Hoosier Mama Now

Which hat do I wear today?

2011-05-10T06:04:00.000-07:00

I see that I haven't posted anything for awhile. I want to be out in the studio making pots. I haven't done that for several weeks now. But even though I haven't been making pots, I HAVE been working on my pottery business.....I've been working 10-12 hours a day on it!!

It turns out that in order to sell one's work, one must market one's work.....basically one's self. And in order to do this, a potter must wear many hats! I know this is true of many endeavors as most entrepreneurs have discovered! My husband had a family business and it was definitely true in his case! To me, the variety of skills required for being a potter seems to run a pretty wide gamut!

I decided to compile a list of some of the things I've had to learn that I didn't realize would be part of being a potter:

Brick layer, writer, photographer, stunt double, merchandiser, teacher, propane technician, chemist, editor, shipping manager, press agent, keeper of the bubble wrap, international shipping manager, menu planner, chef, customer service rep, accountant, trend setter, inventory control manager, web site designer, graphic artist, physical therapist, sales rep, personal fitness coach, self-esteem coach, psychiatrist, interior accessorizer......is that a word?

Ok, I'm getting silly with it now. I suppose I enjoy the variety, to a degree. But it is rather ironic, we think we're "our own boss" but in reality, there are many outside forces that dictate what gets done. Take today for instance. My hands are itching to get on the wheel. But I have 2 pots that need to be shipped. My studio is a complete disaster from taking inventory to and from an event over the week-end. I need to dust my display shelves and re-stock them (in a pleasantly artistic formation!) Then I really should sweep and mop the floor because I made a huge mess recycling clay on Mother's Day. This morning I've been updating listings on my Etsy site and working on tracking inventory. Obviously I detoured onto my blog and decided it was time for a quick update!!

Luckily the fact that I have an Open Studio coming up in about a month will mean that eventually I will be forced to get on the wheel and produce some new pots!! I'm pretty sure that when that time comes, I will experience a mental block and not know what to make first!!

I think what set this whole post off, was that upon entering the blogger site I was informed that I have many new interface options that I can choose from. Just what I need.....more hats to decide between.

Besides all of these choices, I really need to get my garden roto-tilled -, the other kind of dirt I like to play in! Yesterday I planted a couple of decorative shrubs. (I do like my studio entrance to look somewhat attended to!!)

So I will end this post and try to add a couple of pictures for visual emphasis 'cos I know we're a visual society!!

If I had my druthers, I'd put on my mushroom hunting hat and head off into the woods!! But not today.

Clay Day

2011-03-30T16:26:00.000-07:00

Today my sister-in-law brought her kids over to do some clay projects. My nephew is in 5th grade and my niece is in 2nd grade (or thereabouts!) Mom and Grand-pa and one of my adult nieces came too and I think everyone had fun.

Here are some shots of their creations............

There was a basket, a cat, and cat basket!!!

Marketing Adventures and Works in Progress

2011-03-05T15:06:00.000-08:00

I've been working on some new pieces for my upcoming Open Studio (March 12 and 13; 11am-5pm...FYI!) I've also decided to make another attempt at online sales via http://www.etsy.com/shop/LorettaWrayPottery

I'm going to put up some photos of what I'm working on throughout this post 'cos when I read other people's blogs, I like to have some purty pictures to look at while I scan the writing to see if I want to read the whole blog or not! So........
my first photo is a new line of mugs I'm developing. They have a hole in the handle to store a handmade spoon! The owner of a local coffee shop suggested I make these. He had a sample of a similar mass produced mug. I wasn't particularly enthused about the idea, but now that I've made a few, I'm starting to like them. For some reason, I've enjoyed carving the spoons! It's somewhat relaxing. I may get bored with it eventually, Assuming I start selling them and have to make more!!

Getting back to the subject of selling work, for those who haven't discovered it yet, etsy (which I mentioned in my first paragraph) is an online selling network for handmade crafts. They charge sellers 20 cents/per listing (which will be online for 4 months.) If and when items sell there's a 3.5% transaction fee. I'm also paying around 3% to accept credit cards via my paypal account. The buyer pays shipping and handling fees that are set by me.

Sellers post up to 5 pictures of each item. For me, this has been the most time-consuming/frustrating part of the process. I'd rather just keep potting! Unfortunately, if I start doing a little marketing, I'll eventually be buried under a mountain of pots!! I've come up with 3 other marketing options besides my quarterly Open Studios. I can go to various fairs and festivals, sell at local galleries, and sell online. Each has its own pros and cons.

I've got my work in a couple of galleries and I'm planning to do a few fairs and festivals this summer. But it seems to me that both of these ventures require a substantial commitment of both time and money! Besides the time and money already invested in making the product to be sold or displayed, I have to factor in the time spent packing and unpacking work, manning the booth at the fair/festival and the expense and time spent transporting product to and from the event or gallery. That investment is getting more substantial all the time with the price of gas!

Etsy seems like a viable selling alternative if I can get work to actually start selling there. The "pros" are that there's potential to reach a huge audience, but the cons are that there are TONS of artists already on there competing for that audience. I've learned that there are ways to make ones work more visible on etsy but it requires spending quite a bit of time photographing work and then more time on the computer. But I think I've decided that for now anyways, it makes more sense than pursuing the fair/festival/gallery venue. To me, it seems like it will require less of a monetary investment, and probably less time, plus if it doesn't seem to work, I can always move on to the next venture.

I decided to try to do a little research and figure out what seems to be selling on etsy in the ceramic area. I think I made a discovery! It seems like pottery that has a specific use for other artists is popular. I'm talking about things like earring holders or yarn bowls. (An earring holder is a small jar or bowl with holes in it to store earrings and a yarn bowl is made to hold a ball of yarn and has a slot to feed the yarn through.)

This makes sense to me! If I can make work that will appeal to other etsy sellers, it seems like I've widened my market a bit. I would think that people who make make and sell crafts (like scarves or earrings) will be more likely to want to purchase hand made items for themselves. So it seems to me like I should try to make some of these type of pieces. I think they're the kind of work that should sell well in New Castle, especially in the Arts Co-op, for the very same reasons they probably sell well on etsy.

Of course I still haven't got all the ins and outs of etsy figured out! I've listed 11 pieces in the last 11 days and haven't sold anything yet. But it's only cost me $2.20 so far and I've probably spent 3-4 hours total taking pictures and posting items.

Having my work on display in Greenfield will have cost me $135 for the last 3 months, plus there was a $50 membership fee. I would estimate I spent $10.00 in gas to take the original work over to display and I'm planning to run over next week to rotate some new work in. If something sells, they get a 20% consignment fee. I also provided my own display unit, so there's that investment too. (Steve put the time in on that!!) I figure I won't spend nearly that much time or money putting work up on etsy. Plus I just remembered that I actually HAVE sold one piece on etsy!! (This was about a year ago, when I first tried it, and a friend bought a piece!)

There are other ways to get more exposure on etsy that I'm still learning about, so I think I'll focus on it for a few more weeks before I get too discouraged.

I have to say that I really don't see craft fairs as a viable sales opportunity. I will do a few local ones just to get my name and product out there and support the community, but I'm going to be very selective about what I do. When I do the math, they just don't make sense.

Just for kicks and giggles, I decided to crunch some numbers for doing Summerfair in Cincinnati. The booth costs $375 plus $30 to apply. It's 3 days, so I would need a hotel for at least 3 nights, I would estimate a minimum of $225. Transportation to and from would run $30-$40 (200 miles round trip.) Factoring in meals means I'll have at least $700 invested. For 2 days, we're talking 4 hours drive time, let's estimate 5 hours packing, setting up, etc. then manning the booth for 23 hours. That's a minimum of 28 hours. In my dreams, my time is worth $25/hour, but let's be realistic. If I got a "real" job with my skills and education, I'd be lucky to make $10/hour. So if we figure that times 28 hours, that's $280 plus my initial $700 estimate for expenses, that means I need to sell almost a $1000 worth of pots to break even and that's not counting the time and materials I have invested in making the pots that sell!!! I think I could find myself in the hole pretty quickly going this route!

So, we'll see if the etsy venture pans out.

Oh, something else I decided to try making is rings......as in bling fo' yo' finguh!! I can't remember how or why I came across it, but I saw this big, gawdy, faceted wooden ring. I think it was on etsy. They were selling for 60 bucks and had supposedly been featured in Martha Stewarts magazine. I started thinking, hmmmm, I bet I could make a ring out of clay. So I made a few. I wasn't sure how big to make them to account for shrinkage, but since it doesn't really matter what size they end up being (within reason) I made a variety of sizes and will see how much they shrink after 2 firings. They could be fun. I'm enjoying having some little hand building stuff to piddle around with too.

Ok, I think it's time to call it a night for blogging. It's pretty bad when I start losing interest in my own blog!!! I wonder if anybody actually read all the way to the end of this!! If ya did, lemme know!! ;D

Something Other Than Pottery....

2010-12-29T17:09:00.001-08:00

I have been occupied with a couple things besides pottery the last few weeks. Above is a picture of me with my newest grand-son, Micah Kade Canfield. He was born Dec. 13.

While our daughter and son-in-law were busy bringing him into the world, we kept an eye on his big brother for a few days, Jaedon Asher Canfield who was 19 months old Dec. 5. We had so much fun and I feel so blessed that our schedules allowed us to be able to spend so much time with him!

His mom was hoping to have a home birth with Micah but she had a few complications. Nothing too serious, but she had to go to the hospital. She did manage to have him naturally.....60 hours after her water broke!! She's a trooper!!

They're all home now getting no sleep, I'm sure!! Seems like only yesterday we were bringing our DAUGHTER home from the hospital!! The last 25 years sure flew by!!

Our son came up for Christmas and we got to spend Sunday with both our kids, grand-kids, and all of Steve's family! It was a great day!

Can't wait to get Jaedon started playing in the mud with Nee-na!!

Staying focused

2010-12-28T17:48:00.000-08:00

Small, lidded canister w/Gold Ash Glaze

Small, lidded canister with green ash glaze

Well, the big "holiday rush" is over (and wasn't much of a rush at all!!) Instead of having a "Winter Open Studio" I decided to have the studio open the week before Christmas.....Mon - Thurs. 11-7.

Our daughter's second child was due Dec. 4 and we were on "stand-by" to baby-sit the older son in case she had to go to the hospital (she was attempting a home birth.) She did end up in the hospital, so we got to stay with Jaedon for a few days! It was great fun and put a little monkey wrench in my firing schedule, but didn't really cause any problems in the long run.

'Cause I didn't have much business!!!

It does seem like though, that every time I start to feel really discouraged, something happens to bolster my spirits (and get my hopes up again.) I'm not sure if that's good or bad. Sometimes, you should just let a whupped horse die (is that the proper terminology?)

I've talked it over with Steve and we think I can keep plugging away at this for another year and see if I can drum up a little more business.

I haven't fired the soda kiln since early summer. I still have tons of salt and soda pots that haven't sold. I finally put them on "Super Clearance." $5/apiece no matter what the size or original price. Some of 'em were probably only worth that from the start.

Figuring out a price point has been extremely difficult. The prices I charge for work at Bear's Mill have always felt too high to me. Of course I am paying a consignment fee and have to figure that into it and I don't want to under price 'cos it offends the other potters and cheapens their work. By the same token I don't feel like I'm at the same level as some of the other potters so I feel like my prices are set at more than the work is worth!

Then, pricing things here in New Castle has been even harder. I've had the prices too high (comparing them to what they sell for at Bear's Mill.) There are only a few other potters in the area and their skill levels run the gamut. The one thing they all have in common is dirt cheap prices. It amazes me that really talented potters have their work priced so low, but I guess they can crank them out. I understand why some of the less experienced potters charge the prices they do. But most of them aren't doing it full-time as a business, so they don't really care if they make money at it.

Bread Baker

So that means I need to get efficient enough that I can crank out enough pots to make it worth my while. Like I keep saying, I'm just lucky that I have no education or job skills that would pay much more than min. wage 'cos that's about what I think I'm going to make in this business!! Actually, even that goal might be unattainable!!!

The general public probably can't even tell the difference between the work of the various potters. They just look for cheap prices and "purty" colors!!

Of course I'm not referring to ALL the local pottery collectors. I have managed to attract a few regular buyers and they're wonderful people who are willing to spend their hard-earned money buying my pottery. Most of them have become friends and I truly appreciate their support!

Salad Bowl

I'm just trying to come up with a line of work that appeals to a wider variety of local shoppers. Since it seemed like the salt and soda work wasn't really selling, I decided to focus on firing in the electric kiln for awhile. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I was working with some potter friends at Bear's Mill on developing a line of functional, reproducible bake ware to sell. In addition, we needed to come up with a new, glossy green/blue liner glaze to complement the green ash glaze that Julie and Rita developed.

I thought when I decided to focus on the electric kiln that it would be smooth sailing. HAH!!! IT has definitely presented its own challenges and frustrations! I've experienced over-firing, bloated clay, pinholes, glaze dripping on my kiln shelves, glazes applied too thickly, too thin of glaze applications, cracked bottoms, etc. etc. etc.

And yet, I'm lovin' it!!! I know I sound like I'm bitching, but I'm really not. Well, not about the process, which can be fairly labor intensive. No, that I love!! I just wish I could figure out a way to sell enough to justify it as my "career." At least I can continue to blame the economy thanks to all the shenanigans the current administration is pulling. Even with the latest election, I don't see things changing much the next few years. But that's a WHOLE 'nother blog post!!!

Anyways, I feel like my forms are becoming more consistent and I've even managed to develop a new glaze that I'm going to use as a liner. Pulling that test piece out of the kiln was a very exciting and rewarding moment!!! Julie had suggested I try adding the same colorants to our glossy, clear base liner that we're using in the ash glaze for the outside of pieces. She said it seemed to need an opacifier and suggested I try zircopax. I did a little reading up in one of my firing books and it was suggested that rutile was a good opacifier and actually made glazes more stable than zircopax. Decided to try it and was quite pleased with the results!! This is the liner glaze with rutile on the salad bowl........

Salad Bowl with Rutile Blue/Green Glaze

So, now I think I've done quite enough blogging for one sitting so I will close this session and try to improve my blogging frequency. Not that it really matters to anyone, but it does seem to help me stay focused.

Prep Bowls or Ramekins

2010-08-30T18:49:00.000-07:00

**I was checking to see when was the last time I had done any blogging....wow, it's been awhile. I found a draft I was working on over the summer. Decided to post it now just for kicks and giggles and will start working on an update.**

I did a dumb thing last week. I decided to organize my "business file" and that led me to add up my pottery sales so far for this year. I was a bit heartened by the total.......UNTIL........I decided to tally up my expenses for the same time period.

As of last week, it seems I have barely broken even! That was a bit of a blow!

I had just participated in a local event the night before, a "Wine and Art Gala" sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce. I had produced some "wine related" pottery for this event which I fired in my electric kiln.

I know that some of my potter friends will feel that I "sold my soul" by firing my little electric kiln rather than loading up my soda kiln, but I need to start producing some work that I can turn over quickly and sell at a reasonable price. The electric kiln seems to offer this opportunity.

I ended up selling less than a hundred dollars worth of work, Ok, more like 75 bucks worth! That in itself was rather disappointing, so when I tallied up my expenses vs. income the following day, it was a sort of "icing on the cake" moment (with the cake tasting like liver, and the icing tasting like brussel sprouts!! In other words, YUKKY!)

Of course I participated in a bit of rationalization at this point, telling myself, it is only August (well almost September) and sales should increase dramatically in the next few months as the holidays approach and my expenses should have leveled out for the year now. So I told myself (as I've done before) that I just need to try to hang in here until after Christmas, and then decide if I should continue to pursue pottery as a business, or go back to my pottery being a hobby and find a part-time job to produce some actual "income."

Then Friday evening, I was informed that 2 of my higher priced pieces on display at Bear's Mill (in Ohio) had sold.

On Saturday I sold another wine chiller while unpacking the leftover from the Wine Gala to display at the local artist co-op. While I was there I met a woman who home schools and is interested in enrolling her child in a pottery class. I told her I had tried to teach a class earlier at the local Art Center, but had been unsuccessful in generating enough interest and she told me that she thought she might be able to find enough students for a class by talking to some of her fellow home-schooling parents!

Oh, and I almost forgot, at the Wine event, I met a man from Richmond, IN (about 20 min. from us) who owns a winery there. He said they're going to have an art event later in September and told me that I could sell my work and not have to pay any consignment or booth fee! We decided to check the place out Sat. evening with some friends, and it looks like it could be a nice venue to sell some pieces! I think I'm going to try.

I also am going to begin working on producing some pottery for Bear's Mill. The other 2 potters and I have decided to come up with a line of "Bear's Mill Pottery" that will always be available and will consist of classic, functional pieces that customers always seem to be looking for. Things like mugs and bakers and pitchers, etc. We're going to make them with the same clay and glazes and come up with some sort of "Bear's Mill" stamp that we can put on each piece to tie them all together.

So I guess I'm not giving up yet.

Unloaded the kiln today

2010-06-12T18:04:00.000-07:00

I unloaded the kiln today. I was fairly pleased with the results. None of my worries panned out!! Shwew! Of course not all the glazes behaved as I envisioned, but nothing too hateful. I think some of the pots have so much speckling it's almost pretentious. Need to adjust placement in the kiln.

I added some blue pours to some of my wall pockets. I was afraid that a whole kiln full of brown, speckled pots would just be too much brown speckled pots. And even though I'm not a big fan of "blue" it seems like customers find it attractive. And if I don't start selling some of these things soon, I'm going to have to figure out where to store them all (and get a paying job!!)
So, I'm telling myself that "blues" can complement "earthy".....sorta like the sky and the ocean complements the trees and earth. Yeah.......works for me!

My friend, Scott, stopped by. (the designer and foreman of my kiln build.) He said some nice things and gave me some good advice. It's so nice to have a knowledgeable potter around who's willing to share his wisdom and experience (are you reading this, Scott??!!) Seriously, I think it would be hard to stay inspired with no other potters around.

And I love my kiln. It fired so nice for me. I had a few panicky moments during the firing. I wish I understood the process more. I don't have a lot of technical training since I only took a few classes at a community college. And I've gone to a few workshops. John Britt's workshop was great, but way over my head!!
I'm sorta like a cook who can follow recipes but doesn't do much tweaking and definitely doesn't start from scratch!!
Thank goodness for neighborly potters and those online who so willingly share their experiences and processes!

So, I will shut-up now and attach a few photos of the pots. Haven't gotten the photo cube out yet, just took these under the shop lights. Oh, the first one is unloading the kiln. Yes, I got a little carried away with draw rings!!

I apologize for the layout. I haven't been able to figure out how to control where the pictures end up!

First Annual Summer Pottery Open House

2010-06-09T10:23:00.000-07:00

The kiln is loaded and I'm planning to heat it up tonight for a couple hours, let it soak all night, then fire it off tomorrow!

I haven't been feeling stressed out until this week. It seems like so much of the preparation is going to have to wait until a few days before the event!! I can't prepare the food too far in advance (and I'm not sure how much, or even WHAT I'm going to serve!!!)

No reason to clean the house yet, it'll just get filthy again. The studio's not ready, Steve's still working on my exhibit. Most of the work I already have made is priced. I'll need to have some cash on hand for change.....well, hopefully I'll need change. I'm wondering if I should have made arrangements to accept credit card payments. From what I've read about fees, it may not be worth it at this point.

I have sent out an event invitation via facebook and am considering using Constant Contact. It's an email marketing tool that we used when I worked at Bear's Mill.

Here's the part that's probably got me stressed most. I ordered post cards from an online service called "Overnight Prints." (Again, a business I dealt with when working at Bear's Mill.) I ordered the cards by a date that I thought would give me enough time to distribute them. I ordered them May 26 and they estimated my delivery date to be June 4. That should've given me 2 weeks to hand-out and mail the postcards. I don't recall that we ever had a delivery problem with this company when I worked at Bear's Mill. Unfortunately, my order didn't get "processed" in a timely manner.

Even thought I kept checking my online status, I wasn't too concerned until last Friday when I realized that the cards should've arrived in that day's mail. Of course I didn't realize this until after business hours. Which means that my problem wasn't addressed until Monday. I was loading the kiln that day and didn't check my email until after hours again.

They had responded to my inquiry, apologized for the delay, refunded my shipping cost and assured me that they were "working around the clock to get us back on schedule." Unfortunately, no mention was made of when that might be!! So I sent another email thanking them for their response and asking if it might be possible to get an estimate of when my postcards might be arriving.

I received an email yesterday stating that my order had "gone into production." OK, that still doesn't tell me when it's shipping, or how. Suddenly I'm getting panicky (note to self..........panic sooner next time!!)

Here's what I've learned from my experience:

Place printing orders early enough to allow for mistakes and delays
Check order status online and by phone if necessary.
If the estimated delivery date and the order status don't seem to correspond - CALL!!
If they haven't sent me tracking information a few days before my estimated delivery date - CALL!!
The squeaky wheel gets the grease - CALL!!

Yesterday I started debating whether or not I should change my Open House Date to the following week-end and put computer labels on the postcards with the new date. I decided not to do that. Hopefully it wasn't a mistake.

I'm glad to have had this happen for my Summer Open House. I will utilize what I've learned and apply it to my Christmas Open House which I'm hoping will attract more customers. I'm sure I'm going to learn a heckuva lot MORE once I've actually had my Open House!!!!

I need to make a trip to Bear's Mill to pick up a few more pots to beef up my inventory. And, for some DUMB-@$$ reason, I agreed to start teaching a pottery class at the local Art Center. It starts next Tuesday (IF anyone signs up for it) and I'll be teaching Tuesdays and Thursdays for 4 weeks. So I need to pick up clay for the students before the first class. I think in my mind I was envisioning being able to tell students and parents about my upcoming Open House. Now I'm thinking it was not a smooth move.

OK, DEEEEEEEEEEEEEP breath. maybe another deeeeeeeeeep breath. Burst into tears. Cry on husband's shoulder. All better now.

I will end with a quote that helps me keep things in perspective:

"Do what you love, love what you do, leave the world a better place and don't pick your nose."

- Jeff Mallet, Frazz, 08-03-04

(I would add, "...in public.")

Hootchie Mama!!

2010-04-07T16:46:00.000-07:00

The title of this post has absolutely nothing to do with the contents. I just couldn't think of a catchy title and I'm watching Seinfeld re-runs. Maybe I should've called it Serenity Now........

Since my last post, I've fired my kiln twice and have garnered many, much informative information, yes I have.

As I mentioned before, I was hoping to find a firing method that would produce rich surfaces, with flashing and texture. I have 2 other potter friends who are interested in learning more about soda firing and were willing to help. (Julie and Rita.) That's us, pictured above, basking in the glow of my venturi burners. I'm holding a small, cardboard figure named "Flat Stanley" that arrived in the mail the day we fired. He was a kindergarten project for a friend's grand-daughter and was supposed to spend the day with me, so he "helped us" fire the kiln!

I'm going to share as much detail from our experience here as I can, because I was so thankful for the information we were able to gather on the internet and utilize in our firing! Even though experience is the best teacher, I hope this can at least give interested, inexperienced potters like myself a starting point. I had never ever fired a gas kiln before last fall!! So take my findings for what they're worth! (Liability disclaimer.)

We used a couple of books, Soda, Clay and Fire, by Gail Nichols and Soda Glazing by RuthAnne Tudball. We found our most helpful information on Emily Murphy's pottery blog. (Luckily we also love her work and the dynamite results she gets on her pottery!!) This particular page of her blog was chock full of information!

The first firing we mixed up a batch of Emily's soda mixture recipe and decided to introduce the whole batch. We weren't absolutely sure what size of a kiln this amount was intended for, probably larger than mine, but we thought it may also have been intended for a seasoned kiln. We decided to start with this amount and if the draw rings made it seem as if we didn't need to use it all, we could always stop. On the other hand, if it didn't seem like we were getting enough coverage we did have some extra dry ingredients mixed together, all we would need to do is add water.

For reference, my kiln is a sprung arch down draft with a hard-brick interior coated with ITC, soft brick exterior with ceramic fiber insulation on the roof. The interior dimensions are approx. a 36 inch cube, with a little extra at top for the arch. That's about 27 cubic feet of firing area. The stacking space is about 14 cubic feet. I have 2 burner ports in the back, one on each side, and a soda/salt port above each burner. I have 2 spies on each side near the top for cone viewing and draw rings, and a spy in the bottom front door. Before our first soda firing, I had done 2 salt firings in this kiln.

The soda mixture consisted of:

1.75 lbs. of soda ash
2.25 lbs. of soda bicarb (arm & hammer baking soda)
4 lbs. of whiting

Mixed together with 1/4 of a 5 gallon bucket of wood chips. (I bought a huge bag of pine horse bedding from our local Tractor Supply store.) Mix together well, then add enough water (while mixing) to the consistency of oatmeal cookie dough. We formed it into "turd-like" logs and layered it in a bucket with newspaper. It hardened up quickly, and we crumbled the pieces and placed them on a piece of angle iron. We would introduce it through the back ports of the kiln when c. 9 was soft. We would fill the angle iron as full as we could and add the mixture to each side and wait approx 10 min. before repeating the process.

I didn't do a body reduction, I think the atmosphere of the kiln was pretty neutral until we added the soda. We did some things in the first firing that we decided were incorrect, so we didn't do them in the 2nd firing.

One of those things was placing small bowls of salt throughout the kiln. I had talked to a couple of potters who do this. One of them salt fires and the other soda fires. I gather that their reasoning is that there will be less chance of dry spots on pots if there some salt in there to provide additional "fumigating." (?) I made a huge mistake in doing this by putting the salt in raw clay. I'm sure that any experienced potter would know better than to do this. (as I know now!) I remember thinking in the back of my mind, "maybe we should use wadding." That would've been a good idea. I did dip the bottoms in kiln wash (as I do my cone packs) so they wouldn't stick to the shelves. Unfortunately, they reacted with the salt by melting into lava-like lumps that dripped through shelves onto various pots and had to be chiseled off my shelves after the firing!! Luckily, I only lost one piece due to my stupidity!!

We decided that besides causing a huge mess for us to clean up, introducing this extra salt was not giving us a true presentation of the soda vs.salt firing so we didn't do it in the second firing.

The results from our first firing were acceptable, but not what we had envisioned (even though we told ourselves we were trying not to have preconceived expectations......(yeah, right!) When we unloaded we tried to make note of how the flashing that did occur traveled, but we felt like the results were affected by the salt pots, so we weren't absolutely sure what to think! We got some flashing and orange peel, but not as much as we expected and somewhat localized to certain parts of the kiln.

We introduced the soda similarly to the way I had introduced salt in my other firings. I would turn the burners down or completely off, close the damper, add the salt and leave the burners on low and the damper closed for about 5 minutes while the salt fumes wafted throughout the kiln. Then we would open the damper and turn the burners up and fire in oxidation for about 10 minutes to clear the atmosphere. We would repeat the process about every 15 min. until the the draw rings showed significant coverage. Then we heated the kiln up til cone 10 was bending in the coolest area.

We read some interesting information in Gail Nichol's book about doing an hour or so worth of heat work after the last introduction of soda to enhance the results. She mentioned achieving different results depending on the kind of atmosphere the kiln was in during this time (oxidation vs. reduction) but we didn't quite understand her descriptions of exactly what kind of results each environment would produce. We decided to keep our first firing in a fairly oxidized state as a starting point.

We were pleased with the results on the phoenix clay body and we liked the 50/50 slip (half epk/half ball clay) the best. The Helmar slip was pretty orange, as was Bauer. Also, we had some cone 10 B-mix in there, that came out mostly grayish white without much flashing except where it had been slipped.

As far as glazes, we used some celadon liners developed by June Perry She recommended various colorants to try. They were very consistent, and we especially liked one that had cobalt as a colorant. It was a deep, rich blue that complimented the dark brown of the phoenix quite well.

I had a turquoise oribe recipe I got out of John Britt's book. I had used it in my salt firings and wasn't pleased with the results, but thought my application might have been too thin. Tried it again, with a thicker application - - YUCK!! and DOUBLE YUCK!!! It came out a bright, gawdy, terrifying blue!! I am chucking that glaze and trying to find a new one. I want one with some iron and matte areas, that can blush red.

My Malcom's Shino worked well on cups and bowls, but on highly altered pieces that didn't have an exterior glaze, it seems to cause the pots to crack.

I had also mixed up a batch of Yellow Salt. I got the recipe when I was at the Odyssey Center in NC. It can come out nice when it gets hot enough, but it can also look dead. It's a yellow matte glaze that will get some speckling.

We also had a crackle shino, but it didn't seem to be thick enough. I also told Julie I thought she should apply it over a flashing slip to make it crackle more randomly.

After a couple of days spent cleaning shelves and chipping and grinding off the melted salt pots, we were ready to fire our second load. We mixed a few additional liner glazes. I had a recipe for The Glaze from Scott Shafer, and Julie found an Ash Celadon recipe in an article in Ceramics Monthly that was written by Tony Clennell.

We decided that we hadn't introduced enough soda in our first firing. We just didn't feel we were getting the juicy results we longed for and came to the conclusion that if a little is good, more must be better!!! We decided to introduce 1.5 times the amount we had used the first time. We also decided that we would put the kiln into a bit of reduction when we did the last hour of heat work.

Things were going relatively smoothly and we had added about 2 rounds of the soda mixture when Julie had a major epiphany. She asked me why we were turning the burners down and closing the damper when adding the mixture. I didn't have a good answer for that one. I thought that I had read it somewhere or heard a potter saying that was how they did it, but the more I thought about it, the more it seemed like that method was better suited for a salt-firing atmosphere. Since the soda mixture was heavier, and tended to drop down into the firebox, Julie's idea about keeping the burners on full blast and the damper opened seemed like it might give us better results. We searched both books and even got online to try to find specific information on this, but couldn't find anything! So, we decided to give it a try with the remainder of our soda introduction.

I think it made a huge and wonderful difference!! We achieved the results we were looking for! We got some beautiful directional flashing, and some dark, pebbly orange peel surfaces. The ash celadon glaze seems to have some promise as a liner also.

Tomorrow we're going to try to take some really nice photographs of the best pieces! I think Julie and Rita were pleased with the results. I know I was, I just need to make some bigger, more substantial pieces now, with shapes that will be enhanced by the soda. I'm looking forward to getting back in the studio!! I'm beginning to feel like I've figured out some things about my kiln and this method of firing and I'm hopeful that I'll be able to repeat some of the successes we had (and avoid repeating some of the mistakes we made!!)

That's what it's all about, right?!

Firing Today

2010-03-21T03:04:00.000-07:00

Spring has sprung on the Indiana tundra!! Up at 4:30 this morning to fire the kiln. We loaded it yesterday and pre-heated it last night. It's cooking along right now. I tell myself I can go back to bed once I get the burners started up again, but I never do. It's peaceful this early, especially on a Sunday. Heard a few coyotes yipping in the distance.

Julie is firing with me this time and has some pots in the kiln. We are going to attempt a soda firing, instead of salt this time. While I'm pleased with the results from salt-firing, it's not quite exactly what I'm craving. It's sorta like when you want an Esther Price dark chocolate, bourbon cherry, but you're eating a hershey bar with almonds. It's good, but you know you can do better.

I want a surface with more flashing and variation. Something that doesn't require so much decoration and brushwork. I am enjoying the brushwork, but I think I'm doing too much of it and it's detracting from the beauty of the clay itself. I suppose it's a common problem to be worked through. I'm hoping to apply more subtle brushwork and get more surface variation from the soda. I think I want something in between Emily Murphy and Linda McFarling. (To anyone reading this who is not a "pot-aholic" I will try to find photos of the work to which I refer!

Emily Murphy:

Linda McFarling:

So, we shall see if we can figure out the nuances of the soda vs. the salt. I won't go into the boring details, we'll just wait and see what the work comes out like.

In other news, I attended a workshop a couple of weeks ago in Louisville that was about art as a business. They talked about formulating a business plan, and a lot about marketing, especially online. One of the speakers claimed that in this day and age, the need for a business to have a website could be likened to the need for a telephone twenty years ago! Probably true.

They provided many online resources with templates for business plans. So I made an attempt to at least begin formulating a plan of action. It was actually helpful because it felt like it gave me some focus and direction. I also built myself a website. The cost of having one really isn't that expensive from a marketing standpoint. The hardest part was trying to decide which host to use. There are a TON of them out there and I'm not sure I picked the best, but when you're talking under $10/month, it feels like you can't complain much.

One thing that was brought up at the workshop is that a lot of artists don't figure the time they spend marketing into the prices they charge for their work. That's probably very true. I don't know if anyone could afford my work if I started figuring all that into it!!! It amazes me how much time it takes to set up a website or design a brochure. Something I think should take an hour or 2 ends up taking 6-8 hours!!

Of course it doesn't matter what you charge, if you're work's not selling you're not even breaking even, let alone making a profit. I don't have a lot of work out there right now, just some pieces at Bear's Mill. But they're definitely not selling so I guess I need to figure out why.

Well, it's almost 8:00 and this chick is ready for a nap!! Not used to getting up this early, may have to brew a second pot of coffee. And need to go check the kiln again.

Hopefully some pictures of juicey pots will be posted in a couple of days!!

Snow Queen

2010-02-19T19:20:00.000-08:00

"Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it." Was it Mark Twain who said that? Oh wait, I can do a google search and find out the truth!!

**************************************be right back**************************************

And I'm back!!! Apparently it should be attributed to Charles Dudley Warner, a writer who collaborated with Twain on The Gilded Age. Well, I learn something every day!! Some of it's even true!!

But, back to my musings. I just wanted to say that I'm a leeeetle bit tired of hearing complaints about the snow. THIS IS FEBRUARY. WE LIVE IN THE MID-WEST. It's supposed to be cold and snowy. (Regardless of what the climate change fear mongers would have us believe. But that's a different rant!)

I actually have enjoyed all the snow we've gotten this year. I think it's beautiful, and if the weather's going to be cold, I'd just as soon have snow around. I don't really mind shoveling it, or driving in it, or walking through it. And now that it's the middle of February, I'm pretty sure it won't be with us too much longer. And it really hasn't been with us that long. I might be more tired of it if it had been around since last Nov. or Dec. But it's only been a few weeks. I haven't had time to get tired of it yet.

I've had a few interesting bird experiences. I've been trying to keep the bird feeder full for the local birds. The other day, during the most recent snow fall, I was out taking some pictures and as I walked up the deck steps, I scared the birds away from the feeder. Except for one little junco. I decided to walk out and get a closer look. He didn't move at all. When we lived in Ohio, I had a similar experience with a mourning dove. It turned out the bird must've just died peacefully sitting in the snow. I decided to take some pictures of the junco since I could get so close to it.

After snapping a few, I noticed that it looked like it was breathing. Then it opened its eyes! I was discussing with Steve whether or not we should try to bring it in and warm it up...when I got up from my photo shoot position, it flew off! I'm hoping it was was just resting a little and got its second wind!

A few days later, I was unloading my groceries on a sunny, but cold day. I left the hatch back on the car up while I brought some of the groceries in and spent a few minutes in the house before going out to get the rest of the groceries. When I walked up to the car, I noticed about a dozen birds flew out from underneath the car. Apparently they were cozying up to the warmth of the engine. As I shut the hatch, I thought to myself, surely no birds would have flown into the car because of the warmth of the sun shining in the windows. Right as that thought crossed my mind I noticed 2 or 3 sparrows flittering around the front seat area. I opened the driver side door and they flew out. So far I haven't found any "presents" from them in my car!!

One thing I'm not looking forward to is when all this snow starts to melt! I do hate the thaw!! All that mud and muck. Yuck!! It was my least favorite time of year when we lived on the farm in W. Milton, and had horses, goats, etc. Too much mess!

The other thing I don't like is that I can't fire the salt kiln in this weather. But it's given me opportunity to get some things done around the house.

I am beginning to think about the garden. I saw seed packets on display at one of the local stores. I need to figure out a way to build a cold frame, so I can start some seeds. That would make it seem like spring's on the way. Altho, like I said, I'm not in that big of a hurry to let go of winter. February is a short month anyways. I have no idea why winter's not bothering me much this year, but I guess I'll just enjoy it!!

Here are a couple of pictures from when I was a kid. We'd go to my cousin's house and her dad loved to tie a sled (or several) behind his VW Beetle and tow us around behind it in the snow!! They also had an awesome sledding hill (as long as you were careful not to land in the creek at the bottom of it!!) Fun winter memories!!

as the wheel turns.......

2010-01-30T19:04:00.000-08:00

Finally got back in the studio!! Our household projects aren't done, but they weren't getting done with me not going out to the studio, so I figure at least this way I'm being somewhat productive and can use it as an excuse as to why the household projects aren't getting done. (Does that make sense?)

I noticed that on the first day back, when I came in the house I felt soooooo relaxed!! I don't understand why it seems like after a firing, it's hard to get out there and start producing again. It doesn't make any sense because once I do get out there, it's such a release! I'm sure there's some deep explanation. Or maybe it's just that I'm not sure what to start out with and need to take some time to develop the direction I want to go in my mind.

So, what direction am I going in? Not completely sure, but I'm pretty sure that I'm going to try to make my next firing soda instead of salt. After seeing the results Scott was getting out of the little soda box kiln he built, I decided I want to see what my kiln will do. I've done a little reading about using soda instead of salt in the same kiln and I don't think it will be a problem. The kiln we fired at the Odyssey Center was utilized for both types of firings. The only problem I could foresee is that I don't have a lot of spraying ports. Only the 2 salt ports in the back. But my kiln's fairly small, so I don't think that will be an issue. I suppose I could spray into some of the spy holes, but I don't think I'll want to spray directly onto my witness cones. So, probably won't be doing that. I guess we'll see how the first firing comes out. I think Julie's going to put some of her work in to. It will be nice to fire with someone else so we can bounce ideas off of each other.

I need to come up with some more glazes too. And I should probably use some flashing slips. I'm not sure bare phoenix will be very interesting. I'm not going to do a lot of brushwork on these pots. I am trying to have some textures that I'm hoping will catch some flames and get some juiciness.

I've made a lot of cups and mugs and some wavy plates. Julie wants to have an exhibit at Bear's Mill that focuses on table wear this summer. So I've been trying to think along those lines. I made the plates so that the rim is actually a hand-hold on one side. Then I thought they could be used almost as a tray. You can put a cup or mug on one side and toast or a sandwich or some salad on the other side. I might call them "Soup and Sandwich" or "Tea and Toast." I think that nowadays people eat so many meals in the living room in front of the TV (I know that we usually do) and these are designed with that in mind.

The biggest problem will be figuring out the most efficient way to fire the plates. I was thinking of wadding a cup on each one, so it would be an obvious set, 'cos the wadding marks would match. But then I thought that people might like to mix and match them ('cos people LOVE to do that) and also, if I don't glaze the plate surface, it's really not going to be food-friendly. BUT if I DO glaze them, then I'm going to have to fire them all spread out on low shelves which hogs a lot of kiln space. We shall see.

I really need to find some good glaze recipes for soda firing AND find out what the specific gravity of the glaze needs to be so I don't bet some retina-burning bright blue (like I've been getting!)

The other thing that's been keeping me busy is exercising! (Wow, I had a heckuva time spelling that!) I have been feeling so out of shape and unhealthy! I kept looking for aerobics classes that were nearby and told Steve we needed to get the stationary bike from the kids' house. But I knew I wouldn't use it. So, finally we just joined the Y and we've been going 3 times a week for almost a month! And last week, we worked out 5 days! And I've been eating healthier and feeling so much better!

The really amazing part is that Steve is taking the Step Aerobics class with me!!! I would've never believed that if you told me it would happen!! I chided him into trying it with me a couple weeks ago but I thought he'd last about 10 minutes and then go work out in the weight room. But he actually is enjoying it and has gone every time!

I kept putting off joining the Y because it's on the other side of New Castle and I thought it would eat into my studio time. Well, it's really only about a 10 minute drive and even though it takes up most of the morning.......it's not like I was getting my lard butt out there first thing in the morning anyways. And now when I do go out, I have more energy and stamina and am pretty productive. So I think it's going to pay off in lots of ways!!

So, here are some pictures of what I've been working on.......

Tumblers........

Feet trimmed.....

Wavy plates.....

Tea and Toast....

Makin' some modifications

2010-01-14T16:44:00.000-08:00

I still haven't gotten back in the studio. I am starting to think about pots and potting, but there are still a few projects I'd like to get done before I turn my attention to clay again. The weather will be too cold to fire the salt kiln for a few more months, and when I do get myself back in the studio, I want to be able to focus on it.

Anyways, it's not like the stuff I have made has been flying off the shelves and I need to replace anything!

I have gotten back into a hobby I haven't done for years and years......painting! When I was in high school, I thought THAT was going to be the direction my art passion took me. I even went to commercial art school for a month. But it turned out that it wasn't for me. Still, I've always wanted to do some painting again. So, the other day, I decided to try and paint a picture of Jaedon, my grandson. I had started it a few months ago one day when I went over to Megan's and she and a couple friends decided to have an "art day" and we all sat outside and painted. I wasn't happy with the results to I put my attempt away and hadn't thought about it anymore 'til a few weeks ago when I started getting the urge to be creative. So I pulled it out and bought some new paint, and gave it another go. It came out fairly decent. I used acrylic paints because I'm more familiar with them than oils. Here's the finished product.......

.....of course, I had the perfect subject matter!!!

Then Steve and I took a painting class in Hagerstown. We ate there for my birthday a couple Sundays ago and were walking around some of the shops. We got to talking to a gentleman in the local art gallery and he told us he was teaching a painting workshop and they provided all the materials and best of all.....it's free!!

So, last Saturday we went in and did a little painting. He had us pick a subject out of a magazine. I'm doing a landscape and Steve's doing a lighthouse scene. It was fun to get back into in, and fun to do it with Steve. And he did pretty good for his first time ever painting!!

As a matter of fact, he's been surprising me trying some other new things too!! I have been feeling like I need to get myself into shape. I've been trying to walk, but the weather's been so crappy and kept talking about getting my stationary bike which is at the kids' house. But I kept thinking about how much I used to enjoy doing aerobics aI nd I felt like it would be a form of exercise I'd be more likely to stick with since I'd always enjoyed it before. So I kept checking around to see what was offered in the area. Not much.

I don't know why I kept avoiding the "Y," I guess 'cos it's on the other side of town and I was hoping to find something closer. But it's not like we have a terribly tight schedule!! I finally told Steve what I'd been thinking so we checked it out and decided to join. So I'm going to do the step aerobics class which is 3 days a week. Steve walked on the track the first day I did the class. The second time we went in I told him that there was an old guy taking the step class and maybe he should give it a try. I really didn't think he would, but he DID!! And he actually did pretty well! I should've remembered he has a good sense of rhythm from our old rollerskating days!!

But having never, ever taken an aerobics class, I thought he might be intimidated by not knowing the moves and I thought he'd get worn out too quickly. But he stuck with it and even seemed to enjoy it.

We both were so sore yesterday though, we could barely move!!

And now I feel like I'm coming down with a cold!! I hope not, 'cos I don't want to miss tomorrow's class. I just got started!! And I've been trying to eat healthier too. I already have less heartburn at night. Trying to cut down on my beer consumption too. I really do enjoy having a couple with dinner, but I'm pretty sure I was starting to develop a beer gut! Even drinking Sam Adams Light. So I'm going to try to limit by beer drinkin' to a couple nights a week!

I hate to think of any of this stuff as New Year's Resolutions, but I guess the beginning of the year is a good time to "turn over a new leaf." The hardest part is sticking to it all!! I'm hoping that since Steve is doing it to, we'll keep each other "on task." We are pretty competitive!! Normally that causes problems between us, but there are times when we can take advantage of that trait!!

We shall see what transpires!

First blog posting for 2010!

2010-01-02T17:32:00.000-08:00

The second firing of the salt kiln happened on Dec. 05. It went pretty similarly to the first firing. We had trouble getting the back to stay even with the front, only it was the opposite side we had trouble with for the first firing. I moved the targe bricks back, but noticed during unloading that I had moved one side back a little further than the other. We also think I may have gradually stacked the shelved closer together as we went up. It was only a cone or so behind, nothing major. I thought I had gotten a lot more reduction (hence darker colors) in my attempts to even out the heat. I moved the damper in and tried to hold the front of the kiln at temp, hoping the back would catch up. While the results were a bit darker, I think most of the dark pieces were actually the result of using a different (darker) clay body.

It will be fun to fire it again and see what happens, altho, after seeing the results Scott has been getting out of the little soda box kiln he cobbled together, I'm thinking about trying a soda firing next time! Julie's interested in trying that with me, it's always more fun to experiment when you have a comrade!!

Here are a few pics of my results......
...donning my newly purchased Wall insulated overalls - thumbs up!!!

Christmas sales at Bear's Mill were quite unimpressive. I'm not sure if people weren't liking my pots in particular, or not liking the "salt-fired" finish, or if pottery sales in general were down. They were quite brisk a couple years ago but I haven't had much inventory there for the holidays the last 2 years.

The standard 152 Clay came out a little darker than I like. The 182 was a nice color, but the throwing consistency was too "buttery" (like porcelain!)

Here's a small display of my work that I put in the studio. I did manage to sell about $300 worth to some local friends who stopped out before Christmas!! Still need to get the oribe to a thicker consistency!

I'm taking a bit of a hiatus from potting right now (as many potters do) because for one thing, the weather in easter Indiana is not extremely conducive for firing in a kiln located outside. It was in the 20s with a brisk breeze during my last firing and thankfully my "carharts' kept me warm enough. But right now the outside temp is 6 degress (F) and I can't really imagining firing that kiln right now!!!

Anyways, we decided to start a couple home remodeling projects that we've (I've) been thinking about trying to get done before one (or both) of us has to get a "real" job!! It always seems like when you have time for these projects you don't have the money and when you have the money, you don't have the time!!! I finally convinced Steve we should take advantage of having the time (and enough money to tackle a re-do on the laundry room.)

They say it has to get worse before it gets better......it definitely got worse!! WHAT A MESS!!!!

It has proven to be only mildly stressful. The worse part was when, after we were about half-way done with demolition of the plaster and lathe, Steve happened to mention the possibility of asbestos in the plaster. YIKES!! I hadn't even considered that! I assumed that since the house was built pre-1900, asbestos wasn't even in exitance, was it?? I checked online that night and found an article from a man who was tearing into a home built in the 30s or 40s that he claimed tested positive for asbestos in the drywalll. Now I felt like I was going to be ill!! I couldn't figure out why Steve wouldn't have said something BEFORE we tore into it. He claims he figured I would just accuse him of trying ot get out of the work...........my question.....SO????? You'd rather jeopardize our health and well-being???

It made for a tense work day on the second day of renovation. I did some more online research and couldn't find anything on the EPA's website section on asbestos that mentioned plaster and lathe as a possible contaminated area. Also, I read some old home discussions about horse hair plaster. We did notice what looked to me like horse hairs in the plaster. Steve thought it might be some kind of "fiber." I think, again, the house is too old for it to be anything but horse hair. And the articles I read mentioned the fact that that the old plaster and lathe was extremely durable and even somewhat fireproof. (And I had bee extremely worried when I started a burnpile with the lathe and a couple pieces of plaster ended up in the burn pile but didn't seem to actually be doing much burning. I can't even begin ot explain the sick feeling I had about all this.

But it seemed like it was too late to do anything about it at this point. I do know that before we tear into any more plaster in this house, I will make sure we have it tested. I feel rather confident that it won't test positive for asbestos, but I would rather know before placing myself in a roomful of questionable dust particles!!

But now the messiest part is behind us, we just need to get the debris taken to the dump. Today's attempt fell short, apparently they took an extra day off for the New Year's holiday.

At lunch time we had volunteered to help residents at one of the local retirement centers with their lunch trays. Apparently they run short of help on week-ends. It was enjoyable talking to some of the residents there. Some of them really seem to enjoy life!! The only bad part was that it brought back some unpleasant memories from my days of waiting table at Perkins and Bob Evans (and I didn't even get any tip$!!!)

So that pretty much sums up life since my last blog post.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Maiden Firing of the Salt Kiln

2009-10-23T17:31:00.001-07:00

I'm happy to report that I have fired the kiln!! And lived to tell about it - that's always a plus!!

I will post some pictures of the firing and the finished pots......

This is a photo of me introducing the salt into the kiln....

Still hot pots with the door just unbricked.......

Back half of the stack.........

I would say it was a successful firing, especially when you consider I've never fired anything but an electric kiln myself. I have participated in a few woodfirings and salt firings, but this is the first time I've had my own atmospheric kiln to fire!! I feel as if I've learned a LOT!!

Of course I could've never undertaken such a project on my own!! I'm very thankful to those who helped me, either physically or with material or with advice, either in person or via e-mail! In addition, the internet and several good books on salt firing were immeasurably helpful in firing the kiln!

We did have a little trouble with one back corner not heating up as quickly as the rest of the kiln. I think that trying to even out the temperature caused a little more reduction in my work than I would've liked. But we achieved what I thought was good salt distribution throughout the kiln. We did use more salt than we needed to, again because of the cool spot in the kiln. I used canning/pickling salt which was introduced on an angle iron through 2 salt ports in the back of the kiln above the burners.

We started salting when cone 9 was down and 10 was bending in the front. Cone 8 was stoutly refusing to move in the back of the kiln, but we didn't want to wait too long since the front was ready. We would push the damper in and turn the burners down, introduce about 1-2 pounds of salt per port and let it waft about the kiln for 5 minutes, then we would open the damper up and turn the burners on full for about 10 minutes. "Lather, rinse, repeat." Every 3 or 4 saltings, I would pull a draw ring to see whether we were getting salt coverage. It seemed to happen pretty quickly considering this was the first firing. My husband sprayed the inside of the kiln and door bricks with a coating of ITC. I think this made it more resistant to the salt, and consequently there was more available to juice up the pots!

Due to the problems with uneven temp. we ended up introducing about 40 lb. for this firing, even though according to the draw rings, we probably could have gotten by with less than half that amount. (My kiln is about 37 cubic feet total.) Scott thinks if we move the target bricks toward the back of the kiln a few inches, we'll get more even heat distribution. We never did get the back part up to temp, but after using that much salt and firing it for about 20 hours, I decided it was time to cut our losses, shut it down and analyze our results.

Something neat happened in the midst of the firing. I stepped back to look at the chimney and right at that moment, a shooting star streaked across the sky and looked almost as if it went right down the kiln's chimney!! I thought that seemed like a pretty good omen!!

And apparently it was because I'm pretty pleased with the results over all and ready to fire it again. Now I just have to get some more pots made!!

Is that glow from the sun setting or the kiln firing???

Too busy to blog!!

2009-09-19T19:28:00.000-07:00

We've been gettin'er done the last couple of weeks!!!

I now have hot and cold running water in the studio (and a new double laundry sink with a fancy, schmancy faucet that pulls out and sprays!!) I have shelves and I have my glaze ingredients somewhat organized. It's the fun part now!

I also have the capacity to fire my electric kiln and I have propane running to the kiln, house and studio!!! Most of the work was done by our local gas company!! They had the equipment and the know-how to make it go smooth as a gravy sandwich! They got most of it done in 2 days and Steve had to work an additional couple days to tie it all together! (I do believe I've worn him out, he's snoring like a freight train in the easy chair as I'm typing!)

I have been happily potting away for the last couple weeks!! The weather's been gorgeous, the garage door has been OPEN!!

The list of what still needs to be done has grown shorter.......finish the chimney and roof on the kiln shed. I've ordered extra kiln shelves and posts for the electric kiln. I've also ordered cones and a protective cover for my pyrometer. I keep trying to go over things in my mind so I don't forget anything important once I start the firing!! Will have to paint kiln wash on the shelves, build the bagwalls, make wadding, mix up my glazes. What? What am iI forgetting? Probably it will turn out to be something really obvious, stupid, and necessary!!!

And now for a few photo updates.....

...nuthin' says "get-r-done" like a man with the proper equipment!!!

Big pile O' dirt = PROGRESS!!

This is a deep freakin' hole!! See where the hose is going in?? Well, you can also just barely see the top of the workman's shaved head. I think he was kneeling, but still, a deeeeeep hole!!

Trench digger came in handy too!

Bless their hearts, they put the dirt back from whence it came!

New gas tank residing behind the kiln...

Creative Juices are Flowing!

2009-09-08T18:50:00.000-07:00

I feel like we're making progress!! The chimney is nearing completion. Today, a rep from the local propane company came out to give us an estimate on installing a tank and piping it to the kiln. He's also going to price piping it to the house (for the faus fireplace, so we can remove that little tank, and piping it to my studio so I can have heat this winter!!) They can also run the water line and electric for it. They charge so much a foot to dig the trench and run the gas line, so it shouldn't be a whole lot more expensive to have them also run the electric and water line. We would still have to buy the product. I think it will get done much quicker this way, even if it will cost a little more. Hopefully they don't price it too astronomically!! Steve said that the gas man wants to get it done by the end of the week because after that his help is going to be harvesting the local crops. I'm all for that!!

It's been an exciting week around here. Scott came out Sunday and we sprayed a coat of ITC on the interior of the kiln and the inside of the door bricks. ITC will protect the bricks from corroding as quickly from the salt. That should make it last longer. (Scott, you're such a trooper, thanks for coming out even though you threw your back out. I know you were hurtin' and I appreciate it!)

I am also excited because I have FINALLY started making some actual pots!!! It's been about 6 months since I've been on the wheel and it was making me pretty cranky! I suppose I could've started sooner, but I wanted to wait until I could get a rhythm going. I wanted to be nearing completion of the kiln and get my studio somewhat organized before I started anything so I wouldn't have to break my momentum once I start producing. Of course, my momentum is so slow and sporadic that it might be difficult for the casual observer to tell the difference between broken and un-broken, momentum in my production schedule!!

I still need to do some organizing in the studio but I finally reached a point where I felt like if I didn't start making some pots I was going to tear someone apart limb from limb. Not anyone in particular, it would have been quite random, unexpected, and unjustified. Perhaps the UPS man, or the president of the Optimist Club. (And they both seem like really nice guys.)

And now I must quit blogging because I'm completely distracted by re-runs of The Office on TBS and must give it my full, undivided attention.

Working happily at my wheel......

I have an inspiring view from my wheel when I open the garage door......

It Patiently Waits.....

2009-08-27T12:17:00.000-07:00

I haven't been worth a plug nickel the last 2 days! I either caught a bug when we were out of town for my father-in-law's 80th birthday, or I got a sinus infection from the dust I've been exposed to while building the kiln. I have been wearing a mask while grinding and cutting bricks (for the most part) but it's just a dirty, dusty job. I'll be glad when that part of it's over with!!

During my recuperation (when not napping or blowing my nose) I've joined a couple of discussion groups for potters who salt and/or soda fire. It looks like there are several other people "out there" in cyber land, who, like me, are at various stages of building a salt or soda kiln. It's interesting to read about their similar trials and learn some alternative solutions. It's encouraging to know that others are experiencing the same frustrations as I am, but keep plugging away at it. I don't think I've come across a scenario yet where someone claims their kiln went up without a few obstacles and problems that had to be worked out. I think if I did read about a kiln-building project without any problems, I'd have a little trouble believing it, unless that person builds kilns for a living!! For most potters, kiln building seems to be an activity that is only participated in every few years. And it probably happens this way for a reason. I'm thinking it's for the same reason that family's space their children a few years apart - you need that time in between so you don't recall how intense the "labor" actually was!!

I only hope that firing this kiln will be half as rewarding as being a mom is, and I hope my kiln turns out half as good as my kids have so far! I used a lot of trial and error in raising them, and somehow they survived, so that gives me yet more encouragement about my kiln building venture!! Although I'm not sure if kilns (and the pots we fire in them) are quite as resiliant as kids!!

The Arch is done!

2009-08-21T05:58:00.000-07:00

The kiln is really starting to take shape and look like a kiln!! I must apologize to my loyal reader for my former pessimism!! We're making great progress, I should be in the studio very soon!

I'm actually starting to feel a little nervous about producing again. The pressure's on.........will I be able to produce? More importantly, will I be able to sell?? Or is it all just yet another expensive hobby?

Here's what we did on the kiln yesterday.........

In this photo, we've are laying the last course of the arch bricks. Scott built the form out of wood using the kiln's measurements and some extremely complicated algebraic formula. (Of course any algebraic formula seems extremely complicated to me!) According to Jack Troy (kiln guru, he wrote The Kiln Book) a kiln should be as close to a perfect cube as possible. Of course it's a little off because of the shape of the arch, but we're about as close as we could get. In order to make the arch the correct curvature, we had to lay a row of straight bricks in periodically. They're the darker colored bricks. So the pattern was, 3 rows of arch bricks on either side, then a row of straights, then 4 rows of arch bricks and a row of straights, then 4 rows of arch bricks in the middle.

I found the whole arch process somewhat fascinating. The arch bricks have an ever so slight taper to them and it amazes me that they're all made consistently enough to fit together so perfectly. After all the measurements and leveling and re-measuring, and pulling out bricks, and pounding on the wall we did, I thought the arch would take a long time to complete (and wondered if we'd be able to make it work.) I guess all the anal activities I just mentioned (and have complained about) the whole time actually paid off in the end, didn't they?!

The kiln is called a "Sprung Arch" kiln; it gets its name from the process in which the arch is built. The bricks are laid starting on either side and working towards the middle. In the above picture you can see that the final row of bricks in the middle looks as though it's not going to fit. That's how it's supposed to work. You tap the bricks down gently into place and the shape and weight of the bricks actually causes the arch to "spring" up off of the form ever so slightly. Thus, the bricks are now holding themselves in place because you can't use any type of mortar on the arch, it could filter down onto the pots when the kiln's firing and ruin them.

How did anyone figure this out? Like I said, fascinating! Ok, it ain't the pyramids or stone henge, but it's the First Wonder of My World right now. And totally makes me wonder how in the hell some of those real wonders were ever conceived, let alone actually built!!

Here's a shot of the arch after we took the form out. I think it's a work of art!!

In this picture, if you look at the back wall, you can see where we cut and ground bricks to fit under the arch. There's just a small sliver of space left that I'll probably fill with soft brick and mortar. Then a layer of soft brick on the outside for insulation.

Next step is to layout the door configuration and the spray the interior, the arch and the inside of the door with ITC, a chemical solution that will protect the bricks and give them a longer kiln life. Also need to finish the chimney and get the burners hooked up.

Hopefully I'll fire it up in just a few more weeks!!

Light at the end of the tunnel

2009-08-16T15:25:00.000-07:00

Beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel....
We're in the home stretch now.....
Making some headway....
progress....
yessss!!!

Today we finished the walls and put the arch form up to see how hight the top will be and make sure it's going to be square and plumb and all dat dere! Those 2 words, "square" and "plumb" have been a thorn in our side during this project, but I'm happy to report that, it's pretty durn close to being both.

Between now and next kiln building day Steve needs to drill some holes in the channel iron and do some welding so we can tie the 4 corners together. I need to clean and scrape the mortar from the inside to get it ready to spray with ITC. We still have a lot to do, but it feels like we're getting close to the point where I'll be able to start firing it.

In addition to the progress that's been made on the kiln, Steve and I built some ware shelves and almost finished my work table last week. In the next couple weeks he will upgrade the wiring to the garage so I can start using my new electric kiln for bisque firing. We will have to figure out what we're going to do about propane, I think we'll have the local propane company install a tank on site for it. We have a small tank next to the house for a gas fireplace, but we would have to pipe it under the driveway to tap into it. That doesn't seem like a great idea. We're also going to need propane piped to the garage, my studio, so I don't freeze my li'l fingers off this winter. But that project can wait a few more weeks.

This is a shot from inside the door looking up through the arch form. Something about it makes me think of a cathedral. Or a prison cell......like where they put someone who's in solitary confinement. Remember Cool Hand Luke? But I digress.........(and I think of pottery as anything but a prison!! More like an escape!!)

In other news, the garden is producing a bumper crop. Things are a little late, due to the fact that we didn't move here until Memorial Day, but I've got veggies coming out my ears. The broccoli and lettuce is done for now. Well, I'm trying to sneak in a little more lettuce, we'll see if it survives the heat.

The tomatoes and peppers are just about ripe and I saw some cucumbers and squash making an appearance. And some late green beans should be ready soon!! It's my first garden that's been what I consider somewhat successful so I'm pretty excited (especially when my lack of knowledge and experience is taken into consideration!)

Here are some pictures I took the last couple days.

I may have planted a little too much broccoli. I ate and froze as much as I could and there were a few "heads" (?) left that are flowering. I pulled up all but one, it was kinda pretty and the bees seemed to be enjoying it. Here are a couple pictures; Broccoli Bouquet and Broccoli Landscape:

Butternut squash against a big, blue, Indiana sky.....

Some baby tomatoes at the top of my plant. I can't even count how many tomatoes are on it! I hope the vines don't break when as they get bigger, they're past the top of my cage now!

If you look closely to the left of the bloom, you can see a li'l baby cuke, all prickly and full of attitude!

And finally, I wanted to include a few pictures of my quest for baking the perfect chocolate chip cookie. During this kiln-building experience, I learned that Scott and I share a passion for said cookies. So, every couple weeks I've been baking a batch to earn some brownie points with him (and add a few more pounds to my already ample frame. The cookie dough ripples will compliment my beer gut!)

Last night (as I told Scott) I believe I came close to chocolate chip cookie nirvana. The ingredients were all at the right consistency, I got the oven temperature right, the size and thickness was perfect, the planets were aligned. So I took a few pictures of that too, 'cos #1) I have no life and #2) I have no life!

I hope your mouth waters a little and I apologize to Scott for this blog, 'cos it's basically pictures I already emailed him and stuff he already knew. Well, guess what, there ain't much else goin' on 'round here!!

Cookies cooling on the counter.......

Ultimate Cookie (I was trying to get a picture with the chip all melty and a strand of chocolate, but I let it cool a little too much. And I had to keep eating my photo subjects, so I had to give up before they were all gone!!

Just Add Milk!!!

Four more courses

2009-08-09T18:32:00.000-07:00

We are making some head-way on the kiln. Today we laid 4 more rows of bricks. It's amazing the little things that go wrong or you forget to do, that can turn into big things. I'm so thankful to have some experienced help, or I can't imagine how things might turn out!! My help doesn't consider himself to be very knowledgeable or experienced, but he's much too hard on himself (and I know he's one of 2 people on the planet who reads my blog, so I thought I would take this opportunity to tell him that!!)

Also, since he reads my blog, he took my last somewhat whiny post seriously and encouraged/forced (?) me to become more involved in the process. Beeeeeg mistake!! I'm not known for my accuracy. So, the corner that I laid the brick on somehow got itself "out of plumb." Luckily Scott and Steve were able to fix my faux pas without having to remove al the bricks and re-lay the whole corner and side!! That was a relief 'cos we already re-did a row where we had miscalculated something, I can't remember what now! Building a kiln sure requires lots of calculating (and re-calculating!!)

Since neither Steve or I have every built a kiln and Scott only builds one every few years, it's hard to remember all the little things that are actually pretty important. We almost forgot to put the burner ports in. (yeah, those are pretty important!) But we did remember!! We have a few soft bricks in spots that should probably have hard bricks. They'll just need to be replaced sooner. We remembered the salt ports, but after we got them in, Scott realized that my burners will block be blocking them. Steve thinks he can take the "elbow" out of the burners or modify them so they won't directly block the salt ports. Now we have to be sure to remember to put the spy holes in next week when we lay the next course.

Scott is extremely dissatisfied with the brick joints. He feels that too many of them are lining up, they're not staggered like they should be. The boys told me I don't understand. Apparently, as a woman, I don't take pride in my work, at least not as much as they do. (Ahem!!) I told them I think I'm more concerned with functionality than perfection. I don't think perfection is possible! And even if it were, well, it's somewhat fleeting. Bricks will shift, crumble, etc. etc. I know, it's better to start out with it square and plumb, but I don't know if it's worth loosing a lot of sleep over. So, ok, I'l let them think it's a guy thing......or a perfectionist thing......or a perfectionistic guy thing. But I started looking more closely at pictures of kilns in Fred Olsen's book, The Kiln Book, and I noticed that most of the kilns that are pictured in it look as though they were built by human beings. It's probably the same as the reason why I like hand-made pottery in the first place. It's not perfect, it's not machined, it doesn't look mass produced. Same with my kiln! I know that some parts of it have to be as accurate as possible, but as long as it does the job for me, it doesn't have to be 100% perfect!!

I was sitting on the deck drinkin' a beer thinking about how lucky or blessed I am to have reached this point in my life! I'm doing something I've always wanted to do, I'm living on the farm I always dreamed about, and then I have the audacity to make my last post whiny and bitchy when I should be extremely thankful for what I have and what I'm able to do right now!! Reality check!!

Even if I get to the end of this project and it turns out that I'm not good enough at pottery to make a go of it, at least I've given it my best shot. I'm learning a lot in the process, and not just about kilns, but about myself, my abilities, my limitations, and my attitude (which occassionally needs adjusting!)

happy, muddy gal!

"You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don't try."
Beverly Sills

Kiln progress, or lack thereof and ensuing excuses

2009-08-08T05:17:00.000-07:00

I have neglected my blog! I knew it would happen eventually. I was doing pretty good at updating it at least once a week, but I got caught up in some other things.

Making a photo book for my father-in-law's 80th birthday has kept me occupied most of the last month. I used blurb.com so I could do all the layout online and everyone in the family can order a copy if they like it. I enjoyed the process, looking through all the old photos, seeing some I had never seen before, and seeing some I hadn't seen for years!! It brought back a lot of memories, I hope it does the same for my father-in-law. But it was a bit of a daunting task, and projects like this always cause my obsessive-compulsive persona to raise its ugly head. That means that many late nights were spent on the laptop with me cursing and groaning my way through hundreds, maybe thousands of photos, trying to narrow it down, trying to make sure I included everyone equally and didn't show any favoritism. Trying to figure out the graphics, trying to figure out what to put on the jacket, on the cover, I got carried away with the project, which is what I tend to do in this situation. But, I finally got it finished and I'm having one printed right now, which should arrive next week, just a few days before the big celebration. I'm sure I'll find several typos and other mistakes when it arrives which will drive me nuts, but at least I did it and didn't just say, "Oh, I was going to put together a book of photos for you, but I didn't have time." Nope, I did it!! Yay me.

I've also gotten a little carried with facebook. I think I've been using it to fulfill my blogging desires, in a faster, easier way. (instant gratification?) I've uploaded photos and I can check on friends and relatives and share my tidbits of wisdom in a few minutes. I have a sneaking suspicion that tidbits are really all anyone wants to read any ways. Who has time to wade through this incoherent rambling of what's rolling around in my head?!

I really need to update my kiln progress. I noticed in a previous post I mentioned that I was surprised at how quickly we seemed to be progressing. I guess I shouldn't have said that because the last few days I've been restless because I'm ready to start potting and it seems like it's going to be awhile. The kiln itself is going up at a steady pace, but I need to start getting the studio set up and organized so I can start making some pots. It's my own fault, really. I've been procrastinating because it means I'll have to carry a bunch of junk into the house and figure out where to store it. And I'll have to buy some kind of storage units for the garage and I've been trying to avoid spending a lot of money. And we do have a lot of other projects going on, plus, of course things always come up with family and friends. Excuses, excuses!! I'm going to try to focus next week completely on the kiln and my studio. (I'm taking a big chance stating that because I feel like I might jinx myself.) But we'll give it a whirl.

I also saw in a previous post that I thought I would only need one more session to get all the bricks cleaned up. Well, as usual, I underestimated the time and effort that project would require! I was grinding bricks yesterday and still have more to go!! We had enough to get started laying them so I quit grinding them. It's such a hot and dirty job!! I was trying to grind in between helping Steve put up roof sections. So I'd just get going on the bricks then he would need a hand so I'd have to remove the goggles and mask and go help him, then back to the pile, put on the goggles and mask and grind a little more. I wonder if the goggles and mask are really helping all that much. I figured out the goggles weren't fitting properly when a chunk of brick flipped up and somehow landed inside my goggles!! The mask was preventing me from fitting them snugly against the bridge of my nose. So if a big chunk can get in, how much dust must've been getting in?? I don't want to think about it.

So this is where we're at as of this morning......

The roof is almost "done." We'll cut out sections for the chimney as it gets high enough to warrant such measures!

This is how far the walls have progressed. We're using 2 1/2" hard brick on the inside (those are the bricks I purchased used, that I've been cleaning and grinding.) The outside is soft brick. They're 3" tall and are making it "fun" to line things up. Every so many rows you need a "header" course (I think that's what it's called.) It's where you lay a row of bricks that spans both walls to tie them together. Since the outer and inner layer of bricks aren't the same size, it took us 5 rows before they actually lined up. (You do the math, it's too algebraeic for me!) And now that we're finally there, they weren't actually lining up, but at least they're purty darn close! The soft outer layer seems to be just a tad lower than the inner layer. So we're going to try to compensate with a thick layer of mortar on the soft bricks. Hope it works!

It feels like we've had too many instances of figuring out how to make something work. Not only with the kiln, but with the kiln shed as well!! But it will eventually work.....at least I'm hopeful that it will!! Only time will tell!

I feel as though I've not been as involved in the process as I'd like to be. It's my own damn fault. I'm letting myself become a little intimidated by my husband and my friend who are both involved in the process. It's a good thing they're both involved, or I'd never be able to accomplish this thing, BUT, they're both a little anal (which is probably a good thing in the long run) and we're all somewhat competitive, so I'm afraid I'm going to do something wrong and I find myself hanging back and doing the grunt work rather than rolling up my sleeves and really getting into it. They probably think I'm being a lazy bum but that's not it, really. I think I'd be more involved if I was working with just one or the other of them, but the fact that there are 3 of us working together does make the situation start to have a "too many cooks spoil the broth" kinda flavor.

Of course this is the first kiln I've ever built and the first kiln shed too, so maybe it's not such a bad idea to stand back and let the guys go at it and learn from what I see them doing. Being a wife and mother, I'm used to doing alot of grunt work, and to be honest, I don't really mind doing it. I absolutely hate to stand around and do nothing, so if I can be productive cleaning and sorting bricks or handing tools to someone, well.....somebody's got to do it, right?! And then when I build my next kiln, I'll feel more confident about being more hands-on, right? That's the way I look at. Plus, if there are any major problems down the road, I can bask in the smug satisfaction of knowing that "it wasn't MY fault." Hmmmmm, perhaps that's my main motivation for keeping a low profile!

So, I suppose I need to get my butt out of this chair and get out there and do some organizing in the studio. Scott's coming out tomorrow to help us lay more brick. I'm sure he'll be stunned at what little progress we've made this week!! He's a trooper!! Yay Scott.

Ancient memories

2009-07-14T13:35:00.000-07:00

I love diggin' around in the ground. (I suppose that's why I got into pottery) There's nothing better than havin' my hands (or feet) in the dirt! Yesterday morning I hoed and raked the garden. The weather was absolutely perfect and the the dirt was too. I have romaine lettuce coming out my ears, and have unfortunately discovered that I don't really like romaine lettuce. It's a little too pungent. But it looks so pretty out there in its crooked little row, I don't mind weeding around it, and just leaving it for looks. I hope I have some broccoli soon. I saw a few little green tomatoes have made an appearance.My rows are a little too wide, but I got a late start and knew I wouldn't be able to plant everything I'd like to, so I kinda spread everything out a bit.

I like my tomato cages. I made them out of branches we had trimmed earlier. I think they look kinda "zen" and earthy.

I do lotsa thinkin' when I'm hoein' and rakin'. I was thinking about why I love working in the garden and why I love being a potter. Of course there are the obvious similarities, both involve handling dirt. But I wonder why some people enjoy the earth more than others.

When I was in high school, I enjoyed painting more than potting. I actually went to a commercial art school for about a month and I thought I would make a living drawing and painting. Well, that never transpired. (Not only did I never make a living drawing and painting, I basically never made a living, period!) But, my point is that over the years, I drifted away from the painting, but got more and more interested in the pottery.

I think that what I like about pottery is that it involves 3 of the most basic elements, water, fire, and earth. I like that.

And I think I like gardening because I come from a long line of farmers and my mother always had good things to say about growing up on the farm. I don't believe in reincarnation, but I do think that we retain some sort of sense of remembrance from what our ancestors did. I don't know if I'm expressing myself clearly, but I think that if we can pass along things in our genes like eye color, hair color, and things like that, why can't we pass along some sort of sense of what our ancestors experienced and loved? My ancestors were farmers, they hoed and raked and planted and now I do it too. And I think that somehow they passed on their love of the earth to me and I look forward to passing it on to my grand-kids. I had Jaedon out in the garden with me the other day in his car seat. He fell asleep. But next year, I'm sure I'll be yellin' at him to quit stepping on my beans and don't pull the blooms off the tomato plants. Yeah, it'll be fun. (I think!)

I think that what got me to thinking about that is a book I'm reading. It's called Speak to the Earth, and it's by a local Indiana woman who wrote for a newspaper named Rachel Peden. She says:

"A farmer's heart leaps up when he beholds a well-tilled, fertile field in any stage of production. If a non-farmer's heart leaps up at the sight of a field of ripe wheat or a cornfield sparkling greenly in sunlight, it is because in his subconscious ancient memory he associates it with his own food. A preservationist's heart leaps up at the sight of any kind of land...farm, wilderness, jungle, tundra, prairie, or swamp just lying there with no harvest being exacted of it. For true earth lovers the most heart-upleaping sight of all is the sight of abused land showing that it can heal itself and being given the opportunity to do it."

Corn and Concrete

2009-07-08T11:02:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy week, yet again. Today Megan and Jaedon came out and we put up freezer corn. I haven't done it for probably 10 years!! It brought back a lot of memories! It had been so long, I almost forgot the procedure!! I found my old recipe scribbled on a sheet of paper stuck in my cookbook. It called for 12 C. of corn and luckily I had written down that it would take approx. 4 dozen ears of corn. What I didn't write down is that I really only needed about 18 ears of corn to end up with 12 C. of corn kernels, but I bet I used to buy 4 dozen ears so I could make 3 batches. It's not really worth going to all the trouble if you don't make several batches!

I did remember how messy it is! So we shucked the ears and cut the kernels off the cob outside. There was silk, and corn husks everywhere and we both had to clean our glasses off because the juice from the corn tends to spray everywhere!

Putting up freezer corn is a great thing to do with a friend (or family member - or BOTH!) When Megan was a little girl, my friend, Becky would come out to the house and bring all her kids, and they would run around and play outside while we did the corn. The shucking is probably the most time consuming part, but it provides a great opportunity to have some meaningful conversation and enjoy a beautiful day!

I would imagine that when women used to can and freeze on a regular basis, it would turn into a bit of a social event with a friend or neighbor. It makes it more fun! Usually when I make freezer jam, I do it alone 'cos it's pretty quick and easy. But freezer corn is definitely a job for 2 people.

Jaedon was his usual angelic self for us and slept like (what else?) a baby!! He's really starting to get smiley and even is beginning to laugh out loud! Grampa made him happy by playing peek-a-boo.

The kiln is still progressing too. Scott came out again last Sunday and Steve used the second grinder we purchased and we ground more bricks. We've made a pretty good dent in them and should be able to finish with one more session. The weather was cloudy and cool, unfortunately it wasn't as windy as the previous week, so the dust and sand didn't blow away as easily. We all looked like tired ghosts when we were done, and I noticed a slight cloud of dust hovering behind us as we moved around the yard. It reminded me of the "Pigpen" character on Charlie Brown.

Day before yesterday Steve and I got to work preparing the area where we poured the slab for the kiln to sit on. We decided that the sandy site where the above ground pool sat would be the perfect spot for the kiln. We spent most of the morning digging the footer, a trench about 9-12 inches deep and about as wide as a shovel. We're making the slab 10'x18' in size. The kiln will be quite a bit smaller than that, but we're going to put a roof over top and will use it for a picnic area when I'm not firing.

Steve probably dug 3/4 of it and I helped with one corner and the short side. He thought it would be funny to hold his "achin' back" when I took the picture. It turned out to be a prophetic pose because the next morning when he bent over to tie his shoes, he threw his back out!! I had tried to talk him into renting a little back-hoe but he insisted he could do it. I told him that I had no doubts about his abilities, I was just concerned about his back. So, I must've had a premonition (or wifely intuition or whatever "ition" you want to call it!) I knew exactly what had happened when he walked into the bedroom to put his shoes on and a minute later I heard him say (through clenched teeth) "D - &*%$# -!! Son-of-a-b&*%$!!!"

"Did you throw your back out?" I hollered. He answered with a disgusted sounding yes and I walked into the room to find him lying on his stomach on the floor arching his back and groaning. Uh-oh, the concrete is supposed to arrive in a few hours!!

Luckily he wasn't rendered completely immobile, and my trusty friend, Scott, had offered to come out and help us get the job done! He also told us we'd need to rent a "bull float" for the initial smoothing (after screeding.) I've learned a lot about concrete in the last couple of days! Steve's using the bull float in one of the photos below.

With 2 male perfectionists on the job, not only did I feel like I wasn't needed, I'm pretty sure that the general assumption was that anything I could contribute to the process would be woefully inadequate. So, I weeded the garden, filled drink containers, and generally piddled around. The boys screeded and floated and troweled and watered, and after a few hours, they called it a day! And my beautiful slab is ready and waiting for us to start building the kiln upon it!

I'm not sure if we'll start building the kiln first or try to get the 4x4s and the roof put up so we can work on the kiln in some shade. As usual, we'll fly by the seat of our pants and see what happens. It's worked for me so far, why change now?!

I'm somewhat surprised at how quickly we're getting things accomplished. (Or maybe my goals aren't lofty enough!!) Not having to work full-time is definitely helpful. Hopefully we'll get most of our major projects done over the summer and fall, and then with a little luck, I'll sell some pots throughout fall and the holiday season. Once we get into heavy winter, we'll have to assess our situation and decide if Steve's going to continue his "life of leisure." (I'm sure he would argue with that description right now!) But eventually we will get a handle on things here, and I think even he will get bored with sitting around the house all day! I suppose if the pottery does start selling, he could take over the household chores and give me even more time to spend in the studio!

Worst case scenario: pots don't sell at all and not only does Steve become a WalMart greeter, but I have to find work based on MY experience, which would mean waiting tables, cleaning houses, or working in a daycare facility! Not my idea of fun career choices! But hopefully the lucky penny that Scott said we should lay in the concrete will get the potting career off to a good start!! (Nobody would leave a hand print in the cement to commemorate the occasion so the penny had to suffice.)

I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens! I'm just trying to enjoy the present, and so far, I would say I'm succeeding!

Only in Indiana

2009-07-03T18:53:00.000-07:00

The summer is flying by!! It's hard to believe that tomorrow is the 4th of July.

We are in the midst of several projects around here (I think that will be the norm for awhile.) We're grinding bricks for the salt kiln. They're used bricks and have a layer of mortar on them that needs to come off. Grinding seems to be the best method, although I am going to try using a power washer on them, at least on parts that don't have a heavy, baked on coating. My good friend, Scott Shafer (an extremely talented potter - I'm laying it on thick 'cos he's designed my kiln and worked his butt of last week) came out and helped me grind. It's a messy, back-breaking job and the day was hot and windy. The wind was good for 2 reasons though, it cooled us off and it blew the dust away.

Steve is building a form for the concrete slab to be poured into. We're going to make it a little larger than necessary and also use it as a picnic area. It will have a roof over it eventually. I'll try to remember to take pictures as we progress.

Last week-end we had a visit from some good friends, the 2 ladies who introduced us to geocaching. We spent a couple days in New Castle looking for caches. Our first day of caching included spending several hours hiking around a local lake that was encircled by a mountain bike trail peppered with caches. Unfortunately, we didn't take into consideration the fact that the trail was 10 miles long and the day was extremely hot and humid. We also didn't think about bringing anything to drink on the trail. Well, one of the ladies brought a styrofoam cup with a couple inches of ice water and a wedge of lemon.

Four and a half hours later, at around mile marker 7, we were all sitting on a log, sucking on a tiny section of the lemon she had divvied up between the four of us. (I felt like Survivor Man.) We were trying to figure out if we were going to make it back to the car before dark and we were ready to throw in the towel, except it didn't look like an option. I could envision the headlines in the paper, "Inexperienced hikers from Ohio airlifted out of New Castle park." Luckily for us, a friendly biker shared some of his sport drink with us and told us how to get to the road, which saved us a couple miles of hiking. It made for an adventurous day and will give us exciting tales to tell to the grand-kids.

While we were out and about in New Castle, we came across a statue of a rather large, blue man in front of one of the local liquor stores.

I did a little online research and found a website that lists various roadside landmarks, or places of interest. Indiana seems to have more than its share of bizarre roadside statues.

I came across this one about a month ago, on our way to the closing on our house. When we drove through Fortville, I saw this pink elephant!! (And I hadn't ad a drop of any beverage that might cause this type of hallucination.) I would've stopped and taken a picture, but we were running late. I did find one online, so here it is, The Pink Martini Drinking Elephant of Fortville, Indiana:

I gotta say I admire the sense of humor of whoever put the statue there! It's in front of (you guessed it) yet another liquor store!! (I especially like the geek glasses!)

I hear there's a Paul Bunyan statue in Muncie, I'll have to to check it out.

One brick at a time

2009-06-22T08:22:00.000-07:00

Today is rainy and dreary. At least the temperature's a little cooler.

Yesterday most of Steve's family was here for Father's Day. We cooked out and played Hillbilly Golf and Corn Hole. Our niece and her husband and sister didn't make it. She got nailed in the face with a line drive when she was pitching for some softball league they're in. It was pretty serious, but could have been much worse. It appears that nothing is actually broken in her face, but she's getting her teeth checked today, she had to have some stitches and couldn't eat solid foods for a day or 2. I hope she's doing better and doesn't pitch anymore softball because this is her second incident, and few years ago our son had to have major surgery on one of his fingers when he was pitching and got hit in the hand with a line drive. I told my niece that I've come to the conclusion that organized sports are of the devil! I've held this belief since I was a young (fat and un-athletic) child. These incidents only prove my instincts to be correct!

Today we got a little mowing in before the rain and then I was planning to start grinding the crap off of the bricks that I'm planning to use to build the salt kiln. They were used before in a gas kiln, and have a lot of crud on the edges that needs to come off. They should be smooth as possible so the kiln is tight and doesn't let a lot of heat out. But the weather deterred me from starting.

I feel like I've been putting off getting started on the kiln and I'm trying to figure out why, since it's really the main thing I want to focus on at this point in my life. I think part of it has been wanting to figure out what's the best location in regards to accessibility, but keeping in mind that the firings will produce some smoke, ash, and fumes that we may not want blowing directly over the house. After conducting some research online and emailing a few potters whose opinions I value, I think I've decided on the location.

But I think that's only been part of what's keeping me from digging into this project. Ok, another surface excuse has been that there's just so doggone much that needs to be done around here. There actually were some projects that I put a higher priority on than my salt kiln. But now things are somewhat squared away, we can at least live in the house and we've made it presentable for guests, so I'm at a point where it's time to kick ass and get this kiln built!

So today when I was mowing (I tend to do my major philosophizing on the lawn mower or when I'm shoveling horse manure, which I don't have the opportunity to do much these days.) So, while I was mowing, I was trying to figure out why I'm dragging my feet about this and I think it has to do with age and experience. I would bet that if I had been in this situation 10 years ago, I would be tackling this project with reckless abandon!! But now I know a little more than I did back then, I think that I know enough, to know how much I DON'T know about kilns and firing, and pottery and clay!! Am I making sense?

I feel like I've reached a major fork in the road of my development as a potter and while part of me is extremely excited about the opportunity, another part of me knows how much time and effort (and of course always the cold hard cash) is going to have to be invested in this venture. At 47, I think I'm just a little more aware of the effort and the possibility for failure. I know I've lamented this before, maybe I'm starting to sound like a tired old broken record.

I have a friend who's an artist (and may be one of the 2 people on the planet who is actually reading my blog!) He works full-time as a commercial artist and does his writing and painting in his spare time. A few months ago (in my former blog) I was whining about the difficulty I was experiencing in coming to a decision to buy all this pottery equipment in the first place. At that time I mentioned my "fear of failure" as one of the hurdles that was making the decision so difficult. Big shock, that hurdles back. We think we've cleared them, but they always seem to pop up again, don't they?

I guess that means it should get easier to just get on with it. My friend said that he tends to look at his "failures" more as "learning experiences." He says he feels like he experiences his greatest growth during these periods, and if he didn't take the risks, he wouldn't experience the growth. I know he's right. (It's probably where the term "growing PAINS" is partially derived!)

I guess as I get older though, it takes more umph! to get myself to take the risk!! It's a helluva lot easier to sit on my duff and pontificate about my options. (Kinda like I'm doing right now, perhaps?!)

It's also easier to look at other people's so-called "failures" as learning experiences. My friend told me about a personal experience that he had, where he considered himself to be a huge failure. I disagreed with his assessment. Without going into detail, I told him that if he had actually "succeeded" at what he was attempting, he would have failed greatly in another area of his life that probably had much more importance and significance, even if he was questioning it at the time.

It seems like life is typically a balancing act. We try to strike a balance between doing the things we need to do and the things we want to do. Sometimes they overlap, which can be both a blessing and a curse! Unfortunately I think that often society in general tends to get the priorities turned around. Society looks at a successful athlete, or scientist, or artist and admires them for their accomplishments. But society doesn't take into consideration whether or not that person's family life is in a shambles due to the amount of time they had to dedicate to their chosen profession. I'm sure there are hundreds, maybe thousands of "average" athletes, scientists, artists, etc., who could have neglected other obligations to put more time and effort into their profession, but instead decided to put that time and effort into their relationships and never achieve the fame they might have had, if they'd focused on their profession a little more. It seems unfortunate to me that we don't consider these people to be the true examples of success!

My friend says we're probably just rationalizing! He may be right. But sometimes I think it's almost easier to neglect the priorities that are typically considered mundane, like going to your kid's soccer game, or taking your spouse out for a date, or taking care of an aging parent. I believe that some people use their desired profession as an excuse to neglect doing the mundane chores that often drain us of the energy we need to do the things we consider fun. How many people who are considered to be a success at their profession have failed miserably at being a spouse, parent, son or daughter? It boils down to priorities.

So I guess all this is just my rationalization for why I'm not outside right now sanding the crud off those kiln bricks so I can start building that kiln. The sun has come out again, I've got no excuses. Well, I am waiting for Steve to get back with a handle for the disc sander. I could probably lose a finger or two using it without a handle and that's not very conducive to potting! But I'll get out there, I swear I will!

My goal is to have the kiln firing by the first of September. Yeah, I don't wanna push myself, do I? I figure that gives me time to pour the slab, clean the bricks, get it built, have propane piped out there , get the electric upgraded in the garage so I can fire the electric kiln, hopefully get water run out to the garage, get some pots thrown and bisque fired, and get my new shelves, get the kiln coated with ITC, build the kiln shed..............................OH MY GOSH!!! I'm not so sure about the first of September now!!! Ok, deep breath, one day at a time, one brick at a time.

I'm gonna go do something more productive now!!

Odds 'n Ends

2009-06-20T17:12:00.000-07:00

We are now officially "moved in." We finally have a mattress in the house so we don't have to sleep in the camper anymore!! And we even got a couple LazyBoys, but who has time to sit on their butt? Well, we do have a little down time!

Let's see, since my last blog we've made a little progress. The room we're going to use as our closet has carpet and storage shelves now. Here are the before and after pictures:

We put down some cheap berber, the cheapest we could find. The room was just a little too big to find a remnant. We were going to put it down ourselves, but the guy at the carpet store offered to install it for 65 bucks (first it was $75, when we hesitated he said $65, I talked Steve into letting them do it. He had some idea for coming up with a makeshift stretcher, sounded scary to me. Now, it's done!)

We got the shelf kit and corner piece at Lowe's. We're going to put a few more shelves in on the right, a storage bench under the window, and a make-up table to the right of the window.

We also found a nice old 8N tractor with a finish mower! We had been looking on Craig's List and we found this guy in Alexandria who had about 10 old tractors in various stages of restoration. His name's Clyde and he apparently loves anything with a gas engine, 'cos besides the tractors, he had 3 motorcycles, 3 late 60s model Camaros (one for each of his daughters and his own) a '70-something corvette, and countless lawnmowers, both riding and walk-behind. Everything was in pristine shape, including his garage, and he kept meticulous records on everything he owned. He gave us the logbook he kept on the tractor and he recorded every part he replaced, the date, and the cost, and everytime he started it up he would write the date and the outside temperature!! Talk about anal! But that means we got a tractor in really good shape. It was a little more than we planned on spending on an old 8N, but like Steve said, if we take care of it, it will easily retain its value, if not increase in value! So, we christened the tractor Clyde Jr. and Steve spent a few hours on Tuesday getting the yard mowed.

Here's Clyde on Jr. You can see one of his camaros in the garage, and if you look closely, you'll see the corvette is actually stored above it on this crazy hydraulic lift thing!!

And here's a shot of Steve and the long, long trail which is our driveway! That's our house looking teeny-tiny to the left of his head!! (click on the photo for a bigger view.)

Here's a close-up of him:

While Steve was picking up the tractor, Megan and Jaedon and I made freezer jam. Megan noticed a sign up the road for strawberries, so I went and picked some Tuesday morning. At first the guy who owned the place didn't seem to think I'd be able to find enough berries, it is getting to be a little late in the season. But he saw my dissappointment and told me I could try to find enough. There were actually plenty. And after I started picking, about half a dozen more people came out and picked too. The owner of the farm used to be the football coach at the high school in New Castle and this is what he's doing as his "retirement." One of the people picking tod me he had heart surgery at the beginning of the strawberry season, but it didn't appear to have slowed him down. No wonder he wasn't really in the mood to pick though!!

We made 2 batches of freezer jam, I had forgotten how easy it is to make (and how delicious!!) Between the jam and the new tractor and getting our chairs and mattress delivered, it was great day!!

Wednesday we went to the Optimist Breakfast, we're thinking about joining the group as a way to get to know people in the community. They're a really nice bunch of people. The Optimist is an organization that does things for kids. This was our 3rd meeting, so when they mentioned a volunteer opportunity I thought we should probably offer to help. So that's why we found ourselves waking up at the butt-crack o' dawn (as one of the optimists called it, which was actually 4:30 a.m.) so we could make pancakes to serve at a youth camp for "at-risk" kids that was sponsored by the Henry Co. Sheriff's Dept. It was fun, Steve and I both made pancakes, so of course it got a little competitive, to see who could make the best ones. Unfortunately, there were some problems with the batter, seriously! so the pancakes didn't brown very well and looked pretty anemic. But they tasted fine!!

We met our neighbor who lives at the other corner of our road. He stopped in to say hi. It looks like we've got 2 pretty good neighbors!! He talked to us for about an hour, filled us in on the local gossip that our other neighbor, Jeff, hadn't already told us about! He also gave us his phone number and said that since we're all kinda out in the middle of nowhere we watch out for each other and if we see anything strange, like a car going real slow, or someone we don't know pulls in, he said just give him a call. He said if I'm ever here alone and think someone's messing around, just call him, 'cos he "carries." (as in weaponry! Gotta love these Indiana boys.)

I got another definition of a Hoosier from one of the guys in the Optimist Club. He told me that a Hoosier's someone from Kentucky who didn't make it to Michigan!! (Wow, I think we have Hoosiers in Ohio too!!)

Tomorrow we're having a cook-out with Steve's family for Father's Day. We thought everybody was going to make it (except Danny's girlfriend, Ainsley, who had a wedding to attend.) But we were informed today that my neice in Cincinnait was injured in a softball game. She was pitching and got nailed in the face by a line drive! Several stitches and a swollon lip mean she's just going to take it easy at home tomorrow. The ironic part is she had almost exactly the same thing happen a couple years ago when she was playing intramural at Asbury. That time, the batter was her boyfriend (now husband.) He's swearing that he was playing short stop when today's incident occurred. But he does have a propensity to nail members of our family with softballs! A few years ago he hit a line drive at a game our son was pitching in, and shattered Danny's pinky. He had to have major surgery done in Louisville, and wore a strange contraption on it for several weeks hoping that he'd retain some mobility. I suggested they just lop it off, his dad told him that it would be cooler than a tattoo, but no one agreed with us.

So, anyways, we've been trying to get the house somewhat organized and I've been on a cleaning binge, 'cos the place has literally years of grime and filth!! I've been doing lots of vacuuming, mopping, and washing. It's a little better,
but still needs work.

Here's a picture of the stairway that I took from a weird angle. I kinda like how it looks......

Danny came up today and is spending the night tonight. We took him to the Wilbur Wright Birthplace Festival. We got there just as the skydivers (both of 'em) were jumping out of the plane, that was probably the most exciting event of the day. It was a little too breezy for the R/C guys to risk wrecking their 1/4 scale WWII replica model planes. One guy flew a helicoptor, but he hadn't been flying long, so it it was kinda boring. Then another guy flew a little "park model" corsair. It was fun to watch. And one of them flew an acrobatic kite.

Came home, had spaghetti and Danny and I played a little frisbee golf out in the field. It was my first time, but I did ok! Later this evening we saw a huge buck out in the field by the woods!!

So, now I do b'lieve I've caught my blog up for the week, and I'm going to hit the sack!!

Indiana Sunset

2009-06-13T19:22:00.000-07:00

We have a great view of the western sky from our back yard. We've been treated to some gorgeous sunsets, and I managed to capture one with my Kodak the other night.

It just kept getting more and more beautiful!!

Of course the camera just doesn't do it justice!

Projects Galore!

2009-06-09T17:08:00.000-07:00

There is no lack of projects to help us while away the time here! I already posted about tearing up carpet in three of the rooms. Now we've started to prepare the smallest room for carpeting. It's the only one we're planning to carpet. The floorboards were in pretty bad shape, they'd never had any kind of finish on them whatsoever. They reminded me of the floor at Bear's Mill!

They've had some water damage and are very un-level. We got online last night to try to figure out how to level them somewhat without using leveling compound. I read some posts about using old roofing shingles. We decided to give it a shot! Steve also wanted to get some shingles to do some roof repair. So, a trip to the local lumber yard ensued. When we asked about the shingles, we had a little discussion about the color of the existing shingles. There seemed to be some discrepency. So, a bet was made, a firm hand-shake was given, and all I'm going to say is that I'll be enjoying a steak dinner soon!! The lumberyard guys appeared mildly amuzed.

Steve spent quite awhile trying to figure out exactly how to utilize the shingles, but I think he did a decent job. We're both glad we're carpeting this room and not laying hardwood. Here are a few pics of our progress so far:

Here's a shot of the floor with the carpet ripped up and molding removed. It's pretty rough-looking!

This was our crude method for filling in the low spots without completely ruining the original floor boards.The 2x4 served as a level.

Next, we began cutting and screwing down the luan, a very thin plywood.

We finally got all the plywood screwed down.

Sunday we took down the swimming pool. It was an above-ground and we're not really pool-side kinda people. I tend to avoid wearing a bathing suit in public if at all possible. So a friend of ours expressed an interest and we told them they could have it if they promised not to cuss us later this summer when they're doing the daily cleaning and adding the umpteenth gallon of chlorine. The best way to have a pools is if it's your neighbors, we know 'cos when we lived next to Steve's mom and dad, they put a pool in. They also eventually filled it in!! They're one of those things you can't wait to get and can't wait to get rid of!

It took about 6 hours to drain it and several more to get it all torn down. Several green frogs were rendered homeless in the process. I wish I had thought about taking pictures while we were doing it. Especially when some of us were wading around in the slimy, green water!! But it didn't cross my mind 'til the next day, so the only picture I got is the "after" shot!

Saturday, we mowed.....and mowed......and mowed!! It took about 6 hours using the neighbor's Craftsmen riding mower. We definitely need to get a tractor and a bush hog/finish mower!! My back and shoulders won't take the abuse!

We also managed to drain and refill the hot tub. Now there's a body of water I can appreciate!! And I think I shall go and do that this very moment!! Before I'm completely devoured by mosquitoes!!

Random Observations

2009-06-03T19:05:00.000-07:00

Some observations about rural Indiana (from a former "Buckeye's" perspective):

Most of the hoosiers I've met so far have been very friendly and helpful.

I haven't met anyone yet who can explain to me exactly what a "hoosier" is.

The scenery, weather and terrain feel strangely familiar!

The nocturnal, forest-dwelling creatures make the loudest, creepiest chattering noises I've ever heard!

Even with the chattering forest creatures, this is one of the most peaceful places I could imagine!

If your car is designed to leave a small carbon footprint, it will probably be swallowed up by a pothole.

Most people will take you at your word, and expect you to do the same with them.

Coffee is not taken seriously enough.

Garage sales are taken too seriously.

Pizza King RULES!!

Starting a new chapter!

2009-06-02T13:12:00.000-07:00

I'm starting a new blog to commemorate the newest chapter of our life. It appears that our nomadic lifestyle has been put on hold and we're once again property owners. I've decided to blog about life as a wanna be potter and the adventures I'm sure we'll have on 18 acres living in a hundred year old house.

At the moment, we're living a kind of a double life. We have minimal furniture in the house while we make a few changes and updates, so we're sleeping in the camper. But we are using the kitchen and bathrooms in the house, so I've spent a lot of time carrying necessities from one place to the other!

We're living in a state of complete disarray for the moment and I've decided to just embrace it. I think I'm truly a slob at heart but mother-hood forced me to actually become somewhat organized! Now I'm just happy to delude myself into believing that I've achieved some level of organization.

The first day we were here, we both kinda walked around in a daze. We didn't know where to start or what to do first! Steve's not good at prioritizing or planning and I felt too overwhelmed to start! Now I'm starting to get a handle on things and I keep telling myself that we have all summer to get a lot of stuff done, so we need to pace ourselves.

The first project we tackled was tearing up the carpet in 3 downstairs rooms. The people we bought the house from had 2 dogs and they either didn't own a vacuum cleaner, or didn't know how to operate it!! The house reeked of old, dirty dogs!!! When we tore up the first room, it was disgusting the amount of stains and the piles of dirt and dust that had accumulated between the padding and the floor!! Here's what it looked like!! I wish it was possible to upload the smell, but I would hate to make my loyal readers gag!!!

After removing the carpet and padding, and vacuuming and mopping up the filth, we started removing the staples and the tacking that's used to hold the edges under the molding. That took several hours!! I'm not used to sitting on the floor for that long!! I wish we could figure out how to get the hot tub chemically balanced so we could use it without fear of slow cooking ourselves in a warm pool of bacteria!

I definitely feel a sense of accomplishment today though!! And we're relatively happy with the condition of the flooring underneath the carpet, at least in two of the rooms. It's painted a somewhat "poopie" shade of brown, but it actually goes rather well with the molding and the character of the house. (Not that the character of the house is "poopie," I'm mostly referring to color and style.) I think we're going to freshen the paint, and maybe do a contrasting border. I hope that once we get a large area rug and move our furniture in, it will be quite cozy and we will have saved thousands of dollars by not putting down new carpet or hardwood floors. I would LOVE to lay some gorgeous hardwood, but I'd rather live with this for now and see what transpires with our finances, the pottery business, and Steve's job search.

The house is actually in pretty decent shape and even though we could put endless amounts of money and sweat equity into it and make it quite a showcase, we're hoping to keep the costs down and make it livable and just a little more cohesive than it is right now.

And hopefully we'll leave ourselves enough time and money to be able to just enjoy the setting. Seems like we try to find this idyllic life and then we end up making it so complicated that we never have time to relax and enjoy it. So that's my goal, keep it simple!!

We'll see how it goes!