Experiments in paint and glaze

Firing this weekend! It's been a while as I've just not produced enough work over the past few months (see previous post). However, I do now have enough work to fill the kiln and so feel full of anticipation as to what surprises I'm going to have in a few days time. I say surprises because I've tried a few experiments with the decorations. I've included pictures below of the glaze and oxide decorations before the firing, and I hope to show them after firing too. I tried using lots of wax on the designs as well as spattering cold wax and then adding oxides over the top. On the flower design I then scraped away the oxide carefully trying not to remove any of the galze beneath. You can actually see on the flower pot a patch where some of the glaze beneath did flake off - we'll see in the finished pot if this makes a huge impact on the final effect. The salt pig is my first attempt at one of these. I've had a few friends saying that they want one having seen this, so hopefully it'll fire well.

I've also tried to get a bit of painting done recently. I do love apinting, but the limiting factor is always good lighting. I have to paint in daylight to get the colours right. Painting under artificial light, even with daylight bulbs , is never ideal. Anyway I've added some photos of the paintings, so you can comment (bear in mond the photos were also taken under artificial lighting and so tend to be a bit yellow.

Hope you enjoy the work!




(flower design in wax - oxide spattered then scraped back to glaze - see theglaze falked off)

Patience...

Patience, that's what's needed in this game. Making pottery just can't be rushed and when you're limited to an hour a night it really does become a test of endurance. I managed to get an hours bike ride in tonight before an hours glazing and then an hours planning for tomorrow's day at work. It would be easy to resent either one of these activities (particularly the planning!), but in truth they all have their place in my life and all need a certain degree of commitment. So I've come to accept that the production of my pottery is a slow process and in that acceptance I hope to enjoy the time I have, just like I enjoy my time given to cycling or to family or to work. There's no point in resenting any of it, it's just life.

So, my pottery production progresses at a speed akin to continental drift. With that in mind I have to think about where I want to be in several months time. On Sunday we visited Tissington and during this trip we got talking to the owner of a farm tea room. We had quite a positive chat about possibly running a demo day sometime around Easter, where visitors can watch me make pottery and also have the chance of buying it. This means I have to start making the work now. I do have a batch of work which will be ready to be fired on Sunday, but much of that has been made for individuals.
In addition to the work that needs to be made I really want to make more Youtube videos as my previous film has been well received. So, patience is my new mantra!

Studio, garden and enjoying my art

I have finished two paintings in the past couple of days, as well as throwing several bowls, a salt pig and a teapot. It's been so good to get into the studio and I'm hoping to make a concerted effort to keep the momentum going. At the moment the studio is packed with things that don't really belong there, as we're in the process of converting our garage into a study / lounge. At the moment the main obstacle in the studio is our chest freezer which I have to work around. I'm looking forward to getting this moved as I've bought a small wood stove which I want to get fitted before the weather turns cold. Last winter wasn't that pleasant in the studio. I did have a small gas heater, but it wasn't really good enough.
I put this video together to try and show some examples of work and the studio / garden. I'd like to do more of these, but as always it's time! I struggled to insert the video, but you can follow the link to youtube:

butterflies

A clip of today's activity. I managed to paint another picture while Anna enjoyed playing on the wheel. I did make some pots myself, but never managed to get a clip of them. I'll try to make another film tomorrow showing the latest pots. I need to iron out some of the technical aspects of making film clips. Anyway this is a start!

Back on track

Firstly, can I apologise for my lack of posts over the last few months. I have been busy making and occasionally selling my work, but just haven't seemed to find the time to write about any of this. My online shops haven't been particularly successful and I'm reluctant to keep relisting items due to the costs. I closed the Ebay shop as it didn't generate any sales and was costing too much. I clearly need to look at my marketing!
However, on the plus side we held a garage sale to try and raise money for the Multiple Sclerosis resource centre as Jen is running the London Marathon next year on their behalf. Our greatest sales came from my pottery, and even those that didn't buy any were complimentary.
I've also been trying to make improvements to my studio. I will be posting some videos in the forthcoming days showing some of the things that I've been up to.

Time to start working again!

 

Two weeks with my lovely girls has spoiled me; it'll be hard getting back to work next week. The April showers have disrupted some of our gardening plans. One minute we're basking in sunshine getting stuck into the weeding,m the next we're running for cover as we're under fire from high powered hail stones! The hens have settled in well and have started laying; kids adore them!

 

  I still have a huge amount of pottery in stock and I'm struggling to find outlets for it. The Ebay shop wasn't very successful as it cost more than I made. I'm not getting much luck on Folksy or etsy either. The trouble is paying for adverts does generate sales, but not enough to make it worthwhile. I'm beginning to think that I need to look for a shop that'll exhibit my work without wanting to take a huge cut - easier said than done!
   It's definitely time to start pushing things forward again...my dilemma is which direction to push!

spinning plates!

Sorry for the lack of updates recently, we've been really busy having holidays in Wales! Oh, and organising some work to the house and garden. I still have quite a bit of stock that I need to sell to make room for more work. I'm hoping to try my hand at making some slipware soon. I often wonder whether I've got too many irons in the fire. As well as the pottery I'm trying to keep fit by cycling. I also teach guitar once a week, as well as squeezing in my own practise. I love working in the garden too and now we're planning to do some work on the house! I'm the proverbial Jack of all trades and master of none. The thing is I love all of these things and enjoy them all in different ways. I wish that I was better at most of them and realise that to become better then I should really focus on just one and perfect it. Trouble is this would involve abandoning the others and if I did this I think my life wouldn't be as rich.

Oh just to add to  our commitments, we've now got hens!