This Week’s Sneak Peek

June 11, 2019 mud&stringLeave a comment

Here’s a look at a couple of projects I’ve been working on this past week………

I’ve added some high fire clay and glazes to my supply of low and mid fire glazes and such and am thoroughly enjoying playing around and experimenting with layering glazes. I think this little vase turned out really well, don’t you?

Miss Dixie got a shiny new bowl this past week, thanks to my glaze experiment. I had marked the new bowl in my head as a new bowl for her, then, when I pulled it out of the kiln, I had second thoughts because of how pretty it was. In the end, though, I stuck to my original plan, and Dixie has a new, pretty bowl.

Meals are serious business in Dixieworld!

The pretty vase will be added to ClayDreamsPottery by the end of this week, along with some other beauties still in progress that I think will be a hit so keep an eye out for these newbies.

Nothing happens unless first a dream. Carl Sandburg

Everything Else

Hoosier Facelift

June 2, 2019 mud&stringLeave a comment

I’ve been very neglectful this past week of just about everything while dismantling, cleaning, painting and reassembling this old hoosier cabinet –

I used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in the colors Henrietta on doors and drawers and Emile on the rest. Oh, and see those yucky brownish hinges? Those are the original hinges, I couldn’t find any new ones that fit. Those old hinges? That’s what color the whole thing was before the new paint job. Gross. This is my workspace and storage for my pottery.

After the cabinet was squared away I was able to think about clay again and finally ran a glaze kiln today. Here’s a first look –

Way too hot to get close, but they look like a success so far!

Be sure to look for these in my Etsy shop, ClayDreamsPottery!

My advice to you is not to inquire why or whither, but just enjoy your ice cream while it’s on your plate. Thornton Wilder

Everything Else

Lather Rinse Repeat/4 a.m. Is Better Than 2 a.m.

April 13, 2019 mud&stringLeave a comment

THURSDAY MORNING

So – it’s been a busy few weeks. I set up an Etsy shop, ClayDreamsPottery and have been putting a lot of hours writing and rewriting, tweaking and retweaking my shop stuff, working at getting more pots photographed and listed. This is much harder than it should be since I’m a bit technophobic, computer illiterate and way out of my comfort zone when I encounter something unfamiliar computer wise. I have to reinvent the wheel over and over again. I’m figuring it out slowly but surely.

Today, I’m running a full bisque kiln this morning, then tomorrow or Saturday go into a glazing frenzy, then finally run a glaze kiln. I guess one good thing about insomnia is that I can start all this 2 a.m.

I’m anxious to see how the spiny things turn out. I plan to stain them, fire them and then lace them back together with a thin leather thong. I hope it’s going to match the picture I’ve been carrying around in my head for a long time.

FYI – The spiny things behaved exactly how I’d hoped (for once)! The toothpicks burned away, leaving perfectly shaped holes for lacing them together later. I LOVE it when a plan comes together!

SATURDAY

Wow, I slept late this morning – til a whole 4 a.m.! If you guessed this week wasn’t exactly a good one sleepwise, in other ways it absolutely rocked. Let’s see. What happened this week? OK, got it.

Mr. Insomniac had cataract surgery on his right eye on Wednesday morning and is doing great! He is seeing better than he’s ever seen, 20/30 on the right about 24 hours after surgery.
I sold a pot in my Etsy shop, ClayDreamsPottery
I’ve had time to work on several knitting projects that have been languishing for what seems like forever. If I haven’t mentioned it before, I also have a knitting blog. You can check out this particular alter ego at http://iknead2knit.net.
Filled a pew at Mass last Sunday with nearly the entire fam, three grands, a son, a daughter in law that I love, my bestie, who happens to be dear d-i- l’s mother, me and Mr. Insomniac.
Successful glaze firing of pots to restock my Etsy shop. Shop update is tentatively scheduled for April 22.

I do not believe in a fate that falls on men however they act; but I do believe in a fate that falls on man unless they act. G. K. Chesterton