Cinderelish

Curls of Clay

2012-01-19T15:06:00.000-08:00

Here is a little peek inside the studio today. I went in early and trimmed this big bowl. I love the way the soft clay curls into ribbons. They almost look good enough to eat. I took the video with my Iphone which I propped up on some glaze jars, but you get the idea.

Jugtown Inspiration

2011-11-16T17:22:00.000-08:00

I just returned from a pottery road trip with two good friends. We headed out on our 16 hour excursion from Kansas City, MO to Seagrove, NC last Thursday morning. We visited The NC Pottery Center, Jugtown Pottery, Dean and Martin Pottery, Ben Owen Pottery, Chris Luther Pottery and Bulldog Pottery to name a few. There are so many potteries in the Seagrove area that they actually renamed hwy 705 "NC Pottery Highway". This town of potters were some of the nicest people I have ever met. In every studio we visited, pots were being thrown and glazed, and kilns were being loaded or fired in preparation for the big festival next weekend.

The busy studios did not prevent these generous artists from sharing their time with us. We heard personal histories from all the artists. Some of them came from a long line of area potters and can trace their roots back to the Stafforshire potters of England. Others moved to Seagrove within the last year of so. One Seagrove potter actually graduated from the same high school in Independence, MO as my husband. It really is a small world. They all shared info about their clay, glazes, and firing methods. They were also kind enough to recommend other area potters to visit and raved about area talent.

After a few days in Seagrove we headed back west toward KC. On the way we stopped and visited Penland School Crafts. I was glad for the detour. It gave us a chance to drive through the winding roads of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Penland is amazing and my visit there just confirmed my desire to attend an 8 week concentration in the future. This coming Spring, the teacher will be Kathy King, whose work I am infatuated with. I will be in Seattle for NCECA in March so I can't attend then. I am crossing my fingers for the Fall 2012 schedule. I am hoping for an atist that interests me. The final stop on our pottery excursion was just 15 minutes away in Bakersville to the studio of Michael Kline. Yet another amazingly nice and generous potter.

After a good nights sleep last night, a little catching up at home and some unpacking of pots, I headed to the studio around lunchtime. When I got there, this little jug was slipped and just waiting to be carved. I think it knew I had been at Jugtown.

Renegade Craft Fair - Austin

2011-11-09T21:17:00.000-08:00

I am excited to be joining the Renegade Craft Fair in Austin Thanksgiving weekend. If you are in the area please come by and see me in booth #14. Here is some info about the event from their website:

The 1st ever Renegade Craft Fair Holiday Market in Austin will be November 26 + 27, 2011, from 11am – 6pm at the Palmer Events Center!! Always free-to-attend, you can skip the mall this Black Friday weekend because our curated roster of 150 top notch indie-craft artists will surely have something for everyone on your handmade holiday shopping lists! We’ll also feature hands-on crafting activities and food, beverages and libations will be available for purchase!

At the Renegade Craft Fair you can expect to find only the best indie-craft and DIY artisans! Featuring both local and national talent, shoppers can anticipate a vast array of independently designed jewelry, clothing, paper goods, home + garden goods, posters, artwork, plush objects, bath + body products, and so much more!!

At the Fair, attendees can get crafty by participating in a number of interactive workshops, and find inspiration from local independent businesses who keep Austin in the loop with all things creative!

Part boutique, part classroom, part awesomely-shiny Airstream – Austin’s The WonderCraft will back with their trailer, Stella, leading an ornament-making workshop, selling their wares, and signing people up for creative classes that are sure to inspire.

Yarn bombers extraordinaire Knitta Please will bring their inspired large-scale knits to the Fair in the form of a giant knit yoga ball installation.

The cleverly creative folks at EcoRise Youth Innovations will teach workshops turning upcycled materials into accessories while providing information about their mission to teach the values of environmental stewardship.

The cool kids from Dowdy Studio will return with their trailer of fun and provide photo ops with their lifesize half-merman, half-lumberjack cut-out.

Attendees can look to a handmade future with the time capsule project from AIGA of the Art Institute of Austin Student Group.

DJs from Waterloo Records, a cornerstone in the Austin music scene, will provide the soundtrack to the Fair, spinning soul, pop, and rock tracks for attendees.

Attendees can ham it up and commemorate their trip to The Renegade Craft Fair by visiting the free photo booth provided by The Magnolia Photo Booth Co.

Glazathon

2011-10-25T14:16:00.000-07:00

Today is a major glazing day. I am busy making pots to sell at Renegade Handmade Austin and the KC Clay Guild Holiday tour. Here is my bisqueware all laid out on the table and sorted by color; red, orange, purple, blue, pink and green. I probably have four kiln loads of work to get glazed in all. It will take me all day today and probably another day too.

I am only on step one now, brushing on 3-4 coats of colored glaze. When that is done I will brush a coat of wax over that. I will finish by spraying a clear coat of glaze on the unwaxed parts and wiping away the overspray.

UPPERCASE Magazine

2011-10-23T23:04:00.000-07:00

I was interviewed via email a while back for UPPERCASE magazine. I did the interview, sent them pics and forgot all about it. I recently came across some back issues of the magazine at Hammerpress. Wow! What a beautiful publication. It is a thick, meaty quarterly, full of juicy, delicious art, crafts and graphics. I was thrilled to even be considered for inclusion. I have been dying to see if my interview would actually be published. I was pleasantly surprised today by a tweet from Jeanee of Dirty Laundry congratulating me on the feature. The article "Scratching the Surface" is a part of "The Work-In-Progress Society" in the latest issue, #11. The issue focuses on creating art with sharp object like knives and chisels. It also includes a feature on Dolan Geiman, whose mixed media paintings and collages I love.

I am thrilled to be a part of this issue with it's wonderful carved crayons on the cover. You can order an issue or view the article online on pages 86-87 at http://uppercase.squarespace.com/uppercase-journal/2011/10/21/flip-through-issue-11.html Uppercase is also available for purchase at Hammerpress in Kansas City and a variety of select retailers around the world. Thanks thanks to Jeanee for the heads-up.

Portable Gas Kiln

2011-09-06T15:18:00.000-07:00

I don't have any new pictures of my work so I decided to share this instead. Last weekend David Lee was in town and he built and fired this portable gas kiln. That's right, he built and fired a gas kiln in one day. He started out with an old electric kiln for the firing chamber, but I was still amazed at how much he got done in one day.

If you look closely at the picture, you will notice the steam rising from the kiln. That steam is due to the buckets of rain that came pouring down mid-fire. David almost ended the firing early, but with the help of Steven Hill and Mike Stumbras, the kiln chugged along through the storm. I think the rain and wind slowed the firing. It probably took about 2-3 hours longer than it should have. I didn't have any work in the kiln this time around, but the pots I saw looked great. Congrats to David and the 323Clay crew on a successful inaugural firing.

Studio Tour

2011-08-15T19:39:00.000-07:00

At 323Clay, right up those stairs is the studio space I share with Kim Walsh. Don't tell anyone, but I think it is the best space in the whole studio. I was actually the last studio member to pick a spot and lucky for me no one else wanted to deal with the steps. It is so nice to have a secluded space with a view from my window. I can watch people glazing pots, loading the kiln or cleaning up. Tara Dawley's spot is right below and she is always doing something interesing.

Up the stairs in the stuido is a slab roller, pottery wheel, storage area, worktable, wedging area and sink. I only need to go downstairs to glaze, fire and visit. I have been trying to get organized and make my space a little more interesting. I just recently started using the pegboad. I added a dry erase board for my orders and the little flags for decoration.

One step up and behind the wedging table and sink is Kim's wheel and storage area.

Today I worked on mugs and little trays and a big platter. I tried to trim my platter so that I can hang it by wrapping a wire tightly around the foot. I have been wanting to give this a try for a long time but wasn't quite sure how to get the wire taut. Steven Hill shared his technique with me and it looked pretty simple.

Here are my little trays waiting patiently under plastic for me to carve tomorrow. I had to be creative about how to cover them without letting the plastic mess up the slip.

My Thursday morning class at 323Clay on the Independence Square starts on the 8th of September. Check out the 323Clay website or facebook page for more information.

A Rust Spot and a Snappy Little Ditty

2011-07-28T20:27:00.000-07:00

I have been having an problem with my porcelain for the last year of so. I find little bits of rusty metal in the clay. This problem occurs with new clay straight from the bag. It is not recycled and I know I didn't wedge them in by mistake. The clay arrives straight from the manufacturer this way . I don't genarally notice the bits while I am throwing, I find them later when I am carving. On the cup shown above I decided to just leave the piece in there. I am hoping it won't be too noticable after glazing and firing. I know from experience that if I start digging around, it could be bigger than suspected and removing it could leave a hole all the way through the piece. I have actually found similar bits in clays from several manufacturers. I have heard other potters using clay thousands of mile away experience the same thing. I am assuming these bits are flakes of metal from inside a pugmill. I wonder if they would show up under a metal detector? I guess it is just the nature of the material.

The 323Clay Grand Opening was last Saturday. We had a great turn out and it was a ton of fun. I am looking forward to more events in the future. I was so busy having fun and visiting with my friends, that I totally forgot to take pictures. I decided to make up for it by doing a little photoshoot on Wednesday. A few of the pots pictured are mine, the rest are made by my wonderful studiomates. Enjoy the slideshow and the snappy little ditty too!

Grand Opening

2011-07-21T21:23:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I have posted. I have been busy getting ready for the Grand Opening of 323Clay. It is so exciting to watch this studio grow. This Saturday from 10:00-4:00 is the Grand Opening. We will have studio tours and demos along with some tasty treats. If you are game, you can even get your hands dirtly in the clay. Here is a link with the Grand Opening details http://eepurl.com/eFVF-/ . I think all the studio members will be together for the first time. I am really excited about that!

In addition to prepping for the Grand Opening, I have been working on a variety of pots. There are tumblers, a big platter, and lots of little trays slipped and wrapped in plastic right now Next week it will be time to carve.

Before and After

2011-07-08T20:43:00.000-07:00

It was a super busy week for me. I have been rushing to get things ready for the Sneak Peek and Grand Opening. I have not been getting much sleep and I was feeling a little cranky. Yesterday, after two hours of sleep and a morning working in the studio, I headed to the KC Clay Guild to teach a kids class. On the way to class, I stopped by Stuff for a visit. I happened to be there just in time to eaves drop on a couple of women discussing how pretty, and unusual my work is. I don't know if they bought anything, but it sure made me feel good.

When I got to class, I had the sweetest bunch of girls ever. There was an adorable 6 year old who told me she was making abstract art. And she was right, it was abstract; an assortment of little pinch pots attached to a textured slab base. It looked a bit like something from a coral reef. Another girl, about 11, worked intently the whole class time and created an army of imaginary, winged sea creatures. Another group made remote controls, a bowl of cherries, caterpillars, castles, trees, flowers and pancakes with dripping butter. Such creativity!

Last night I finally got a good night's sleep, so I accomplished a lot today. Here is the "before and after" of the trays I carved. It was great to be in the studio with Kim, Carolyn, George and Tara. The creative energy is on overdrive around there! This evening, after my day of clay, I finally got my newletter sent out. If you are interested, you can check it out here http://eepurl.com/eFVF-/ . Tomorrow it is back to the studio for more carving, followed by a glaze-athon.

Large Bowl in Progress

2011-07-01T06:10:00.000-07:00

Salvaged Mugs

2011-06-28T19:42:00.000-07:00

Last monday I handled a batch of mugs with a plan to come in the next day to slip and carve them. That evening my daughter came down with a serious virus requiring an ER vistit for fluids and some mommy time. She is doing much better today and is finally able to eat a bit, so I was back at 323. My mugs would have been overdry if it weren't for my studiomate Kim. She kindly sprayed and covered the mugs in my absence so they were still workable today. I slipped the mugs and carved the two shown here. I also trimmed and slipped a large, nearly bonedry platter/bowl that will be ready to carve tomorrow.

Kim and I share the upper level at the studio. It was the last space to be chosen when people signed up for private studio space. I had my concerns about the stairs, and the low ceiling, but it has turned out to be prime real esate at 323. Originally I was calling it "the loft" but now it is widely referred to as "the penthouse". I will try to remember to shoot a quick video tomorrow so you can see the space.

If you are interested in seeing "The Penthouse" in person , please visit during our Sneek Peak July 15th, or our Grand Opening on the 23rd.

Monday Funday

2011-06-20T16:48:00.000-07:00

I have been making my standard mug, a large one with a fully belly and a simple handle for quite a while. They are a nice surface for my sgraffito, but I am getting a little bored with them. I decied to try out some new shapes and handle styles. In my mind I pictured a huge variation in style. I wanted some really loose chunky mugs with strappy, stuck on handles. I wanted some light teacups with delicate handles. I wanted some sharply angled cups with cut and assembled handles. For some reason, all my plans go out the window when I sit down to work. I can't seem to produce chunky or delicate or angled. I am just right there in the middle, nice, even, simple. No matter what I do I can still tell they are mine. The biggest departure from my typical mug was probably the one on the back right. It is faceted deeply and bellied out a bit at the bottom. I will do my usual surface treatment on the smooth ones, black slip and sgraffito. As for the faceted ones, I have no idea how to glaze them. It will be a surprise to you and me both.

Studio Key Monster

2011-06-17T18:48:00.000-07:00

I had a little problem telling my studio key apart from my huge collection (okay there are only 3 keys, but still, I struggle). My studio mate Maria helped me out with this cute little key monster. I will never get confused again. Thanks Maria.

I have been working in the studio 4 or 5 days a week for the last few weeks. Today I carved some bowls, mixed a gallon of black slip, threw some cups and unloaded the bisque kiln. We are all busy as can be getting ready for the 323CLAY Sneak Peek on July 15th. We welcomed a couple of new open studio members this week. We are happy that Sam and Lori are joining us. I think there are only 3 open studio spaces left so if you are interested you better hurry.

Liberty Arts Squared This Saturday

2011-06-03T19:30:00.000-07:00

I will be at the Liberty Arts Squared tomorrow with lots of new pottery. I hope to see you there!

Testing, Testing, Testing

2011-06-01T13:46:00.000-07:00

It was a great day at 323Clay today. Nearly all of my studiomates were present so the place was full of creative energy. The studio owner, David Lee, kindly assembled a big wedging table in the studio I share with Kim Walsh. No more wedging on our knees! I spent the day mixing glazes for these test tiles. I used 18 different stains and tested them with a clear glaze and majolica glaze. I also used a little tip from Tara Dawley and applied some of the glazes over a crystal strontium matte glaze. I have high hopes for these babies. We shall see what becomes of them on Friday.

Bowls, Bowls, Bowls

2011-05-28T20:43:00.000-07:00

I spent some time glazing today while my husband mowed the lawn. I definitely had the better job! I have lots and lots of new pots including the bowls pictured above. My favorite is the flower bowl with the dark teal glaze. I bought that glaze over a year ago but somehow I lost track of it. It resurfaced again along with a surprising number of missing tools while packing up for the move to 323Clay . I think I only used this teal glaze once, but if I remember correctly, it came out very nicely. I will be listing some of these bowls on BeautifulBowls. The rest will be joining me at Liberty Arts Squared next Saturday. If you are in the neighborhood Saturday please come by and visit.

Potter's Lunch

2011-05-13T20:11:00.000-07:00

Every Tuesday a group of KC area potters get together for lunch. I don't make it every week, but when I do it is always a great time. They always meet at locally owned restaurant, preferably one that uses local suppliers, and has an inexpensive lunch menu. Surprisingly, there are quite a few places like that in the area. This time we all met at The Westside Local. This was my first visit and I was very pleased with my selection. Thanks to Carolyn for ordering the delicious deviled eggs in aioli as an appetizer, mmm yum. I had the tarragon chicken salad sandwich and fries with delicious, homeade catsup. It was a very tasty lunch and wonderful company. As a bonus, Michael Baxley was having a show of his floral ceramic wall installations. You can see a couple of them in the photo above my head.

After lunch I headed back to 323Clay to work on carving some large serving bowls. Here is one of the bowls I carved that day. Today I worked on more bowls and some mugs and sampled some Standard porcelain clay that threw like a dream.

Tomorrow and Sunday I am attending the Paul Andrew Wandless workshop at Bracker's. I have been looking forward to this for a long time. I bought his book when it first came out a few years ago, but never actually tried any of the techniques. I get a little overwhelmed by too much information sometimes, so hands on instruction will be great. After the workshop, I will rush home just in time to take pictures of my daughter as she heads off to her first prom. I can't wait to see her all dressed up in a red satin formal gown. My how she has grown.

Have a Great Weekend!

2011-04-29T09:23:00.000-07:00

Today I got organized, finished some inventory lists, sent some emails I had been putting off, made some phone calls and packed up pots. I am ready for Art on the Hill in Kearney tomorrow. The only thing left to do is to load up the car in the morning. Since I made such good use of my time this morning, I get to reward myself by spending this evening at the Brookside Art Annual. While I am in the neighborhood, I will stop by Stuff and drop off these little 7-11 bowls and a few other things too. Amy Meya and Mary K. Porter are demoing this weekend. I always love to watch other potters work and I am looking forward to seeing Mary K. this evening. Have a great weekend!

Buzzzzzz.....

2011-04-27T20:18:00.000-07:00

Last week I managed to download a virus while trying to convert a Word document to PDF. I cannot believe how quickly my programs and files just disappeared. I wasn't too upset though, because it was time for a new PC anyway. The old Dell had been chugging along for 7 years, a real dinosaur in computer time. This morning I stopped by Best Buy and replaced the Dell with an HP. I actually wanted a MacBook Pro, but I need to sell a few more pots to afford that!. This is my first blog post from the new computer. Things are running lightening fast so far. The little pots pictured above are fresh from the kiln yesterday. In honor of Springtime, and flowers and all the beekeepers out there, I present these stripey, yellow bee pots. Buzzzz...

Craft Alliance

2011-04-25T12:41:00.000-07:00

Back in February I visited the Craft Alliance on a trip to St. Louis and fell in love immediately. This ultracool place is located in the historic Delmar Loop and has a long history of service to the community. The Craft Alliance is a non-profit and offers classes in clay, glass, painting and more. It has a beautiful gallery space with top notch exhibits and and amazing gallery shop. Ceramic artists in the shop include Emily Reason, Fong Choo, Whitney Smith, Jeff Campana, Kristen Kieffer and more.

A few weeks after my visit I took a chance and submitted pictures of my work to the Retail Gallery Manager. I was thrilled when she replied with an interest in my work. I made another trip to St. Louis last weekend and nervously entered the shop with my box of pots. I fully expected them to say that the photos were nice but the pots were not what they were expecting. I am happy to say that the ladies at the gallery shop were very kind and welcoming. They actually liked my work in person and it is now available in the Gallery Shop! I really feel like I am out of my league alongside those amazing potters. Now that I am settling in at 323Clay in Independence, I will be devoting my time and energy to improving my craft.

New York or Bust!

2011-04-12T07:18:00.000-07:00

I just love this big red bowl. My newest customer in New York loved it too. In fact, she loved my bowls so much that she ordered four of them to be over-nighted to her for a special occasion. I was very excited about the order and rushed to get the bowls shipped. That is when I noticed a big crack along the bottom. What a bummer! This is the first time I have had anything like this happen. I was surprised at how much it upset me. I just want all my work to be perfect and all my orders to be shipped without a hitch.

This order was placed through Beautiful Bowls, so I called Martha right away. She contacted the customer and after a sleepless night, it was agreed this morning that I would ship a purple bowl with 3 flowers instead. The purple bowl is lovely, but this red one was a favorite and I am sad to lose it. The good news is, I have another very similar bowl drying in my studio right now. That bowl will be glazed in bright red too and I will gladly list it on Beautiful Bowls.

Art on the Hill, New Discoveries and a Giveaway

2011-04-04T15:27:00.000-07:00

These pieces were unloaded from the kiln over the weekend, so here is some color for the blog as promised. The trays are actually stacked several deep so there is more work than it looks like. I will be participating in Art on the Hill again this year. It is on the lawn of a private residence in Kearney, but it is open to the public. If you are in the area, it is worth the drive just a bit north of Liberty. I will need to fire several more times in order to have enough work ready. I am almost ready for another bisque firing though, I have mugs, vases and big bowls ready to go, I just need to finish up on my trays.

Pictured above are some pieces bubble wrapped for shipping to New Discoveries in Chicago. I am so excited to have my work available there. It is such a lovely shop with a great variety of work from a talented bunch of artists. Be sure to click the link and check it out online.

I have a big announcement to make. I am also going to give away another piece of pottery. To hear the news and to be eligible to win, just sign up for my occasional emails on the sidebar or click this link http://eepurl.com/bfm5Y

Visions of Melted Test Tiles

2011-03-24T21:39:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I threw mugs, 18 of them, before noon. This is better than the 12 by 12 challenge I strive to meet.

After the mugathon I formed these little heart trays that had been cut out with cookie cutters the day before. They are shown here with the first of 3 coats of black slip. Today I carved most of the hearts and worked out a couple of new designs I think are worth repeating. I will finish those hearts up tomorrow and pull handles on all the mugs.

Tonight I am staying up late to babysit Shadrack (my kiln), who has about another hour and a half of firing time to go. I am happy to say that this load is a glaze fire. Yeah! Time for some color on this blog and in my studio too. Along with my glazed pots are the first test tiles of colored clay made using my new stains. I am hoping to unload or at least have a peek tomorrow afternoon. Tonight I won't sleep very well. I am sure I will have visions of test tiles melted to my newly kiln-washed shelves.

Kansas City Star Flower Power

2011-03-21T06:34:00.000-07:00

Looky there. That's my bowl in the Kansas City Star's Sunday paper. Here's what they said: FLOWER POWER ■ Cindy Buehler of Liberty uses a ceramics technique called graffito that combines slipwork and carving to create mod flower designs in platters, cups and bowls, including this 12-inch one. $125 at Stuff, 316 W. 63rd St., 816-361-8222.

I have always called the technique I use "sgraffito" with an "s" not "graffito" like they did here. I actually looked up graffito online and apparently both words are correct. Maybe I will start calling my self a Graffito artist. It sounds a little more edgie don't you think?

An Ohaus Scale and Ceramic Stains for Sale

2011-03-20T17:04:00.000-07:00

I came across a couple of really great deals in the last week. I got an email that someone near KC was giving away a very large quantity of ceramic stains. The stains were pretty old and had been sitting in a barn for about 10 years. The lady I spoke to was as nice as could be and said the stains had been kept dry and some had never even been opened. Apparently they had belonged to a lampmaker in North Kansas City that went out of business.

I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into. The email said "must take all". Would I end up having to pay to haul them to the dump or could they actually be good? I knew the lot of stains included 800 lbs, you read that right, eight hundred pounds of black stain. Now, I do go through a lot of black stain with my sgraffito work, but this would be enough to last me a lifetime. With the help of my husband and a handy dandy trailer we headed up north for pickup. There was quite an assortment of stains in the shed. They were stored in various sizes of carboard barrels. Some of them weighed up to 200 lbs. The barrels were pretty beat up and the stains had definitely been exposed to humidity. They didn't have the light fluffy texture of new stains, more like the slightly clumpy feel of stains that have been in your basement studio for a while. We decided to go for it and hauled them back to Liberty for storage. Pictured above are the samples I took home to start testing. Aren't they beautiful?

My other great deal, which is not nearly as great as stains was this Ohaus triple beam scale. I have been wanting to start mixing my own glazes so I need a gram scale. Tuesday morning before I left for my weekly potter's lunch I did a quick scan of Craigslist. Someone had just listed this scale for $25. They retail for about $150 so this was a pretty good deal. I stopped by and picked up the scale on my way to lunch. It was in excellent condition and marked "KU Med 1998". I wonder what they weighed with it there.

It was and excellent week for bargains and I can't wait to get started trying out my new scale and testing those stains. If you are in the Kansas City area and interested in buying stains please let me know. I will be sorting and tagging and selling them by the pound. I am hoping to start a little vacation fund with the proceeds, or maybe a clay mixer, hmmm.

The Gateway Drug

2011-03-13T20:24:00.000-07:00

I fired my kiln on Monday, enjoyed a potter's lunch on Tuesday, cleaned my entire studio on Wednesday and started a new class at Red Star on Thursday. Friday night was date night with the hubby. Then on Saturday, I went to Bracker's for raku. They had a great big crowd of pyromanics. There was smoke and fire, and people running around with giant kevlar mittens and hot pots everywhere. Check out the facebook pics of the event. I glazed and fired one of the pieces that Cindy Bracker had made. I love the process of raku, but rarely like my results. This time I think I got a keeper, white crackle and Tutti Fruity glazes. After the firing I stocked up on clay, chemicals, an 80 mesh sieve and some dust masks, all in preperation for glaze making on Tuesday. Above is my most recent load of bisqueware. In the lower left corner are my test tiles, all white and clean and ready for glaze. I have used commercial glazes up until now, but they are longer satisfying me. They were just a gateway drug.

Today I made trays and slipped them up so they will be ready to carve tomorrow. There are four more not pictured here, but it just doesn't seem like much pottery for a day's work. Especially not when you consider the most time consuming part, the sgraffito, is still to come. I am amazed by the potters I read about who throw hundreds of pots a day. I really don't see how they do it.

I picked up a bunch of books from the library over the weekend and was happy to see my friend Tara Dawley is on the cover of Surfaces, Glazes and Firing by Angelica Pozo. The book just came out, but already Tara's line of pottery has completely changed. She is on the sgrafitto train now, choo choo.

Cinderelish Nationwide

2011-02-28T09:45:00.000-08:00

I have a goal in the back of my mind that I will sell my pottery nationwide. Longterm I would like to see Cinderelish pottery available in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Denver, Austin, Miami and Santa Fe for starters. I know I am aiming high, so I will shoot for the moon and maybe I will hit a star. I think what I really want is to have positive relationships with 10 or 15 stores at the most. The idea of getting a few pieces of my work into hundreds of shops accross the country isn't appealing at all. I want things to remain much more personal. I would actually like to be able to visit all the shops that carry my work. Today I started working on some tumblers for a shop in Chicago. As of now, the order is just a bunch of emails going back and forth, no check in the mail yet, but I am hopeful. Today will be spent carving away, mixing slip and making new trays in hopes that my grand plan will succeed.

Mission Accomplished

2011-02-27T15:19:00.000-08:00

Friday morning I left early on my trip to St. Louis and braved the icy roads. My super secret mission was to stop halfway in Columbia, MO at Bluestem Missouri Crafts. I had emailed them photos of my work ahead of time and I had arranged to meet with Cindy at 11:00. I was delayed a bit due to icy roads, but finally got there around noon. When I arrived, I was greeted warmly. I nervously unwrapped my pottery and showed Cindy the samples I had brought. I was pleased and excited because she loved it. Not only did she accept my samples, but she also wanted the rest of the pottery I had with me, on the spot. I am so happy to add Bluestem to my list of retail locations. There are some fantastic Missouri artists there including Kansas City favorites like Cathy Broski, Amy Meya, Tara Dawley, Cheri Peak and Robin MackIntosh. If you are in the Columbia, area be sure to stop in and check out their selection of handmade art.

The final destination of my trip was St. Louis. I went there to see my daughter compete in the MO State competition for her high school pom squad. I stayed with my sister Peggy and her family. We visited the Craft Alliance Friday afternoon. They were showing a wonderful exhibit called "Multiple Personalities". I am in awe of Esther Shimazu's work. Each piece is perfect down to the toenails.

I had a great visit with my sister and my niece and the next day we all went to see my daughter dance. She did an excellent job and received a medal for Academic All-State Team in the 4.0 GPA category. Way to go Kels!

Super Secret Mission to Columbia

2011-02-24T14:53:00.000-08:00

I glazed up the teabowls from my last post at Red Star yesterday. I can't wait to see the results. They are high fire porcelain and the glazes are all new to me. Only two of the eight I made are sgraffito. The other 6 are various glaze combinations. I hope I have at least one winner in the bunch. I did a bisque fire at home and exploded the foot ring off yet another large bowl. I don't know why I keep making the same mistake. I think I need to work on being patient with the drying process, a very difficult task for me.

My last glaze firing was full of mugs and trays of every size. It also included a few bowls to be re fired. The glaze on my large bowls has been pin holing severely for some reason. My friend Tara Dawley suggested that I re fire them with a longer hold time. I increased my hold time from 15 minutes to 25 and it worked like a charm. I think this added hold time also brightened up some of the other glazes a bit. Anyway, my re fired bowls are now nice and smooth. Thanks Tara! Pictured above are a few of my favorite mugs from the last kiln load. If you would like to see more of my new work check out my Flickr site. These mugs and I are off to Columbia for a top secret mission tomorrow, shhhh. Hopefully I will have good news to tell you when I return, (On a totally unrelated note; Blogger's spell check thinks "shhhh" should be "chihuahua" haha)

Scraffito Tea Bowls

2011-02-18T13:09:00.000-08:00

I have been busy in the studio this week. Lots of new mugs and little trays are filling the shelves. I am planning a bique fire this weekend and hopefully a glaze fire on Wednesday or Thursday. I have been working at Red Star Studios as well as at my home studio and have been trying out the cone 10 Coleman porcelain. It is pretty dreamy to throw with. Once I got used to a new wheel, and a new clay, and got reasonably acclimated to a new throwing environment I worked on teabowls. I made nine little teabowls for possible entry into the KC Clay Guild Tea Bowl National. It will be juried by Steven Hill this year. The entry deadline is March 18th so there is still time to get a teabowl made. Here are two of the teabowls I threw and sgraffitoed up. The others have gone to bisque and I will be doing some glaze experiments on them.

The Wonky Banana

2011-02-10T11:22:00.000-08:00

Last Friday morning I picked up my new Slab Roller from Brackers. It came unassembled in four big cartons which included a bag of probably 100 nuts and bolts. I didn't have a minute to spare Friday, so my new baby stayed in the trunk and back seat of my car until Saturday morning. First thing in the morning I drug the cartons downstairs, opened them up an neatly layed out the parts. Then I realized I was late for my Deb Schwartzkopf workshop and I rushed out the door. After the workshop we went to an artists reception for Deb, then toured the amazing new Red Star Studios space. When we got home I was pleased and surprised to find this waiting for me. Thanks hubby!

Aint she purdy? Unfortunately, I was busy day and night on Sunday and Monday too. I went downstairs for a visit each day, but didn't get to try it out. Finally, on Tuesday, I rolled out some slabs. It was so quick and simple. Much easier than the giant rolling pin. I think it will really save my neck and back. I worked on these trays and tiles and messed around a bit with some slip and glaze trailing. The wonky banana is not my typical work, but I wanted to experiment a little.

This morning I finished the sgriffito on my hanging wall tile. It is made of a rolled slab with a thrown sidewall attached to give it depth. It does look a bit like an upside down casserole dish, but I like it anyway. More of these will follow. I still need to work out the best hanging method. Right now I just have a little lug of clay on back to wrap a wire through. I am open for suggestions.

Blizzard Trays

2011-02-01T20:02:00.000-08:00

The blizzard arrived a little later than expected, but it certainly did arrive. I think we only got 8 or 9 inches of snow, but the wind is blowing so hard there are drifts over 3 feet. My husband actually came home from work early today at 3:30 and that never happens. Most businesses closed early for the day and I-70 was even shut down. I have lived in Kansas City most of my life and I don't remember that ever happening before.

I spent the day in the studio today making some little trays like the ones pictured above. We recently got a gas heater for downstairs so now I have an all-season studio. This evening I listed new items on etsy which I haven't done in months. Taking pictures, editing and listing is a long process and my etsy shop has been pretty neglected until now. It is amazing how much work I can get done if I actually stay home. There will be more trays tomorrow since the pottery class I am taking at Red Star is cancelled. I am hoping they will be ready for business by the Thursday evening class. Those of you in the Northeast, look out! This storm is a doozie.

Sweet Little Hearts for Your Little Sweetheart

2011-01-31T12:35:00.000-08:00

My little hearts are out of the kiln and I just adore them. It was fun to carve on a new shape and experiment with new designs. I think these would be a perfect gift for your sweetheart along with a few tasty little chocolates. I know it is exciting to get the big 5lb box of chocolates. But, I think most of us will agree that a sweet card and a couple of artisinal chocolates like those from Christopher Elbow would be much more appreciated.

A Box of Candy Hearts

2011-01-18T20:17:00.000-08:00

Today I enjoyed a potter's lunch with friends at a new restaurant in the west bottoms called Genessee Royale Bistro. It is a cosy, cute little place in a renovated old service station. When I was a kid my dad had a motorcycle shop in an old service station in Indpendenc. There is one in Liberty with a blue light on top that is now a used car lot. I think a building like that would make a great pottery studio with those big overhead doors.

Our lunch didn't include much pottery talk, but it still got me motivated to go home and get some work done. I carved these oddball cracker trays. I didn't use a mold for these, just a damp sponge and my fingers. The handles remind me of those in an old farmhouse kitchen. I am not sure if I am loving them. We will see what happens after firing.

I also glazed up all the work I made for Valentine's Day which needs to be delivered to Stuff and Phoenix Gallery in just a few days. Why do I always push things to the last minute? This whole load is Pink and Red and Orange just like a box of candy hearts. After my glazing marathon and loading the kiln, I packed up a couple of boxes with molds and tools to take to Red Star. I enrolled in Tara Dawley's Wheel Throwing class on Wednesday mornings, and I will be teaching a Tiles and Trays class on Thursday evenings. I am very excited and a little bit nervous about it. It you are interested in taking a class click the Red Star link for more info.

7-11, Target and the Kitchen Table

2011-01-14T06:56:00.000-08:00

Last week before the snow and bitter cold hit I spent a little time at the wheel. I had a request from one of my shops for small bowls. I made 16 of these little 7-11 bowls. I am calling them that because they are 7 cm tall and 11 cm wide at the rim. I know I am American and should use our measuring system, but metric is so much simpler. There was a push to convert to the metric system when I was in elementary school. At one point road signs were even made using both miles and km. I wish it would have stuck, I hate messing with 5/8th and 1/32nds of an inch.

Those little bowls are all carved now and I spent a few minutes stacking some with some other bowls and mugs I made. I think it is interesting to see how the shapes fit together. It is making me consider throwing my first ever teapot. I know it is crazy that I haven't ever thrown one yet, but a teapots just seems like such an advanced skill to me. I don't mean just the throwing part, but the planning ahead too, which I am not very good at. I want to have a really solid concept in my mind before I get started. I think I am getting close.

Monday and Tuesday this week left us with 8 inches of snow, 3 snow days, and bitterly cold temps. It was so cold in my basement I had to move my studio to the kitchen table temporarily. I am trying out some new patterns. I really like the checkerboard pattern with stripes and circles. The only problem is that the circles look a bit like a Target ad. I have never really considered that before. After I carve this last mug I have three small trays to go, then I need to get back to the cold studio and throw some more pots. I am planning to bisque fire tomorrow, so that should warm things up a bit. More trays and bowls to follow and I am counting the days until the arrival of my new Slab Roller!

Hypnotic Happy New Year

2011-01-04T14:27:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone. I am finally back to work after a break over the holidays. I have a new compulsion to carve concentric circles for some reason. They draw me in and I find myself nearly hypnotized. I have about a dozen more mugs, a vase and some bowls to start carving tomorrow. Look for more circles coming up soon.

My Christmas present this year is a Northstar slab roller. I ordered it from Bracker's during their year end sale. I am soo excited. It should be here in a couple of weeks. My mind is bubbling with ideas for tiles and wall hangings and platters and clocks and buttons. I plan to explore more intricate sgraffito designs too, and I think the flat tiles will be a simple surface practice on.

Just before Christmas I was accepted into two more shops, The Phoenix Gallery in Lawrence, KS and Beautifulbowls.com. Both have been wonderful to work with and I look forward to a long and happy relationships. The Phoenix Galley is nearly all pottery. I am in great company there, and now I have two reasons to visit the town. Beautiful Bowls.com sells bowls of all kinds; glass, wood, metal, fabric and ceramic. Click on the link to go the the website and check out my new page.

If you are interested in learning about my pottery technique, I am teaching a class at Red Star Studios. I am also signing myself up to take the advanced wheel throwing class from Tara Dawley. I want someone to give me a little push with my forms and I think this might be just what I need. If you are interested call asap to reserve your spot. Also, if you would like to sign up for my newletter click this link or use the form on the upper right side of my blog.

12 by 12 Noon

2010-12-06T11:47:00.000-08:00

I met the Michael Kline challenge again and threw 12 mugs by 12 noon. I also pulled 14 handles and attempted a really tall vase. Since I throw with soft, wet porcelain it makes tall pieces pretty difficult. I got my vase pulled up it to about a foot tall with a large amount of clay around the neck and then, squish, it just sort of slumped over. I will be trying again later with some firmer clay. Hopefully I will get to the point where I can throw something at least 2 feet tall. I know it will take a while, but I am going to keep trying until I get it right.

Last Saturday and Sunday was the KC Clay Guild Holiday Tour. Saturday was a huge success and sales were excellent. That is why I started on mugs first thing this morning. It was very nice to have friends and family come to visit and shop. Sunday was not very successful financially, but I sure had a good time! I abandoned my little corner booth and joined some other potters in the main throwing room. We watched the Chief's game on a little TV and drank mimosas and bloody marys and chowed down on junk food. It was great to get to know some new potters. I also made excellent trades with Ellly Biggerstaff, Susan Speck and Thomas Nunnik. What a fun weekend.

KC Clay Guild Holiday Tour

2010-12-03T06:31:00.000-08:00

The KC Clay Guild Holiday Tour is this weekend. Stop in a see me along with 21 other potters. Then follow the map to other area studios. See that purple dottie mug on the poster? That mug sold before the show even started, but don't worry, I made more.

Now I am off to Lawrence now to visit the Phoenix Gallery, then Bracker's to buy clay and compare slab rollers, then time to set up at the Guild for the show tomorrow.

New Bowls on Etsy

2010-11-29T20:14:00.000-08:00

I have slowly been updating my etsy shop with new bowls and vases and more work on the way. All my sgraffito pottery now inlcudes FREE SHIPPING! Check it out http://www.etsy.com/shop/cinderelish The Crafty Chick Show was last weekend. It turned out really well. I sold some new black and white bowls before I got a chance to photograph them. I also made some really sweet trades. The Crafty Chicks are a cool group of women. When I got home I sorted out my pots and repacked for my last show of the year. The KC Clay Guild Holiday Tour is this Saturday and Sunday. There will be 22 potters at the Guild plus a bunch more on the map. It is a fun event with a party atmosphere and a great chance visit with the artists and see where they work.

Crafty Chicks and One Odd Bowl

2010-11-26T12:42:00.000-08:00

Crafty Chicks #11 is tomorrow! I am really excited to be participating in this event for the first time. It is a great group of artists and a huge variety of work. If you plan on having a handmade holiday then this is the place for you.

I really don't know what I was thinking with this one. It's not a flower brick, but it does look a bit like a brick flower. Hopefully some slightly odd person will fall in love this odd bowl. I guess we will have to see how it looks after glazing. Any suggestions on glaze color?

Kaboom!

2010-11-23T18:40:00.000-08:00

In the last week I have lost three bowls in kiln explosions. You would think I'd have learned from the first two mishaps, but no, I fired an even bigger bowl without drying thoroughly and Kaboom! The footring in that big bowl was blown to smithereens too. Did I cry about it? Well almost, but I made three more bowls instead. These new bowls are about the same size as the one I lost, but I used about half as much clay to make them. That means my throwing skills are improving. It also means they will need a lot less trimming. They are about 5 or 6 inches tall and 12 inches wide at the rim. I will make sure they are extra dry before firing this time.

After I threw the bowls, I carved some dessert plates for a custom order. I also loaded the kiln and set it to glaze fire. I am looking forward to unloading in the morning. I feel lucky this time:)

Studio Mishaps

2010-11-15T15:16:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I fired my kiln in a rush to get a few more loads through before the holidays. Near the end of the firing I realized that I set the kiln for a Fast Glaze at cone 5 instead of a Slow Bisque at cone 04. I immediately shut of the kiln and hoped for the best. This morning I unloaded and was bummed to find two bowls ruined. Normally I fire bowls rim to rim, but this time I decided to nest them to save room. This is the result. I am not sure if the foot breaking was caused by firing too quickly or nesting the bowls. When the foot popped of one bowl it cracked the bowl it was sitting in. I am pretty bummed because these were some really nice bowls. The other problem is that the rest of the load was fired almost to maturity and now I am worried about how they will glaze.

After my firing issue I made some little slab molded trays. I left them to dry a bit while I ran an errand. I ended up being gone two hours and this is what I came home to. four of the eight trays were cracked, left on the mold too long. Off they go to the recycle tub. A pugmill sure would be nice about now. I have several hundred pounds of trimming and mishaps to recycle. Tomorrow I am going to plan ahead a little better and stay in the studio all day. I am sure I will have wonderful things to report.

One Show Down

2010-11-14T17:40:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture of my set up at the Gift Gallery. There were some very creative and professional looking displays and lots of stuff to buy. The show was packed with a steady crowd most of the day. Unfortunately for me, my designs are a little bold for most of the homes in Leawood. I noticed several times that I was the only empty booth in the room. I was surprised, because a local TV station did a quick interview with me and showed my work on the morning show. Some people came in specifically to see my pots in person. They didn't buy from me, but it was nice that they showed up. There were a few people who raved about my work and I finally did make a few sales so it wasn't a total loss. I came home with a tasty jar of Mango Chutney and a box of Girl Scout cookies for myself. I also did a sweet trade for some Senses Soy Candles.

Today I carved four serving bowls. I am once again trying out some new designs. What do you think? These bowls and some other new ones will be available at Crafty Chicks in two weeks. I am really looking forward to this show and I am happy that it is just a couple miles from my house. Thanks for reading and don't forget to sign up for my email for a chance to win a mug. The contest ends next week.

Gift Gallery Saturday

2010-11-12T15:58:00.000-08:00

I will be a vendor at the 8th Annual Gift Gallery tomorrow from 9:00 to 4:00. This event is hosted by Cure of Ars Mothers of Young Children and all proceeds are donated to local Kansas City non-profit children's charities. There are over 45 artists and vendors selling unique and upscale items in a festive atmosphere.. Come, shop for a good cause!

Cure of Ars
9401 Mission Road

For more infomation check out the website http://www.giftgallerykc.com/index.php

And don't forget to sign up for my newsletter for a chance to win one of my mugs. Details in this blogpost http://cinderelish.blogspot.com/2010/11/cinderelish-office-party.html

A Morning at STUFF

2010-11-09T09:42:00.000-08:00

I stopped by STUFF with my friend Susan to see Amy Meya demo. I always thought she made her bird sculptures from a mold. She actually hand builds each one of those amazing little birds, and they are all perfect. We spent some time talking business and trade shows and such. She is quite a bit further along in her clay career than I am. I have lots of questions for her at a later time. I had to leave the shop and let others customers have a chance to see her work.

While I was there I took a quick pic of my display area. Isn't it cute? Those Simmons girls really know how to merchandise. They just finished adding their holiday inventory to the shop so it is literally stuffed with stuff.

Kiln Anxiety

2010-11-07T07:01:00.000-08:00

Last night I dreamed that I went downstairs to open my kiln. I took out the gigantic bowl that was on the top shelf. The glaze was soft and powdery and crumbly and the bowl had a 1/4" hole drilled into the bottom center. Hmm... how odd I thought. Then I set the bowl aside and removed the shelf to see what was below. All of my pots were missing and my kiln was full of water! It was a nightmare really.

So, this morning I was a little worried about opening the kiln, afraid of what I might find after replacing the thermocouple. I am happy to say my fears were unwarranted. I opened the kiln to find beautiful pots and a perfectly bent cone. My thanks to Dave Sturm from Brackers who is the one true kiln dog. Above are a couple of the new oval trays I made from my plaster molds. The shape is really nice but I am not sure about the design yet. It might need a little tweaking.

Today I am going to carve a few more bowls, maybe trim some feet. After that I am heading down to STUFF for the Wings of Hope charity event and to see Amy Meya demo. Amy makes amazing wall tiles with birds and plants and vegetables. I can't wait to see her at work. Also, I am really hoping to win the pink scooter that is being raffled off. Don't forget to sign up for my newsletter at the top right of this page for a chance to win a mug. Check my previous post for details.

Cinderelish Office Party

2010-11-05T12:59:00.000-07:00

Enough with kiln issues. It think it is time for a pottery giveaway. A little pre-holiday fun. Working in my basement studio can get a little lonely, so consider this my office party, and you are all invited! Pictured above are four of my newest mugs sitting on my naughty kiln, Shadrack. These babies are pretty big, I think they hold about 16 ounces. The winner of this giveaway will get their choice of mug.

In order to be eligible just sign up to receive my newsletter using the link on the right. I promise not to send out more than six or seven emails a year. Once you sign up you are automatically entered. If you would care to share this blog post on facebook or twitter or your blog I will give you an extra entry. Just comment here and I will check it out.

You won't need to pay shipping or anything as long as you live in the US. The winner will be announced next week via my newsletter so be sure to check your inbox for something from Cinderelish. If you win, your selected mug will show up at your door 2 or 3 days after I get your mailing address. Good luck.

I Have Issues

2010-11-03T10:35:00.000-07:00

I have issues, major issues, with my glaze and my bats and my kiln. I decided to try out this pale turquoise glaze again. I haven't used it for a while and I wanted to see how it would look with my sgraffito designs. I glazed two tumblers and a large bowl with three layers, nice and thin. When I came back in the studio the glaze had cracked and fallen off the pots in large areas. I washed the glaze off and waited for them to dry, then tried again, letting each layer dry fully. Once again the glaze cracked and fell off. After a third try it finally stuck okay on the bowl with just some tiny cracks on the rim. I am really not sure why it didn't crack the third time. I went ahead and loaded up the kiln and fired away.

The next day I opened the kiln anxious to see my big glaze test. Things just didn't quite look right. The pink glaze looked pale and matte and the greens didn't flatten out. Then I noticed that little cone 5 cone was just sitting there, barely bent at all. Arrrgg... my kiln did not reach temp. The bad thing is, I had actually planned on unloading, reloading and firing again immediately. Change of plans, time to find out what is wrong with Shadrack. I did a glow test and all the elements are bright orange so I don't know what the problem is. I have a call in to the kiln tech at Bracker's. Hopefully he can talk me through it. I really need to fire this kiln a few more times before Gift Gallery on the 13th.

Since I can't load the kiln I decided to throw a few bowls. The bat I was using was one of those brown ones with the little ribs underneath. I get so frustrated with these things. They are so wobbly and you just can't throw a good bowl on a wobbly bat. Just as I was cussing the manufacturer of said bats my fingers slid down the side of the bowl I was throwing to the bat. I felt concentric rings of little bubbles all over the top of the bat. It looks like a certain potter got a little over zealous with the heat gun. Sorry brown ribby bat manufacturer for putting the blame on you. I will watch my heat gun in the future. With the bat mystery solved, I went ahead and threw a few bowls and trimmed one from the day before. Here is a pic of my work in progress in the studio this morning.

New Designs

2010-10-30T11:03:00.000-07:00

Here are a few of the new designs I made on new trays from my new plaster molds. I know they are kind of hard to see because of the lighting. I am made some trays with carved slip designs on only half or a third of each piece. I was so happy with these that I was finally able to go through shelves full of old work and let it go. I spent an hour or so breaking old mugs and bowls and tiles into pieces. I filled five 13 gallon trash bags and sent them to the curb for trash day. I got rid a some other stuff too, like failed molds and stamps and old icky glaze. I did keep a few of the flawed newer pieces with sgraffito to use later on a mosaic that is bouncing around in my head.

The kiln is bisque firing today and I already have work ready for a glaze fire as soon as it is done. I am so glad I spent that time getting organized. The shelves that I cleared of old work will be completely filled with new things in just a couple of days. Then it is back to throwing time. I have an urge to make some serving bowls now.

I am considering shutting down my etsy site. Etsy takes too much time to be really successful and I just don't have enough work to go around. STUFF in Brookside now has my work available online. In addition to selling at STUFF, I also have two shows coming up soon. Gift Gallery is Nov 13th and two weeks later will be Crafty Chicks. I almost forgot the KC Clay Guild Holiday Tour on Dec 4th and 5th too. Please stop by and check out my new work if you can.

Molds and Slop and Blurry Failure

2010-10-26T10:50:00.000-07:00

Last week I went thrift store shopping and picked up some dishes to use for making plaster molds. Above are the new hump molds just out of the forms. Aren't they pretty, so white and fresh? I usually methodically weigh out the plaster and water to get things just right. This time I skipped the weighing and measuring altogether. I used Dan the Plaster Man's Island Style. It worked like a charm and so simple.

After I dried the forms in the oven for 2 days I used them to create these trays. I am working on slipping and carving them today. I have a few new design ideas in the works. I am loving the ovals and the softly squared shallow trays.

Friday and Saturday was the Ceramic Symposium in Lawrence. It was wonderful. I spent two days watching six amazing potters work and listening to them talk about pottery and life. My favorite room and the one I spend most of my time in was occupied by Matt Long and Julia Galloway. Both are amazing artists and they make what they do look so simple. Above is Matt's luscious whisky flask. That slip looks so casually thrown on there, but it is very intentional indeed.

Julia Galloway incises her pots with these delicate flower designs then shellacs on top of that and wipes away to leave interesting layers. Their technique's looked so simple I decided to give them a try this morning. I ended up with a blobby disgusting mess of slip and a little tray with unrecognisable blurry flowers. I think for the rest of the day I will stick with what I know. So, after lunch it is back to sgraffito.

Carving Away

2010-10-18T13:36:00.000-07:00

I can check a few things off the to-do list today. I finished some bookkeeping for our trucking company that I have been putting off. I went to the bank and then the post office to ship some mugs. I mixed up a gallon of black slip which is the biggest batch I have ever made. I am hoping it will be enough to last through Christmas. I do wish that just once I could mix up slip without slopping it on the walls, and the floor, and the cabinet. Oh well, at least it cleans up easily.

After that I carved three serving bowls and some of tumblers I threw last week. Can you tell that my designs today are still being influenced by my trip to the Nelson? I just love those African and Native american carvings. Also today, my kiln is firing away a load of bisque which means tomorrow might just be a glazing day. I am trying to accomplish as much as I can before Wed which is when I get my next round of epidural shots for my neck. The first one was two weeks ago and I do think it helped some. I am allowing myself a day to rest on Thursday because I know I will need it. Then on Friday and Saturday I am heading back to Lawrence for the Ceramics Symposium. I can't believe I get to see Tom Bartel, Matt Long, Julia Galloway, Linda Christianson and more all at the same event and so close to home.

Pottery Week

2010-10-15T22:33:00.000-07:00

I've been busy lately making pottery and doing lots of pottery related things. I went to Bracker's for 2nd Satruday and watched Susan Speck work. She made a wonderful little stacking teaset. Bracker's has invited me do a 2nd Saturday demo too. I am tentatively scheduled for April. I will be showing people how I make my sgraffito pottery. The demos at Bracker's are always interesting and you can come and go as you please. They are free for anyone who wants to stop by.

After the demo Saturday was my daughter's homecoming dance. My husband and I met with all the kids and parents in her group for a quick photo shoot then we went directly to the KC Clay Guild for Raku Night. We were the last ones there, so of course our pots were the last ones out of the kiln. It was a fun night, the weather was perfect and I got to visit with some good friends and have a couple of Boulevard beers.
Tuesday Susan and I went to the Nelson and signed up for the cup lottery they are having. 1345 lucky visitors have a chance to to take home one of the reproduction two handled cups from the Clare Twomey exhibit.. Visitors will be asked to complete and sign a Deed that asks prospective owners to consider why they want the work of art, and consider why and how they value the Cup. They will be asked to sign a Deed committing them to care for a Cup forever – just as the Burnaps required the Nelson-Atkins to sign their Deed of Gift nearly 70 years ago.

After a lovely lunch in Rozelle court we headed to Stuff to check out my work. I have a nice big display right when you walk in the door to the left. They actually sold two of my mugs while there were setting up my display. I think Stuff and I will have a bright future together. The Stuff visit was followed by The Reading Reptile and some tasty cupcakes from Le Petite Rouge. We stopped in a local gallery and a couple of antique shops too.

Today I threw a bunch of tumblers. and carved some big bowls and tiles. I think I was influenced by the carved African and Native American masks we saw at the Nelson. Hmmm..even my flower bowl looks a little primitive. The greenware is piling up. That is good because I have 3 more show before the end of the year.

I just got home from the Orton Cone Box Show in Lawrence. There were actually 3 ceramic shows under one roof; Cone Box, Body Awareness and the Cups Invitational. Definitely worth the drive. I bought myself a sweet little yellow tumbler by Ben Carter. I was happy to get a sneak preview of the Ceramics Symposium which will be held there next week. I cannot believe I get to see 6 artists demos including; Tom Bartel, Julia Galloway and Linda Christianson all for $75. I can't wait for that. In the meantime I will spend the week making pots, carving pots, glazing pots and firing pots.

Classes and Shows and STUFF, Oh My!

2010-10-03T18:22:00.000-07:00

New and exciting things are happening with Cinderelish. I will be teaching a CLASS at Red Star, participating in three SHOWS and selling my pottery at a great SHOP in Brookside called Stuff.

My Tiles and Trays class is a 6 week session at Red Star Studios beginning October 27th . In this class students will create their own unique handmade tiles and trays. These pieces will then be embellished with sgraffito designs. Sgraffito is the same technique I use to create my bold designs for Cinderelish pottery. Please contact me or Redstar Studios for more information. http://redstarstudios.wordpress.com/classes/

I will be participating in two shows in November and one in December. I will have lots of new functional ware including some newly designed vases to choose from. The November shows are for one-day-only, so don’t miss out! Check out dates and links in the top right sidebar.

My most exciting news of all is that my pottery will now be available at STUFF in Brookside. STUFF has been one of my favorite shops in the Kansas City area for a long time and I am very excited that they have accepted me as an artist. They receive hundreds of applications each year but only a few are accepted. I will be joining local potters Cathy Broski, Mary Kay Porter and Amy Meya who have been with the shop for years. My pots are all packed in boxes and ready for delivery Thursday morning. My work should be on the shelves shortly after that. Please stop by and check out this Brookside landmark. STUFF is super easy to find, just east of Wornall on 63rd St. It also happens to be just a few doors down from the world's best children's book store, The Reading Reptile.

STUFF

316 W. 63rd Street

Kansas City, MO

http://www.pursuegoodstuff.com/

New Vases

2010-09-08T09:36:00.000-07:00

Here are my new favorite vases with a circle grid design. I hope you like them as much as I do. They are now available in my etsy shop.

Mugs and More

2010-08-21T17:05:00.000-07:00

I threw these mugs Thursday, footed and handled them Friday and brushed on slip today. They should be ready to carve tomorrow. I also threw seven serving bowls. It used to be that I could sit and throw pots for 6 or 8 hours straight and just a little break for lunch. By the end of the day my back would be sore, but a good nights sleep would take care of it. Since I was hit from behind in a little auto accident back in January my neck has been a huge issue. I can throw maybe a half a day but then my neck hurts and I get a killer headache at the base of my skull and the whole back of my head. I usually lasts a few days. I never get to the point where my back hurts at all. I went to my final chiropractor appointment yesterday. He says I have reached maximum improvement. I sure hope he is wrong. My next option is cortizone injections, which I am not going to do. I guess I will just continue easing back into yoga and pottery and hope that time will help. My mugs in progress are shown above along with a shot of my tiny dog Ellie May. She is always waiting for me to finish at the top of the stairs. Isn't she cute?

New Vases and Red Star Classes

2010-08-18T14:57:00.000-07:00

I finished carving the vases I threw a few weeks ago. These vases are about 9 inches tall and made to look like my tumblers only bigger. They should hold a nice sized bouquet. The unfired vase on the right is a new design I think I will be repeating. I have added a grid to the my typical dottie design. These will be bisque fired along with some mugs and bowls in the next few days. The glazing should begin on Monday.

I recently found out that I have been selected to teach a class at Red Star Studios. The class will be 6 weeks long on Wednesday evenings starting at the end of October. During the class we will be making tiles and trays. We will experiment with colored slips and underglazes and work on sgrafffito designs, which is of course, my favorite thing to do. Check out the Red Star site for more information.

Artilicious This Saturday

2010-08-11T09:42:00.001-07:00

Custom Order Finished

2010-08-09T18:08:00.000-07:00

I unloaded these plates and bowls from the kiln this evening while they were still hot. These are for a custom order.The four dinner plates are one day late, but the four salad bowls are 10 days early so I figure that works out okay. I enjoyed making this order, but I underestimated the space the 4 plates would take up in the kiln. Each plate had it's very own shelf. I was just barely able to fit in this order and a couple of mugs. I wrapped these babies up while they were still hot and set them on the front porch for pick up. When I checked a short time later the box was gone. Hopefully the customer is as happy with this set as I am.

Bowls, Vases and a Giant Platter

2010-08-01T11:01:00.000-07:00

I finally finished carving the six bowls that I threw last weekend. I needed four of them to have a wavy pattern for a custom order so I threw six just in case. Since five of the six seemed pretty well matched, I went ahead and carved the last one in my favorite flower design. I also threw some 2 1/2 lb vases which turned out to be about 9 inches tall. These are actually the biggest vases I have ever made.

And finally, check out my big platter. It was made from a hunk of recycled clay (failed vases) I had lying around. I didn't wedge it up very well, so it is a little uneven and there are some air bubbles in it. I think this is about 10 pounds of clay. If this platter survives it will be my first completed platter of that size. The others I have attempted all ended badly. Some cracked while drying others in bisque or glaze fire. I made a point to compress the bottom well and not to overwork the walls so maybe this one will make it.

Six Salad Bowls and One Big Honker

2010-07-29T17:26:00.000-07:00

I put a foot on my big honkin' bowl yesterday. It is a nice deep foot that should work well for hanging if I wrap a wire around it. I carved the floral design today. I really like the funky flowers with the bullseye centers. I had mentioned that I would be glazing this in a bright orange, but I have rethought that. Now I am thinking I will pull out one of my old favorites, the pale turquoise glaze that I used here. I have never used that glaze with my black and white sgraffito carved pots, but I think I will give it a try. After I carved the big guy I threw six large salad bowls. I am hoping for four good matches to make a set. Tomorrow my plan is to throw some vases. I am hoping to get some more new work finished in time for Artilicious on the 14th.

Throwing a Big Bowl

2010-07-26T10:27:00.000-07:00

Today I decided to throw a big honkin' bowl. I started off with about 7 or 8 pounds of clay. This clay is nice and soft or I wouldn't even attempt to center that much. I wedged up the chunk of clay and centered it on my bat.

Next, I opened up the clay leaving the bottom nice an thick.

I made a few pulls to get some height.

I took a little break and carved up a few small bowls while I let my big bowl firm up.

Next, I went back to the bowl and used my jumbo rib to flare it out and refine the shape.

Here is the finished bowl. It's a big one, about 13" across and 5" high. It should be ready to trim tomorrow and carve the next day. I think it will have flowers on the inside and be glazed in bright orange.

New Designs

2010-07-25T06:50:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking about ways to incorporate more color into my work while retaining the sgraffito design. I decided to brush blocks of black slip on the pot and then carve small designs within. I slipped up a few bowls with circles and few with squares. I am liking the look of the square one so far, but I am thinking I need to repeat the black slip elsewhere on the pot. I am also trying a new mug design with a foot. I normally just use a wiggle wire tool to cut the mug off the bat, but I decided I want my pot elevated off the table a little. I am not sure if this is the look I was going for. I was hoping for something a little bit less chunky looking. I think I have six more like it ready to carve so maybe they will grow on me.

Foam Bat

2010-07-24T15:32:00.000-07:00

I threw a good sized bowl this morning. I think it is weighs about 4 pounds. It is thrown pretty thin and the edges are delicate. I need to be able to trim without messing up the rim so I made myself a foam bat. I picked up a square of 1 inch thick foam from Hobby Lobby. I traced a circle around my bat, cut it out and glued it to the bat. I think I will put it on the wheel and draw some concentric circles on it to make centering easier too. The bowl needs to dry a little more, but I think I will be able to try it out tomorrow. I am planning to work on some new designs tomorrow too.

Quinoa Pouncer

2010-07-22T13:36:00.000-07:00

I am working on a set of custom salad bowls today. I made the matching plates from slabs and they are drying nicely. I started out by throwing the four salad bowls, but then I realized it would be more like a set if the bowls were slab built also. Well, I have never slab built bowls, but I did find a largish salad bowl in my cabinet that I thought might work as a mold. I rolled out the slab and draped it into the bowl, but it wasn't fitting nicely. What I needed was a pouncer. I have never used one, or made one before, but I saw Kari Radasch work with one at NCECA so I figured I'd give it a try. I think Kari's pouncer was made with sand. I didn't have any sand, so I dug around in my cabinet and found some quinoa. I also salvaged an old knee high stocking and a mismatched sock of my daughters. I filled the stocking with quinoa, put it into the sock, tied it with a rubber band and voila, pouncer. My new tool worked just fine, but my mold may be a little small. I might have to move on to plan C with these bowls. Hmm..I wonder how long that quinoa will stay fresh.

Tiny Cinderelish Designs

2010-07-22T09:20:00.000-07:00

Each of these little pendants were individually carved with the tiniest little loop tool I could find. Working on this scale is quite different than carving a big bowl or even a little tray. I definitley needed the reading glasses to work on them and I was surprised at how long it actually took to make each piece. Cleaning, carving and 4 coats of glaze take a long time, even on a tiny scale. I finally got them fired and made a few into necklaces. I need to get some more supplies to complete the rest. While I do like the simple look of a single pendant on a silk cord, I know that some people prefer a little more bling. That is why I asked Robin MacKintosh, a jewelry designer friend of mine for some ideas. Stay posted for that collaboration. In the meantime, I have listed a the orange one and the green one for sale in my online shop.

Custom Order

2010-07-21T06:02:00.000-07:00

I finally finished carving these plates for a custom order. They seem to be drying okay with no cracking and they stack fine. I think I will make a couple of extras too, just in case there is a problem. Now it is time to get started on a set of bowls. I haven't thrown anything in a couple of weeks so I will have to warm up a bit. I am almost out of mugs and I really need a couple dozen of them. I was looking at my tea bowls and I really like the way they are raised off the ground by the foot, and they have a band of color across the bottom. I am going to try and incorporate that style into the next round of mugs. The next three days will be throwing, throwing throwing and footing and handling.

Hot Stuff

2010-07-15T14:09:00.000-07:00

Our air conditioner broke a few days ago and it has been 98 degrees outside with 100% humidity. If you have spent time in Kansas City in July or August, then you know how flipping hot that is. Luckily we have separate units for the upper and lower level. The last few nights we have slept on an air mattress on the living room floor. Not exactly comfy, but better the sweltering. The other problem is that my computer is on the second floor so I have put off editing photos, blogging and listing new items in my shop. I fired my kiln a few days ago and unloaded it Tuesday evening. I finally decided to brave the upstairs heat today (92 degrees inside) and share this new work. Anyway, the items pictured above are available in my shop. Now I am heading back to the cool basement to do come carving and wait for the air conditioner repair man. He was supposed to be here at noon, it is 4:00 now.

Pendants and Bowls

2010-07-09T18:56:00.000-07:00

I have been working on the cutest little pendants for the last week or so. Each one is carved with a tiny version of my regular designs. There are a variety of flowers and a few tiny bullseyes too. After a quick photo session, I loaded up my kiln with my new work and fired away. Later, when I sat down to make a post showing my adorable new pendants I deleted the picture by mistake. Dang! I hate when that happens. Now the kiln is firing away so I guess I will have to share them with you when they are finished.

Also, when I was loading the kiln I noticed a tiny hairline crack in the rim of one of my bowls. It was a really nice serving bowls with flowers on the outside. I was actually planning to trade with fellow etsian Kristin Love for one her her lovely bowls. Click on the link to check out Kristin's work. (Sorry for the delay Kristen, I will make another one soon.) If anyone knows how to successfully repair a crack in greenware let me know. Now, since I can't have have a post without a picture, here is a shot of an orange tray. This was a custom order from a very nice lady I met at Art on the Hill. I actually made two identical trays just in case. One was picked up and the other is now available in my etsy shop.

A Busy Day

2010-07-01T20:15:00.000-07:00

I spent most of the day working in the studio. Of course I was continually interrupted by phone calls and family matters and the dog and payroll and laundry and other stuff. But, I did manage to carve the rest of my cups, bowls and trays. I have been spraying them with water to keep them damp for about 2 weeks now. After I finished that, I rolled out and cut coasters and pendants that will be ready to carve tomorrow. Then I listed a bunch of new work on etsy. The finished items shown above are available in my shop. If you like what you see, but aren't on etsy, just send me an email. I take credit cards, paypal and checks so we can make it happen.

A Plate a Day

2010-06-24T23:12:00.001-07:00

Wow! My work is featured on A Plate a Day by Mignon. A very nice and unexpected surprise.

Honeypot Shop This Weekend in the Crossroads

2010-06-21T09:15:00.000-07:00

I will be participating in The Honeypot Shop event this Saturday in the Crossroads. Please stop by to visit and check out my new work along with the work of at least 15 other area artists and crafters. More info availalble by clicking here.

Stacks of Little Dishes

2010-06-14T14:37:00.000-07:00

These stacks of little dishes have been delivered to Eclectics Gallery and are now available for purchase. Please stop by and check them out along with all of the other wonderful handmade goods Eclectics has to offer.

12 Before 12

2010-06-10T10:08:00.000-07:00

A while back there was a potter in the blogosphere who issued a challenge for other potters to create 12 pieces before 12:00. Since I currently follow 412 pottery blogs I honestly can't remember who issued the challenge, but thanks for getting me motivated. Anyway, I am really late to jump onboard, but I am glad I fianlly did. Pictured above are my little balls of clay waiting to be thrown and below that are the 12 tumblers thrown before 12:00. I am taking a short break then I will head back downstairs to throw the remaining 3 tumblers and 3 bowls.

Liberty Arts Squared

2010-06-06T17:04:00.000-07:00

The first annual Liberty Arts Squared took place yesterday from 10-7. It was a long day and super hot with some strong gusting winds. Several white tents went flying and glass went crashing, but my new-used tent held up well thanks in part to my new weights. I got the set of 4 online at Bass Pro Shop for $24.99 . I was planning to make the weights with pvc and concrete, but then realized the supplies would cost almost as much as these premade babies and I was glad to save myself the trouble. I did use my new tent, but skipped the new shelves and stuck with my existing tables and table cloths. I think they look better with my style of pottery. If you are interested in these shelves please contact me.

The Liberty Arts Commission and HDLI put on a nice art festival. I got a spot near the front stage and was able to enjoy the music, dancing and poetry readings. The quality of work was excellent, much better than I expected for a first year show that was not listed on zapplication. I have never actually used Zapplication, but I hear that is where the big kids play. Booth traffic was light, but I blame that on the heat and the fact that this was the first year for the show. It was close to 95 and I am sure the humidity was near 100%. I met several really cool artists including a young potter from McPherson, KS named Daisy. She sells on etsy too. I didn't make a ton of money, but I definitely came out ahead. I also traded for some sweet little art. I hope I make it through the jury process next year.

Today I worked on unloading the jeep and organizing my workspace. I also took some photos of my newest work. The pics shown above are now listed in my etsy shop and available for purchase.

Tent, News, Art Fair and Bisqueware

2010-06-01T21:07:00.000-07:00

Last weekend my husband and I drove to Olathe to check out a used craft tent from Craigslist. If you are from the Kansas City area then you know that Liberty and Olathe are on completely opposite sides of town so it was a long drive. We met with Jim Lauer who recently retired from a lifelong career in pottery. He says he hasn't made a pot in about five years and last year was his final craft show. Some of you may know him from the Plaza Art Fair. Anyway, Jim kindly went through set up and tear down of the tent and the shelves and I bought the whole kit and caboodle. It is well used, but it is a Craft Hut and all the parts are there. If you have ever looked for a good used tent, then you know they are hard to find and new tents are way too expensive. I was glad we brought the trailer, it would have been a tight fit in the back of the suv. I will be using the tent for the first time this weekend at Liberty Arts Squared.

I hosted bookclub at my house on Thursday and my friends pointed out that I was on the cover of the local newspaper, The Liberty Tribune. Well, I was excited to see it, but sometimes the paper delivery boy skips my house and there was no newspaper in my driveway that evening. I finally got a copy from a friend yesterday and sure enough, there in the upper righthand corner is a picture of my tiny little trays. You will have to look very close to see it because it is a very small pic. Still, it was a pleasant suprise and several friends contacted me to let me know about it. The Art Commission is doing a great job promoting this event and I am hoping for a good turnout Saturday. Everything is being handled very professionally from the artwork (check out the cool logo) to the website to the advertising. They even have a facebook page.

Yesterday I sorted out my kilnload of bisqueware and lined them up in order for glazing. The bisqueware on this table represents one firing, but it will take two kilnloads for the glazefire. It takes me forever to glaze since I brush everything and apply three coats of color and one coat of clear. I can't afford five gallon buckets of glaze and I really don't want to complicate the process further with glaze calculation and equipment and raw materials. So I glazed like a maniac yesterday and the first load has already been fired. The second load is ready to go. So far so good. Don't forget about Liberty Arts Squared on Saturday.

In the Studio Today

2010-05-25T09:28:00.000-07:00

I carved these big bowls and a few little dishes this morning. This is the first time I have carved the design on the outside of the bowls. The insides will be nice and smooth. Now it is time to rest the neck a little then head to the chiropractor. I am hoping when I get back I will feel well enough to carve these other two bowls and eight mugs. I will probably quick try them in my clothes dryer so I can bisque them on Thursday. I really need to get them finished for Liberty Arts Squared on the 5th.

Saturday Morning Treasury

2010-05-22T07:38:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning to find my little green yunomi in the center of this lovely treasury by Lori Koop from Pasadena. Lori is a ceramic artist who makes beautiful and "perfectly imperfect" black and white pottery. Lori really has it together with a website, a blog, an online shop and even a newsletter. I don't know how she found the time to create this treasury, but I am happy she included my pot.

Around the Studio Today

2010-05-18T18:11:00.000-07:00

Here are my freshly thrown bowls from today and yesterdays mugs with handles to attach. I finished attaching the handles, but for some reason I pulled them all a little small. I got really frustrated with myself and finally just chucked the last one in the recycle bucket. These mugs are a bit larger than my last batch and should hold 14-16 ounces. We will see how accurate that estimate is.

These are new little slab built dishes all carved and ready for bisque fire. I am so sure that these will be big sellers that I made a dozen more. With the bowls, the mugs and the new dishes I will have an awful lot to carve this weekend. I also have more bisque from my last firing that will need to be glazed. I am hoping to get all these pieces done by Liberty Arts Squared on the 5th. This is the first year for this show and it looks like it is really shaping up. There is a great lineup up artists and activities. If you are in the Kansas City area please stop by Liberty and visit my booth.

Art on the Hill 2010 Booth

2010-05-07T18:01:00.000-07:00

Here is a shot of my booth at the Art on the Hill show two weeks ago. The table cloth, sign and flags are new. Next I will be working on my table top display. I am in serious need of some professional looking shelves or risers. I need multiple levels and also a place to display haning items like tiles, necklaces and ornaments. Cinderelish is a work in progress. Hopefully I will make little improvements before each show and eventually look like I know what I am doing.

Happy May Day!

2010-05-01T11:49:00.000-07:00

Tea Bowl National Rejects

2010-04-30T07:27:00.000-07:00

A while back I blogged the tea bowls I was working on for the KC Clay Guild Tea Bowl National. Well, pictured above are my entries into that show. I did not get accepted, but I am not really surprised. I think that traditionally tea bowls are about the glaze and the form and not so much surface decoration. The forms of my cups are pretty plain and I don't have a cool drippy, crusty or unusual finish. The competition was pretty stiff too with over 300 entries, some of which were just amazing. I can't wait for the show to open so I can see them all in person. This is the only big pottery show I have ever entered and I was happy to gain a little experience. Even though my bowls were rejected by the show, I still really like them. If you feel the same way, you can head over to my etsy shop now and purchase them.

Do You Know the Way to Santa Fe?

2010-04-29T18:38:00.000-07:00

Not long after my return from NCECA I hit the road with my husband for a trip to Santa Fe. The truth is, he was headed to Albuquerque for a construction equipment auction. He wanted a driving partner and I am always up for a road trip. Santa Fe was little bonus. The first night in Santa Fe we dined out, on the reccommendation of friends, at the oldest restaurant in Santa Fe, El Farol. We had the tapas and everything was delicious, but I especially enjoyed the fried avacado. The weather was mild and sunny which was perfect for the visiting the Canyon Road galleries. There are literalIy, to my husband's dismay, over a hundred galleries on one street. I didn't take too many pictures, but I absolutely fell in love with these ceramic, native american inspired totems and figures. I have no idea who the artist is or what gallery I found them in. If you know I would love to hear from you.

We stayed downtown at a cozy little inn and shopped that district. We spent some time chatting with the man who runs the Dinosaur Shop. He has build a career on collecting and selling meteors and fossils. What an interesting life. We shopped a lot but didn't buy much, Santa Fe is not cheap. Near downtown is the railroad district, home to Santa Fe Clay. I had to stop there, I just love their La Mesa show at NCECA. It is a wonderful place with a large studio, gallery space, and store. I have never seen a clay place so clean and organized. Their location is ideal right now, but I hear they may be forced to move when the lease is up as the new rate may be too high. It will be a shame if the Railroad District loses such a creative space.

We finally went to the auction in Albuquerque, but we didn't win any bids. It was funny to see my husband at the auction. He looks at crushers, loaders, conveyor and screen plants the way I look at art and pottery. He just wishes he could have them all! After the auction we headed straight home. I missed my two girls, but who wouldn't miss those cuties? I hope she doesn't find out I posted this picture.

NCECA 2010

2010-04-28T16:34:00.000-07:00

I am finally doing a little blog catch up. NCECA was almost a month ago. I looked forward to this conference for a year. This is my second time to attend, I also went to Louisville in 2008. This year the event took place in Philidelphia, The City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection, according to the mayor who greeted us at the opening ceremony. We were also greeted with a performance by the Mummers, which was a treat. The key note speaker was Terry Gross from Fresh Air. I love NPR and Fresh Air is often playing while I am making pots so it was a nice to see her and put a face with the voice.

The event was amazing an packed with things to do. I actually spent most of my time in the demo hall. Two of the demonstrators were Kari Radsch and Matthew Metz whose work I really admire. The exhibit hall also had some great demonstrators. Above is a picture of Cathy Broski working on one her large figures at the Amoco booth. She does wonderful work that is a combination of wheel thrown and handbuilt. She was also one of my first pottery teachers at the KC Clay Guild. Danny Meisinger also made a pot in the exhibit hall. His pot was 7 feet tall and he had to set up a scaffold to reach it. Amazing!

I travelled to the Conference with my friend Susan Speck. I will spare all the details, but it was an eventful trip that included a forgotten wallet (airport 20 minutes away and no car), a bad sinus headache, and head and neck pain from whiplash. Oh yeah, and also a pickpocketing of all my id and all credit cards. Anyway, when we were not bummed out about that stuff we had a great time seeing the town of Philli, eating cheese steak, visiting with potters and of course looking at pots. We had fun at the Magic Gardens where there was a nice display of tiles and some crazy mosaic work. That's me in the first picture in front of some pretty relief tiles. I included this picure as a before shot, because the next one you see of me will show me with my hair about 6 inches shorter, layered and with bangs. Here is Susan downtown with some crazy Philidelphia mascot statue. I have no idea who he is, but she sure wanted a picture with him.

Art in the Rain

2010-04-25T18:40:00.000-07:00

Art on the Hill turned into Art in the Rain yesterday. The first hour of the show was great with lots of people and sales, but as soon as the rain came the traffic slowed. I was so happy to be under the big tent where I got to meet lots of great creative, interesting women. My new tablecloth, banner and sign looked really good. I sold a little bit of everything including new tumblers and bowls fresh from the kiln. Above are the tumblers I brought home with me. They are listed on my etsy site now. If you are interested in making a purchase and don't want to set up an etsy account, just email me. I would be glad to take a check by mail or credit card over the phone. I have some catching up to do on my blog, I still havent posted NCECA yet. I will try to catch up this week.

Art on the Hill 2010 - Kearney

2010-04-15T20:54:00.000-07:00

Last year about this time I stopped by Art on the Hill in Kearney to see my friend Robin Mackintosh. It was my first time to visit this little art fair and I didn't really expect a whole lot. I was more than pleasantly surprised by what I saw. The event takes place in the front yards of a couple of Kearney artists. But this is no yard sale, there is some quality work to be found along with food and live entertainment. I enjoyed the event so much that I signed up to participate this time around. Stop by and vist if you can. You won't be dissapointed. I will be unloading my kiln the morning of the event, so my work is sure to be fresh! Friends of mine will recognize the location as just one turn south of Kriss Miller's old house off 33 Hwy.

Philly Time

2010-03-30T07:37:00.000-07:00

I am packing up my carry-on bag to head to the airport this morning. I am so excited for NCECA. This is my second time, I also went two years ago when it was in Louisville. My bag includes my in-flight entertainment (electronic yahtzee and my book club selection for April) my snack (dried mangos) and the cup I am donating to the Cup Sale. I also packed some extra bubble wrap because I am planning to make a little purchase while I am there and I want it to be safe on the flight home. I will post pics next week.

Rainy Days and Glaze

2010-03-27T09:19:00.000-07:00

I unloaded my bisque kiln today, wiped down all the pots and sorted them by glaze color. The plan is to glaze today, fire tomorrow, photograph Monday and leave for NCECA Tuesday. My tea bowls for the KC Clay Guild show are in this load so I have to be able to photograph and submit them for jury on Monday before I leave for NCECA. I got notice today that I was accepted into the Liberty Arts Squared show on June 5th. This is the first show I have actually submitted digital pictures for. All of my other shows have been etsy related., no jury there, or I was invited to exhibit. I was a little nervous about the quality of my photos. I think I figured out how to format them correctly using black space on the sides. The second photo above is one of four images I submitted. I am sure I still have a lot to learn, but this is a start. I welcome comments, criticisms and suggestions on how to improve my pics. Now I am headed downstairs to glaze away watch the rain fall.

Art on the Hill: Cinderelish (Cindy Buehler)

2010-03-25T17:43:00.000-07:00

Art on the Hill: Cinderelish (Cindy Buehler)

Booth Progress

2010-03-24T10:21:00.000-07:00

I finally bought the fabric for my booth display yesterday so I am making progress. I have two tables for my set up and I will be making one tablecloth in blue and one in green. Both will have white tops to show off the pots and a black and white floral accent. I am also planning to make a multicolor banner of little fabric triangles to hang somewhere. I am still trying to decide exactly how to make my sign; hanging, freestanding, table top? Do I need one for the back, one for the front and one for the table? And, I haven't even considered shelves yet. So many options, but one thing for sure, there will be lots of color.

I have also been carving pots like crazy trying to get ready for Art on the Hill April 24th. This is the sixth year for the event, but my first time as an artist. There are about 30 local artist with wonderful and varied works of art. If you are near Kansas City it is a great time. The event is located off 33 Hwy at NE 134th St. Check out the link above for more info about the event and artists. Now back to work.

Tumblers

2010-03-21T13:13:00.000-07:00

On it's way to NCECA, the ArtStream Gallery made a stop in KC. The Gallery parked at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art. The Kemper just happens to be one of my favorite places to visit, so I took the opportunity to meet up with my friends Susan and Kathy. We checked out the Kemper, shopped the ArtStream and had lunch at the Mix. I was able to pick up this wonderful Matthew Metz tumbler, which is now one of my favorite cups. This baby is huge and I am looking forward to iced tea days with it this summer. I was so inspired by his wonderful work that I threw some tumblers of my own today. They should be dry enough to slip and carve in a day or two.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2010-03-17T07:53:00.000-07:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all! Here is a bit o' me greenware.

Bad Glaze

2010-03-15T07:34:00.000-07:00

I had high hopes for this basket. I thought it would come out of the kiln shining like a jewel. Instead, the glaze literally fell off. Now it is headed for the trash bin. I had a friend's work on the shelf around and below this basket. It was a bunch of leaves for a windchime she is working on. Bits of this glaze were laying all over those pieces, but the glaze bits just dusted off and the leaves look beautiful. As much as I hate losing my own work in the firing, I hate losing someone else's 10 times more. So, I am very lucky this glaze failed during cooling or glaze would have melted onto those leaves. I have used this on tiles before and it was fine. I don't know why it freaked out this time. Maybe because of the vertical surface, the shape of the pot or the thickness of the application. I will probably just stick with tiles in the future.

2010 Tea Bowl National

2010-03-13T17:14:00.000-08:00

I carved these tea bowls last week. Three of these will be my entry into the Tea Bowl National at The KC Clay Guild. It is juried by Pete Pinnell, who knows a bit about cups of all kinds. Mine aren't really traditional tea bowls, especially after they are glazed in bright colors, but I thought I would enter them anyway and see what happens. I carved a few more mugs today and rolled out some trays. I also went to Lowes and bought tables for my booth set up. I am working on a design that includes custom table covers, a handpainted sign and some bright flags. I hope it looks as good in reality as it does in my head. Also, I finally got set up for credit card processing.. I went through the Potter's Council to get their super cheap rate. Tomorrow I am going to do some more carving and maybe throw some mugs. So much to do before my first show on April 24th.

For the Love of Purple

2010-02-19T07:17:00.000-08:00

My purple flower tray is featured in this treasury by TBSCreations. This is one of the prettiest treasuries I have seen in a while. I think it would make a great front page.

Like Nails on a Chalkboard

2010-02-18T17:02:00.000-08:00

Carving bone dry pots reminds me of nails on a chalkboard. While I love the feel of smoothly carving into leather hard pots, bone dry pots are something else entirely. Scrraaatch scraatch scratch. These mugs and tray were made before Christmas and I am just now getting around to carving them. I sprayed them daily for a while and kept them covered hoping I would get around to them, but I never did. I learned my lesson this time and I will manage my drying better from now on.

January was just too cold in my studio to get any work done. Then, 3 weeks ago I was in a car accident where I was rear ended while sitting in traffic. It left me with a very sore neck and daily headaches. I found out today that I have rotated vertibrae and a bulging disk. I am hoping they will get better soon. I have been going to the chiropractor, but I am starting physical therapy on Wednesday. Does anyone have experience with neck injuries and potting? I would really like to get back to making pots.

Catching Up and Looking Forward

2010-01-09T17:36:00.000-08:00

I attended a workshop at Red Star Studio back in October and created some slab build trays. This previous post shows them before firing. I brought those trays home for glazing and firing. I love the way they turned out. Today I photographed one of them and listed it for sale in my etsy shop. The cold weather has kept me out of the studio, but I have been spending time updating my neglected blog and shop, so that is a very good thing. I also am very excited that I have finally made my NCECA conference arrangements. WooHoo! Susan Speck and I will be flying to Philidelphia for the event. We leave March 30th, the day after my birthday. I went to this conference a couple of years ago when it was in Louisville and it was amazing. I can't wait for the total sensory overload. I will come back full of ideas and inspiration. For now though, I am just looking forward to a little warm up so I can get some pottery made.

Too Cold for Clay Today

2010-01-08T13:10:00.000-08:00

It was before Christmas last time I worked in my studio and I was really looking forward to throwing. Unfortunately, the weather did not want to cooperate. It is snowing again in Kansas City today and the temperature got down to 10 below last night. When it is that cold outside it is about 50 in my studio, which is too cold for me to get my hands wet. I know I am kind of a wimp, but if my hands are cold, I just can't throw. I hear it is supposed to be a balmy 36 degrees by Tuesday so hopefully I can make some pots then.

Since I couldn't make anything today I spent my time taking photos and adding listings to my etsy shop. My poor shop has been neglected for quite a while. The blue basket above is one of my fave new listings. It has a wonderful swirling indigo glaze. I really love making baskets, rolling rims and pulling giant handles. I get lots positive feedback about my baskets and they were even featured in a local newspaper. I wish that feedback translated to sales, but it doesn't seem to work that way. I just can't help it though, I have to make what I like.

Etsy Snapshop

2009-12-15T12:21:00.000-08:00

Here is a quick snapshot of my etsy shop. I am working at Eclectics today and while I am here I am doing some photography and adding some listings.

Mugs Stacked Nice and Neat

2009-12-03T19:53:00.000-08:00

I handled 12 of the 16 mugs from my previous post and managed to get them carved, glazed and fired. I didn't plan my time very well and ended up in a crunch, so I decided to do a single fire. I had had some trouble in the past with this method where I got bubbling that was bad enough to make the work unsellable. I knew I had changed the elements in the kiln since that firing, so I went ahead and hoped for the best. I was prepared for complete disaster, so I am pleased to say that the glazes turned out wonderfully well. I did have one red mug with a couple of very slight bubbles. Apparently my red is finicky and needs pampered with a bisque fire. The new mugs are pictured above stacked nice and neat. After this quick photo session I boxed them up for delivery to Eclectics. Don't forget the Holiday Tour this weekend.