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Crunch time
Dec. 8th, 2016 09:27 pmBeen a little while since I've posted anything here. It's crunch time in pottery world.
I normal tell people it takes me four to six weeks to turn around a firing: throwing, trimming, handles, bisque and glaze and load and fire the 50 cubic-foot car kiln.
This time of year? Three weeks, tops.
Christmas season is busy. I came back from Clayfolk with six or seven empty pottery boxes that were full at the start of the weekend. While I had stock waiting for me to sell at Holiday Market, it wasn't that much. I still need to fill and fire the kiln again to finish the season, not to mention fulfilling the dozen or so of special orders I've taken for Christmas.
So the Monday of Thanksgiving week we drove back from Talent. Tuesday found me in the studio throwing pie plates, teapots and stick butter dishes. Wednesday we sorted the van and set up at Holiday Market. Thanksgiving Day I was shuttling back and forth between kitchen and studio, assembling teapots and butter dishes and turkey and stuffing. Finished with the pottery around 5 pm, just in time to pull the turkey and make the gravy. (Denise mashes potatoes.)
Holiday Market is open Friday-Sunday Thanksgiving weekend. Two days of the three, I left Denise in charge of the booth while I went home to throw pots again.
The following week, also throwing, trimming, handles, rinse, repeat. I threw 75-125 lbs. of clay a day for five solid days, ending with firing a bisque Friday night. And back to Market.
This week I've been putting in 8-10 hour days down at Club Mud, glazing and decorating. As I post this Thursday night, I have 30 soup bowls left to glaze tomorrow morning, before I go down to the fairgrounds to load pots into our booth. This weekend's Market will be relaxing, in comparison.
And I'd better get rested. Monday, we load the big kiln, to fire Tuesday, three weeks to the day since I started this firing cycle.
This is as close to sloth as I get this time of year.
I normal tell people it takes me four to six weeks to turn around a firing: throwing, trimming, handles, bisque and glaze and load and fire the 50 cubic-foot car kiln.
This time of year? Three weeks, tops.
Christmas season is busy. I came back from Clayfolk with six or seven empty pottery boxes that were full at the start of the weekend. While I had stock waiting for me to sell at Holiday Market, it wasn't that much. I still need to fill and fire the kiln again to finish the season, not to mention fulfilling the dozen or so of special orders I've taken for Christmas.
So the Monday of Thanksgiving week we drove back from Talent. Tuesday found me in the studio throwing pie plates, teapots and stick butter dishes. Wednesday we sorted the van and set up at Holiday Market. Thanksgiving Day I was shuttling back and forth between kitchen and studio, assembling teapots and butter dishes and turkey and stuffing. Finished with the pottery around 5 pm, just in time to pull the turkey and make the gravy. (Denise mashes potatoes.)
Holiday Market is open Friday-Sunday Thanksgiving weekend. Two days of the three, I left Denise in charge of the booth while I went home to throw pots again.
The following week, also throwing, trimming, handles, rinse, repeat. I threw 75-125 lbs. of clay a day for five solid days, ending with firing a bisque Friday night. And back to Market.
This week I've been putting in 8-10 hour days down at Club Mud, glazing and decorating. As I post this Thursday night, I have 30 soup bowls left to glaze tomorrow morning, before I go down to the fairgrounds to load pots into our booth. This weekend's Market will be relaxing, in comparison.
And I'd better get rested. Monday, we load the big kiln, to fire Tuesday, three weeks to the day since I started this firing cycle.
This is as close to sloth as I get this time of year.
