So here is the new plan for the fall season: one show, here in Duncan, my solo show, 10-5 Saturday and Sunday, December 1st and 2nd. That's it. I will not be at Christmas Chaos--although i will be asking my old booth mates to hand out show invitations to anyone who asks where i am.
If there is any stock left i may attend the show at Providence Farm or the Waldorf School Show but i'm not sure how much work i am able to produce as my pelvis starts to complain more and more.
One of the largest obstacles right now is my belly when i am trying to load the kiln. I have found ways to turn just sideways enough to be able to put pots on the bottom shelf but planning dictates that i only put really tall pots there so the lowest kiln shelf is still within reach. Most studio work can be modified simply; sitting down to glaze pots and mix glazes, taking each pot out individually instead of twenty on a ware board, making each work element easier.
The other part of the plan, for now, is to throw and finish all the orders for pots that are outstanding. It always feels good to get work out of the way that people are waiting for, and this time around i am using this as an opportunity to make spares that i will then have for the show.
There is an odd emotional space where it feels like i am giving up on my business, but also a complete calm as the baby grows in my belly and clearly dictates that i must nap or take a break or go upstairs and eat something.
Some of my regular customers laugh at the idea that i will keep potting here and there over the next few months but the best thing about potting is that you can simply learn to take smaller bites! Examples of this are; starting to wax 70 pots and then finishing them the next day, wedging the clay for a run of mugs the first day and then throwing them the next, glazing a batch of pots and taking a break between glaze tubs, and throwing smaller sets at a time which means that the next day of trimming and applying handles is also more manageable.
I built a really sweet stool/chair last year and am quite sure that it is the reason i am able to tolerate time at the wheel at all. It is a simple canvas seat with tension set by cords, topped with a fitter (air filled) disc and then a nice cushion. This combination means that my mass is constantly shifting and my pelvis can find several different angles without having to take my (now quite substantial) weight off the seat to do so.
I will be putting advertisements in the newspapers about my 7th Annual Solo Show, and putting up posters all over town, as i have done in all the past years. There will be invitations for the taking at Coffee on the Moon and i will be handing them out as much as possible. This year instead of a coupon offering 10% off, you will receive the same discount at my show if you bring a friend!
Time to get that kiln loaded before my belly lets me know it's time to take a break.....and a nap.....and some more food!!
