Jam-Jar

I'm still working away today. As always, I don't think I have enough new stuff to suit me. But that is just me, all of it will be new to someone so I have to remember that. Here is a photo of the jam-jar I spoke of in a post back. PLEASE feel free to tell me what you think of them. I kind rushed the feet today because I was in a hurry to get stuff done and onto the next phase of my process. I did get the piece out with the luster on it. I didn't love it but I didn't hate it either. It could be a nice accent on non-functional work. Julia Galloway's work has lots of luster on it but I can tell she has some other "gold" that she uses, not like this one I have. There are always secrets that every potter keeps to themselves. If your don't know her pots goggle her name and her web-site will pop up. I love her work!

Beach snap-shots

This is Aydan dancing at the beach. Now that I have a digital camera I can not help but post ( of course) more than just photo's of pots and stuff like that. I'm a proud mama just like every other one.

Back in the thick of it

I'm back and back working tonight as well. My quick comments on the beach :
The kids had a blast playing in the water.
1.For once no-one was scared to venture into the waves.
2.Joey and I enjoyed playing with all the kids in the tidal pools...it was like swimming in the bath tub.
3.Family vacation, we have decided, are not really good for the both of us to "rest up". It was utter chaos with all the kids, food and organization of living with 13 people......and not everyone was there this trip!
4. And its good to be home.

I"m testing a luster tonight. I kind of feel like if I go this direction with some of my surfaces I might be marketing the "LasVegas" type of shopper. I"ve always wanted to just try it so what the heck. I threw some saucers for cups I did last week and worked on putting my "jam jars" together. I made these back in grad school and thought I'd take a crack at them again. I'm not sure I might the right decision with the handle so I may scrape them for the show but we'll see tomorrow once I get the feet put on. Once again I'm bisqueing stuff when its still kind of wet so I'll be nervous all day Thursday before I open up that kiln load. No matter what I do, I'm always a day late on stuff. Sunday we put up the show.

Finishing up for some R&R

I got almost everything finished up tonight since we will be at the beach for a few days. I did have a good long night in the studio last night and got my motivation back. I started around 6 and didn't finish up until about 11:30. I ended up doing some nice work I thought! I'm still working on the Flower-block form. I really am liking this piece a lot because there is so much I can do on the surface. I am kind of excited to start experimenting with some low-fire lusters and colors. ( It could also be a real visual disaster).

I decided to treat myself to a movie tonight while I put sprigs on a lot of things. I rented "Trans-America". Felicity Hoffman( I think that is her name) is one of my new favorite actresses. I love her in desperate housewives-she plays my favorite house wife Lynnette.( I can relate to her since she has twins and says some wacky things to people at times). She was awesome in this movie. I did after about the first 15 minute start forgetting that she was a women. Rent it if you get a chance! I'll be back in a few days!

Getting motivated

I've been having a hard week trying to stay focused and motivated on getting good things done for this show. Some of it I think is just been the week. Face it, some weeks your just kind of in a funk. I'm having that kind of week sort of. We are off to the beach on Saturday so maybe a little vacation will do me good and I'll be back to a fresh start. I am getting things made for the show but the excitement to make stuff is not there this week. I think I really need to learn to turn the TV off in the evening when I work. I just so addicted to turning it on and then I end of watching really bad shows that take my focus away from what's at hand. On weekends when I can be out in my studio with the radio and no one else around is when I really love being there and feel like I do my best. Night are hard with kids opening the door all the time with interruptions and all the background noise of what's going on inside the house. Ok......Well that is my "potters world" for today. I'm going to do some lowfire glaze test the end of this week so hopefully I'll get some photo's on here and talk more about my thinking behind that. Have a good one!

My show with my Dad

I'm doing a show with my Dad next month. Its a pretty fun "project" for the both of us. When I was really little I remember my Dad painting at the kitchen table and we had several of his painting hanging on the walls. Sadly I think pretty much when I entered school his job got more demanding and he stopped painting. About the time I decided to go back to school and get another degree in pottery, he started getting interested in painting again which I thought was great. Last year he set up this show for us at the Greenwood Arts Council ( my "sudo" hometown) and we will be showing there together in July. It will quit a contrast in process because Dad likes to do very geometric painting and of course I'm all about the organic. I know all my love for the creative came from him and its fun to do this show together.
Here are some new big vases I've been working on for the show. Lets hope they get through the first firing!

Strictly functional

I got "lost" again on the web last night. As I said before I get on here usually about 11pm after I finish my studio work and I check my email, write stuff on the blog and then some nights I go web searching. This at times is a bad thing for me to do because I either spend to much time looking at stuff , which cuts into my sleep time or it kind of makes me depressed at all the fantastic work out there that I'm competing with. I guess both of these issues where true last night. I decided to check out this years entries in the Strictly Functional show ( a juried pottery show that I have entered for the last 5 years and got rejected every time!). Some years I've gone on there and thought after seeing some pots and the slide quality -" how did they get in and I didn't"? But this year I was in awe of the work that was selected. Mostly all of it was awesome and I was very envious of the creativity and skill these potter had. You would think this would make me rush right out to my studio and work on the most creative thing I could come up with but really the opposite is true. It just makes me want to get back to basics and refine what I think I may have missed. I could go on and on about this but instead let me just encourage you to go look at this show on the web if you love pots!

My studio

Well, my studio is repaired. I have now gained about a sidewalks width of room( before a gaping hole stood there). Feels good to fix something around our house and not have to worry about wild animals walking around my studio for awhile. Last year I had a raccoon family that would wonder in every night and eat the cat food. One night at 3 in the morning I found one of them scaling the screen behind my shelf full of finished work. I of course freaked out, made some noise and the thing crawled down very gracefully without knocking a single pot off the shelf. Amazing......

I'm working kind of slowly this week. I've managed to make some nice teabowls, large bowls and pretty large vases. Actually I got the idea for my up coming class to work on bigger pots so I thought I might as well practice putting two pieces together myself since I haven't done this in a long time. Well, the results where not that good so a few nights ago I thought, what the heck I'm just going to throw a huge amount of clay and see if I can do it. Low and behold I've gotten some pretty substantial pots made out of porcelain( to bad they will shrinks down so much). I'll let you know how they turn out.

pottery buddies

I forgot to mention that I had a great time Friday night getting together with a group of my pottery friends. I love all the friends in my life but being about to talk pots without the other person getting bored by the conversation is just a addiction that I have to have. I think most potters would agree with me. I almost wish someone could tell me if its like this with all professions or is it just the crafts people that find themselves absurdly in this. I guess I can say the same is true when I get with me mom friends. Its all the need for information and gathering that. Maybe I just need to be a fly on the wall when a bunch of doctors or actors get together. I know my parents( who are both educators) use to talk about that non-stop at the dinner table when I was little so I guess it is true. ( Of course pots still seem like a more exciting conversation to me.)

photo's....

I can't seem to get the photo's I need published on here the last few nights. After I write a bit I'll try again. ( I hate computers....well I love them and hate them all at the same time). On to pots...............I just got back throwing last night. Boy it was nice. Whenever I know I have something big coming up I just start small with cups or bowls. Last night I threw some pretty substancial teabowls for my show in July with my Dad. I've put alot of good pots away for the show but relised after logging the prices for all that I had already, I need some nice smaller items to balance it all out. I also had to re-arrange my studio a bit because Mr. Green( go on Joey's Smackapple blog and you can read more about our contractor issues) anyways, he's starting on fixing my studio hole in the morning. I need to take a photo of that so you can see just what kind of "decay" I've been working in for a year. Give a kind thought to the pottery gods that while Mr.Green is working none of my stuff gets broken while I'm trying to work as well.

My other job

Joey told the story of the birthday part best, so I had to just copy this from his blog. I enjoy doing parties for the kids because I just want to see there happy little faces when all the treats come out!
Birthday Party
We had a little birthday party this weekend for the twins - who turn three. It really does not seem like it's been three years since they were born - well, I guess sometimes it does.Anyway, it was my kind of event - short and to the point, without tons of people. It was a Hello Kitty party, and all little girls, except for Quaid. This may be the last time he isn't too excited to be surrounded by all girls.We filled up a couple of little swimming pools with glycerin and some other ingredients to make giant bubbles. There was minimal whining over stuff, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.These are the three obligatory kid's pictures.
posted by Joey Lawler at 8:15 PM 0 comments links to this post
6.06.2006

Summer

Tonight I tried to get out into my studio and do some cleaning but all I could concentrate on is the kids and bed time ect. I'm enjoying summer so far with the kids I'm happy to report. I guess without all the stress of driving people here and there has proved to be pretty great. I still have lots I need to do but something is differant now that the kids are out of school. Just staying at home and spending time laying out in the grass with the girls or reading a bunch of books on the bed with the the breeze going through the windows is very relaxing to me. I tend not to be a very relaxed person( as most people who know me well can see) so this has been great for me. So, its 10:30, there are tons of boxes to unload, clay to recycle, floors to mop and just basic junk/trash and smells everywhere out there but for another day or so I think I'm going to let it sit there and enjoy the kids.

Larkspur show

I had a fantastic weekend! As I said before, I love to do this show. I wish I had gotten some more photo's but being the technical reject that I am, I only managed to get these few photo's of the show. The first one shows one of the gardeners selling plants, the next one is of my booth and the third one is of my painter friend Georges booth. Of course there were many more exciting things to see there as always. France's gardens are just so wonderful, people come out there just to get seeds from all her plants ( and she lets them!) I don't know what it is about the Raleigh area but I just tend to gel with the type of folks that live there a bit better than here in Charlotte. I know my pots sell better there! Lots more down to earth folks there I think.
My big sellers seemed to be teapots and pretty much the norm from other shows( vases, cups, bowl and casserole's). I have yet to sell one of my clam boxes! I had an idea today to make some very small lidded casseroles. Kind of a "tupperware container" out of clay. I had the idea because I was chopping up onions to have for the week in my morning eggs and couldn't find a lid for any of the plastic ware( what's new). So I reached for a pottery bowl and put plastic over it. I'll let you know when I get to those. Tomorrow is clean up day in the studio and than on to elaborate, one of a kind things for the show I'm doing with my Dad in July. I"ll keep you updated on what I've come up with new for that!

ahhhhhhh done......

Well the kiln is loaded and is firing as I write. It is packed to the brim; the very tippy-top. ( there was one thing I just could not fit in no matter how I tried). I plan on firing it very slow since its packed and I want no re-fires. Sometimes my glaze can be kind of "cranky" and make small craters in places. Usually I just stick these pots back in another kiln and they fire out. I think I'm going to have a huge amount of pots to take to my show. Sadly the Artist Walk in downtown York is closing so I will have all those pots as well. The Artist Walk was a great idea and just was not opened long enough for it to take off. They didn't want to pay anyone to run it and the people the volunteered to do all the work got burned out or just unappreciated. Poor York, nothing good can ever stay downtown....Its kind of doomed I think.The other sad thing about that is that is has so much potential. I really can't talk to much about supporting it because I'm guilty of using only two shops down there. Its hard to stroll around downtown with a five year old and a twin carriage. I've got to be really up for that kind of adventure. Anyways, back to my kiln.........I'll take some photo's of the pots when they come out and lots of photo's of the show! Have a great weekend!

May

May has come and gone. I use to think that May was "My month"; of course my birthday is the 28th. Even my father said today that when I was young I use to start planning my birthday a month in advance. Joey can tell you that, that has not changed. But I just turned 39 and it has finally sunk in that other things happen in May. It flew by before it sunk in that I was turning another year older...fastly approaching the big 40. My son finished pre-school which at the time I didn't think was a big deal. His school had a little graduation and I found myself so proud of him and all teary eyed when he got up to sing his little songs. I also had to put my cat down this month. She was one of my best friends and I realized how fast life goes by. Joey and I planned on doing major repairs to our home but everytime we got money in the bank this month and tried to get the carpenter over here, the money had to go to other things. ( Now June is here and we are back saving money for the house). Time really flies, life is a cycle, a routine and before you know it, you are another year older. What in the world does this have to do with pots????????????? Well, making pots is a cycle. I can look back on my work from last year or last month and relies that a lot happens in a month with the progress in one's work. It makes me feel good to see where I was and where I'm going. I just wish I could go back 10 years and be at the same place!

Cool Sets

I found a great salt/pepper show on the Baltimore clayworks website. I knew about this show and asked how one gets into it. I did get a nice reply back saying it to invitational only( that always sucks). But after seeing the pieces on there I know why and I couldn't see my sets being included in that show. Check it out!
I love to search the web for pots but find that I end up losing a lot of sleep in the process. I usually get on the computer at 11 at night. I always wrap stuff up in my studio around that time and since our computer "station" is right by the door leading to our bedroom, I can't help but sit down and see who has emailed me. The computer is so addicting. I think just as much if not more than a TV. Anyways, if I'm done with my email and want to look someone up it always leads to a late night because I just keep searching and searching until I can feel myself falling asleep in the chair. Of course if we had a high speed computer, I'm sure I'd be getting more sleep! Off to bed!

A race to the finish..

I'm in a race this week. I have another show coming up June 3rd and this is the story of my life with pots and family. I get this pit in my stomach when thinking that I've only have a few more days to make stuff before I pack up for this show. It just so happens that this is my favorite show to do and usually I sell a lot. Its in Raleigh at a friend of mine home and its the one of the nicest small craft show I've seen. My friend Frances who is a gardener and her late husband Al took the grounds of there home and made all these wonderful gardens. Frances also makes garden sculpture( beautiful garden women) and she invites many of her sculpture friends and other craft people show has been close to through out the years. I met Frances when I was working at Cedar Creek gallery and she and my friend John ( who also works at CC) did the flowers for our wedding. Anyways, a bunch of us that use to work at the gallery do the show and its just so much fun to sell my work and hang out with all my old friends. Lots of good laughs.
Anyways, as luck would have it, I've come down with some sort of virus most likely from the stress of "the race" so I think I'm going to have to take advise from the story about the tortoise and the hare and just go slow and steady and work the best I can to finish my race.

Some Pictures of My Setup

From the Barn Sale in Charlotte two weeks ago.

Where's my tec guy!

Had a pretty good day today. Got to go to a workshop with Kent McLaughlin( hope I spelled that right) and then made pots this evening. I like a day when I get to think only of pots. Really I did that in the workshop and when I got back into the car I switched gears back to "motherly" thinking. Speaking of that, there is a great article in claytimes this month about being a parent and a potter. I was so happy to see the title and read what I feel everyday. I didn't have any kind of solutions or answered to the whole situation but it was nice to feel like I was part of a small group who struggles with the pull back and forth.

Kents workshop was fun. He seems like a really nice, funny layed back guy. There is no air about him and I really like that in a potter, plus I like his pots! Good stories and good conversation made the day go by fast.

I made some salt/pepper trays and some boxes tonight. I keep getting these images or should I say voices in my head about changing the little " basket or tray" that my salt and pepper shakers sit on, but since I'm under a crunch I just stuck with what works for now. Tomorrow I'll finish those pieces and I think move on to some bigger things so they can dry slowly before the bisque at the end of next week.

I almost forgot the why my title says what it says. Joey did get some photo's of my booth from the show last weekend and I tried to post them myself on the web . No luck. That is why I want my tec guy back........I need help!

Back to work

I just got back in my studio this evening. Since Sunday was mothers day , I took a break and spent it with doing "mom" things, plus I was just worn out from Saturday. Monday I had a pretty bad day because I had to put my cat asleep. She had been with me for 16 years and it seemed like longer to me. All today I've been thinking about all the things that cat went through with me and all the places I moved her too. She was a one women cat and pretty much could care less about anyone else. She pretty much hated all my boyfriends but never hissed at Joey so I figured that was a good sign when we started dating. I knew she was really sick last week when she let the kids pet her. As soon as Quaid could reach out his hand to pet her she's hissed at him and the girls as well. So, I knew , it was time. I did have some free time this morning to get out in my studio and work but I was still kind of down in the dumps so I put it off for this evening. It felt good to get out there and clean up my mess from last week and start throwing some easy bowls. Tomorrow night I should really kick into gear. I only have two weeks to make a large amount of work for my next show!

( please if anyone reads this let me know!)