Birthday Party

Hanging out on the patio...

Andy celebrates our birthdays with a balloon...

Up...

Crazy, jealous mad dog...

Getting tickled by Great Grandpa Larry...

"Happy August and September Birthdays!"

In Sneaks Sponge Bob

This guy ended up in with all of the self-portraits...

Diego shows his curly hair...

Love the spiky hair...

These have some nice texture...

Here's a fun couple...

Happy as can be...

Love the eyelashes on this one...

Cute mouth and swirly eyeballs...

Tying Up Loose Ends

Whitewashing the vase...

A few more coats and then some sanding...

Whitewashing these wall treasure boxes...

Adding some pattern...

Two coats of black, then sanding...

Back to the school work...

Tannery Arts Rummage Sale

Adding this beauty to my collection...

Watch out...

The Tannery...

These guys were free...

Scored this frame...

The Light at the End of the Tunnel

This might be the future turtle tank location...

More stuff has been put away...

Parent workstation near the class mailbox...

My desk will be the fish tank home...

Took home all of the power tools and screwdrivers...

The birthdays are written on the cupcakes...

Found more boxes of files that need a home...

Scrub-a-thon & Critique

Look at this sparkling slab rolling table...

 Last spring, I officially switched clay bodies. So, instead of using white clay, I'm using Navajo Wheel, which is a rich, brown clay. I've learned that the brown clay seems to be messier. It is more powdery when dry. So, I've done more periodic studio cleaning throughout the summer. Today, I cleaned up again, in order to make more room for finished work. At the beginning of September, I'm going to start packing up the living room, in order to convert it into a "gallery" for Open Studios. It's a process that forces me to stop and evaluate my work. From now until the end of October, I won't be working in wet clay very much. I feel like I've made less work this summer, but higher quality work. Trying to pick four or five objects and making several of each object, helped me to feel less scattered. Heading off to make some quick critique notes in my sketchbook!

Tool board scrubbed of slip drips...

Room on the counter to put finished work...

It feels nice to be cleaner...

Wiped down all of the tools, stamps, and sprig molds...

It's nice to have an empty counter, for a change...

Keeping track of wall pieces...

More old wall work...

Purged the bulletin board...

Cleaned off the kiln staging shelves in the garage...

Piles and piles of plates to sell...

My old baby finally fits back into the garage...

Watching all of this cleaning is exhausting...

What Day Off?!

Bone dry and in the kiln right now...

Today was a super busy work day. But I am finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel with my Open Studios projects. The kiln is clicking away on a bisque load, as I type. Many projects are at varying stages. So, the challenge is to remember which project needs which cone firing. I'm making a mental list. In addition, I'm trying to get my classroom pulled together after moving a million boxes. I decided to have today be my Saturday, since tomorrow is a school wide clean up service project day. I've got plenty of work to do inside my classroom. And, tomorrow night, I'm going to design my Open Studios postcard. When it rains, it pours. Hopefully, the kiln will be mostly free from full loads from here on out, so that I can do some fun projects with my new students!

Bone dry and in the kiln right now...

All done...

Bone dry and in the kiln…

All plates are ready for clear glaze and the last firing...

In the kiln right now, for the last firing...

Ready for the last firing...

Needs a cone 3 firing...