Merry Christmas to all!

No time to post pics.... but a Merry Christmas to all!
In a few minutes, I'll leave for a flight out west for vacation. Hopefully, I'll make it there with the snow. Decided to stay up all night rather than sleep for an hour. I'll be in touch closer once I return, a week into the New Year. I'll be gone the 12 days of Christmas!

On the first day of Christmas.... what a fun song!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
I look forward to catching up with blogging when I return. :)

New Favorite

This is a closeup of my new favorite, made by John. You can see why... Also, I'm mindful these days that some are separated from their loved ones. This is my colleague, Carl Yost, who has been in Afghanistan for almost four months, serving as a chaplain. He is amazing; I have missed his presence and the joy he brings more than I can say. Thankfully, he returns in mid-January. Here he is in front of his desk in Afghanistan. What a sacrifice he is making to be there, away from family and friends.... and giving hope to all there, in addition to his humanitarian work with the Afghan people. Take care, be safe, Carl and come home soon!

On another note, here's a plant update: my second cactus is blooming! Hopefully, that means there are better things ahead. Here it is.... It's been a great day. I began it with two who probably know me best than any other these days. I love time with good friends. That time in itself was a Christmas gift! I'm so blessed...
Oh, and I'm watching this as I write... it is so funny! Alas, these days, it's hard to think of life before pottery. I think that is the way it should be. :)

Why Go to the Mall?

Well, today I found a much better place to shop than the Mall. Why would anyone go there if you could go here? This was where to get Christmas gifts today.

I stopped by John's pottery sale- lots of variety, great colors and forms, even cookies for the customers! This is the yunomi I acquired. Will test it out with some red wine tonight. Hmmm I look tired in the pic; I wasn't-- for after I left and went to the studio and threw six yunomi teacups. Anyway, it was fun to stop by and chat a bit. Please check out his blog, for he has been at this for longer than I and it shows! His pots are undiscovered treasures. He always is helpful giving tips and ideas. Even if you see one you want in this pic above, leave a comment on his blog- it may be for sale! Here are the six I made- the extras are in the back, drying, and waiting to be trimmed. Tomorrow's a big, LONG day.... it will be wonderful to have the holiday party at Clayworks to end the day. And, the good news is I'm not going to the Mall at all this month or even next month...

Christmas is Coming... First Sale, and Etsy!

Great, colorful pic. More about this later in the post.
Well, I picked up my pots at the studio that came out of the kiln last weekend. Here are some....
and all of them; (looking down):

I think a photography class would help too!
How fun this is! Yet in the first picture, one is missing. It sold that fast! Here it is... I'm so happy!

Thanks, Becky! It's amazing how someone else likes what is not your favorite. I do like the glazing on this; I'll do more like it in the days to come.
Glazing: The inside was dipped in spotted shino and then, the rim in Alfred's Blue. The sides have red iron oxide wash and white crackle slip (I think) and then spots of catherine's oribe and alfred's blue. Got the ideas for glazing from John and Greg. :) All of these pots are made from Cone 10 zella stone clay.
And my sister bought two bowls. I like this idea of selling pots. I even found some Christmas tissue paper as you can see in the pic at the top.

I think they have enough bubbles and peanuts around them. Don't they look like fruitcakes? Now all I need is more time to make pots, learn more forms, and create some business cards. Anyway, they're off and on their way!
And, I FINALLY, FINALLY got my etsy shop set-up. Still need to work on it more, but it's a start. I just have too many pots; I have to sell some. For some reason, it's not working out to add the etsy link to the layout of this blog yet. Any insight as to how to do that? It's not working to add it as a gadget. Oh well... in the meantime, check it out! http://www.ahuacani.etsy.com/ I'll post more etsy pots soon. Gosh, this takes alot of time.... That's all for now.

Still Cups!

Last night, I went to the studio after I went running in the dark. It was so humid outside; it felt like I was in Florida.

Spent a couple hours at the studio eating oranges, pretzels, and making these six. They're much bigger cups. Too big to be called yunomis. The previous night I was in the studio, completely out of clay and being the usual thoughtful person, Becky gave me some loafer's glory clay to try. That didn't work too well; it was too slimy, so I was thankful that this clay was on my shelf when I arrived on this night. The consistency of the really makes a difference. :)

John was also in the studio and as usual, he brought some music. Thanks John! What a peaceful, fun night.

Api

Well, I'm way behind on postings. This time of the year is so busy for me. Even so...
As I left my parent's house last week, my mom made this for me.
Api. (Ah-pea) It's this purple drink from Bolivia (my father's homeland), made out of mostly corn and some spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, etc... along with some sugar). It may not look delicious, but it's so good. It's served warm usually at breakfast. I haven't been able to find api here in the U.S., so it's always treasured. It's one of my favorites and when I drink it, I always miss my abuelos (grandparents) who love making it for me. They are among my most favorite people in the world. Food has this way of taking you to places and bringing you back to unforgettable memories.

Sunday

Usually, Sundays are the busiest day of the week for me, being a Lutheran pastor. With that said, it's refreshing to be on vacation and I even found a place to worship this morning. St. James' Episcopal Church.
Here's my wish list in finding a place of worship:
+ An organ
+ Lutheran or Episcopal church with liturgy
+ Communion (there must be communion)

Even though my list is short, it is amazingly hard to find a place to worship that has all there of these. Even so, I did well this morning and heard a professor for Princeton University preach. This church's new rector also has an English accent; perfect for Episcopal churches. A great choice in all. As I greeted the worship leaders and introduced myself, I learned that one of the professor's students is Baptist. I shared that I grew up Southern Baptist. She said, 'what a journey you've had.' How true... I wouldn't trade being Lutheran (discovering grace) for the world.

Away

I'm out of town for the weekend visiting my siblings and my parents. Don't have pics of my nephews (hopefully my sister will email me one). Met my other sister's fiancee. Met my new niece, Lily Annette and here's me with her soon after I went running in the cold. Anyway, she's 7 weeks old and beautiful, of course. Now I'm at my parent's house watching 'It's a Wonderful Life' for the first time in its entirety. I know, it's popular; I just haven't ever seemed to watch the WHOLE thing. It's always good to visit my parents, especially with this warm fire above that my dad makes this time of the year. :) Check out the fireplace above.

And running, I managed to go running in the cold today--- under 40 here in PA. Found this on the sidewalk. Now, it's mine. Maybe it'll help bring me better luck in 2009? I'm ready for a New Year to begin.

Finally, I know... no pics of clay in this blog. Didn't have room for it in my suitcase and I wasn't sure how to bring finished (handbuilt-- I've hardly done that either!) pieces back to Charlotte via the airplane. Maybe next time... I'm really missing it.

Glazing, Glazing and 'Slipping' on Tuesday

Last Tuesday night, I was at Clayworks, glazing four pieces on their way to the gas kiln that night. Found out that John and Greg, the master glazer would be there too, and the company was wonderful. From this point on, it will be hard to glaze pots on my own; having others around is way better.

The evening started with time to catch up over wine with Becky, Minke, and others. John has a pic of this time together on his blog. Time like this always seems to go by fast at Clayworks.

In time, I got to glazing. First, I put the wax resist on the bottom. That one piece turned upside down is mine. The bottles are John's. Those three tumblers in the back need some 'slipping' (is that a word?).

I needed some glazing ideas and really liked these two mugs in particular, belonging to John. So, I decided to use that method for my new mugs.

Aren't these beautiful? All the while, Greg was glazing some pots for his sale this weekend. I particularly like the shape of the mugs on the right (no handles either!). Both John and Greg have been glazing much longer than I. Being around this experience really helps. Here's John putting slip on some pots.So with these experienced glazers (is that a word?) nearby, I decided to glaze my pots in a different way. Still shinos, but these mugs only have glaze on the inside. On the outside of these is white crackle glaze, red iron oxide, and drops of tenmoku and alfred's blue, (if I remember correctly). The ones in the back of the pic have blue slip and white slip, I think... they're on their way to the bisque kiln.

Here is a closer shot of the four.

Late night! Ended up leaving at 11 pm. Time so well spent. :)

Holiday Sale

It's been a long weekend and here was the highlight:
The Holiday Sale at Clayworks on Friday night. First of all, lots of artists displayed their works in booths. Here's pieces by Greg.

This was Sunshine's first display. I think she ended up selling the most. Such vivid, warm colors.

Minke and her sculptures were there too. I have yet to get a picture of her, and her sculptures are amazing!Since I'm not a studio artist, my work is in the student section. The bowl and tumbler are mine.

A close-up. I must admit I'm a bit proud. A good beginning.

We all dressed up more than the usual clay attire. Check out Becky's boots!

They're green like Julie's clogs. I see a theme building here... Perhaps I need to get green shoes.
Here's some of the pieces in the gallery that were for sale.

Kris' exhibit. If I erred, I took too few pictures. Such attention to detail.

Becky's birds... I couldn't believe that all of them didn't sell. They are gorgeous.

Part of the student exhibition.

The food was delicious. It didn't last long.

Joe and John were busy doing demos... making bowls for the empty bowl project. All in all, a fun evening. I think it would be a good idea to have more than one sale a year. Back into the studio tomorrow evening. Can hardly wait.
And, my cactus plant is blooming more than ever. :)

Glazing, Glazing, Glazing

Here's a closeup of some of the tumblers that just came out of the kiln. As you can see, they are great for wine, although the one with wine isn't mine. :) So Wednesday night, I went running and then went into the studio to glaze some tumblers. I've decided that it's always better to glaze pots with someone else around, for it can be quite a tedious process. Thankfully, John and eventually Greg glazed pots that night too. Greg, the glaze master really helped by giving new suggestions and ideas. John can be quite a procrastinator but is so easygoing. I don't think the pink eraser in his pocket really helped him to glaze either.

Hard to glaze a pot when it's on your head. What a look... It really wasn't that late, John. :)
These fashionable 'girly' new paintbrushes of his really made a difference though. Brand new from Michael's. These seven are the fruits of my labor. Some are yunomi style. Put wax resist on some of the tumblers. Late night in all. Tumblers, tumblers, tumblers in my world these days. Can't seem to get enough of them.

What a fun night. Time goes by fast whenever I'm in the studio. If only I could make a living doing this. Maybe someday?

Good Luck from Ger and Reduccion

Ger and Reduccion really helped in this firing. They were loyal, faithful, hardworking, and had lots of endurance. They're still sitting above the kiln, waiting in the cold for another spurt of warmer weather. :) Anyways, here's what this firing brought...

Here's a quick post from the kiln unloading. The color in the pic is not the best; the pots looked GREAT for the most part though. This is what the kiln looked like when the door was opened, minus two tumblers of mine that I had already taken out. Speaking of tumblers, that's one of mine on the bottom shelf, with shino glaze on it, to the right of the dolphin.

A close-up of my tumblers in the kiln, just behind Ro's mugs. Hers were glazed in orange carbon trap;some had this great color; others turned out white. Those tumblers in the shino glazes are mine. :) I'm so encouraged by how my pots look.

Greg had several big pieces in the kiln. Great glazing; two here.

Here's another of his with the lid on it that I also took a picture of before it went into the kiln; (see previous post for before pic).

Such good different shades of blues.
I had thirteen in all in the kiln. All had shino glazes on zella stone clay. Will take some separate pics soon. Good colors and Adrienne gave me a great idea for how to vary the shino glazes.
Long day of work. Oh, and I'm out of work beginning on January 1, so if you know of anything in the Charlotte area that is full or part-time, please be in touch.

In the meantime of such uncertainty, being in the studio is a wonderful thing. It is often the best part of my day. Helping to unload a kiln is always a great joy!

Will post more pics tomorrow. The Holiday Sale is also Friday and Saturday. Yeah! :)

Before I go, meanwhile, my cactus plant is blooming. It does this once a year, I think. All it needs now is to be replanted in a pot that I've made. Maybe that is a good sign of what's ahead.

And, thanks Ger and Reduccion. :)

Confession and Tomorrow

I had good intentions to be in the studio tonight and then decided this afternoon to go to volunteer at Operation Christmas Child with a friend, packing shoeboxes to be delivered to children all over the world who have nothing. I have met children like the ones who've received these boxes; it's the least I could do. I have so much. Plus, I was feeling selfish. Had a good time; yet, I now have a confession:

I think I'm partially addicted to pottery. When I have free time if I'm not running, I just want to be in the studio. At least, I wrote it down. There are way worse things. It's so true.

I realized this in part, when I read a sign on the studio door tonight as I dropped by briefly tonight. It said, 'studio closed Thursday until Saturday at 4 pm.' And my heart sank, because what am I going to do now on Friday my day off? What about Saturday morning?

At least I have a job where I can switch the days that I work; now I'll head to the studio tomorrow during the day and work on Friday. That will help the time to pass, hopefully.

Also decided today.... now added to my 'bucket list' (I hope you've seen the movie) is:
+ Create my own pottery studio... and sell my pottery! :)

Thankfully, tomorrow is another day and the kiln will be unloaded! Enough rambling for now.

Reduccion and Ger

Yesterday, the studio was busy, as many were prepping pieces to add to the gas kiln firing that evening. Greg, the glazing master was even around and gave some wisdom. I prepped 12 tumblers (one is really a creamer). All have shino glazes on them and a few, a bit of tenmoku as a design. The first six:The ones in the background are John's. He seemed to have an endless supply of pieces to glaze. He was at it way longer than I (then again he's been a potter for longer too!). Lately, the shino glazes have produced great results for me. I remain hopeful. Here are the rest:

Here they are, on the shelf, awaiting their final fate. They're all about the same size.

Julie and Ro loaded the kiln, decked out in warm clothes and winter hats. Wine and beer helped also. Julie really gets into it when she loads the kiln. Even while wearing the lucky clogs, she got inside. Becky helped a bit too as you can see here.Greg brought a couple pieces too. Here he's explaining which glazes went onto this pot. Does he ever put just one glaze on one piece? With his results, you can see why.

A close-up. That's Joe's mini blue glass pieces on the top. I want to buy and use some of those... Gotta get a pic of how this one turns out. Half of mine ended up on the bottom shelf in the front left of the kiln. Evidently where they are sometimes matters. Will see.... As we waited and watched the kiln loading, Becky and I made kiln 'gods'. Hence, Ger (short for Gin'ger'bread (my creation) and Reduccion (Becky's creation- a bird of course!) were born. :) Here they are. I think I need lots of practice with handbuilding and that I'm better off at the wheel. Right before the kiln door was shut, Ger and Reduccion joined the other kiln gods at keeping watch above the kiln. They are now way warmer than it is outside. Here they are with some of the others. They're in good company.A shot of some of my pieces on the bottom left shelf as the kiln was candling. See the flame on the left. Check out Susan's penguins!

Finally, a shot of the inside of the kiln just before the door closed. Wednesday afternoon, the door will open and we'll see what's inside!