Knives!

Completely unrelated to ceramics, but... don't mind that. How about knives? I have some of the dullest knives ever, and here's the perfect opportunity to get a pretty-handled new one. You want a chance to get one too? Brought to you by Steamy Kitchen and New West Knifeworks: Contest! Free knives! Woo hoo! Party time. And if you need to hone your knives, there's a nice instructional there too.

To the Moon! and by that I mean...

Denver! Sorry, that title is completely random and stupid. Moving on... I'm moving! I'll now seriously be looking into my options in Denver. Do I want to join a guild? Take a community college class? Try to bum a ride in some artist's studio? Splurge for my own wheel right away? But what about a kiln?

I just found out that Justin & I will be moving into a town home by December, though we'll both be living part-time in both locations at least until January. I'll have to find out if there's any reason (ceramic-wise) for me to stay in Greeley a little while longer, since my current lease isn't up until May.

Some things I'm looking forward to:

+ a dishwasher. these things are REALLY handy.
+ more space. I'll have to take photos of my current apartment for anyone who ever complains about too little space. We'll compare notes.
+ cleaner air... hopefully. living right above the old, probably mold-infested basement is terrible for the respiratory system.
+ being close to numerous diverse galleries and museums
+ swing dancing. Mercury Cafe = awesome!

Some things I'll miss:
+ my roommate... she's a pretty cool chick and the only roommate I've ever really gotten along with for an extended period of time in close quarters. her fiance is a pretty cool dude, too. where else am I going to learn about weird science stuff?
+ the old quirky charm of my apartment. though tiny, worn, and sometimes difficult to live in, it's still charming and it's been interesting learning to live there. I plan to take a handful of pictures of it before I move...
+ numerous friends and aquantances... it can take a while to make new friends
+ Sacred Space Yoga... Krista tells me they're going to have belly dancing next year!

I don't know... 100? -Clay Math-

Remember the 100 cups challenge? I did it! Well, almost. I consider it a success because if I wasn't living on the schedule of the bus, it would have been just right. I wedged 100 balls of clay on Thursday, using up all the high fire porcelain, Dover stoneware, and mutt stoneware I had in the studio, plus 20 balls of the new Aspen (cone 5-6) porcelain. On Friday I got right to work at 9 a.m. throwing basic cup forms. The first few were a bit sketchy, but I was into a nice rhythm within the hour. I averaged 5 min/cup at first, then stopped checking the clock for a while, but towards the end I think it was around 1-3 min. each. I took several breaks for stretching and walked a mile to get lunch, which felt really good after sitting in that cramped position. At one point my knee was hurting for a while, and towards the end my wrists hurt, but overall I wasn't terribly uncomfortable and with some stretching and moving around I felt just fine. I had considered throwing standing for the first half of the day, but I tried it on Thursday & it felt too awkward and still uncomfortable. I'm sure I would've been far from 100 if I had tried standing Friday, but I'll give it another go one of these days.

So how many did I throw? 92 balls - 5 flops = 87 cups ready to be trimmed Monday. If I didn't have to leave 20 minutes short of 5:00 to catch the bus, I'm sure I would've used up all 100 balls. Woo hoo! And I still have my finger prints. Though I have noticed ever since professor Tim pointed out that a small part of my right index fingernail has been filed away somehow from throwing, in the same spot he's noticed on his nail. Good thing we have fingernails, eh? So now I know, if I'm ever in a crunch or I need to make a boat load of cups for any reason, I can do it. And that feels good :)

hey Denver potters...

I plan to move to Denver between January and March and I'm wondering what options I have for continuing my ceramic education / career in a (relatively) inexpensive yet good-quality way, at least until I can save up some money. I know there are some pottery guilds out there... any recommendations? Are there any artists who would like to have an apprentice? I read on another blog that an apprenticeship would be an excellent way to get experience without the high cost of higher education. What are your thoughts?

Ceramic Sensibility - 1st Solo

Woo hoo!!! First exhibition, titled "Ceramic Sensibility," under my belt, done and done... well, it's up until December 5th, but at least it's up. It's been stressful these past few weeks, rushing to get everything finished. Months ago I thought I would be fine, I did have months after all. Then one thing or another got in the way and I was still making sculptures at the last minute. Turned out alright though.


Viewers were allowed and encouraged to touch everything in the gallery, and one of the professors at UNC was having fun rearranging some of the sculptures...



Three people had actually rearranged this last one... I was quite amused :) All in all it was a good reception. Some people were unsure about the fabric draped over half the sculptures, but others really enjoyed it. Most of the people who came were artists as well and they enjoyed being able to touch everything. I enjoyed watching them interact with it, too.

I'll post photos of all the sculptures on my website in the next few weeks.

A New Month!

Some things I'm looking forward to in November:

Mid-range clay, cone 5-6... quicker, less expensive, more environmentally friendly firings.

Making pots! I haven't been able to concentrate on functional ware as much as I'd like because of my show, which consists solely of sculptures. A sculpture once in a while is a nice change, and sometimes I really enjoy making them, but I'd like a change.

A new president!* (*unless it starts with Mc and ends with ain... then I might have to move to Canada... or just bitch and moan for the next 4 years... or try to actually make a difference in the world and become a serious activist)

Learning new vegetarian recipes to share with friends & family for Thanksgiving - and please, quit calling it Turkey Day for gods sake. Think about it.

More ballet! I tried my first ballet class ever in October & I signed up for another round.

Daylight savings time. I'm not always a fan of this, but getting up early every day at camp this summer got me into the habit & it makes it more difficult to get out of bed when it's dark out.