Alaskian Inspiration

Wow it's been a couple of months since I posted. Two fabulous things have happened since then. First of all I bought a new Skutt 1027 kiln in April and in May I went to Alaska to visit my Sister and her family hence the pic of me on a whale in Anchorage :)
Alaska is absolutely wonderful and everyone should visit at least once. We went Halibut fishing, clam digging for Razorbacks, Hooligan fishing, camping you name it we did it! Oh I would love to move there! I met a super cool artist Jenny Dayton and bought a painting called sourpuss which makes me smile every time I look at it. I got to see my beautiful Nieces Sam graduate HS and Logan from the 8th grade. Met some new friends Robert and Michelle and saw some old friends Cheryl and Mark. Mark shot a huge brown bear while we were there and Robert got a black one after I was back in NY. I even loved the strangers that I met. Everyone is just so friendly, it reminds me of Alabama.
Back to the clay, I am firing the kiln for the 3rd time today, I am excited to get back to work on some pieces that I started before I left like the casting of Munch! I had two roadblocks since the last post but I haven't given up, she is growing however and I may not be able to do it as originally planned.
Summer is coming, will be working in the yard, Hopefully a Raku class will be in the future!

Plastering Munch..take 1

SO I wanted to make a plaster mold of Shauna that I could later squish some clay into so we started with a papermache type of plaster.

She had to sit still for over an hour. A friend of ours came along and was helping us...thanks to Booner.

In the end the mold was not really strong and not really dry enough, we will try some plaster paris next time.

Some things I made

This is a clay mask of Shauna's face that I used some of my homemade slip on
I made this by rolling out the clay and slumping the edges on a clay coil. The fern implant is from when we went to Eagle Mills last year.

This is the second piece I made on the wheel...named after my friend Kyle who could the the beauty in it and potential for a fountain maybe

Got the horse hair...but no paint

My bff and my Mom both got me horse hair woo hoo! Now I just need a barrel and a place to set a fire since I don't think I can do it in my back yard without a fine from the city.
Well the cellar is on hold, at least the painting is. The guy at Home Depot says I better wait until it warms up and dries up, I will have to bleach the walls to kill the mold, let that dry and then fill the holes, prime the walls THEN I can paint. Bummer but can't change that.
Going to the SPCA today to bring them some blankets, I made some mugs over the weekend, of course I had a casualty...I was carving the foot on my favorite one when it flew off the wheel. Good thing Laney was on the other side of me, may have to get her a helmet.
Yippee, just got a lunch invite from my friend so I am off.

Cinderella

It's Monday morning the weekend was productive but not enough time to do everything I wanted. I did make it to Joshie's play, he did a wonderful job, here he is with this friends.

I worked on the cellar, I have a car full of clothes for the thrift store and a few bags of blankets for the SPCA. My Mom helped me try to organize the area, it is a good size space, is pretty damp and mildewy down there but on the positive side at leash my pots won't dry out to quickly.
So here are some pics of my area, I am planning the kiln in the back behind the table. That is my Great-Grandmothers old kitchen table, it's pretty sturdy, there is an old white kitchen cupboard I found in the cellar and I am going to fix that up for storage. The shelves were already there, just scraped and washed then added some primer and will repaint them. Of course I still have not figured out how to post these pics in the order that I want, it's on my list of things to do....keep in mind my taxes are on that list still.

So the wheel is still in the living room, I made 4 mugs when I was on a break, I used some slip and wax resist on one, I carved some designs in another and the last two I think I will use some under glazes. My boyfriend says I'm getting better :)

I meet with the city on Friday to talk about grants and such to open an actual business, I am supposed to have a business proposal ready....I made the appointment before I knew that the business proposal template was 28 pages but fear not.....it's on my list.

Six hours and counting...

It is my weekend off. I have a zillion things to do and this is overwhelming me but I have decided to start cleaning out the cellar. I should probably to file my taxes and grocery shop but I don't want to leave the house. Although the house is a wreck and I don't want to be here either... I think that is why I am so loopy, I want to work on some clay but I can't because there is no room to work. I did run errands yesterday, I dropped off some clothes to donate, I was separating everything to have a huge garage sale but do I really want to spend a whole weekend doing that for maybe a couple hundred dollars when there will be so much work to do in the spring??? So today I will focus on home. Here are some pics of my living room and dinning room....the proof that I truly need a studio.

So I am playing a game with myself...how much can I get done in 6 hours??? Game plan, bring all laundry to cellar, while cleaning cellar do laundry, take all things to be donated out of cellar and put directly into car (that's one step closer to thrift store), move all clay working items that will not be hurt by the cold to cellar YES I mean the wheel too. Move all already made clay pieces that I have no clue what to do with to cellar. Wait!!! I hate to put the wheel in the cellar I don't think it looks that bad in the living room :( see that's my crazy side talking... the wheel must be moved!

latest work

When I am posting my pics and writing, any new pics are coming before the first ones...like its backwards but these don't matter, the brown coil vase is my latest piece, I mixed some iron oxide into have of the clay when it was being recycled to see what would happen, I can't tell the difference right now, I alternated the coils with the plain brown and then with the brown that had the oxide in it. It is drying now, I am not going to rush it, hope it makes it out of the kiln. I don't know if I will just clear coat it or what, have to see what happens.

The blue coil bowl was made using the caulk gun extruder that I made after watching a video on you tube, it works pretty good. I then used a square bowl from the thrift store to slump it in. I had this great idea that if I squirted dark blue under glaze into the extruder it would make swirls in the clay like if you were frosting a cake with a piping bag, well that didn't really work out like I planned but I kept going to see if it would make it through the firing. There are not really any cracks but some spots they coils pulled away from each other. I like it.

The dog statue was made for me by my girl Laurie, it is my Laney Lue, I think it looks like her, I will post a pic of her too, see if you can tell who is the real Laney :)

I'm back, wanted to see how that looked before I did more pics. This is the fired pieces, where it was thick on the plate it pulled up but I think it is because the first layer was dry when I poured it on but who know. The bowl didn't look bad but again it was pretty thick. I don't mind the color I kinda like it, it's earthy looking. The last piece is being fired now after Munch went over it with a colored glaze to see what would happen. I have about 2 pints of this left don't know what I'll do with it.

I have figured out how to add some pics! So this is the day I thought I would make some slip using quik crete stain because I didn't have any real mason stains and didn't know the difference. The next two pics are the mixing and then some pieces I applied it to. I dipped the bowl with the lid, I painted on and then dripped thick spots onto the plate. The flower pot I just painted on. The mixing was quite messy, I didn't measure anything.

Okay so I got the pictures on here, in the opposite order that I wanted but the end result is the same. I did have the pieces fired and I will attempt to post them on the next one but I am not promising anything. I have since made more slip with real mason stains and actually measured it, I get to pick up some pieces Tuesday that I used it on. Keeping my fingers crossed because I made five different colors.

"Slip" Take 2

Saturday Munch, Shawn and I went to the "clay store". This was Munchie's first trip. We bought a few new tools to try and some mason stains so we could try making our own slip but just in case we got two premixed slips as a back up.
I tried making slip a few weeks ago, inspired by another blog (Linda..Blue Star Gallery). I had used quick Crete stain instead of mason stains because that's all I could get locally. Well it was supposed to be red. I watered some down and used it to paint like a watercolor. Turned out kinda silver metallic and in some areas brown. I didn't measure anything just put a squirt in a shot glass and added some water, maybe a few teaspoons if I had to guess. Then I mixed up some of my clay that was waste from throwing on the wheel with a hand mixer in a big bowl so it was like pancake batter then again without measuring squirted some color into it. I dipped a piece, painted a piece, carved out a design on a piece then just globbed a bunch on a piece. The end result it that it turned like a dark oatmeal/taupe color and where it was thick it peeled up and cracked. I do like the color but don't think I will make any more.
So take 2....I used the recipe that was on this other blog, kinda, I used 1cup of slip to 2 tablespoons of mason stains. I made 5 colors and just finished the test tiles and they will go to the kiln this Thursday. Now that I think about it I shouldn't have made all of them just in case it doesn't work out, I made 3 cups of each color. I probably should have only made one cup to start but I have a good feeling it will work out.
I am also going to start plastering the kids faces to make molds, I should have the plaster on Friday. I want to do some hand building next, trying to clear off the table to have some work space. In the meantime, I have a call into the electrician about the ampage problem, made my dog a vet appointment and myself an appointment to get my taxes done.
I am going to start an inspiration book, taking pics of stuff I like, designs etc and start sketching stuff, on the PB group some people make screen savers. I like that idea, but still can't get the pics downloaded but my boyfriend is going to see what he can do tonight to fix that. That's all for now.

Short on amps

I want a kiln. I looked at one at the ceramic supply. They will deliver and set it up. I got a phone number from them for a very nice electrician that has experience installing the wiring and ventilation systems. I made the decision it will be in the cellar. My goal for a time frame is to have it in and have my first firing before July 4th. It may take 6-8 weeks for the kiln to get from the west coast to NY and I am going on vacation for a few weeks in May so I am being realistic I think. I am first going to clean the cellar, recycle old furniture to use down there, deal with the low temps in the winter by moving anything that cant get that cold into a spare bedroom. I even found this thing that you put on the sink drain so it doesn't get clogged.
My first task after talking to the electrician was to find out the ampage coming into the house. He said it would be great if it was 200amps but I could still do it with 150amps but I won't be able to run the stove or the pool filter at the same time...this could be a pain in the butt I thought but then my Step-mom and I talked and she's right, it's not like I am going to be firing everyday, I don't use the stove anyway but the pool....that's another story. Since I have no clue how long a kiln even has to run for I am guessing 24-36 hours based on something I "think" I remember my teacher Michael saying but then I think he was just telling us about a special firing he was doing. Anyway none of this matters now b/c I just went and checked the breaker box like the electrician said and BAD NEWS I only have 100amps coming in to each of the flats (2 family house 2 separate boxes).
I have no idea how you get more amps. I am guessing that it must come from the power pole soooo does Nimo (power company) just do this if you ask them? Do they charge? How much does it cost if they do? How long does it take for them to do it? Can my electrician do it? If I have them do it and they go in my cellar are they going to find something wrong that I don't even know about and make me move out of my house b/c its unsafe????? OK a bit dramatic but I am stressing now, it just seems like EVERY time I try and do something to my house / yard it turns into drama, I can't seem to just hire someone to do something I want, pay them and have it done. This has been happening for years, I plan everything out take forever to commit to the plan, drive everyone around me crazy and finally I am at peace with my choice and then the road blocks begin.
So on a lighter note, I have the weekend off, plan to spend it with the cuz Munch and some friends. Munch and I are going to the clay supply place, she has never gets to go with me b/c of her school and my work hours. Her birthday is March 7th so I am gonna get her some artsy stuff of her choice. Cuz Joshie is busy with this play rehearsal so he can't come.
My other goal this weekend is to try and fix my computer so I can post some pics, my corel is not working, I am computer stupid and there is no geek squad to call I am going to try and call Dell and see if they can help me but I hate doing that it takes hours. On the positive side it will give Munch time on the wheel and our blog won't be so boring. Off I go.

Covered in Clay

My house is a wreck! Something has to be done. I realize now I can not keep working in the house well at least not how I have been. My wheel is in the living room. I have turned the dinning room into storage. The kitchen of course is involved because of clean up and for mixing slip. Laney Lue and I end up covered and clay is tracked everywhere.
My options:
The attic- I don't want to carry supplies up and down 2 flights of stairs plus it is not refinished so I will sweat or freeze for 9 months out of the year. I have thought of turning this area into master bed and bath then I would have room in my flat for a studio BUT that will keep the mess where I have to live and I can't put a kiln in the attic at least I don't think I can...where would I vent to, the electric to be run would be outrageous cost.
The cellar- The cellar is huge, it is low in some spots but there is two big sinks, the breaker box is there so that would be the best place for the kiln from what I have read. (dunno how heavy kiln is but at least there is only five steps and a bill co door to access it ). There are some small windows and I am thinking I could vent threw one of them. It doesn't freeze down there but is a little chilly in the winter. I could box off my work area and use an electric heater if I had to but will it be too damp??? will this effect my wheel or my kiln later on??? will my clay dry who knows. Should I just put the kiln in the garage so I can just open the door and not have to vent but then there is the wiring...the kiln will be far from the breaker box and that will increase the cost plus I think it will be easier if everything is in one location.
New building- should I go threw the drama to just build a little shed in the back yard to work in...this will be expensive and I will have to deal with the city and the permits YUCK! I also don't have much room in my yard and I want to be able to do some outdoor firing (because I am sure the city will love that).
I don't know yet but I know I have to do something and fast!!!

The Blog Begins

My first post in my first blog, how exciting! Well this blog is going to be for my family, friends, and maybe future customers. I hopefully will be able to post pics of artwork done by myself and of course my "cousins". See someday we are hoping to have a business which we will call "Cousin's Clay" a big studio where we will make art and hold classes, maybe we will have shows there, do fundraising to help our community.
How this started:
I was working as a homecare nurse and there was a continuing ed class flyer from the local colledge that came in the mail. I had attended some Spainish classes before and saw a pottery and Italian mask making class was now being offered. I talked with my friend Laurie and said let's take the mask class!!! Well she wanted to take Spainish AGAIN thankfully Spainish was full so she went for the pottery. I love Laurie, I will have to do a whole seperate story on her. Anyway I had never done any pottery but I was sure I would be able to do it, how hard can it be right? I love making things, I like to paint bright colors in my house, turn trash into treasures, do school projects with the kids and I always said when I finished nursing school and secured a job I would take some art classes just for fun. So we went our first night my first impression of our teacher was that he was a free spirit....kinda hippyish but nice. I liked him, made me feel very at ease, nothing stressfull, this was going to be fun and right off the bat he said we could make as much stuff as we wanted, there was no limit on our clay, it was great. We made pinch pots, and I fell in love. I called my Aunt on the way home and told her I wanted to quit my job and work with clay. Okay so it sounds dramatic I know but a girls gotta dream right.
Flash forward:
Class ended, very sad, my teacher moves to Kentucky, there is nowhere close to do clay I am lost. Laurie finds us a place pheww. Nice girl owns a really cool gallery, she will do weekly classes really reasonable price and right around the cornor from work too cool. I am also happy because I can bring my little cousin Shauna aka "Munch" short for Munchie...remember the Mun-chi-chi monkeys that's where it came from. We are happy happy happy! Munch gets addicted just like me, she is a natural on the wheel, makes a cool cat/dog/? sculpture. Then I have to switch job!!! I am crushed, not just because I loved my job but because I am now working different hours and can't go to class. It has been horrible. BUT we don't stop, we are hopefull our girl will change the hours add extra days whatever. I dream of my own wheel to work on. Hummm I should tell you that I have nevery used a wheel except once and I couldn't even center the clay. But why would that stop me, I am sure I can do it if I had more time to practice, by the way wheels are really expensive I try to find a used one, can't, wait till I pay off a credit card, then there Shawn's accident, then there was Christmas, then this and that untill one day I said screw it and just bought one. I am never going to have everything paid off there will always be some financial thing come up so I took my Christmas money and put it towards a new wheel. I love my wheel, it is in my livingroom, and I have to sit on my coffee table because I don't have a stool and I have a mess and I don't care. I have to put some of his responsibility of the wheel on Joshie my other little cousin, he is taking pottery in school and was bringing stuff home to show me, I think he is a natural too. So this is an investment in their future, they can now express themselves, kids need that, I think it makes them healthier....no I don't have kids but they are like mine so there. Our first night with the wheel I picked them up after work and we played until 4am. It was great. We will be posting pics of our stuff, we have a lot of work ahead, alot of decisions on where to set up a studio. Will it be the garage, the cellar, Munchie's room, who knows, only time will tell but for now I will be in the livingroom.

The Blog Begins