Fungus On A Stick - what next!

Just got 50 lbs cone 6 porcelain to try working with, a diversion from the same old stoneware. It feels so wonderfully soft in my hands, almost too delicate to use in the manner I am accustomed to working with clay (which amounts to manhandling the stiff and groggy clays I have been using). So I have ideas, I want to throw some little earth sprout weed pots with it for sure, and some other ideas. But all that needs to wait until I clean out my wheel and tools, buckets, etc, so that I have a clean surface. Don't want to turn my nice white porcelain all brown from the residual stonewares.

So I spend a few minutes pondering just where to start in cleaning up my studio. I really need to find a different place for my driftwood. I have a huge laundry basket, plus a big bucket and a really huge bureau drawer all full of driftwood sticks. I do use a lot of driftwood in my pieces, but some "plain old sticks" that are a bit too large or too plain always sit in a pile taking up precious space just waiting for me to either get rid of them or decide how I can use them.

Sitting on the floor, I grabbed one of those "just too plain" sticks, opened up my bag of porcelain and started sculpting some fungus around the stick.

So here it is, in it's wet greenware state (which is surprisingly hard to photograph).....presenting.....
Fungus On A Stick!

Dear Mr. Coffee pot designer........

It's been awhile since I have blogged about anything, and I am going off course from pottery promotion for a moment and posting a rant of sorts directed at all you product designers, those particularly that design new automatic drip coffeemakers. Help me out here, please, I beg of you. I am a coffee drinking addict and take my coffee seriously, but I am on a budget too. I can't afford to replace 2 or 3 coffee makers a year just because they fail to hold up to normal everyday use.

So, here is my wishlist for the perfect coffee maker. Of course an aesthetically pleasing modern look is a given. But only if it does its job to perfection.

1). Give me a carafe that pours without dripping back down the pot and down onto my counter (or worse) over the controls on the coffee making unit. A pot I can pour like a man, I am not a prim and proper tea party hostess, pouring into dainty china tea cups. I tote a big burly stoneware pottery mug that begs to be filled in a flash. I will say that Black and Decker is on the right track with the wider opening, unlike Mr. Coffee.
2). I want a stainless steel burner, not the teflon coated one the chips, flakes and wears off. That just looks tacky!
3). Only one overfill hole please. Don't need 2, that just increases the chance that while I am filling the unit, water will pour right through the hole that is for some reason strategically placed right where the widest fill opening is, and where of course, I am pouring in the water. Another mess.
4). Keep the buttons and electronics at the top. The smallest incidents of dripping or filter basket overflow, has been the demise of more than one of my pots. Poor design. If you must have it located at the bottom, then you better find a way to seal it to be waterproof.
5). Adjustable burner heat and brewing temperature. Everyone has a different idea of how hot they want their coffee, and those that brew boiling hot water seem to degrade the flavor of the coffe faster.
6). No cone filters, no cone filters, no cone filters. They serve the same purpose as a basket filter, but cost 3 times as much. Not sure why, but I hate using them for that reason and refuse to buy a pot that only accepts cone filters.
7). A large water reservoir filler opening is my dream. The little 2" slotted hole is too much of a hassle. Make it easy.....oh, and while you're at it, please design the lid to stay open by itself and not fall shut on me while I am trying to fill the unit. I want to be able to see the water level on both sides of the pot too, just in case my kitchen setup is different than your test kitchen.
8). Delayed brew timer is a must.
9). Finally, last but not least,
back up your product with a warranty that actually means something. If you think you have a good product, be confident enough in it that you can give me a 3 year warranty that covers everything short of me dropping and breaking it.

Let me know when you make one like this and you will have a faithful customer who will recommend it to all my coffee drinking buds too.

I am honored to be blogged about by handmadenews.org

It's such a great feeling when someone else appreciates my work enough to feature me in their blog. Be sure to check it out here.... http://www.handmadenews.org/article/index.php?id=1748 Cheri just posted this, and I truly appreciate it!

How to spend a boring day at the office

At one of my jobs today, the boss was super sick and all appointments were cancelled, yet I still had to be there sitting at the front desk, waiting, waiting, waiting for the hours to pass until it was time to go home. I offhandedly mentioned how I wish I had a glob of clay to play with to keep me busy. A co-worker said, "well why don't you just run next door to your studio and grab some". So I did. I returned armed with a blob of clay, a small dish of water, a towel and a needle tool and proceeded to handform this "Pottery Making Dust Bunny", who is busy coning her clay......another day, another dust bunny is born.

(now just hoping I don't catch that nasty bug the boss had)

One good piece out of a whole firing

Here is one of the pieces I pulled from the kiln this morning. Most of the pieces I had in the firing were 'refires" a/k/a attempts to make better what didn't come out the way I wanted the first time. This one worked perfectly. The others were, well, shall we say less than stellar. Wish I was good at photographing glossy glaze finishes, this bowl turned out with really beautiful colors, the camera just doesn't do it justice.

Perusing Etsy can be so fun!

So I am spending a quiet Sunday afternoon putzing around in the studio, made a driftwood and earth pod set, a toothpick holder and a miniature, and I mean little, birdhouse. Ramble on downstairs to listen to the Nascar race (dang, Matt Kenseths car blew up and he is out of the race already......) not much point in watching the race anymore so I sit at the computer to search for other miniature birdhouses on etsy. Helps me to establish pricing to a certain extent. While looking I stumble upon this listing http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=21704574 hilarious, I am laughing my butt off. Be sure to check out other dolls in that shop too. Love the humor!

My new arrival! I feel like a proud parent showing off....

Okay, I finally did it the other day. Right now I can ill afford this, but I couldn't help myself, I broke down and purchased one of clayflora's ( http://www.clayflora.etsy.com/ ) lovely handmade flowers. She custom made it smaller than her regular flowers so it would fit with my little ground orb like "earth sprout" vases. It arrived today, and I could not be more thrilled! I worried so that this fragile delicate piece would not arrive intact. Quite the contrary, it arrived perfectly safely in the safest and most professional of packaging methods including a styrofoam container wrapped in a special tubular bubble package all neatly tucked inside a box of peanuts. And just look......is it not just "to die for" gorgeous! HGTV, where are you. You don't know what you're missing.
Simply Stunning and such attention to detail! Can you believe it is made from clay. Although a much different kind of clay than I work with, it is an air dry clay - which she artistically paints to realism. The leaves, buds, flower petals, right down to the stamens are perfection.

I have temporarily placed it in one of my earth sprouts that I had at home, which is what you are seeing now as the pot I had intended this piece to rest in, is currently on display at my store. So I will be bringing it home tomorrow for my flower to rest in more permanently.
I wish her so much success in her craft, although with talent like this, who needs my wishes of success!
Thank you Tracy!