I always fully intend to post once a month and then things just get crazy on me. But hey, it is January and I’m back on the blog wagon!
It has taken a lot of elbow grease to get the studio fully functional for ceramics, and now it is! I picked up an awesome wheel off of Craig’s List. We (the fam) drove out to Black Earth, WI on a gorgeous Fall day to get it. It was one of those days when you just want to drink in all the colors and practically drive off the road trying to take it all in. We took side roads back so that I could sit in the passenger seat and look out the window (Julio doesn’t drive on expressways) and stopped to convene with the Wisconsin River for awhile. I bought the wheel from a very nice former ceramics major who was so sad to let it go, but being preggers with her second childie, she needed the cash and knew she wouldn’t get to using it for awhile. (So sorry sister! Enjoy the young’ns and see you on the other side).
The kiln finally got hooked up after three electrical quotes and a city inspector. I now am understanding how the government grabs money out of your pocketbook at every turn- permit for this, permit for that, license for this, license for that- boo!
It has taken a lot of elbow grease to get the studio fully functional for ceramics, and now it is! I picked up an awesome wheel off of Craig’s List. We (the fam) drove out to Black Earth, WI on a gorgeous Fall day to get it. It was one of those days when you just want to drink in all the colors and practically drive off the road trying to take it all in. We took side roads back so that I could sit in the passenger seat and look out the window (Julio doesn’t drive on expressways) and stopped to convene with the Wisconsin River for awhile. I bought the wheel from a very nice former ceramics major who was so sad to let it go, but being preggers with her second childie, she needed the cash and knew she wouldn’t get to using it for awhile. (So sorry sister! Enjoy the young’ns and see you on the other side).
The kiln finally got hooked up after three electrical quotes and a city inspector. I now am understanding how the government grabs money out of your pocketbook at every turn- permit for this, permit for that, license for this, license for that- boo!
Oh, and I finally broke down and got a slab roller. I just really needed it. Well, maybe I didn’t, but I thought I did. I’m glad I have it anyway. So there.
Then there was the figuring out of how this new-to-me kiln fires. It is an old school kiln and although it was given to me with the manufacturers instruction book, alas, I somehow lost it. I found a pretty good video on you tube I used as my starting point, and have since fired it at least eight times. It’s a good kiln. I am beginning to see the beauty of those computer programmable kilns though- hanging out and flipping switches once an hour for five hours gets a little old. But hey, I am gaining valuable experience about the firing process. And knowing is half the battle people.
The whole ceramics thing is a resource intensive process. There are a lot of things you need to get set up to make it happen. A lot of resources go into it. And, a lot of time, with the firing and all. People really don’t realize what it takes when they look at the price of your product. It’s so not fair. But I love the clay. Love the clay. Ceramicists are all crazy freaks and they love the clay. What can you do? Gotta just follow it.
Then there was the figuring out of how this new-to-me kiln fires. It is an old school kiln and although it was given to me with the manufacturers instruction book, alas, I somehow lost it. I found a pretty good video on you tube I used as my starting point, and have since fired it at least eight times. It’s a good kiln. I am beginning to see the beauty of those computer programmable kilns though- hanging out and flipping switches once an hour for five hours gets a little old. But hey, I am gaining valuable experience about the firing process. And knowing is half the battle people.
The whole ceramics thing is a resource intensive process. There are a lot of things you need to get set up to make it happen. A lot of resources go into it. And, a lot of time, with the firing and all. People really don’t realize what it takes when they look at the price of your product. It’s so not fair. But I love the clay. Love the clay. Ceramicists are all crazy freaks and they love the clay. What can you do? Gotta just follow it.
Soooo, then there was figuring out how to set up my painting area- I ended up moving some tables and whatnot around so that I can really back up easily and get a good gander at things when I am working. Now I have it just right. I stretched a big canvas on the wall and gessoed it and then proceeded to work on making ceramic dishware for about a month for show I had to get ready for in a hurry. It was such a tease! It was killin’ me! But you bet that painting threw down quick when I finally got to it. Oh yeah.
And I did my first mosaic in the space and so the mosaic area is fully functional as well. Yee-hah. I can go from one work area to the next and leave each project out and it is just a dream come true. Another layer of gesso goes on while the first layer of glaze dries, while the grout sets up a little. It’s the bomb.
I even have an area set up for taking photos of my work. So there may be some changes afoot for my website soon. Uploading all those photos and resizing them is gonna be a real treat. Oy. I think maybe I will train my kid to do it. He's a monkey.
And I did my first mosaic in the space and so the mosaic area is fully functional as well. Yee-hah. I can go from one work area to the next and leave each project out and it is just a dream come true. Another layer of gesso goes on while the first layer of glaze dries, while the grout sets up a little. It’s the bomb.
I even have an area set up for taking photos of my work. So there may be some changes afoot for my website soon. Uploading all those photos and resizing them is gonna be a real treat. Oy. I think maybe I will train my kid to do it. He's a monkey.
I even have the chill out space set up so that it converts into a massage therapy room/area. It is pretty mellow and you know you need a massage. Call me in April when it is hopefully not below zero outside and I can get the temperature of the place above 65 degrees. Yes, it is a true and little know fact - I graduated from the Milwaukee School of Massage in 1998 and have done massage (very) part time ever since.
So there you have it. I am REALLY glad that I now have the place put together and can now just make stuff. I am excited to see what will happen. I feel like I am seeing things in a new way now. I am noticing things I never noticed before. I am experimenting with new processes. I guess at RedLine I experimented a lot with new processes though too, so I guess the difference is that now I am leading myself in the process of discovery as opposed to a mentor leading me. I am learning to trust myself more. It feels good to do things on my own.
      |       |
RSS Feed
