I've been neglecting you

Hi everyone,

Sorry I haven't been around much lately.  This next paragraph may have a little TMI so feel free to skip it if you're not in the mood for my self indulgent ramblings - I'll mark the pottery topics when I get there so it's easy to find.

Most of March was spent doing an IVF attempt.  So I've been shot full of hormones that had me logey and moody and I couldn't really put together the concentration enough to form sentences.  Unfortunately, I had a bad hormone surge at the last minute so the attempt had to be stopped right at the zero hour.  There's a chance we were able to recover the attempt naturally so hopefully I'll have a whole new announcement posted here in 3 months, but the chances are pretty slim.  So that's why I've been so neglectful.

POTTERY CONTENT

I've spent a whole lotta time in the past making standard bowls and mugs but lately I've been moving on to more complicated items.  I think I've been doing so because I keep wanting to play with the Steve tool. 

I tend to be quite the gadget person.  If a new something comes out, I have to have it!  And then I never use it again.  This time it seems to be different.  Ever since I've gotten the Steve tool, I can't seem to put it down.  Now anything I make without texture seems really unfinished.

Well, I decided to challenge myself with a few new things.  I've been working hard making chicken roasters and so far only 1 out of 5 has survived the drying process.  We still need to see if it survives the kiln or not.  I seem to be having a problem with cracking.  Especially the lids I make for casserole dishes.  Anyone have any suggestions?  I guess I need to review those tutorials on compressing.

While we're talking about lids, I've found that I really prefer to make them right side up so I can make the knob along with the lid itself rather than attach it later.  That's probably part of the cracking problem.  A big concentration of spun clay at the center of the lid.  The problem comes with trimming off the big giant pad of clay that the lid sits on when it's being made.  When I turn it upside down, I want the weight to be spread across the body of the lid but there's that darned knob in the way.  I'm thinking of getting a big piece of foam, about 3 inches thick, and dig out the center of it and use that as a trimming pad.

So there's been some demand for garlic holders.  I've been working on making a few of those.  The shadow kind of masks the lids. Sorry about that.

And I've also been working on butter holders.  I've made one that worked out and we're using it in our kitchen.  The second one I made at the same time didn't fit once it was glazed.  That sucks.  So I have a few more waiting to be fired.

And since most of what I make tends to be under 8 inches tall, I decided to see if I could do taller.  So I made a big ole vase.

That's all for now!

What's been going on around here

Hey folks,

I haven't been blogging much because it's been boring stressful stuff.  So here's a big ole post to catch you up on what's been going on around here.

When we last heard from Buster, he was at the vet.  He was a very good boy and took all his medicine.  He got very accustomed to hanging out in the laundry room and now tends to follow us into the house whenever he gets the chance.  He showed up at just the right times for the week we had to give him meds and he healed very nicely.

Then a few days later, this walks in.

That's not rain water folks, that's mud.  Pure mud.  Layers and layers of mud.

That's what the towel looked like after the THIRD time wiping him down.

Even brushing him the next day yeilded a big pile of dirt on the floor.

We think some mud got into his eye because it's been watery and a little crusty.  We've flushed it out with warm water a few times (oh yeah, he loved that) and have been checking him several times a day.  It seems to be pretty much cleared up now.

In other news, the big deal around here has been our electricity.  I had the electrician come by to consult about upgrading the wiring in the pottery studio and to find a way to heat the place.  While he was here, all of the power in the house blinked and we tracked it down to the primary breaker leading to the house.

Two main circuits power our house and one completely blew out.  So for about a week, we were living off extension cords and such so we could get light and computer use in the parts of the house that no longer had power.  And all major appliances had to be shut down so no cooking, no laundry, no fun.

After jackhammering a portion of our carport and digging a 4 foot hole in the ground, our power box has been completely replaced!  Yay!  Our house isn't going to burn down now!

As long as we were at it, we went ahead and upgraded the studio.

I know that picture doesn't show much, but it shows what's missing.  No more cords and power switches hanging from the ceiling!  When I walk in, there's actually a light switch that powers the light!  YES!  Of course, I still automatically reach up when I walk in the door, but I'm sure I'll get over that soon.

And check it out, a properly installed heating unit.  *drool*  It works great.  I can actually work in the middle winter now!  And Buster is thrilled of course.  He has his own private heated little house.

So now that I'm able to work again, I'm trying out a new tool.  Specifically, The Steve Tool.

Loving it!  And it demonstrates my trademark cleanliness as it sits on the counter caked in mud.  Oh well.  I do a lot of other things well, cleaning isn't one of them.

I'm also working on a lot of lidded forms right now for some reason.  So here's a few things I've made with my new tool, in my newly powered studio!

So that's what I've been up to. 

Buster thanks you for stopping by!