For those of you who are potters (or even if you work in another medium) – do you ever fall out of love with clay (substitute medium of choice)?  I do and I’m not quite sure why.  I’ve tried nailing it down in my head – is it the sales aspect?  Or frustration at seeing some very fine factory produced work from Asia selling for pennies?  Or lack of ideas?  Or technical difficulties?  Or keen competition?  Or, or, or???

I seem to be afflicted by all of the above from time to time and am really trying to make an objective analysis of my two steps forward, one step back position with clay.  Literally, I distanced myself from clay in May & June by not making any work at all.  It’s not that I don’t like touching the material, it’s more a question redefining what I make and what I want to see happen with the end products.

Coiled Mug

Let’s face it, it’s tough to make a living as an artist.  Throw in teaching, selling in galleries, in person, and online and one begins to approach being able to support oneself.  If you are more of a production potter, then you stand a better chance short of being a pottery super star.  I guess what I realized about myself is that I’m not happy doing all of the above at the same time.  I never have been very good at juggling.

So, in an effort to reclaim my love of clay, I’m taking the selling aspect out of my clay experience.  Or more correctly, I’m removing the pressure to make a living as an artist and am simply moving to more of a hobbyist making what I want and selling here or there when it suits my frame of mind and schedule.  As an observer, you might tell me that you could have told me this – but somehow I had to decide this myself for it to stick.  I think that’s why I decided to go back to school (albeit another creative field, but one where salary is more livable) this fall.  For a time, I even considered selling all of my pottery equipment in one fell swoop.  But, I know I would regret this when the love returns.  And it will…because it always does.

Pinched Bowl

In my last post, I showed a hand built box along with a large coiled bowl that I made last week.  I have gone back to basics to help reclaim some of the joy that I originally found when I first touched clay in 2002.  Coiling and pinching are a pottery student’s first projects and there is something magical transforming a lump of clay into something – anything.  I had to laugh though – I think I messed with my coiled bowl for the better part of 5 hours – not necessarily the route to efficiency or wealth.    But, I guess that was my point when I decided to make these projects – sort of clay as zen master.  I am not planning on selling these either – they will serve more as a reminder about why I turned to clay in the first place seven years ago.

This post isn’t meant to be all dark and brooding either…it’s simply a revelation I recently made about myself.  I love pottery, making, buying, touching – I just don’t want to be a professional potter after all.  I truly hope that this sentiment comes across today.

So where is this blog going?  I’m not sure.  Most likely, it will continue as it has with a bit about my interests, clay work, connections found and maybe even some school projects thrown in here and there.

Here I am standing in the Colorado Potters Shared booth at the farmers market before it opened yesterday morning

Meanwhile, I had a busy weekend including a stint at the Old South Pearl Street Farmers Market early yesterday morning.  But, wait – I just said I’m taking the selling aspect out of my clay experience.  True, but I did say I’d sell some of my stuff when I felt like it and this was one of those times.  I didn’t have much in the way of pottery, but I did bring my ceramic jewelry which generated a few sales and lots of interest – one of my booth mates even commented that I would have made a lot of money if I charged a $1 a touch.   A local gallery even inquired as to whether I’d be interested in showing my jewelry at their First Friday events.  I make stuff that I also like to buy and jewelry is one of those things.  Hopefully that comes across in the things that I do make – that they’re made with love by someone who is enjoying what she does.  I think this is also true in reverse because it’s also reflects the type of person from whom I buy whether pottery, food, or services.   Laissez faire….

Have a great week,

Cynthia

Covered ^6 stoneware box

Pausing on vacation photos….  On Thursday, it was easy to pry myself away from my computer and head out to the studio for the first time in a long time.  Some how, I didn’t melt or implode when I didn’t have access to a computer while on vacation and decided it’s just better for my sanity to sign off for the day after finishing my coffee and to leave it off till the next day.  I don’t know about you all, but my lap top sucks a lot of time away from my day.  Anyway, I warmed up by making a covered box that I textured with embossed paper.  I did something a little different this time around, I added the knob and feet while the box was still fairly wet.  I had issues the last time around of adding feet after the body was considerably dry and having them fall off and “glaze glueing” them on post bisque fire.

Coiled ^6 stoneware bowl

Then I went into regression mode.  I shouldn’t say that.  I didn’t have an agenda, and didn’t feel like throwing – so I decided to start coiling a bowl.  I tried coiling the bowl using a large plastic bowl coated with WD40 (in background), but that didn’t work so well.  It stuck to the bowl and then I remembered some large hump plaster molds I made last year and pulled one out.

Interior of coiled bowl is smooth, outside rough

Much better.  Coiling is meditative, but hardly a time saver.  Nonetheless, I enjoyed the process  so much that I made another one yesterday.

It's a generous 12" across in diameter

I like that there is no clay waste using the coiling method – no trimming etc. etc.  All the futzing is up front.  I even made a coiled mug and decided to try my hand at pinching a bowl.  Also not as easy as it looks to get the walls an even thickness.  I’m not sure either coiling or pinching are techniques to continue using in my future clay career, but it was a good way to ease back into the studio.

Now, I need to lace up my sneakers – off for a 7 mile run with my training group (I’ve been dreading it since last night, but I know I’ll feel good once I get out there!)

Cynthia

Sole Plates

May 2009 - This is an easy fun project for kids and novice potters. Roll slab (any size), impress with interesting textures, including the soles of shoes, place slab on piece of foam (upholstery foam works great), center a block of wood or other rigid surface on top of the slab, press down firmly to create the rim of the plate. Adapted from "Plate-O-Matic", Pottery Making Illustrated, June 2008.

11 Photos

 

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This post marks the end of my after school clay class and is the last project that we made.  We met for the very last time on Tuesday, May 19th – a fact that makes me a little sad, but also happy in that my future holds different opportunities now.  I haven’t been as attentive to blogging as my routine normally dictates.  Lots of little activities are interrupting the flow of my schedule – parties, field trips, ceremonies and finally the school comes to an abrupt halt on Friday at 10am when my daughter will collect her 5th grade “continuation” certificate in a final ceremony.  I don’t know about her but, I’m excited for the future (both hers and mine).

Meanwhile, I’ve been reading up a storm.  I am attempting to do all the recreational reading that I can stand before school starts for me mid-August since I know that everything I read after August 16th will most likely be landscape/ecology related .  I just finished The Handmaid’s Tale and Falling Angels this week and am looking for a few more good reads.  I have Pollan’s Botany of Desire and What is the What and by Dave Eggers at the ready right now.

Read anything good lately?

Cynthia

5 Ravens Wall Box Tiles, printed stoneware clay, mishima, brushed glazes and laser toner decals

This trio was a ton of fun to make and decorate.  In fact I enjoyed making these so much that I had intended to make more right away.  Now that the show pressure is off and the making cycle interrupted, it’s been harder to get back in the studio groove.  It doesn’t help that the month of May is a terribly busy one with my daughter’s school activities and my extra volunteer/chaperone/sub duties related to school.  But, it’s almost over…the school year officially ends in a mere 11 days when my (weep, weep) 5th grader graduates to middle school.   Or as Denver Public Schools puts it – “continues” – sounds more feel good P.C., don’t you think?

Three 2.5" square by 1" deep wall boxes

After constructing the wall boxes, I played around with placement – shuffling them around until I liked how the textures lined up.   BTW, this set up was not my final choice.

Side view

To keep the boxes from warping after I constructed them, I weighted them between 2 pieces of drywall board and periodically checked on them until they were bone dry.  These were constructed with 45° degree beveled joints which I then scored and slipped with paper clay for strength before joining.

Added a small notched slab for easy hanging

Sarah, a ceramicist up in South Dakota, asked how these hang the other day and I just happen to have a photo of my system in the archives.  When I’ve made these in the past, I’ve tried different techniques from just using the upper edge, to punched holes for wire to these little notched additions.  The little slabs were left over after I constructed the boxes and just seemed like a good idea at the time.  I centered the notch with a measured center point on the top of each tile.  These can also sit on a shelf instead of being hung on a wall (see the first photo).

Meanwhile, I did a little pendant glaze firing last night in my mini Aim test kiln.  Tomorrow is my last teaching day for my after school clay class and I decided to give the kids a little going away present – star shaped pendants with their initials decaled on the front.  The kiln is still too hot to touch this morning – but I did prop the lid open to speed cooling.  After I drop my daughter off at the school bus stop and take the hounds for a run, I’m going to spend the am looking for a cool font and will print the initial decals.

Have a great week,

Cynthia