Trial by Fire Pottery will be holding our seventh annual seasonal show on December 1st & 2nd.
The show is from 10-5 on both Saturday and Sunday.
Look for our huge signs on Canada Ave and James Street to guide you.
We rent the Clements Centre for the show. This location is very central, close to downtown with lots of parking and it is wheelchair accessible.
The Clements Centre is one block west of the library in Duncan, at 5856 Clements Street, which is just off James street.
Dave and I hope to see lots of regular customers and if you bring a friend you get 10% off your purchase!
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Limiting Factors
The dry ware shelves are full. The glazed/unfired shelves are full and the damp cupboard is full. I am not able to load the big kiln shelves into the kiln anymore, as my belly is far too big to reach around so this means that I am having to ask for help...which I am not happy doing. I load all the pots onto the bottom shelf and then go upstairs to ask helper Dave to pick up and lower the very heavy, large shelf into place. Then repeat for the rest of the kiln until we are full and Dave is tired of being the pottery assistant.
One of the beautiful things about my tiny studios is that I HAVE to empty one area to move forward in the process, this keeps me moving through the stages that I enjoy less and breaks up the resistance I may be harbouring towards the less pleasing tasks.
There is always a certain satisfaction in finishing waxing an entire batch of pots or in unloading, pricing and then putting away 50 fresh pots and seeing the gallery fill back up.
I am assuming that there will be little work time after the baby gets here and am filling this last month of gestation with throwing outstanding orders and work for the only show I am doing this season. It is quite a gamble to put all of my (pottery) "eggs" in one basket but I don't really have a choice. On the other hand, show fees are often outrageous and by not doing them I save that money. Always a gamble, this show season may seem less risky than the past six years of a large show each weekend! I will certainly not miss the thirty to forty plus hours in three or four days, that each show consumes or the endless packing and unpacking of pots into and out of tubs, cars and shows.
Time will tell how this time of physical limits, limited exposure to the Xmas season circuit and limited income will play out for next year. As long as I learn something, all is well.
One of the beautiful things about my tiny studios is that I HAVE to empty one area to move forward in the process, this keeps me moving through the stages that I enjoy less and breaks up the resistance I may be harbouring towards the less pleasing tasks.
There is always a certain satisfaction in finishing waxing an entire batch of pots or in unloading, pricing and then putting away 50 fresh pots and seeing the gallery fill back up.
I am assuming that there will be little work time after the baby gets here and am filling this last month of gestation with throwing outstanding orders and work for the only show I am doing this season. It is quite a gamble to put all of my (pottery) "eggs" in one basket but I don't really have a choice. On the other hand, show fees are often outrageous and by not doing them I save that money. Always a gamble, this show season may seem less risky than the past six years of a large show each weekend! I will certainly not miss the thirty to forty plus hours in three or four days, that each show consumes or the endless packing and unpacking of pots into and out of tubs, cars and shows.
Time will tell how this time of physical limits, limited exposure to the Xmas season circuit and limited income will play out for next year. As long as I learn something, all is well.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Only One Christmas Show This Year!!
The Christmas season is usually full of weekend after weekend of shows from Parksville to Sidney, but not this year! When we found out that we are going to have a baby around the end of October, i decided that there was no way i was going to be able to produce enough work, pack up all my work, set up shows, sit a forty plus hour show all with a huge belly OR newborn infant in tow!!
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!!
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!!
Monday, August 20, 2012
Busy studio and required naps
Busy time in the studio and it feels like I can't catch up. All the bisqued pots in the month old photo are gone out into their new homes!
I am firing work now for the Arts on the Avenue art show in Ladysmith this Sunday. I should have a reasonable amount of work ready for this weekend but not the usual overkill that I am known for. My need to have a nap is now at the level that it actually overpowers me and if I don't go lie down for a while I wake up on the floor or on my chair or realize that I have been quite asleep standing at the wheel or wedging table.
The other photo is of the mug order that I have been working on for a set for Hilary's Cheese Cafe to serve with. As it turns out they are now going to have a batch for sale as enough of their stock was stolen to start causing problems!
Back to the studio, with several snacks in tow and I will work until the next nap time. Still at the Duncan Farmers' Market almost every Saturday. Today I need to unload the old kiln "Sputnik 2" and then glaze and load up the big girl. See you at the shows!
I am firing work now for the Arts on the Avenue art show in Ladysmith this Sunday. I should have a reasonable amount of work ready for this weekend but not the usual overkill that I am known for. My need to have a nap is now at the level that it actually overpowers me and if I don't go lie down for a while I wake up on the floor or on my chair or realize that I have been quite asleep standing at the wheel or wedging table.
The other photo is of the mug order that I have been working on for a set for Hilary's Cheese Cafe to serve with. As it turns out they are now going to have a batch for sale as enough of their stock was stolen to start causing problems!
Back to the studio, with several snacks in tow and I will work until the next nap time. Still at the Duncan Farmers' Market almost every Saturday. Today I need to unload the old kiln "Sputnik 2" and then glaze and load up the big girl. See you at the shows!
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Life is Work
Work is life, maybe. Life is work, definately. I have been in the studio a lot these past months, throwing work and then following through the process until i can finally sell my sweet pots to the public. The dinner set custom orders are going out the door on a regular basis and i need more mugs and bowls than i have been able to create. It is a great feeling that there is a lot of demand for the pots but also it creeps up on me and then one day i am in the gallery and look around to see that the boards are pretty bare!
The biggest hurdle i have recently lept is to make a full knot in the handle of my dome style butter dishes. This requires a lot of fiddling and in an odd twist of events it needed slightly stiffer pulled handles to make it work. I will add a photo of these knotted handles but please be patient as almost all of them are presold from the early photos that i posted on facebook.
Dave spent half a day helping deconstruct my glaze studio last week, refilling my dry materials tubs and putting the less used dry materials in the "deeper storage" area, so there is a very streamlined area to work. We were getting a new freezer that is upright so when you open the door you can see everything and when you bring *grifted* fruit to store it has a special accesible place to go. The downside to this was that it had to go in my tinyglaze space which meant that we were getting rid of the work table that i made years ago.
The compromises were to add a shelf, cut a shelf shorter and move the other inhabitant items of the space around to give me as much floor space as possible. I have been using my colapsible tables for glaze days and waxing, which may seem like a pain in the butt, however it gives me weekly deadlines as the tables have to be packed up for use at the Markets.
Okay, here i go back to the studio, a few hours of waxing pots, then i have to seive my blue glaze as the tiny balls are getting out of hand, then to glaze 61 pots from yesterday's firing. I will load the big kiln today and then go back to the wheel for some more throwing. My newly swollen feet are better in the mornings so i have to get down there early in the day as the dark brings on shooting, burning foot pain only relieved by elevating them on my new chair. (Aside* shopper dave found the exact gliding rocker i wanted for $40 online!! it was $1200 new in a shop~just needed a wipe down and so comfy!)
Sorry garden.....the weeds will have to wait another few days.
The biggest hurdle i have recently lept is to make a full knot in the handle of my dome style butter dishes. This requires a lot of fiddling and in an odd twist of events it needed slightly stiffer pulled handles to make it work. I will add a photo of these knotted handles but please be patient as almost all of them are presold from the early photos that i posted on facebook.
Dave spent half a day helping deconstruct my glaze studio last week, refilling my dry materials tubs and putting the less used dry materials in the "deeper storage" area, so there is a very streamlined area to work. We were getting a new freezer that is upright so when you open the door you can see everything and when you bring *grifted* fruit to store it has a special accesible place to go. The downside to this was that it had to go in my tinyglaze space which meant that we were getting rid of the work table that i made years ago.
The compromises were to add a shelf, cut a shelf shorter and move the other inhabitant items of the space around to give me as much floor space as possible. I have been using my colapsible tables for glaze days and waxing, which may seem like a pain in the butt, however it gives me weekly deadlines as the tables have to be packed up for use at the Markets.
Okay, here i go back to the studio, a few hours of waxing pots, then i have to seive my blue glaze as the tiny balls are getting out of hand, then to glaze 61 pots from yesterday's firing. I will load the big kiln today and then go back to the wheel for some more throwing. My newly swollen feet are better in the mornings so i have to get down there early in the day as the dark brings on shooting, burning foot pain only relieved by elevating them on my new chair. (Aside* shopper dave found the exact gliding rocker i wanted for $40 online!! it was $1200 new in a shop~just needed a wipe down and so comfy!)
Sorry garden.....the weeds will have to wait another few days.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Back in the Studio
This week has been one of trying old things again for the first time since my adventure in Vancouver. I glazed a set of 16 plates and 17 of the spice jars in my water glaze. I had to take care to keep my belly happy and it was a good reminder of safe body positioning. It showed me that I tend to curl my shoulders and bend my head forward while I am mixing the glaze tubs.
The next day, I loaded the big kiln with all 16 plates and some jars in one load which is the most plates I have ever fired at once and was very pleased to open the kiln the next evening to see that they had all turned out well. I called the customers and they popped by the next day to pick out their set. I always make extras and it was a great idea here too.
They took home the plate set and a set of bowls along with just the right mug for two tea bag sized serving. I hope every January is filled with throwing orders and february/march is filled with sending them home.
The next day, I loaded the big kiln with all 16 plates and some jars in one load which is the most plates I have ever fired at once and was very pleased to open the kiln the next evening to see that they had all turned out well. I called the customers and they popped by the next day to pick out their set. I always make extras and it was a great idea here too.
They took home the plate set and a set of bowls along with just the right mug for two tea bag sized serving. I hope every January is filled with throwing orders and february/march is filled with sending them home.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Take a break
The studio is still humming along, i threw 8 low wide pasta bowls yesterday, loaded the kiln and prepped clay for a set of small cups for a customer. i need to unload the bisque today and wax, glaze and reload the big girl so i can get a few orders out before we go over to vancouver this weekend. i have almost finished the second last plate set of the winter (just one more plate to fire then i will call them) the last set will likely be done when i get back as they are in the bisque load in the kiln right now but i can't fire a dozen plates in one glaze load.
Things are getting a little more complex because i will have to wear a large sign around my neck that says "CONFRONT ME IF I DON'T ASK FOR HELP" i will need to ask dave to pick up bags of clay from the floor to put them on my wedging table, i will need him to help me load the kiln as the shelves are 2 feet across and very heavy, i will need to not hang up my bike on the wall.
i am not that good at taking things easy, asking for help or waiting for someone to come home before starting the project on my mind. at the same time it is really important that my body is given lots of time off to take care of itself. So far things have been pretty smooth and i have been cutting back a bit on the daily exercise to wean myself off but we are taking my bike over to vancouver with us so we can still go out and maybe ride around the sea-wall nice and easy!
The studio work will be shut down while i am away but we have asked friends to take fresh mugs to Coffee on the Moon when they sell. . I have called people who's work is ready to make a date to pick up their pots . Now I need to relax and find a way to sit down with my projects and let everything else go.
I can say that the injections are unpleasant but not unbearable and I have some neat knitting projects to finish.
I can say that the injections are unpleasant but not unbearable and I have some neat knitting projects to finish.
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