Butterdishes and thoughts

I finally got my kiln up and running again yesterday. I was having a hard time with my "crimping skills" this go around and someone had suggested I find these really nifty screws that will link the element to the wire in no time flat. I ended up ordering them from Skutt and boy was it a breeze. If you ever have issues with fiddling trying to crimp those little tubes they send with new elements, I highly recommend these screw together ones from Skutt. With just a phone call and explanation of your problem they will be able to help you out.

So, my second load of pots is going this evening and tomorrow I'll be glazing. The photo up top are my butter dishes. Each one is different but the form is the same. I love the way they look all lined up here.

While I was driving to work this morning and really enjoying the drive and the day. ( I was having a moment when one says to themselves " boy life is great! The weather is good, my morning went well and nothing is better than some good music in the car radio and a cup of coffee for a commute). So..as I was saying, while I was enjoying my ride to Clay works to teach I was really thinking a lot about my pots and why I make what I do. I have these thoughts a lot. I think some days my heart is really into making these elaborate pieces but my head and energy leads me to the more production, easy to throw forms. I go back and forth on this. I guess I don't think anything is wrong with doing both but some days I get bogged down with wondering if its really a good business decision to go with your heart/hands and not with my head. There are so many things I think about while making my work. There is the selling it to the public and the question of "what will sell". There is that part of me left from grad school that asks "what unique form can you make that will get into a juried national show so you can be recognized with a voice". And then there is a part of me that knows experimenting with forms, glazes and surfaces is important for keeping the creative part of my self interested in doing what I do. There are lots of question we potters tend to mill over in our heads, a lot. Just thoughts today, lots of thoughts.