The Columbine are particularly pretty this year...and there are lots of native lilies and irises popping up all over the property. Many more than I remember from the past. The lily is a curious plant...two long leaves and the flower and soon there will be nothing to look at
 
The electrician came by and wired up the new-to-me kiln.  It can take me 1 ½ days to sponge and load pots into the smaller kiln and this bigger unit is about 3 times the size…so I suppose that "dishpan hands" will be in my future. I do know that after firing three bisque loads in the larger kiln that there is a small delay between loading and unloading. The smaller kiln fires and cools in a single day. Firing in the larger kiln is a bit longer but the cooling is a heck of a lot longer. It's pleasantly warm to unload the second morning.  Pretty sure the glaze firings will be a bit longer than that. We'll find out this week with the first load going in Wednesday
maybe
perhaps
that's the plan.
The kiln is large enough and my studio small enough that glazing will take up all available space in the studio. That creates a small logistical challenge for paragraph one.
 
Knowing that the larger kiln would be wired up eventually, I made pieces that can not fit into the smaller kiln…either they’re too big or the kiln is too small. But I made the pots and they are fired and now I will be able to work them through the glaze process. Now this may sound like a rather small detail, but the effect that the new pieces will have on the booth are rather profound. So…
 
The new “soft walls” for the tent were delivered last week. I put up two of the walls to give Brenda and I the opportunity to start the conversation on the new window dressing that will be taking place in the booth structure. The conversation led to ordering the new shelving and pedestal for the booth.
 
Pots are starting to get decorated...a few more to be made and all of this has to be finished by the end of May for photography.
 
Just a whole lot of crazy going on around here. It’s all good…but all a bit crazy at the same time.

It is getting interesting in the mudroom. Just enough pots trying to dry in the room that they all have to take turns grasping at dry air to dampen. I know that’s not the way it works, but I’ve reached a standstill. This happens every Spring...like the trees in bloom.
 
But of course, drying pots is not the most interesting happening in the room.
 
I have a resident snake in the mudroom. It’s a juvenile Sharp-tailed snake (Contia tenuis). It is the most lovely red hue. Reminds me of madder. It is a bit smaller than the one I came across in the yard two years ago. This also tells me that we have at least a breeding pair on the property. It’s about 6 inches long not and will likely just about double in size. Literature tells me that the species prefers moist environments…certainly found that in the mudroom. Both times I’ve come across them here, I first thought I was looking at a big worm. They’re that slender.
 
So the snake can stay, but the Mud Daubers cannot. No no no no no! Period. No! Oh…and that stupid spider that bit me a couple weeks back. I’m still recovering from the bite and can still see the fang marks. I’d like to stomp the hell out of that one.
 
…and another critter that needs to move along are the woodpeckers. Henry and Maude (yes we have a pair) have decided that the house can be turned into a nursery and have put two nesting holes through the siding…replete with removal of insulation. The house looks like a carnival with all the dangling shiny bits of foils. I don’t care if they’re a pair of Downy, Acorn or Hairy woodpeckers…I need them to find love in a different spot. They fall under the Migratory Bird Treaty Protection Act (of 1918) but don’t tell the idiot receptionist answering the phone at the USFW in Sac…she was adamant that the Feds have nothing to do with migratory birds…good grief.
 
Now if all these critter’s would just learn to throw pots it would be helpful…at least learn to throw the ball for Madison, the seven month old Black Lab puppy.

Last week we were vendors with VOGUE Knitting. They run a great virtual show. Well run. Well supported by tech help and volunteers. We enjoy working with them.
 
BUT…for all VOGUE does for us. They just can’t seem to stop our local power grid to do hiccups and kick our computer’s connections to ZOOM right off the platform. Seriously 30 seconds to the end of one of programs the power burped and killed our connection through ZOOM. It didn’t even go off long enough for the automatic generator to kick in. Not sure that a battery backup would have initiated fast enough…just a burp...a flutter…a hiccup…At least we know it wasn’t us this time.
 
We were happy to have the opportunity to share our work with folks. Even with all the new projects that have been going out the door, we just don’t get the kind of feedback we could use. We like platforms such as VOGUE (even in a virtual situation) to help us fine-tune our work. It’s not the same as face to face, you and we know that, but it does help.
 
This is a pivotal week on several projects. We need to get the pieces compete and photos taken buy June 1. Now that may sound like a long way away, but the timeline tells a completely different story. Luckily the weather is mostly dry which helps to dry the pots. Oh wait, ”mostly dry” only works for the next five days and then we will get moist and cold(ish). Fortunately, I have a dehumidifier in the shop to help dry the bits. But this week it is important to focus. I have a list of tasks in the mudroom awaiting my arrival each morning. Lots of mud slinging going on in the mudroom.
 
…and then there is the yard. It’s pretty hard to call four acres a “yard” but whatever you choose to call it, it is exploding with growth. That growth needs to be trimmed up, cut down, and there is always something calling for re-this or re-that. The yard takes any extra time I thought I might have had and sucks it up, chews it a while and spits it out.

Getting ready for my demonstration tomorrow with VOGUE Knitting…it’s a virtual conversation about color from a potter’s point of view. Some of the color makers are the photos in the BLOG. Trust me…what you see is not always what you get. Apparently 2000 degrees Fahrenheit can have a profound effect on stuff…ya think?! The demo is tomorrow at 2:30 Pacific through VOGUE. Info on their website.
 
Well the rib is still painful…maybe a 6 on the 10 scale…12 when the 50+ pound puppy decides to jump up to see what’s happening up close.
 
But what could be worse than the crack in the rib from my fall of two weeks ago? How about a spider bite on the kneecap…swollen up, red and warm and itch…ITCH…three days of that and I’m thinking that the rib is the lesser of the problems. Two little fang marks even.
 
If its not one thing its another right?!
 
Rib, knee…how about the trench the electricians want to dig from the house to the workshop. Seriously…I thought we had two conduits running to the workshop…nope…just one and it’s got the electrical running in it. Ethernet doesn’t work well (if at all really) in the same conduit as high voltage wires. So I’m having two quotes submitted. I asked the second guy if I could expect a comma to be involved in the dollar amount and he said, “Yes.” Here I thought we could be friends.
 
Trench or no trench, both quotes will be for the kiln wiring also…so that is going to happen within a couple weeks. That is a good thing. The diameter of the kiln is significantly bigger and that will allow for bigger pots…sort of like the dozen or so that are sitting in the shop waiting for the kiln to be hooked up. I got a little ahead of myself and made pots I can not fire. Sadly, I could use the shelf space they are taking up.

But first...color!

Vogue Knitting Virtual is upon us! Next week, the virtual show starts on Thursday the 15th and closes on Sunday (the 18th). We've got a couple of interesting demos going on during the show (one answering the question in the title) and we'll be sharing a lot of new pieces during the sales times. Of course it falls on one of Brenda's busiest of weeks. Buckle up and ride...it could be rough...like a ride at the rodeo...

Yesterday I sort of felt like I had already been riding at that rodeo...the fall a week ago came back to haunt me. The knee and wrist, those parts healed first and second...the head...it's getting better. The jaw is a bit sore but the star of the show...the big whine...the I-need-more-icecream part of the injury is my rib. And yesterday, a week after the fall, the blessed injured rib decided to flare up. I didn't overworked it, but it thought otherwise and just the act of breathing was just a special event. Brenda wanted me to go to emergency. It was bad (or maybe my whining was a bit over the top) but by the morning, it was back to just hurting. I will be trying to take it a bit slower as I work through the pre-Vogue set up and finishing.

Working on a very cool experiment at the moment. I'll probably have to wait until after the Vogue sale to complete it, but today I started prepping the material for the process. First step...heat flour to  500F for 30 minutes. So I did that, smelled that and was glad when it was over. Just short of ignition...a dark toasty color on the top. Perfect. Step two will wait until the rib heal...and the Vogue gig is in the rear view mirror.

Earlier in the week I wrote, "The new hump form is out of the kiln and begging to be used. I'm going to give it a first run this week and if we're lucky...maybe a second attempt" and I was extremely happy with the TWO pieces I made this week...so far! why do I say "so far?" Well, I also said "it should take a couple of days before I can safely remove a piece from the form" and I was wrong. The pieces come off the form the second day and that is great news. We'll still need to wait a week or so to get these pieces dried and into the kiln and that is going to be a challenge. You getting the drift that this is a good cop/bad cop story? The bad bit is that I really REALLY want to see these pieces glaze and on the wall and a week...well a week of waiting will seem like a lifetime.

The slab roller stretches clay as the clay moves through the rollers. When I make the smaller pieces (like the shawl pins), stretching is not a problem and doesn't have a negative impact on the pieces...but on the larger pieces the stretching thing can traslate in warping. With larger pieces I jump through hoops to overcome the stretches.

What do I do? I start with the roller set at 3/4 of an inch thick and then after rolling the clay through the roller I reset the roller to 5/8 inch, turn the slab over and roll it again. The another reset to 1/2 inch and roll it again. Then I turn it over again, turn is 90 degrees before rolling it to the final thickness of 3/8th of an inch. No warping. It takes longer but the product is much better.

All this and prepping for an obvara and carbon painted firing over the weekend...Sunday is most likely. I've been watching the weather and it's going to nice and warm. When I get done with the firing and the pieces are washed, they'll dry really quickly, as in overnight quickly. I'm so tired of waiting for days for the pieces to dry in the cold an ddamp of Winter. Did quite realize that I was tired of Winter until the forecast told me it was going to be warmer. Warmer weather is a really welcomed event.

Don’t you hate it when your puppy is smarter than you are? I do. She is. Definitely.
 
Most of our learning exercises are now focuses on basic life skills in preparation for our trip(s) to Montana. Basic needs…like not wrapping me up in a calf roping maneuver when “walking” on a leash. I’m not worried about left side heeling stuff…I just need her to be able to “go” on a leash so we can make stops between here and MT. She has just over 2 months to train me. Wish her luck.
 
The new hump form is out of the kiln and begging to be used. I’m going to give it a first run this week and if we’re lucky…maybe a second attempt. It should take a couple of days before I can safely remove a piece from the form. Because it’s a curved form and pieces will be made using the convex side, as the piece shrinks there is a chance that the piece will pinch on the form and crack as it does. Taking the piece off as soon as possible is important…but too soon and it will warp (badly) and not soon enough and the risk of cracking goes up. The steeper the angles of the sides of the form are, the more of a problem that can be created. Finding the “sweet spot” on the curve of the mold is important. We’ll know in a week or so just how well I guessed on the form.
 
Just one week to go to have fully developed the vaccine’s effectiveness. Brenda and I are not looking to do any Nekked Mask travels for a while, but at least I can go to the lumber yard...I'm beginning to dream about all the nuts and bolts.

Well we got to the CVS pharmacy and picked up that second dose of the vaccine. The aftermath wasn’t as bad as I was planning for. A bit achy on Wednesday but really not too bad. Okay…honestly, when I woke up my body thought it had been through an auto accident…that lasted until about noon. The sleepy-head syndrome lasted all day. It was hard to put a complete sentence together all day. The upside is so much greater than the downside of not being vaccinated. In a couple of weeks I will be able to go to the hardware store...with a mask of course.
 
I’ve been focused on running pots through their glaze firing cycle for the last few days. The kiln is too small for the job. Not that I’m making more pots lately, but there is more variety, to the point that the pots do not pack efficiently. That means there is a lot of wasted space…fewer pots per cubic foot. More firings to get the same number of pots. PG&E took the pressure off of firing on Wednesday by turning off the power. We can run the kilns on the generator, but why. The switching on and off of the power leaves an opening for a leprechaun to play games…and after all, it was St. Patrick’s Day.
 
 The good news is that with the pots getting through the glaze cycle, there is room in the mudroom to make new pieces. One of the new pieces is a second large domed form to make pieces against. I made one and will bisque fire that one over the weekend, but I really need a second one. The form is the basis of three different projects so having more than one form to build on is important.
 
The little jar project came out much better than I could have imagined, especially for the first pieces. I usually only expect fair/good on the first samples. To run into very good/excellent samples right out of the gate is a great omen…it’s a sign of some sort. Best part? Brenda likes them. 

The ramen bowls turned out well also. I still need to tweak them a bit, but a fine start on that project. Because it’s a piece that will be held while eating, the size and the shape is extremely important.  I enjoy trying to marry form and function.

All good news this week. If there was bad, I didn’t see it. It’s St. Patrick’s week . Lucky me.

Been watching the weather more than normal lately. Tuesday we both are doin’ numero dos. Forecast showed snow on Monday and if it were last week, we’d be missing the appointment. BUT…the snow is ending early in the afternoon so we should be good…better after the vaccine.
 
Spent last week and the weekend prepping work for firing. I wanted to get enough work finished that I could load the kiln at least three times. That way I can bridge the lost day from any possible reaction from the vaccination. We hear that it’s a bit of a kick for some people. So we’re planning around that possibility, remote that it might be. As it turned out, I might have four loads of work ready. The best result of multiple kiln loads will be clearing the studio so that I can work on some new pieces. New stuff…that will be fun.
 
The big day of the Irish Year is Wednesday. It’s a day when millions of Irish and wanna-be Irish (or temporarily Irish for the day) celebrate one of the many Saints of Ireland, St. Patrick.  We generally have a good time on that day sometimes forgetting that it’s a serious celebration with a religious twist. Of course, for traditional Irish musicians, it is the biggest day of the year. I can remember back a few years ago when I played 21 gigs in 23 days…”who’s on first” comes to mind when I think back on that month.
 
Of course it’s also the day we shoot “Shenanigans of a Studio Potter” (LIVE on Facebook, 5-6 PM Pacific). We do that open video time each Wednesday, rain or shine, vaccine reaction or not. And…because it’s St. Paddy’s Day…I’ll be opening the time with some traditional jigs and reels (also LIVE) on my B/C Button Box (an accordion). Should be fun.
 
But don’t expect to see any green pots covered with shamrocks and filled with gold coins.

Snowed in? To be honest it doesn’t take much because of the slope of the driveway and the incline at the bottom of our little private road…but yep, snowed in. An inch of snow could make trying to get down the hill interesting, but by 8 in the AM it was at 4 inches and forecasted to continue until about 10 last night. Oh Covid not even you can get me any more isolated than yesterday.
 
I keep checking the forecast for next Tuesday. It’s the day we are scheduled for our second vaccination. We’ve cleared the calendar that afternoon and, hearing that the Moderna vaccine has a bit of a kick the next day. We cleared almost everything on Wednesday too. I’m keeping Shenanigan’s of a Studio Pottery on the calendar on Wednesday (LIVE 5-6 PM Pacific on FB)…cuz I’m no whimp. We’ll see if my Ironman attitude holds up or if I’m curled up on the couch with a tub of ice cream.
 
Bisque loads of pottery are going in and out of the kiln nearly everyday as I prepare for a series of glaze loads. Typically, a bisque load will generate two kiln loads of glazed pieces. I’m hoping the first glazed pieces can come from the kiln on Sunday, then Monday and Tuesday…skipping Wednesday and Thursday because of the vaccination. Planning helps.
 
News of Puppy Madison. It’s hard to think of her as a puppy. Although she is 5 ½ months old, she is just short of 50#...the vet is predicting between 70 and 90 when she reaches “adult stature.” That’s about 20 lbs more than everyone originally thought. She has puppy skills, a teenage attitude and is longer, taller and heavier than her sister by another mother, Montana (our 15 yo Brittany Spaniel)…and she found that she has a big dog bark. She shocked herself with her own bark. Luckily she uses that voice sparingly.

Maybe if the vaccine kicks me a tad more than I would like, I'll get that ice cream and maybe...maybe not...share it with Madison.