Busy Week and Bamboo Fun Update
Hello friends! Have I really let a week pass between posts? This has been one crazy busy month so far (started around Thanksgiving) and I feel like I’m just now catching my breath – though not for long. What have I been up to?
- Daughter’s 11th Birthday & Party
- Middle School applications were due Dec. 12 for the following school year – seriously way too much for a 5th grader and her parents to deal with at this age. Essays, recommendations, test scores, application, visitations, interviews etc. I suppose if my daughter wanted to go to her neighborhood school it wouldn’t have mattered, but she applied to several public magnet schools: Denver School of the Arts (she has an audition and interview scheduled for January), Denver Center for International Studies, and Morey (a gifted magnet program). We’re lucky to have school choice, but it’s a crazy amount of work!
- Volunteer duties at her school
- School Silent and Live Auction – despite the bad economy, we raised about $30,000 which is about $15,000 less than last year. I’ve helped out the past 3 years – turns out I’m a pretty good fund raiser…go figure since I’m a terrible salesperson (at least with my own work).
- Class parties and projects – all fun, but time consuming.
- Holiday shopping & shipping frenzy
- After school clay class – ended on Dec. 16, I’ve got about 30 days till the next one starts up – whew…
- Subbing – seems like teachers like having days off in December.
- Cleaning – my in-laws arrive tomorrow for the holidays and on Monday our house is being appraised. We decided to go ahead and refinance since the rates are below 5% right now and it will save us a couple hundred dollars a month. There’s a chance my husband will be laid off in January – the company he works for announced a 10% workforce reduction and his department will be affected, so paring down our bills is paramount. I’m not terribly worried about it, if it happens then he will temporarily go into business with me while he looks for another job. I wonder if he’s crafty??
Actually, he doesn’t need to be crafty – I would love his organizational skills coupled with his financial wizardry. He’s a business analyst, finance guy and his skills would come in handy since I’m the exact opposite!
Anyway, it’s all good, and now that Winter Break started yesterday I feel like I’ve stopped hyperventilating. Now I can slow down and enjoy the holidays leisurely and in full the way it should be experienced. So enough about my laundry list of to-dos…let’s talk ceramic decals & Bamboo Fun!
Celadon and white glazed porcelain bowl
In anticipation of creating some laser ceramic decals, I have a few pieces of pottery that I specifically left undecorated in order to experiment with the process. These came out of the kiln on Monday, but since I didn’t have time to install my Wacom tablet and didn’t receive the laser decal paper until Thursday, they’ve been sitting on my dining room table ready and waiting for their finishing touches. They sort of look like they got dressed, but forgot to brush their hair and accessorize their outfits
Caramel glazed porcelain mug
This is a bit of an aside, but this caramel colored glaze is suppose to be an off white matte glaze that breaks caramel. My new digital Skutt if firing hot (going to cone 7 – even though it’s programed to cone 6) though and this glaze has been turning a translucent caramel color which I actually really like a lot. I thought it would be a good neutral base for laser decals. I dipped the rim in a glossy white which is why it looks mottled – though you might not see it unless you click on the image to enlarge it. This is a base glaze from MC6G – and it’s still stable and doesn’t run at cone 7. From what I’ve read, matte glazes that turn glossy might actually mean that at the lower temperature it’s really underfired. I know the celadon glaze that I use does that when under fired.
Celadon glazed white stoneware box
This is a little 3″ x 4″ covered box that I made for my neice for her January 1st birthday celebration. She visits the Maryland shore with her mom and dad nearly every summer and loves the beach. Instead of hand painting this one with underglaze like these, I decided to apply decals for decoration instead. I’m hoping the sepia won’t clash with the celadon color…we’ll see.
I hope to print the decals today and then fire the pieces tomorrow – and hope to share the results good, bad and ugly on Monday. It’s a good time to fire the kiln too – we’re in for another cold snap this weekend…20′s through Wednesday. Brrrr!
Meanwhile, my husband and I might go see Cheech and Chong at the Paramount theater tomorrow night. 
I was reading Friday’s Denver Post yesterday and saw that the duo has reunited for a tour and their show has received great reviews. My hubby and I desperately need to go on a date sans child and I really feel like laughing till my face hurts.
Have a great weekend,
~Cynthia
Meredith Heywood
December 20, 2008 at 6:25 pm //
Some one stole a week or two between Thanskgiving and now.
You have a December birthday in your house too.
My daughter is the 21st and I am the 22nd.
I know- I should have known better!
I am excited to see your results.
Can’t wait!
Linda Starr
December 20, 2008 at 6:34 pm //
I am drooling in anticipation of your new decals. That bowl is almost too perfect to change though. Happy holidays to you and your family.
Undaunted
December 21, 2008 at 1:01 am //
“They sort of look like they got dressed, but forgot to brush their hair and accessorize their outfits” Hehehe that sounds like me!
You really have had a busy month! You can cope with anything though Cynthia – you’re wonder woman!
That caramel glaze looks yummy
Thanks for sharing the decal process with us – I had no idea that the pieces had to be glazed and fired first. I suppose I sort of thought it would be like slip transfers? I look forward to seeing the results.
Eva
December 21, 2008 at 3:47 am //
How beautiful this mug handle came out! It is like something living, a lizard or exotic plant. And how the white glazing softly swims into the ochre… Also the seladon box is great. When I first read it, I thought it would be for your niece’s 1st birthday. Well, art education cannot start too early.
Ben Stark
December 21, 2008 at 6:45 am //
Looking forward to seeing your results! I hope your first decal firing goes better than mine. I took the hammer to them almost immediately. Good luck!
Casey Klahn
December 21, 2008 at 7:59 am //
Hope the stress measures out to nil, Cynthia. Your blog looks excellent, and those pots are fresh!!! That means really great.
Very nice to see the hubby&you pic., looks cold there.
Linda Starr
December 21, 2008 at 12:07 pm //
Oh Cynthia, I just re-read your list and I hope your husband doesn’t get laid off, but going into business together would be a neat experience too. On the refinance, we bought our home 4.5 years ago and our interest rate at the time is about the same as it is now. I am wondering why the interest rates aren’t any lower than they are right now. Bankrate.com said they are 5.27 so under 5 pecent is really good to get right now. Somehow I think the rates should be 4 percent.
Mary T.
December 21, 2008 at 2:35 pm //
I like the carmel color on the mugs and it has been cold for us, hasn’t it? I think this has gone on long enough now and I’d like to get back to our more usual winter where we have snow one day and sunshine that is warm the next. Oh, well, with the solstice it won’t be long before we’re having our first heat wave! I hope all goes well at hubby’s work. We lived with that for almost 10 years at one time. It can be grueling.
Lynette
December 21, 2008 at 5:10 pm //
You have been super busy Cyn! Your ceramic pieces just keep getting more and more beautiful and that caramel cup is so darn gorgeous. The handle almost reminds me of a tiger’s eye stone with that pattern going across. I hope that your husband won’t be laid off, but it sounds like you guys have a plan to make everything work out just fine. I hope you have a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS and get some rest before the new year! The Cheech and Chong show sounds like so much fun, wow I didn’t know those guys were still doing the comedy shows, they are hilarious!
Cynthia
December 22, 2008 at 11:31 am //
Meredith – 1 week? It feels more like 3! That’s tricky with Dec. b*days – and your’s are even closer to Christmas than my daughter’s.
Linda S. – You’re too kind! Unfortunately, the decals didn’t get fired yesterday, but maybe tonight…. If my hubby gets laid off, it will be a bit of a scramble, but also not the end of the world. We’re already talking about options. Our old rate was just below 6% – so going to 4.875 will save us over 200$/mo. That’s pretty significant. The rates briefly dropped to 4.5% at our bank, but then went back up.
Linda U. – I don’t know about “wonder woman” cause I feel pretty maxed out right now even after having a few days off. Heart rate is slowing though
Eva – Thanks for handle comment! It’s hand built from slab… Neice will be 10 on January 1. I probably didn’t say that correctly.
Ben – Ruh-roh on the decal firing. I will probably do the bowl first and if all turns well, I have a few more items to fire in small kiln.
Casey – Long time no see! This is one of my favorite photos taken this summer at the top of Independence Pass near Aspen. When we left Denver it was nearly 100 degrees F, when we got to the top of the pass, the car thermometer was registering 42 degrees. It felt deliciously cold after suffering through heat wave.
Mary – I’m tired of the frigid cold temps too! I don’t mind winter, but not when it’s so cold my nose hairs freeze up.
I’m trying to remind myself that I’ll be bitching about the heat in about 6 months.
Lynette – Merry Christmas to you too! We missed Cheech and Chong last night
I was bummed, but oh well. They just reunited for this show and are traveling the US. Apparently they had some old issues to work through.
Red Flashlight
December 28, 2008 at 4:19 pm //
Love the swirly handle on that mug! Also good practical application: more traction. Fewer broken mugs.