Fill 'er up please and while you are there check the oil

We have been throwing this past week trying to get our behind selves in line for a firing before a show on the 19th.
yea, I know, we should have been ready for this so we could just breeze into November.
But who prepares for chaos?
No one ever thinks they will get behind the slow bus of life or that a tractor will just pull out in front of you.
You can be humming down the highway when you get hit by a life moment!
And then there you  are with your hood up waiting for a tow truck.

So do you just wait or forge ahead in hopes that you can get enough work finished to load up the big kiln to fire.
As I see it we have 2 weeks- anything is possible in two weeks.
A lot can happen in 2 weeks.
Empires can fall and Roman can be built in two weeks, right?

I always think to myself that I will not be here next year doing the scramble, but no one plans for the life moments.
If you knew they were coming you could just put them off.
"No", you could say, "this is an inconvenient time, could you please wait to bleed until December?"
January would be better and if you could just put a brace on things I could really deal you in in February. I think I am open that month........

But, as we all know, life does not work that way and so we just figure it out while we go about our daily schedules.

Pots will get made, we will make our show, life moments will happen.
Meanwhile if you are out I have a list for you- I could use a runner for a month.
You're not busy are you?
M

As good as it gets today

Make frame and fit in backerboard.
The frames are made from Walnut wood that we have on hand from  Mark's wood working days.
Mark makes the frames for me and cuts to fit the backer board. I then sand twice and put on coats of wipe on poly and then a coat of paste wax goes on the whole thing.

Mark cuts for me pieces of Masonite that I glue into place.
Then I start testing out tiles to see what I Like.

I mix my handmade tiles in the corners with some good commercial tiles.

You can still see where I pried off the stuff that did not worked- but the Masonite stayed right  in place.

I use mastic to put down the tiles- let that cure a day and then grout.
Before I grout I use blue tape to cover the mirror and the handmade tiles.

On this one we used a grout that has Portland cement in it. It was not as sandy and seemed to work very well.
I plan on using this again with a  bit of red to it for the next mirror.
After it cures you can sand it if you want to,I did ,and  then apply a sealer.

The bottom one we used a sanded grout that I added some color to. We have done this a few times using a ready made grout- note on this one is that some things, such as iron, made the grout shrink more causing some cracking. When that happens just fill the cracks with more grout, cure and seal.

Finished product and disclaimer: I have only made these twice and really don't know what I am doing.
It is still a work in progress for me.
There are times, as we all know, that I think, "Why the heck am I taking on something new right now?"

This is it in the edited version- there were no words added that would embarrass anyone involved.
Although you can add them if you like.
Back to the wheel and planning a gas firing.
Cheers!
M

Yes,I am all thumbs....and left feet

If  my sister Lee was here she would tell me that Mercury is in retrograde or something else that would explain the reasons I seem to have developed two left feet and 10 thumbs.
Yes, 10.
For the life of me I can not seem to find time to work and when I do I am not doing it all that well
I had fully expected to post up an informative post about making the mirrors but I made such a dumb mistake with the last one that I was ready to hang up my apron and go get a job at Wally World.
I could do that- I could say," welcome to Wally World" and smile- all would be right with the universe....
Here you go- I used old grout. I thought it would work and even when I thought I might just have to fill some gaps I still thought I was okay.
Well, it is not okay to use old grout and when I tried to remove it I broke a tile....then when I unhappily removed all the tiles I broke the mirror.
Let's just say it was not a good time for me. Time aside I made a big fat mistake.
So now I have the whole thing down to the frame and maybe this is where I will take a few pictures.
It will be like starting over.
I have more tiles, I have the frame, I have fresh grout what I don't have is time.
I want to get back on my wheel tomorrow and get some pots made.
But- if I find the time I will shoot a step by step of what I hope is me doing all the right things.
Now a slight of hand as I show you where Mark and I ate breakfast last Wednesday morning.
Right nice don't you think?
We made a quick trip to Nawfalk to take care of some family business and found ourselves eating breakfast in our car in a parking lot with a great view.


mirror reflection.....better.... no grout needed......



Not a bad breakfast spot-have cereal will travel.

Back to pots next week and let us all hope for a few keepers..

The true signs of fall are when the poison Ivy shows its color. We know that the trees will be close behind. Can't you see why this would fool someone into thinking what a beautiful vine, I need me some of that. It does call you for better inspection and you might just want to touch, don't!

 

On another note I have a banjo that belonged to my sister lee which I have to sell. 

Spread the word if you know any one who might be interested. 

Leave me a comment and I will get back with you.This is a great banjo and needs a good home.

I am working on some things that will tie me up for a few days but I hope to be back to what I do after that. So, cheers and keep on blogging. I will check in on them as I can. I will also do a post about the tile mirrors when I get some real time to pull that together.
later-M

Stuff is happening

This week Mark is back in the wet stage of pot making for another small gas load to be fired soon, with better results. We think we know what the problem was with the firing. We think it was the mix of gas to air. We have ordered new gas gauges that we hope will help with the reading of the gas to air.

For the crown some pitchers and jars.

This week was crunch week for many local potters after we were asked to produce a painting of some kind for a fundraiser at the NC Pottery Center.
The Potter's Palette.
We were given a 12x12 canvas to paint, draw, color or do anything you want on it.
Some of them are quite nice.
I dropped mine off yesterday and took a little look at them.
It was interested to see what the potters did and hopefully they will post them on line for folks to look at.
I thought about Judy when I was sitting there night after night drawing and scraping one idea after another and thinking of the wonderful things that Judy has been creating.
But with time getting away from me I went to what I know- and of course it looks like it should be a tile.
Maybe it will....
I did like the bold colors but there was a point I had to think Christmas colors- good grief!
I hope the yellow toned some of that down.

Then I was on to  working on some frames for some mirrors that I wanted to do since last fall.
I did some as gifts for my girls last Christmas and they are so nice I wanted to do some to sell.
Here is the start.
Mark cut some Walnut and put some frames together for me that I sanded and put two coats of wipe on poly on, then a coat of paste wax to bring it all out. I love wood but am not sure I have what it takes to put the time in it. The making of the frames is as much work as the making of tiles.
Yesterday I placed the tiles with quick set and today I need to get my mirrors in place and then it is grout.
I will take a few more pictures for you.

But this is all I have for you today.
The weather here is divine so come on out and stop in to see us.
always working,
M

What makes me smile

I have a post in my head but am in a poor time management predicament. So stay with me while I share one of me other passions.
The Grand daughter- seems time for a visit.
This is where I go when I have a bad day- I go look at her pictures of  "life is good moments" and I will share a few with you.
More post and pottery coming. M

At the zoo with Mama and Friend...water...

playing with cups

Mara with one of the family friends--so cute it's a crime.

Thank you

Thank you .
Thank you for your support, your kind words and letting me know that you read my rambling thoughts.

Yesterday we unloaded the small gas kiln that I was thinking about giving a real name until she acted up and threw about a half a load of seconds our way.
I am back to thinking of her like a wild horse that still needs taming, no apples for you my pretty or carrots for that matter.
Who the heck knows what happened with the firing- since the last two firings had been really good.
The wood ash glaze just came out all cratered and just, just wrong.
Now before you ask if this was a new batch of ash the answer is no.
All glazes had been used for the last serveral glaze loads.
The top part of the kiln was okish, new word.
The shelf just under the crown was darn good and then things just went to hell in a hand basket really fast.
I could barely deal with unloading it.
And Mark and I were both puzzled.
Now this is where things get tricky.
How to talk to your partner, who is also the person you have been in business with for 29 years and married to for... well never mind.... but you understand the delicate situation we are in when we try to discuss what went wrong.

Here is what I try to tell myself.
Leave work at work.
Leave it behind and walk away.
That is what we did- we unloaded the kiln- tossing a few pots at trees and then we drove away for the day.
Today- we get up and start again.
That is what most potters do.
Do we really ever figure out what it is we do?
Some days we hit it on the nail and some days we miss.
Is there any potter out that fool enough to think there are no mishaps in this business?
I love hearing how people make pots to relax.
I have long past the relaxed stage as this is our business and not a past time for us.
But deep breaths and when I feel the need to relax there are others ways to do that.
( like a trip to Cape Cod.)

Today I loaded the electric kiln, Mark made pots and we resume what we know.
Those seconds are catching my eye now again but right now they can keep their distance until I have the time to replay the events.
Again- looking forward is the best way to deal with the mistakes of the past.
M

Show and Tell

What I would show you if I had used my camera this past week would be me and Mark glazing.
Me and Mark loading the small kin.
Me drowning under paper work deadlines for my Sister's Estate and my MIL's bank statements for the past 3 years.
Throw me a lifeline please!

What I might also show you is the clutter inside my brain as I reprocess this past year.
Last October we opened the show Clay and Blogs: Telling a Story down in Southern Pines.
It was so much fun and the pots and potters were great.
Yet, it seems years ago to me now.
A lot has happened in folks lives since that opening.
Many of the potters still blog as you can see in my side bar.
And, many of them have become silent.
Many have moved over to different forms of internet communications .
While some of us continue to believe in the daily or in my case, weekly journal of our lives as potters.
I have much to mull over about the past year. The good, the great, the terrible and the acceptance.
There are days that my mind tricks me in to thinking I am still 40 something... that I can call my brother and my sister on the phone.
There are days I know they are gone and days I just think it is all made up.
Two sibs in one year, 5 months apart.
On the 9th will be a year since Jay died.
Yesterday was 7 months to the day since Lee went to join him.
My MIL is in the hospital with 2 broken hips.
There are days that getting anything done in the pot shop is near to impossible and I find myself thinking about the days past of  the many pots that flew off the wheels here.
Now my wheel just sits idle for many days- weeks at a time.
I feel like a soap opera:
Will she ever return to the wheel?
Will Whynot Pottery hold up to the recession?
Where will I be a year from now?
I wonder what the next year will bring for us.
I had a friend once tell me that when you are down get down and wallow in it like a pig.
Then get up and get on. I still think this is good advice and there are days I wallow and cover myself with my thoughts.
And then- I get up and get on.
So, today, we fire the small kiln and I continue to use up many trees worth of paper.
 Cheers for your fall weekends.
we are still here- come see us.

pretty maids all in a row

M

Monday in October

Well it happened we turned on the heat yesterday and I dug out a blanket for sleeping last night.
October came in with its own agenda with snow in the mountains and a cold breeze blowing here.
The tiles are finished, packed and being delivered today.
It is funny when I am working on a group of tiles that they are more like components to me until the backs are glued and they are hung on a wall.
They seem like all parts and I can't pull the real image into my eye until I see them hung.
When I fix the backs on and the glue is set up and I am putting in the wire for hanging I have two nails on the wall and I hang each one just to see if the design carried through.
And it did.
The tile flat on a table looks flat to me.
The tile on the a wall looks sweeping and more alive.
And I feel better  about sending them out.
Now- did I get a picture of said tile on the wall- no- I was too busy with the steps to do that.
Lazy potter that I can be...

 Here is one before the backs were on flat on a table.
These tiles will be given to the donors for a conference in Raleigh.
2011 NAAEE Annual Conference
Theme:  Rooted in Time; Branching to the Future
Raleigh, NC
October 12-15, 2011
I did think they fit the theme and I hope they are enjoyed.

Now on to the next thing- glazing for the small gas kiln.

If I lived in Boston this might be the start of my day... I think I will leave the traffic to the city folks.
I just have to watch out for the occasional disgruntled squirrel.
Best get cracking!
M