0;border:none;" src="http://static.artfire.com/admin/product_images/thumbs/--30000--15751_product_1335254580_thumb_crop.jpg" /></a></p><p style="width:140px; height:140px; text-align:center; float:left; padding:10px 0 0 15.5px; margin:0;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=807"><img style="padding:0;margin:0;border:none;" src="http://static.artfire.com/admin/product_images/thumbs/--30000--24028_product_1412792601_thumb_crop.jpg" /></a></p><p style="width:140px; height:140px; text-align:center; float:left; padding:10px 0 0 15.5px; margin:0;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=807"><img style="padding:0;margin:0;border:none;" src="http://static.artfire.com/admin/product_images/thumbs/--60000--47741_product_1070404714_thumb_crop.jpg" /></a></p><p style="width:140px; height:140px; text-align:center; float:left; padding:10px 0 0 15.5px; margin:0;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=807"><img style="padding:0;margin:0;border:none;" src="http://static.artfire.com/admin/product_images/thumbs/--60000--30803_product_1722891950_thumb_crop.jpg" /></a></p><p style="width:140px; height:140px; text-align:center; float:left; padding:10px 0 0 15.5px; margin:0;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=807"><img style="padding:0;margin:0;border:none;" src="http://static.artfire.com/admin/product_images/thumbs/11316_product_1898342136_thumb_crop.jpg" /></a></p><p style="width:140px; height:140px; text-align:center; float:left; padding:10px 0 0 15.5px; margin:0;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=807"><img style="padding:0;margin:0;border:none;" src="http://static.artfire.com/admin/product_images/thumbs/--60000--30260_product_440055658_thumb_crop.jpg" /></a></p><p style="width:140px; height:140px; text-align:center; float:left; padding:10px 0 0 15.5px; margin:0;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=807"><img style="padding:0;margin:0;border:none;" src="http://static.artfire.com/admin/product_images/thumbs/14421_product_1980539558_thumb_crop.jpg" /></a></p><p style="width:140px; height:140px; text-align:center; float:left; padding:10px 0 0 15.5px; margin:0;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=807"><img style="padding:0;margin:0;border:none;" src="http://static.artfire.com/admin/product_images/thumbs/21235_product_2053835984_thumb_crop.jpg" /></a></p><p style="width:140px; height:140px; text-align:center; float:left; padding:10px 0 0 15.5px; margin:0;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=807"><img style="padding:0;margin:0;border:none;" src="http://static.artfire.com/admin/product_images/thumbs/--60000--30849_product_998647614_thumb_crop.jpg" /></a></p><p style="width:140px; height:140px; text-align:center; float:left; padding:10px 0 0 15.5px; margin:0;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=807"><img style="padding:0;margin:0;border:none;" src="http://static.artfire.com/admin/product_images/thumbs/--30000--14164_product_1107793672_thumb_crop.jpg" /></a></p><br style="clear:both;" /><p style="width:350px; float:left; text-align:left; padding:4px 0 0 15px;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=807"><img src="http://static.artfire.com/modules/my_collections/images/view-collection-button.png" width="154" height="43" alt="View This Entire Collection" title="View This Entire Collection" style="border:none;" /></a><br /> <a class="title_brown" title="Curated By: GrandPrairieWoodworks" style="font-size:11px; font-weight:normal;" href="http://www.artfire.com/users/GrandPrairieWoodworks">Curated By: GrandPrairieW...</a></p><p style="width:85px; float:left; text-align:right; padding:15px 15px 0 0;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com"><img src="http://static.artfire.com/modules/my_collections/images/artfire-logo-white.png" width="69" height="24" alt="Buy and Sell Handmade on ArtFire.com" title="Buy and Sell Handmade on ArtFire.com" style="border:none;" /></a><br /><a class="title_brown" style="font-size:11px; font-weight:bold;" href="http://www.artfire.com">ArtFire.com</a></p></div><div style="clear:both; text-align:center; font-size:12px; font-weight:bold;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com/media">Craft Tutorials</a></div><br />
<p><style>#widgetcont p{ padding:0; margin:0; } .title_brown, .title_brown a, .title_brown a:link, .title_brown a:active, .title_brown a:visited, .title_brown a:hover { color:#dfa754; font-weight:bold; }
.title_charc, .title_charc a, .title_charc a:link, .title_charc a:active, .title_charc a:visited, .title_charc a:hover { color:#333333; font-weight:bold; }</style><div id="widgetcont" style="background:url(http://static.artfire.com/modules/my_collections/images/widget-bg-ltall-light-grey.png) no-repeat; width:484px; height:806px; margin:0 auto; padding:0 0 0 0;"><p class="title_charc" style="font-weight:bold; padding:100px 0 5px 0; text-align:center;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=592">Wake up!</a></p><p style="width:140px; height:140px; text-align:center; float:left; padding:10px 0 0 15.5px; margin:0;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=592"><img style="padding:0;margin:0;border:none;" src="http://static.artfire.com/admin/product_images/thumbs/--60000--56887_product_846052826_thumb_crop.jpg" /></a></p><p style="width:140px; height:140px; text-align:center; float:left; padding:10px 0 0 15.5px; margin:0;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=592"><img style="padding:0;margin:0;border:none;" src="http://static.artfire.com/admin/product_images/thumbs/--90000--72251_product_593428396_thumb_crop.jpg" /></a></p><p style="width:140px; height:140px; text-align:center; float:left; padding:10px 0 0 15.5px; margin:0;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=592"><img style="padding:0;margin:0;border:none;" src="http://static.artfire.com/admin/product_images/thumbs/--90000--66545_product_1151077097_thumb_crop.jpg" /></a></p><p style="width:140px; height:140px; text-align:center; float:left; padding:10px 0 0 15.5px; margin:0;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=592"><img style="padding:0;margin:0;border:none;" src="http://static.artfire.com/admin/product_images/thumbs/--30000--3272_product_729705410_thumb_crop.jpg" /></a></p><p style="width:140px; height:140px; text-align:center; float:left; padding:10px 0 0 15.5px; margin:0;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=592"><img style="padding:0;margin:0;border:none;" src="http://static.artfire.com/admin/product_images/thumbs/--30000--3803_product_1550470524_thumb_crop.jpg" /></a></p><p style="width:140px; height:140px; text-align:center; float:left; padding:10px 0 0 15.5px; margin:0;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=592"><img style="padding:0;margin:0;border:none;" src="http://static.artfire.com/admin/product_images/thumbs/--60000--47741_product_117348369_thumb_crop.jpg" /></a></p><p style="width:140px; height:140px; text-align:center; float:left; padding:10px 0 0 15.5px; margin:0;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=592"><img style="padding:0;margin:0;border:none;" src="http://static.artfire.com/admin/product_images/thumbs/7704_product_952246086_thumb_crop.jpg" /></a></p><p style="width:140px; height:140px; text-align:center; float:left; padding:10px 0 0 15.5px; margin:0;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=592"><img style="padding:0;margin:0;border:none;" src="http://static.artfire.com/admin/product_images/thumbs/7808_product_985205716_thumb_crop.jpg" /></a></p><p style="width:140px; height:140px; text-align:center; float:left; padding:10px 0 0 15.5px; margin:0;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=592"><img style="padding:0;margin:0;border:none;" src="http://static.artfire.com/admin/product_images/thumbs/30426_product_1227983228_thumb_crop.jpg" /></a></p><p style="width:140px; height:140px; text-align:center; float:left; padding:10px 0 0 15.5px; margin:0;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=592"><img style="padding:0;margin:0;border:none;" src="http://static.artfire.com/admin/product_images/thumbs/2847_product_656465344_thumb_crop.jpg" /></a></p><p style="width:140px; height:140px; text-align:center; float:left; padding:10px 0 0 15.5px; margin:0;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=592"><img style="padding:0;margin:0;border:none;" src="http://static.artfire.com/admin/product_images/thumbs/6714_product_422514914_thumb_crop.jpg" /></a></p><p style="width:140px; height:140px; text-align:center; float:left; padding:10px 0 0 15.5px; margin:0;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=592"><img style="padding:0;margin:0;border:none;" src="http://static.artfire.com/admin/product_images/thumbs/--60000--39903_product_2132755392_thumb_crop.jpg" /></a></p><br style="clear:both;" /><p style="width:350px; float:left; text-align:left; padding:4px 0 0 15px;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=592"><img src="http://static.artfire.com/modules/my_collections/images/view-collection-button.png" width="154" height="43" alt="View This Entire Collection" title="View This Entire Collection" style="border:none;" /></a><br /> <a class="title_charc" title="Curated By: ColtPixy" style="font-size:11px; font-weight:normal;" href="http://www.artfire.com/users/ColtPixy">Curated By: ColtPixy</a></p><p style="width:85px; float:left; text-align:right; padding:15px 15px 0 0;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com"><img src="http://static.artfire.com/modules/my_collections/images/artfire-logo-dark.png" width="69" height="24" alt="Buy and Sell Handmade on ArtFire.com" title="Buy and Sell Handmade on ArtFire.com" style="border:none;" /></a><br /><a class="title_charc" style="font-size:11px; font-weight:bold;" href="http://www.artfire.com">ArtFire.com</a></p></div><div style="clear:both; text-align:center; font-size:12px; font-weight:bold;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com/handmade-Jewelry/2/5/0/0/0/0">Handmade Jewelry</a></div><br />
<p><style>#widgetcont p{ padding:0; margin:0; } .title_brown, .title_brown a, .title_brown a:link, .title_brown a:active, .title_brown a:visited, .title_brown a:hover { color:#dfa754; font-weight:bold; }
.title_charc, .title_charc a, .title_charc a:link, .title_charc a:active, .title_charc a:visited, .title_charc a:hover { color:#333333; font-weight:bold; }</style><div id="widgetcont" style="background:url(http://static.artfire.com/modules/my_collections/images/widget-bg-ltall-dark-grey.png) no-repeat; width:484px; height:806px; margin:0 auto; padding:0 0 0 0;"><p class="title_brown" style="font-weight:bold; padding:100px 0 5px 0; text-align:center;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=251">Bite Me!</a></p><p style="width:140px; height:140px; text-align:center; float:left; padding:10px 0 0 15.5px; margin:0;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=251"><img style="padding:0;margin:0;border:none;" src="http://static.artfire.com/admin/product_images/thumbs/--30000--9916_product_1429058528_thumb_crop.jpg" /></a></p><p style="width:140px; height:140px; text-align:center; float:left; padding:10px 0 0 15.5px; margin:0;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=251"><img style="padding:0;margin:0;border:none;" src="http://static.artfire.com/admin/product_images/thumbs/54360_product_1851196736_thumb_crop.jpg" /></a></p><p style="width:140px; height:140px; text-align:center; float:left; padding:10px 0 0 15.5px; margin:0;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=251"><img style="padding:0;margin:0;border:none;" src="http://static.artfire.com/admin/product_images/thumbs/28536_product_372673706_thumb_crop.jpg" /></a></p><p style="width:140px; height:140px; text-align:center; float:left; padding:10px 0 0 15.5px; margin:0;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=251"><img style="padding:0;margin:0;border:none;" src="http://static.artfire.com/admin/product_images/thumbs/--90000--71452_product_850675651_thumb_crop.jpg" /></a></p><p style="width:140px; height:140px; text-align:center; float:left; padding:10px 0 0 15.5px; margin:0;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=251"><img style="padding:0;margin:0;border:none;" src="http://static.artfire.com/admin/product_images/thumbs/--60000--47741_product_405202412_thumb_crop.jpg" /></a></p><p style="width:140px; height:140px; text-align:center; float:left; padding:10px 0 0 15.5px; margin:0;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=251"><img style="padding:0;margin:0;border:none;" src="http://static.artfire.com/admin/product_images/thumbs/486_product_1378410995_thumb_crop.jpg" /></a></p><p style="width:140px; height:140px; text-align:center; float:left; padding:10px 0 0 15.5px; margin:0;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=251"><img style="padding:0;margin:0;border:none;" src="http://static.artfire.com/admin/product_images/thumbs/13652_product_862666927_thumb_crop.jpg" /></a></p><p style="width:140px; height:140px; text-align:center; float:left; padding:10px 0 0 15.5px; margin:0;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=251"><img style="padding:0;margin:0;border:none;" src="http://static.artfire.com/admin/product_images/thumbs/50566_product_803008332_thumb_crop.png" /></a></p><p style="width:140px; height:140px; text-align:center; float:left; padding:10px 0 0 15.5px; margin:0;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=251"><img style="padding:0;margin:0;border:none;" src="http://static.artfire.com/admin/product_images/thumbs/--30000--9024_product_490512465_thumb_crop.jpg" /></a></p><p style="width:140px; height:140px; text-align:center; float:left; padding:10px 0 0 15.5px; margin:0;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=251"><img style="padding:0;margin:0;border:none;" src="http://static.artfire.com/admin/product_images/thumbs/--30000--28333_product_1684429540_thumb_crop.jpg" /></a></p><p style="width:140px; height:140px; text-align:center; float:left; padding:10px 0 0 15.5px; margin:0;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=251"><img style="padding:0;margin:0;border:none;" src="http://static.artfire.com/admin/product_images/thumbs/15948_product_852298575_thumb_crop.jpg" /></a></p><p style="width:140px; height:140px; text-align:center; float:left; padding:10px 0 0 15.5px; margin:0;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=251"><img style="padding:0;margin:0;border:none;" src="http://static.artfire.com/admin/product_images/thumbs/44520_product_1859249191_thumb_crop.jpg" /></a></p><br style="clear:both;" /><p style="width:350px; float:left; text-align:left; padding:4px 0 0 15px;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=251"><img src="http://static.artfire.com/modules/my_collections/images/view-collection-button.png" width="154" height="43" alt="View This Entire Collection" title="View This Entire Collection" style="border:none;" /></a><br /> <a class="title_brown" title="Curated By: EmilyClaireCreations" style="font-size:11px; font-weight:normal;" href="http://www.artfire.com/users/EmilyClaireCreations">Curated By: EmilyClaireCr...</a></p><p style="width:85px; float:left; text-align:right; padding:15px 15px 0 0;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com"><img src="http://static.artfire.com/modules/my_collections/images/artfire-logo-white.png" width="69" height="24" alt="Buy and Sell Handmade on ArtFire.com" title="Buy and Sell Handmade on ArtFire.com" style="border:none;" /></a><br /><a class="title_brown" style="font-size:11px; font-weight:bold;" href="http://www.artfire.com">ArtFire.com</a></p></div><div style="clear:both; text-align:center; font-size:12px; font-weight:bold;"><a href="http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=gift_hub">Unique Gifts</a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03834196556216136587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1422261099935312464.post-60346467488509819062010-08-06T13:59:00.000-07:002010-08-06T13:59:01.239-07:00ArtThere was a post today on the Clayart mailing list about bad art and about shocking people for no other purpose than to shock them.<br />
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It reminded me of a trip to the Seattle Art Museum. My husband and I decided to go on a little tour being offered from a local artist. They would walk us through the museum and discuss a few pieces. Personally, I find very little "art" in the world. For me, I want my art to be visually beautiful, clever, meaningful, without being assinine.<br />
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So this tour guide was pretty lackluster. I think she was a local artist who was forced to give the tour as part of her grade in school or something because she didn't really do anything other than "yeah, uh, so this is a spill of paint that was allowed to dry, and um, these guys saw all their empty beer bottles and glued them together to make this table"<br />
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So then she says "ok, I want to show you my favorite piece in the museum" and we are lead towards this stunning Korean coat made of dog tags.<br />
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Ok, now we're getting excited! We had seen this briefly before (how could you not) and really wanted to learn more about it. I mean look at it! Entirely of dog tags. Not only is it visually stunning if you look at it purely from an aesthetic point of view, but it's also a piece of protective armor made out of soldiers identities. The meaning and purpose of this piece has so many levels, it's just brilliant. And the crowd begins to murmur in appreciation.<br />
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But now she's walking past it. And heading towards something in the corner. The appreciative murmur morphs to a confused murmur.<br />
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And she shows us a wood carving of a head. Wrapped in a scarf. Made by a friend of hers. Something about how the scarf hides the carving and thus the beauty of the sculpture and wow isn't that a commentary on our times. Um no, that isn't commentary. That's an art student who fucked up the face they were trying to whittle the day before a big project was due and wrapped it in their roommates old scarf to hide the screw ups. <br />
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I realize that my pottery is not great art. It's not trying to be. I just want to provide people with something functional that they can enjoy. Or that it becomes such a staple of their routine that they almost forget it exists. I promise you I will never claim to be an artist. But if you really want something artsy fartsy, I'll be happy to send you all of the shards of my pots that came out crappy and will include a lovely garbage bag for display in your home.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03834196556216136587noreply@blogger.com1