Anybody Seen My Mojo?
Practice Bottle
Last week was “D-Day” for me, as in “get your damn a** into the Colorado Potters Guild’s studio day” and make use of your monthly dues already. Otherwise I should just write the treasurer a hefty annual check and consider it a charitable donation – though I don’t think the IRS will allow me to write that one off….
I don’t want to dwell, but humor me for just a tad…school really took a toll on my life over the last 10 months. I have high expectations of myself and when I decide to do something I give 200% effort and not just 100%. Here’s another confession – I’m really competitive and I was trying to keep up with my peers who are a good 10-20 years younger than me and who have few obligation outside of school. This attitude is not really a healthy way to approach some activities when doing so extracts more than it gives. My health suffered in a way that makes me feel run down with little energy to spare and I felt much like I imagine a hamster feels some days – just running full speed ahead on my little wheel that goes no where really fast – pass the NoDoz please.
Luckily, my family was really understanding and were very supportive of my education endeavors the past year. AND fortunately my husband and I didn’t really get into any major arguments last year – but this could be attributed to the fact that I was more like a roommate than a spouse. After all, I did provide him with ample ammunition to add to his argument arsenal that he didn’t use or hint at even once. He is so wise (sometimes) ;D Thank you! On the flip side, my daughter is morphing into a temperamental creature also referred to as a teenager and is now demanding more space (and doing so with mucho attitude I might add) while she figures out who she is. So our relationship is still very much intact despite my school obligations, only now I possess an uncanny ability to embarrass her without even trying. That’s fun!
But, back to clay & blogging…somewhere during the spring semester around 2/3 of the way through, I made the decision that I can’t take a full load of classes, be an active member of my family & find time for activities that I enjoy doing that round out my humble little life such as working with clay, exercising, gardening, hanging with friends, and recreational reading. I have to qualify the last activity because I’m doing plenty of reading in school – just not necessarily the fun kind.
Before you think that I’m going to announce that I’m dropping out of school, let me put that to rest right now. “Oh non, non cocodrie“ (said with my best Cajun accent – that bit is a phrase left over from a kid’s song that my daughter used to listen to that won’t leave my brain no matter what I do even on a Sunday morning not yet fully caffeinated ) - I’m just taking it at a slower pace by letting some of my ego go. So what if it takes me an extra year to finish, right? I’m already over 40 years old – that’s something that’s not going to change no matter what I do. Conversely, by not taking it a little easier, I lose out on many other opportunities, activities and interactions with people. Hopefully, my schedule adjustment will restore a little balance in my life and I can be a better partner to my husband & mother to my daughter, be a better friend, student, potter & blogger.
Speaking of blogging, I really missed my blog, reading your blogs and the interaction that joins clay people all over the world. When I received my annual hosting renewal notice in March, I almost didn’t fork over my credit card. But there was something troubling me in the back on my mind that convinced me to pony up the $$ to renew hosting and I’m glad that I did. It feels so right to jump back in and hopefully, I can reconnect with the clay community again – I’ve missed you!
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Have young children? Like Cajun music? Then Cajun for Kids: Papillon is for you. Music is guaranteed to entertain and lyrics will remain stuck in your brain for life.
Yes – I’m tweaking my blog template. I found Suffusion WordPress theme by Sayontan Sinha and love the options & layout. I just need to alter the colors ever so slightly.
Falling in and out of love
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
Back in the Studio (finally)
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
Blast From the Past
Agate ware circa 2005-06, cone 6 white and brown stoneware, glazed on inside only.
If you tuned in recently, I want to assure you that I’m much better though I’ve been quiet on the blog front mainly because it’s been a busy weekend. Yesterday, I ran with my training group – about 6.5 miles total for me. I felt great and after a post run breakfast, I headed to the Colorado Potters Guild for our annual group cleaning day. I both dread and loathe the day because cleaning is not on my top 10 list of things to do, but it’s also sort of fun to get together with most of the guild members – this is something that doesn’t happen frequently aside from our biannual sales in the spring and fall. I closed the day by catching a Flobots concert at the Filmore last night with my hubby.
I feel the urge to get my hands in clay this next week – especially after spending time at the Guild yesterday. Even though we were cleaning, there’s nothing like the smell of a pottery studio to get in the mood. 
Architectural scale is triangular in shape and has 6 possible different scales.
Meanwhile, I agreed to do a small scale garden design for a friend of mine. Nothing big – and I knew it would be a good exercise in preparation for returning to school in the fall. I went to her house, took photos, measured and spent this afternoon reacquainting myself with my architectural scale while drawing a “plan view” of her home and garden. I worked in 1/4″ scale meaning that each 1/4″ = 1′ in real life. The project isn’t difficult and I’m only really recommending some plants and hard scape details to replace some ugly overgrown evergreen shrubbery that she removed. She lives in a lovingly restored 1910 bungalow that has been in her family since construction a century ago and I’m recommending plants that are period appropriate that can handle our semi-arid climate based on the hours of sunshine that her yard receives every day.
She keep asking me to name a price, but since I’m not formally trained (yet – though I do have my Colorado Master Gardener certificate handy), I’ve been hedging. I think I will tell her I’ll do it for a few bottles of nice red wine.
Have a great week,
~Cynthia
P.S. My husband thinks I should call my last post “Glazed and Confused”. While I concede that this is a great post title, I’ve file it away for future use.
