I packed up a few pots today and shipped them out via the US mail. I sort of go back and forth between UPS and the regular mail. I guess I feel sorry for the US postal service and don't want them to go out of business. Isn't it sad that we don't write letters anymore and everything is via email?! I am so guilty of this unless I'm sending thank you notes. Joey and I make our kids write Thank You notes to various relatives and although I have allowed my 11 year old to have an email account because its needed for school, I really wish he'd have a pen-pal like back in the days......I use to love to write and get mail from far away friends. Anyways, I shipped off two bottles for a vase show at the Worchester Center For Craft. I've been in a few shows there and they are always very nice to do business with. Here a photo of the center - wish it wasn't so far away so I could visit some of these shows I've been asked to be in!
All week I've been a single parent but have been on break from my two college teaching positions. It was nice to have some down time even though I went in both Monday and Wednesday morning to teach my little students at the kids school. I thought...naturally that it would be a total studio week but alas ( I love the word...make sure you say it with your hand backwards on your fore-head and envision yourself as a Princess in distress) "Alas!"....I was a single parents of three very busy children and spent the week cleaning, organizing, feeding and running them back and forth to school as well as play practise! Once again I'm thinking of the days they were babies and how much work in my studio I really DID get done.
Thought and things going on in the studio - Winter Colors
I wish I was one of those potters who put a glaze test in the kiln every time I fire but I don't. Every once in while I get the yen to fool around with some new glazes and see what they will do. I always keep my bisque ware that has some sort of flaw it whenever I do a glaze test. What better to see a new glaze on than your own pieces!
Back in grad school I used this great amber glaze recipe that came from Penland and I was curious to see how it worked in the electric kiln. I came across my old glaze book and thought I'd give it a try just to see. Here was the result below. It is a very rich glaze in the electric kiln as was the case when I used it in the salt kiln. The only difference that the salt bleached it out a good bit more and this is pretty dark. Who'd a thought?! I was thinking how this was such a masculine color and such a winter color. 
The second color I tested was a bit of black mason stain added to the rest of my aqua glaze. Once again, when I first tested my glaze base back many years ago I experimented with alot of color variation. One was adding cobalt and black mason stain to my copper carb for a wash effect. Once again my thoughts turn to Winter and I think I would use this color possibly at Christmas time. It is fun testing glazes but its hard to know what folks will like and what they won't so I like to stick to my tried and true aqua, green and yellow. 
I'm making work at the current moment for a show I'm doing at Lark and Key Gallery in April. I'll get the image of that postcard up soon for everyone. Below is our card for the Spring Thrown Together show. If you look closely you can see each of the four members doing some sort of surface treatment to their piece. Mark your calendar for April 28th and 29th if your near Charlotte. 
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