First (and very late) post of the new year.

After the holidays ended, I was still too preoccupied with other things going on in my life to get back into my studio in the basement. Partially because it was being used by my brother in law as a bedroom while extra people were in town. But also because I've apparently gone into full-blown pregnancy nesting mode. All I've been able to think about is making maternity clothes and how to make fitted cloth diapers from old t-shirts, what kind of mural or painting I'd like to make for the nursery, and what kind of things I'd like to cook/bake/eat. It's been kind of nice, though, because I've still been occupied with creative activities and making things; those things just haven't been made out of clay.

This week I start my new studio monitor position at the Beech Grove Clay Works studio, and classes start up next week. I'm ready to throw myself back into making new work, and I've already got a steadily growing list of experiments and projects planned. I'm also ready to start reorganizing the basement so I can begin working down there again as well. I don't generally make new year's resolutions, but I do have some goals in mind in the upcoming weeks - the main ones being to do something ceramic everyday, get down to Beech Grove for every available open studio time, and update this blog more regularly with my progress, at least a few times a week. I know that I won't continue to learn and improve and grow if I don't make ceramics a daily practice, and I also know that with a baby on the way, I really need to work at managing my time better. Studio time is going to become a precious commodity after I become a parent, and if I can't make time for the studio now, it's going to be rough with a baby on my hip! Lastly, I'm hoping to start doing a bit of glaze testing, as I've become disatisfied with the limitations of my assorted commercial glazes. I always hated glaze calc in school, but now that there's no grades or assignements, I feel free to experiment for my own knowledge and curiosity's sake. I would definitely like to have one good translucent copper glaze at my disposal to start with.

I'll leave you with some pictures of the last doll jar I finished, my Creepy Girl. I'm pretty pleased with the way she turned out, and definitely prefer the unglazed surface over my glossy, glassy Cat Girl jar. The matte painted surface really seems to suit her. I'm definitely going to continue on with these forms in the coming weeks.