Slightly Off Center

It may have been the fastest turnaround ever on a special order. Took the commission Saturday before last, at Market, for a set of four dessert plates in bee pattern. As it happens, I was nearly finished with a glaze run, all I had left to do were dinner and dessert plates. Loaded the kiln the following Thursday, fired on Monday, and unloaded five bee-utiful plates on the following Thursday (the extra goes into my booth stock).

Bee-hold!

Got the kiln opened Friday morning early--had to get finished before Denise's 3 pm ultrasound--has been having new pains in her left hamstring tendon that needed to get looked at. So I levered the kiln car out at about 8:30 am to find another lovely firing. Had a little bubble of oxidation mid-back, and of course some around the door at the bottom, but not enough to affect the gallery order nor the eight-place table setting.

Not entirely sure what temperature we reached; definitely hit cone 9 at the bottom peep, but the cone 11 in the top cone pack cracked somehow, with the top sticking to the cone 10. Which means the 10 was prevented from bending normally, and although the tip never touched down, we could have been anywhere between 9-1/2 and 10-1/2. Pots at the very top didn't show much sign of glaze running or image blurring, so I think I called it about right.

Tea was glazing for his Showcase fire, so every flat surface and ware board in the studio was full up except for the table by the kiln. We had to pause unloading periodically to sort and box pots, clearing off the table, but we were still down to the empty bowls layer before 11 am. Took a few pics of my special orders, but mostly concentrated on getting them out of the kiln.


Annie came in to help unload the empty bowls, so she wrapped and boxed while I unloaded and sanded bottoms. As a result, we finished unloading the entire kiln by noon, cleared out of the room by 12:30 so Tea could come in and continue glazing. Got some really nice results, even got a successful copper red bowl--an incredibly fussy glaze-- by Don Clarke, and some nice dip'n'splash pots from Jon, Johnny and Tori.


Got everything sorted and organized so I was able to deliver the plate set on Sunday, pack and ship three orders Monday after lunch, and then deliver 170 Empty Bowls to Food for Lane County later in the afternoon. Tomorrow, I drive up to Olympic to deliver my thousand-dollar gallery order.

Had a pretty successful firing, even top and bottom, very little oxidation, mostly on the very bottom by the door. I had a little over-reduction up top, could ask for a little less brown, but over all, very successful. Here are some serving bowls, just out of the kiln.


And a few of the many special orders.

Yes, I know, I said I wouldn't make spoon rests again. It was a long-time customer, and she dropped her old one...

One of the many orders I had for last week's firing was a set of dessert plates featuring bee eaters--very brightly colored tropical birds from all over Africa and Asia. There are more than thirty species, so I had a wide range of possibilities to choose from. Here are the ones I picked.

I've been glazing steadily since Sunday, banks and mugs first, then, as they came out of the bisque, serving bowls, mugs, pie plates, dinner and dessert plates. Soup and toddler bowls remain for tomorrow; this is why I've shuttered my Saturday Market booth.

Last week's glaze fire came out beautifully, the second in a row with even heat at top and bottom, as well as very little oxidation. The thing both had in common was a full layer of four inch shelves, loaded with bowls, across the bottom of the car (I usually split the bottom layer, have higher items at the door, lower in back). Think I'll have to continue this practice, at least for another firing; I have twenty Empty Bowls that didn't fit into this kiln.

Last firing, the top ended up slightly hotter, by about half a cone. This time? The cones dropped in perfect unison, all the way from cone 4 to cone 10. Definitely saving these cone packs. Maybe I'll have them framed...

Got some beautiful results, including the special order white cat teapot and the blue heron pitcher. The kestrel large serving bowl is just for me. Think I'll take it down to my sale in Roseburg, end of June.

I never did post the results of my last firing, the one where I'd blown up a cone pack and had to fire by guesswork and firing logs?

It actually came out pretty well. I shut down the kiln with bottom cones at about cone 9-1/2, as the top usually fires a half cone hotter. In this case, I could have let it go on another 15 or 20 minutes, but in general, everything reached temperature. Very little oxidation, even around the door, just a little bubble about shoulder height in the back right corner. Even the cone pack explosion did less damage than it could have, as it blew most of the shrapnel toward the door, not the pots. I did lose two special order pieces, a bowl and a tall mug, but should be able to make up replacements in my December firing.

Side and top views of the stack:

A whole bunch of mugs:

Some dessert plates from a special order:

And a few more pics I took for the Clayfolk Instagram feed. Didn't have a proper backdrop, so I improvised using some slab-roller felts.

I'd ask where the last two weeks went, but I know exactly where--into the studio.

Clay Fest was spectacular, the place setting sale was not the last one. My total net was up over $1400 from last year, and I ran nearly out of so many things. So Monday after, I was up early and back in the studio throwing pots. Averaging 75-100 lbs. a day, soup bowls, tall mugs, stew mugs, colanders, batter bowls. Pushed through enough bisque firings to make up for the absolute slow-motion process of drying pots in fall in Oregon.

Started glazing on Saturday, missed Sunday due to an all-afternoon Clayfolk meeting, back again on Monday. Long days the rest of the week, and I finished glazing just before 6 pm the following Saturday. To load on Sunday, yesterday, for today's firing. Sometime later this week or early next, I start throwing again for Holiday Market (this batch will go to Medford for Clayfolk). Fortunately, I have a good half kiln's worth of pots leftover from this cycle.

Didn't get many pics while throwing, but I did remember to grab a few from glazing, mostly flat stuff: baking dishes, dinner pasta bowls. Also a few tall things, cookie jars and canisters.


(These four were part of a special order that includes matching stew mugs and dessert plates.)

This is how the wedding platter came out of the firing! Didn't get picked up Saturday, customer is in Michgan until Tuesday. Can't wait to see how he likes it.

First Saturday of summer, sunny, warm though not hot. Perfect time to go splash in the water somewhere!

Nope, still at Market.

This was the first weekend of the Olympic Track and Field Trials at Hayward field, so there was an influx of a) very fit young people in runner's leggings and b) much older people in branded track gear. All of them looking a little stunned at the variety and diversity of crafts at our little market. My neighbor, Mel, took to asking where people were visiting from. He got Atlanta, Kansas, bits of the east coast. I mostly got Southern California.

Which is actually an advantage, sales-wise. Most of them drove up, so were less worried about fitting a fragile purchase into their carry-on bag. I did have one lovely little bonding moment: a young track fan from Phillips, Wisconsin. It's a small town way up north, that I mostly know from listening to Simply Folk back in the old days. We talked about home, the Big Top Chautauqua, UW-Eau Claire, her alma mater, and Viterbo University, mine.

Had a couple of rush-job special orders pick up, a snail dinner plate and fox large covered casserole that got ordered between my first and make-up firing, with just enough time to wash the glaze off, dry the bisque, and dip and redecorate. I think that's the fastest I've ever turned around an order, one week flat. The snail plate buyer also placed an order for another piece, a soup bowl with ladybug. That one will take a little longer; I've only just started throwing again.

Meanwhile, I'm holding two paid-up orders, waiting to be picked up. One was from the newer firing, bound for Stillwater, Minnesota, if her kids remember to get it for her. The other... well, it's a long story.

About five weeks ago, a woman came in the booth just as I was finishing packing up, wanting to buy a painted mug to match the heron mug she found alongside the road (?). All the mugs were packed at that point, and it was threatening rain, so she said she'd come back the next week. She finally came back two weeks later, picked out an white chickadee mug and a brown heron, but asked if I had a better match for glaze color. As it happens, I knew I had two at home, figured at least one would match. So I took the bag home emailed her a pic and got her approval. She'd pick it up the next Saturday.

That was three weeks ago.

It's dueling schedules, mostly. She works swing shift, I seem to have meetings or kiln loading or firings on the days she's off work. She apparently lives somewhere up here on River Road, so wants to pick up at the studio. But she emails me her availability at the last minute, misses my replies, doesn't answer phone calls or texts. Thursday, I actually got a call from her cell number, but didn't answer my "Hello"s. I could hear her talking to someone else off-mike. I think she butt-dialed me.

I really hate holding other peoples' paid pots. If it's an unclaimed, unpaid order, I can always resell it. If its paid for, I can't do that. I just want to  finish the transaction, move on. And one time, they never did pick up. After a nearly a year, I finally gave the ferret-food bowl away to someone else. So I'll give another shot at connecting with her, before we leave for Roseburg later this week.

Favorite t-shirt of the day: a drawing of philosopher in a robe, with the quote, "Eh, good enough." Attributed to Mediocrates.

Sales were better than mediocre--not as good as last weekend, but only about a third less.