Laura and her husband could not decide on a bowl shape.  They have large round bowls that are DEEP already, and she wanted more wide and flat but Husband thought ummmm maybe not.  HUmmmmm what’s a POTTERY to do?  I came up with this shape, new for me, as a compromise.  I will send 2 more for them to choose as well. However, I like THIS ONE

Laura wants a set of 8 Dinner plates,salad plates, bowls and MUGS.  However the usual plates I make are TOO BIG for her cabinets.  SO I had to learn how to down size my plates and still be consistent.  AHHHHH the challenge!

She wanted Dinner plates to be about 11 ( mine are usually 14 inches)  And than she wanted the salad plate to fit inside those which should make it around 9ish.

The biggest problem was in fitting the two plates. So that they would look like they “matched” and showed well.  Plus of course were functional.  I made my salad plates a bit larger than 9 inches ( I thought they looks too small and I wanted her to be able to use them for soup and sandwich as well as salad.  So I made them about 10 inches (normally 12 inches).  These drying plates are a bit bigger to allow for shrinkage in firings they have 2 to go (bisque and than glaze).  At the bisque stage I will let Laura try them out and see how they will fit in kitchen after all….isn’t that what custom is all about?

Tumblers for my email buddy Kristi!  Still have mugs to make for both orders…later today!

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I happened to be at work (Real Estate) the other day when I received a phone call from Laura.  She lives in the Larkspur area just outside of Castle Rock.  She wanted to commission me to do a set of plates for her and could she meet with me to discuss the details.

I had her come to my office to meet and we went over what she might like.  Dinner plate, salad plate, bowls, and mugs.  She brought along 2 bowls she had purchased from me in the Summer at the Farmer’s market to show me the glaze she liked.

Hummm ok a set of 8 for each one is in the works.  I should have a bisque set for her to pick up in about a week.  That way she can see if they fit in her cabinets, likes the shape,etc.  If everything is OK, than I will make her a set of 8 matching.  She understands that they are homemade and will not be prefect but she is excited.

I will be making 3 bowls since her and her husband are having a hard time deciding on the shape of those.  Once the bisque ones are approved, I will than give her a set of 9 really (incase she breaks one).    I am thinking about 3-4 wks tops on those.

Got an email about my tumblers and I am in the process of making those as well for resale.  That’s about it at the moment, Farmer’s market begins in July so I have time to sort that out,etc.

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Man, as if my week wasn’t exciting enough, I had to go and slip on an icy sidewalk this weekend! I landed smack on the corner of a frozen planter box – right between the ribs! I was gasping for breath as D. rushed to my rescue and helped me up.

I managed a day at the studio, then a full day at the newspaper, while the bruise crept up on me. By the end of work today, I was almost doubled over with a stabbing pain shooting between my ribs and my back muscles. It would be hard to explain the feeling without using the kind of words that would probably get me on a WordPress “bad blog” list somewhere.

Suffice to say, I’ve made an appointment with the doctor. Although I’m not looking forward to a Tuesday spent on my back, getting x-rays. Still, it’s better than a rib through a lung, or any of the other doomsday scenarios my coworkers enjoyed describing to me today!

While you are wishing me luck, check out this adorably morbid ceramic magnet from L’esperance Tile (above).  Love it!

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Wow, has it been a couple of weeks? It feels like YEARS!

I am at the precipice of some big changes, and I’ve just got my fingers crossed and I’m going for it. This Monday I gave two-week’s notice at my newspaper job. I finally decided that I had had enough. I won’t go into all the reasons why I’m leaving, but suffice to say that it is a very emotionally draining job.

I picked up part-time work in a little gourmet cheese shop and cafe, walking distance from my apartment and nearly across the street from my studio. My goal is to spend this spring and summer walking outside, rejuvenating and making enough pottery to participate in some of the local art fairs. All my applications for grad school are finished, so hopefully I will be accepted somewhere and can start school in September with new energy and a fresh attitude.

Of course, we’ll be poor – poorer than we are even are now – but I know that D. cooks up some mean rice and bean burritos. We’re not going to starve.

The gorgeous little dandelion pendants above are by Beth Cyr, a wonderful Etsy artist who made the silver dandelion ring I wear every day. I bought the ring a couple years ago, to remind me why I was making some difficult choices at the time. Now I’m thinking about that again, looking at her work and realizing that every one of those decisions were good ones. Hopefully this will turn out just as well!

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The size of this small raku mask is 2 1/2″ high by 1 5/8″ wide.

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I know I haven’t been very active with this blog lately….and it’s not because I haven’t been working and creating! It’s just that I’ve been working out a lot of new ideas and glazes. Lately, I’ve been spending a lot of time on stains and the possibilities are endless. Of course, the technical aspects are alway something I must tackle “head on”!

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