To really appreciate the “after” shot of my new studio space, you have to take another look at the before shot:
Yes, it truly is the exact same corner of the garagio! I did have to cede a little space to some of my husbands stuff such as golf clubs etc., but gained an additional 80 square feet and another wall. Unfortunately, my test kiln is floating in the middle of the room, but it’s small enough to move wherever I need it to.
After editing, cleaning and re-arranging I have a brand new, well lit functional space and none too soon either. My kid’s clay class starts today and with 19 students enrolled, I’m going to be busy. What you can’t see from the photo is my larger Paragon kiln which needs to stay near it’s dedicated 240 outlet and a set of shelves reserved for the kid’s work which I’ll be transporting back to my studio to fire.
I had such a positive response to my kid’s clay class proposal, that I had to split the class into two days. I started getting nervous when my phone kept ringing as parents called to find out if there was any more room. I have a hard time saying “no”, especially to kids wanting to learn about working with clay. Luckily after speaking with the school’s principal, I will be teaching half the kids on Monday and the other half on Tuesday afternoons.
I will also work on personalizing my space in the coming months - but that is such a gradual thing - a found item here, a favorite drawing of my daughter’s and so on. Right now, I’m pinching myself just thinking about my good fortune.
I have a decidedly low tech ceramic studio. It can be frustrating at times, but at others, I am glad to have learned how to make it work. With the exception of my electric wheel and kilns, everything else is done by hand the old fashioned way. Ceramics and pottery is an art that has changed little over time. Take clay, make something with it, decorate, fire piece to a high temperature, and enjoy.
Last year while I was making work at the Art Student’s League of Denver, I lent my “chuck” to a fellow artist. What is a chuck, you ask? He’s not my latest boy toy, it’s a thrown clay hollow cylinder which is used to stabilize more complicated thrown forms when trimming and finishing the bottoms. When I trim a bowl or other stable form, I simply turn it upside down on my wheel to trim. But, with a bottle form, it won’t stay upright making it impossible to trim without assistance of some sort.
Back to lending my chuck…. I don’t fire my chucks, preferring to leave them green (or unfired) so that they remain softer than bisqued pieces. A softer chuck is less likely to damage my freshly thrown bottles or other forms. I lent my chuck to woman who proceed to wash it off afterwards. I had forgotten to tell her that the chuck was green, and needless to say, it disintegrated under running water and scrubbing. I’ve been getting by with some other sized chucks that I had already made, until I threw some more work this last weekend, and decided to make a smaller chuck to accommodate the new form.
What could I use if I didn’t have any thrown chucks? Well, if I had a higher tech studio, I might use the Giffen Grip, but at $179.00 it’s another item to add to my wish list. At this point, I’d rather have heat in my studio and better lighting than a Giffen Grip.
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