7.01.2006

The endless sighs

Ok, scenario's from Thursday to Saturday:
Thursday day- I try to get a sitter/mothers helper here in the morning so I can quick dry/decorate my pieces for a bisque. Since I was at the beach for 4 day and it rained the whole time I was there the big things are not totally dry and the fan in my studio has not dried everything overnight. No luck with the sitter so I'm forced to have a long night and a lot of anxiety. I end up finishing decorating everything about 12 and start to load the kiln but everything won't fit. This had not taken into consideration. I had many large things and awkward shapes. I bet a loaded and unload that kiln about five times for everything to fit. I crack the lid, turn everything on low and go in to bed around 1:00 - I set the alarm clock for 2 so I can shut the lid.
Friday morning.........I wake up at 6 and relies the alarm did not go off. AHHHHHHHHHH Joey give me a lecture on why it did not go off ( just what I want to hear!) I decide that there is no need to get super upset......If I'm a day late with the work people will just have to understand. I'm really not worried about the arts council people( I'm use to explaining these mishaps to people) but my Dad.......hummmmmm that is another story. ( Your dad is always your dad). I just go ahead out to my kiln, look at the pots to see they are all bone dry and turn that sucker up to high! I might as well go for it! The morning goes on and about 1 o-clock I notice that kiln had fired off. Hey.........the pottery gods are on my side.
Friday night........I start glazing about 7 o'clock. Something comes up that day again where I have no outside help and I just have to count on Joey when he gets home. I know its going to be another long night. I glaze and glaze and glaze. As I'm unloading the hot bisque kiln I find that two of my favorite pieces have cracks in them. AHHHHHHH. I go on. I carefully try to glaze everything and relies once again that I'm short on kiln space. Its about 1 in the morning when I finally get everything but one piece in the kiln. I'm sure I've loaded and unloaded it about 10 times. SO fustrating and I"m so tired. Once again my tired risk taking side takes over and I just turn the kiln straight to high after its been just sitting on low so dry out the pots while I"m loading. I'm just to worn out to get up with that kiln for the turn ups...I need sleep.
Saturday morning.....I get up at 8 and by 10 I see that at some point the kiln has turned off. AH the kiln gods like again! I put a fan on the kiln and cut the grass, go swimming with the kids, take a nap and around 4 I start quick cooling it by putting various size blocks in the lid. When I finally start unloading stuff at 9pm my heart sinks. Glaze runs on my two big vases. AHHHHHHHHHH, the jam-jar looks like do-do. And as the three days go on I relies that I must of sighed about 100 times and not the way my yoga teachers would like me to breath!

( At the moment I'm doing a cone 19 luster firing. Tomorrow Dad and I are off to Greenwood to set up the show).

2 comments:

Ron said...

I hope you mean a cone 019 luster firing.
Sorry to hear about the disappointment with some of the pots. It amazes me what you get done. I am sure the show will be great, what a cool thing to be doing with your dad.

Joey Lawler said...

You're a mess - but I still love you!