Engage

I've got 16 new mugs drying under plastic right now. They need a few touch ups here and there, which I'll do once they're bone dry. I'm thinking of staining then or painting on them, but I haven't decided exactly how, or with what. I think it's time to put my hours of time spent on Pinterest to good use and cull some inspiration.

Speaking of inspiration, I was amusing myself on Facebook and Twitter yesterday with pseudo Star Trek references, which led me to draw this picture of that sexy, sexy man Patrick Stewart as a bit of fun and drawing practice.

I decided that what I really need is mug with Captain Picard's commanding visage on it, and the beverage he always requests.

I am contemplating making several Star Trek fan art mugs, because goddamn, I love that show. That show inspires my LIFE, no bullshit. If people were as honorable and loyal and diplomatic and just downright awesome as the crew of the starship Enterprise NCC 1701-D, the world would be a better place. I am SO SERIOUS RIGHT NOW. I just feel like, if I could wake up everyday drinking out of Picard's face, my day would just be better, you know?

(P.S., you know you're a pottery geek when you're watching a show, and you catch yourself paying attention to the table ware they use. In the last several I've watched, they drink hot beverages out of glass mugs with what looks like a plastic ring around the base that the handle is attached to. That, ladies and gentlemen, is what mugs will look like in THE FUTURE.)

Nich and I started filming a few clips for my Kickstarter video today (doesn't that sound professional and impressive? I should have said "We started production on our upcoming Kickstarter film", isn't that what they say?). I've got an outline written for both the project itself, and what I want my Kickstarter video and page to say. I got three weeks to bang this out, guys. I'm excited!

In case you're wondering, "What are you doing a Kickstarter for, exactly?" I will reveal all sometime this week. I've got a new series of work I'd like to make, and I need your help to get it done, but I'd like to get started on it so I have something concrete to show you guys. Stay tuned!

Sketching

I got a dozen cups finished, trimmed and handled (I lost one to handle breakage, though. Oh well.) I threw 8 more last night, one of which flopped, and one which had a hole in the bottom that I didn't notice until after I put it on the drying board. I'm hoping to get trimming and some handles put on those today. I sketched a bit on 6 of the first 12, though I was kind of just playing around. I don't really know what I'm doing yet. I'm itching to make things, but I have so many ideas, and then I get into the studio and my mind just goes blank. I have a vague idea of the direction I want to go with my mugs, but so far I'm not quite there. Maybe I need to make 100 mugs to get it right?

I met up with my friend Danette at the Garfield Park Arts Center in the park near where I live. Danette is a ceramic artist as well (go check out her wonderful work - don't worry, I'll wait); we both graduated from Herron together. We have both resolved to sketch more often, so we met up to do a sketch kit scavenger hunt that the arts center was hosting. I brought Maddy, and she ingested a lot of crayon and paper, but we had a good time watching her run around while we sat in the grass and sketched things in the park.

We were supposed to draw something that moves, something our favorite color, something up high, and something that grows. Can you guess which is which?

We both talked about getting into studio and getting creative block, not knowing what to do once we're there. Hopefully sketching more often will get us back into making new art. For me, I think taking the time to sketch throughout the day as much as possible (whenever Maddy is running around outside, maybe?) or just getting in the habit of carrying my sketchbook with me at all times would really help me have more direction when I go into the studio at night.

New things, and glaze issues

Here's some crappy cell phone pics. Real, honest to god pics to come. Honest.

I'm pretty pleased with my test tile birds. I may continue to use bird forms for testing glazes. They're quick and easy to make, have nice texture from the serrated rib, and now I have extra quick sell things for upcoming art fairs.

(Ceramic tech geek stuff to follow. If you're not a ceramicist, this is the boring part. You can skip it.)

All the pink glazed stuff got messed up. The glaze crawled like crazy on the inside. I wonder why that keeps happening? I applied the glazes all the same way, pouring them on the inside of the cup, and brushing the outside. The blue and aqua glazes are fine, but the pink keeps crawling. I'm thinking I either need to thin the glaze, or just brush on the interior from now on. I also read that tin and zinc oxide in a glaze can make it more likely to crawl. I wonder whether the Amaco Pink has either in it? Don't both act as opacifiers and whiteners? I'm guessing they needed some sort of white to make that particular pink shade. (Just looked up glaze colorants, and tin oxide is used in chrome tin pink stains. Aha!)

Does anyone know whether there's anyway to fix a glaze that's crawled? I'm debating whether to sell them as seconds, or to put a layer of clear on and refire them, in the hopes that the glaze with settle down. Any advice would be appreciated.

My first clay workshop!

My little sis in law, Lillie Joy, had her BFF in town staying with us for the week, and she threw her a sweet 16 party while she was here. She saw the slab built mug my Dad made at the studio while he was in town, and asked me if I'd be willing to teach the girls at the party how to make their own mugs. I've never done any teaching before, but I've always wanted to, so I jumped at the chance.

Rachel Bleil taught us how to make these mugs at BGCW, and I thought it was a perfect project for the teens. They took rolled out slabs and decorated them with texture from a pile of materials we put together, and then rolled them into cylinders and put bottoms and handles on them. Lillie and Abbie had fun looking around the house for things that would make a cool texture in the clay, and I also brought some stamps, doilies, and press molds from the studio. I'm going to bisque them and glaze them with pink and blue glaze, which were the colors chosen by the birthday girl.

Wish these mugs luck! I hope they turn out ok. In any case, the girls all had fun, and I got my first teaching experience. I'm thinking of suggesting some mini teen workshops like this at the studio, maybe next summer? Or maybe even this one, if we could pull it together soon.

I'll post pics of the finished projects!