It has been a while since my last post.  It is strange how it feels like yesterday and years all at the same time.

I guess I was so busy getting ready for the Holiday Sale and Christmas that I just didn't take the time to sit at the computer.

The sale was wonderful.  I surpassed last year's sales by almost half again.  That is nice.  It gives me hope as a potter.  I loved it when a gentleman came to my table and picked up a few of my larger bowls and handled each one thoughtfully.  He kept picking up one particular bowl.  Finally he set all the others aside and ran his hands over this one bowl, turned it over and caressed it some more, then he held it to his chest with his arms around it and said, "This feels GOOD!"  and he bought it.  I know that bowl is loved wherever it ended up.  It makes me smile every time I think about that.

This is a walk around my little table...

 

This sale happens every year the two days following Thanksgiving day.  It is put on by Clay Arts Utah.  I feel honored to have been involved for the last two years.  I love rubbing shoulders with all of the amazing artists that participate each year, Johnny Hughs (the pollywog potter), David Socwell, Joshua Flicker, Jim Simister, Greg Smith, Alyssa Bray,Victoria Acoba, etc.

Potters are such awesome people.

Once the sale was over I got busy settling Christmas.  Some of my gifts look like this:

 

 

This is just a sampling.  But I sure had fun giving my babies new homes.
I filled an order for shave mugs, too.  I made the mugs and my daughter, Bronwen, made the soap to fill them.  We had such fun.





This is how some of them turned out.

After Christmas I got to do something that I had put off for months.  Something that filled me with fear and trepidation.  Something that I am so happy to finished with that now I sleep so much better.  Something that caused such delight and smiles from my granddaughter that I don't know why I put it off...except that I really didn't know how in the world I was going to do it.  I finally called on my powers of recollection and pulled forward the brain file that has all the Donna Dewberry videos I ever watched and just DID it.

My little granddaughter loves sleeping in her strawberry patch.
Now, I know that I am not an artist...no one can say they have ever heard me claim otherwise.  But this effort made her happy and so I am happy.

Moving on...

I hope to become a better photographer of my pottery.  I am still learning so much.
I have another room to do a painting on...my other granddaughter wants a fairy house added to the garden that is already on her walls...and she wants to help.  This is going to be an interesting adventure...one that will be taken before the month is out.

The new year brings much hope and happiness for our family.  I pray that it does for yours also.

Onward and Upward!!!
Tari

Saturday! Gotta Love It!

Saturday Morning.  Lounging on the bed, looking through FaceBook and G+.

There are a lot of potters out there...I am noticing...and I have determined that I like being included in that society.  Potters are such NICE people.

Yesterday was a busy pottery day.  I trimmed about a dozen pots and then created about that many more.  Each time I go in to the studio I fill all of my bats...the next time I go in I take everything off the bats and put them on ware boards then fill the bats again.  It works out good that I go in on Wednesdays and Fridays so I can keep the rotation going.

My son has requested a set of my little bakers...so that was the priority yesterday.  Then I decided to see how long it would take me to make four yunomi type cups (I had four small bats available)...I did it in 13 minutes (with distractions)...not to bad.

It is fun sitting next to a new potter...someone just learning how to handle the clay...and talk them through making their first coffee cup.  Never touching their clay just making one on your own wheel while they work on their own.  Then to see the joy when they feel successful.  It warms my heart.  I just love it.

I do love pottery.

Onward and Upward!!
Tari

Yesterday we baked pies.  "WE" means that my daughter, Bronwen made ALL the crust, Amanda made the filling for the pot pies and did all the crimping ... nice job, too.  I made the pots for the pot pies :) and I made the filling for the Sour Cream Apple pie that was for dessert. The girls did all the hard work...including dicing the apples for the pie.  I just made the filling and ran the timer.

Amanda is a baker...she does cakes by appointment...and she has sold Pampered Chef products for years...she must really love the kitchen.  I tend to stay as far away from them as I can.

We used a Martha Stewart Recipe for the Pot Pies in the Papillion Pots.  And my favorite Sour Cream Apple Pie recipe, which I got from a friend a looooong time ago.

We sure were happy when we finally pushed ourselves away from the table.

I have to say that my little flame ware bakers performed very nicely for this dinner.  I am a happy potter.

Off to the Pottery Studios....
Onward and Upward!!!
Tari

Wow, the middle of October...well actually the last third of October...it has flown by.  The Holiday Sale is coming up and I am wondering if I am going to have anything worthy of the event.

Now I am having trouble with my blog.  I want to post some photos but it just isn't acting right.

I hope this works soon.

 Remember him?  I made a few...two from Dark Brown and Dave's Porcelain like this one.  And two from Long Beach Blend.

 The "agate ware" were glazed with PV White and the LBB were glazed with Buckwheat and all fired to Cone10 in gas reduction.

I think they came out really cute.  But they ARE my babies and I am a bit partial to them.

I also glazed the mugs and the little bakers that I posted before.  I am happy with how the bakers look but I am struggling with finding a glaze that doesn't give me little bubbles...or that won't crawl when I use it on Flame-ware clay.  I hope there is someone out there who will give me some advice as to the glazes that fit the best on this clay.  I really want to be successful making bake-ware from this clay that has a high thermal shock resistance.

 These decorations are iron oxide.  Then I glazed with PV White.  I am really happy with them except that I keep getting these little tiny bubbles that break when you run your finger over them.  I can't eat out of that...or expect anyone else to.  How do I eliminate this problem?  Look how sweet they turned out looking.
I really don't want to just throw my hands in the air and bag it.  I want to SUCCEED!!!

I had some fun with little bowls that I altered to create business card holders...turns out they work great for the counter to hold recipe cards too.  And I bent some clay to make Cell Phone stands...that also work for recipe cards...my daughter wants one for her Galaxy Note...the kids use those Galaxy's for their school work.  It is a fun experiment that turned out really nicely.

I made some nice little boxes out of Dark Brown clay.  This one is glazed with Vivica's Strawberry.  I love how that glaze looks on the Dark Brown clay...I like it on Death Valley clay as well.

This one is glazed clear...because of the two-toned knob.  It is a tiny thing.  And I love it.

It seems like no matter what you do there is always fall-out.  Hence my statement before about pottery and life being a crap-shoot.

It seems like no matter how beautifully I form the large bowls.  By the time they come out of the final firing I have breakage.  This is a 6 pound bowl.  Very lovely.  Nice chattering on the outside.  I just don't get it.  I am looking forward to my own set up so that I can finally tell if it has to do with the potter or the several people who handle my stuff before things get fired.

This looks like a lovely cake stand from a distance but up close you can see that is sagged in the kiln...in the final fire.  I got a lesson in making the stand underneath wider where the plate rests in order to avoid this next time.  It was a test run anyway so I am not shedding tears at this point...

 But I am bewildered by the foot having stuck to the kiln shelf.  It was put in the "coolest" part of the kiln...an yet is stuck fast to the shelf.  I was so careful not to have glaze anywhere near the shelf.  That is a full 1/4 inch foot free of glaze.  I am sad about that.  Don't know what to do about it though.

I have a lot more that I am happy about.  I have a few "penny" banks coming out of the next firing.  Not too big but very simple and cute.  No...not pigs.  Others are doing those so well.  More like this...

These are green ware but they will be fired and glazed real soon.

Definitely Papillion Pots.

Well...as ever...
Onward and Upward!!!
Tari

Monday Musings

I have been busy lately...busy making pots and studying for a Sunday School Lesson that I got to give yesterday...Phew!  I am glad it is over and that so many helped me and that it went so well!!

I just thought I would share some greenware photos of some things I have been doing.

 

 I was teaching a wheel thrown pottery class and one of the girls ( 12 years old) didn't like doing it so I sat with her and did some hand-built stuff.  She is working on a wall hanging of a fish and I made this little guy from 2 pinch-pots.

 I find that people like banks.  I sold all I had at last year's Holiday Sale.  So I thought I would make some more. Last years banks had butterflies carved into them so this year I thought I would do it this way.
I really love mixing dark brown stoneware with porcelain.  When I use a white glaze they come out so nice.

I had some things come out a glaze firing recently also.  Here are a few of them.

Onward and Upward!!
Tari

Sabbath Day -- Pondering

I consider myself a religious person.  I am Christian, of the Latter-day Saint persuasion.  I know that there are many out there who don't consider "Mormons" to be Christian but I assure you that that is incorrect.

Today I was reading about a man who brought his son to Christ to be healed.  Jesus asked him if he believed it could be done and the man said that he did...and then he said a curious thing..."...help thou my unbelief."

I thought that was very interesting, and until today I just didn't get it.  Today the lights went on and I think I understand it now.

Christ taught that all it takes is the faith of a mustard seed to be able to move mountains.  That is a tiny thing, a mustard seed. But if we move from the "mustard seed" instead of the vast space of doubt all around it, we can accomplish anything.  I think today that is called a "can do" attitude.  I like that.

I know this is a simple lesson...but it took me 57 years to get it.  I think there is hope for me.

This is one of the things I love...the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  I know He lives, and that He loves you and me.

Onward and Upward!
Tari

Life and Pottery...Pretty much a 'Crap-shoot'

Just taking a moment between the chores of getting a birthday party going...to ramble about how I feel that life seems to be such a 'crap-shoot.'

You just never know what the day is going to bring.  I got up yesterday to go help my youngest daughter pick and preserve some pears.  I had no idea that I would have to sprout muscles to get this heavy ladder on the roof of my car all by myself.  Guess what ... I did it just fine. I guess I am stronger and smarter than I think I am.

Friday is usually a marathon pottery day for me but I chose to spend some time doing this pear thing with my daughter and for my husband.  It took most of the day but was so satisfying.  I enjoyed my girl's company. And I enjoyed my sweet grandchildren.

When I got to the studio I found all of the pottery that had been in the gas kiln had been over-fired for a bisque.  It was all positively toasty.  I was so sad.  I feel a little frustrated that all that work (not just mine) is compromised.  It happens to the best of us I guess.  We end up having to punt and seriously pray for a good outcome in the end.

Life and pottery...yep...pretty much a 'crap-shoot.'  We just have to make the best of it.  One day at a time.