Alone Time- 4:30 AM

Small decorative bowl

Opps. Been a while since I updated here.

For two weeks I have been struggling to get work done both around the house and in the studio. My son is home now from school and is enjoying his summer break and although I do love lounging by the pool and playing in the yard, work does need to get done, and after two weeks of the loungin' life, I started to get itchy, uncomfy and overall annoyed that I wasn't working and couldn't during my normal hours so I just started getting up before everyone else and getting in three solid hours of quiet, uninterrupted studio time. This new time frame offers very little internet time though and although I've missed blogging this week I have tons of photos to share.

Look at that ooze. So reminds me of raku

Commissions have been first and foremost in my mind during the morning hours. The work has been soothing and relaxing and totally what I needed. Without this work I literally go insane. No one wants to be around me when I haven't been in my studio. Although rising at 4:30 AM sounds nutty it is really a beautiful time of the day to be up. The birds sound so loud here in NYC during that time. It's so pleasant and full of good energy.

The second issue on my mind has been pottery making; raku in general. With this little tiny weeny regularly glazed stoneware vessel came the thought that I might like to really give this raku thing a go, but I don't have a raku kiln and firin up some propane isn't really legal here within city limits, at least not in the capacity I want to use it for my pottery. So, who wrote electric kilns can be used to do small raku pieces? I don't remember, but when I read that on another potter's site and found a link to his book online I bought it. Know what it said? It said that an electric kiln can be used to do raku.

Okay...

So today I will try to pull my little kiln outside next to hubby BBQing and see if I can fire it up on high and get my new raku glazed vessels to fire up and we will see what happens. This is the time for all those bum pieces of pottery to shine! If anything it will be fun to share my love of the kiln and pottery with my husband as he teaches me more about BBQing today. The two of us playing with fire.

NEW: Porcelain horse hair tea light

NEW: Porcelain horse hair vase


Well, the holiday festivities and other preparation await. To all of you out there I wish you a very safe and happy Fourth of July and to all those serving to protect this great country's freedoms who can't be home with their loved ones...thank you for your service.

Checkn' the List

Raku vessels in? Check!
Pots not touching each other? Check!
Kiln on? Check!
Horsehair ready? Check!
Heat resistant gloves ready? Check!
Tongs? Check!
Raku clay (that can withstand thermal shock) fired perfectly? CHECKARONIOUS!

Moments after the technique....crack!

Hmmmm......
I guess it can't withstand THAT much thermal shock! Ah well. Back to the drawing board today.

Celebrate!

Compliments of my friend Barb
Its really, really yummy.

It's a celebratory attitude here. The porcelain egg is FINALLY done (pictures to come tomorrow) and I had 200lbs of clay delivered to the studio yesterday. That delivery meant more time on the wheel and the moment I could get down onto my wheel I did and pulled pottery like a maniac last night! After all my work was done I popped open the special bottle of red wine my friend Barb brought while she was visiting. I had been dying to try it. Last night was the perfect night to pop it open. I sat and enjoyed the wine and enjoyed looking at the egg and all the raku pieces I just pulled.

Raku clay maddness here

I decided to purchase some raku clay that will withstand thermal shock this time when ordering. This clay should suit my needs better when making horsehair pottery. So far, I'm off to a spectacular start. This clay is magic. Creamy, groundy smelling (ahhh-I love that) and perfect to center, pull and even trim. I'm in heaven. I love it more than the porcelain for wheel throwing. I hope it fires well. If so, then its perfect all around and that is also a plus since it's half the price of porcelain.

Tea Light Winner is....

English Porcelain free giveaway

What a fun day it was yesterday participating in the SITS "Blogathon". A huge thank you to everyone who stopped by to check out my blog. I found some great new blogs to enjoy and get inspired by yesterday.

I also want to thank everyone who left comments about what they were thankful for in the "Mother-in-Law" post. I was inspired on so many levels when I read all your thankful comments. I have to add today that I am also thankful for all you blog readers out there. This blog was started in order for you to see a bit more deeply into what happens behind the pieces created. It was begun so you could see that there is a human behind the finished pieces and the sales ads. That each day there is a struggle between the love of the family life and the love of the artistic life. So, I thank you for coming to visit every day.

And now....Cool Blue Studio's tea light winner ( from the comments posted in "Mother -in-Law) is
::::::drumroll::::::

Entry number EIGHT in the posts. That is Marla Phillips!!!
Come forward Marla and claim your pretty horsehair tealight! You can email me at: studiodanza@optonline.net

(As each comment was entered yesterday they received a number. First comment got number one, second comment received number two, etc. Then the Random Generator was used to pull a single winning number.)

CONGRATS!!!!

Mother-In-Law

Hand painted plates from Italy

The very word brings chills to some spines, but for me the word is a loving word. My mother-in-law is an amazing, selfless and caring person. Always there with a helping hand and good advice. She is having her dining room repainted this week. It is a huge undertaking which caused some causualties when she had to empty out her china cabinet. I hate having to move anything out of my cabinet and she has even nicer and more valuable things in hers so I cringed when I heard the glass shelf fall.

Hand painted detail

In clearing out the cabinet she found a few things tucked away that she had forgotten about. Some items she forgot about were a few old hand painted plates that belonged to her mother. They immediately caught my eye on the kitchen table and I had to touch them and pick them up to admire the hand painting and the crazing. Even the chips fascinated me. When she saw me admiring them she offered them to me. She said that I was probably the only one that she knew that would appreciate them as much as her mother did. I am elated and I can't stop looking them.

I feel blessed beyond words and am so thankful to have such a wonderful mother-in-law. She has inspired me to pass along the elation. So today I'm going to give away a small horse hair tea light. It was featured in a post made earlier this year. If you'd like to try and win it just leave a comment here today about what you are thankful for today.

Finishing Up

HA Arab commission in dappled grey

I haven't been too chatty this week. I'm really just busy finishing up a couple of deadlines and working on the commissions left in the studio. I know I've put them off for my pottery wheel long enough. I was always more disciplined than I have been recently. I can only say that I love how it feels to be working on the wheel. It's very mediative for me and relaxing. It's also wonderful to create art in a matter of 15 minutes or less.

This was probably my most favorite vessel from the "Mother's Day" batch. It unfortunately cracked when I pulled it out of the kiln for the horsehair process. I heard it pop twice and saw the crack running up along the edge. A most disheartening sight and sound. I've decided not to use this technique on any of the low fire clay vessels I've created. I'll use it only on the stoneware and porcelain pieces. I suspect these clays can handle the changes in temp. much better.

Horsehair vessel

But as you can see I am still working on horses. I'm scheduled to paint a Fraley "Sucre". I can see her in bloody shoulder and will most likely have her in my hands by the weekend. Lynn always ships so promptly. I love that. I also managed to snag a Scarlett. I promised myself that I would cool it on resins, but since my studio is fairly clean of unwanted resins for now and the urge to paint one of these lady's hit me recently I decided to jump on the email when it came through from Tumlinson.
I'm thinking roan perhaps?

Hopefully somewhere in all these color decisions and new pieces I'll get the urge to finish up a few pieces I started like my second Smittyn resin and, of course, the Stormwatch. Unfortunately for all resins involved I have to physically pass my wheel in order to get to my work station. LOL

There Is Something....

Horse hair tea cup

There is something utterly dreamy about the smell of a horse. I suppose you have to be a horse fanatic to understand. I've had a hunk of horsehair in my posession for a while now. Smelling it from time to time is just something I love to do because it reminds me of my trips down to the barn. On a really down day that smell can even take me as far back as when I was nine just waiting for my neighbors to arrive to feed their horses.

Today I got to experience its smell in a new fashion...burning on a hot piece of pottery. With tongs in hand and saftey gloves I dove into my little kiln, plucked out a porcelain teacup and began adding hair. The smell was atrocious, but the result was fabulous. I'm now totally dying to try this technique on more pottery.

Well, tomorrow it's back to the grind for me. I let myself wander enough here with my pottery and dreamy smells. If I dont get things mailed out and a few projects completed customers will be coming after me with pitchforks. And you know, I wouldn't blame them in the least.