The first wave of the holiday season has passed over us like a tidal wave, and I hope you all found your high ground to weather it safely. Since I became a professional potter about 25 years ago, I stopped traveling outside the Bay Area for Thanksgiving. I need to gather my strength and hold myself together emotionally to withstand the onslaught of holiday orders. It's war, and I can't screw around with losing a day to travel or bad sleep or whatever. When I used to do craft shows, Thanksgiving weekends were spent in crowded event spaces, talking and smiling and hustling my wares for hours.
This year I have very few orders because my attention continues to be on Vallejo Clay and it will be like that for some time to come. When I make pottery these days, I only have enough time to just play and make a couple of things. I'm trying to use this time to let go of my creative habits and open myself up to new ways of making things and new work. To not be too attached to my style.
One thing I really love about running Vallejo Clay is it gives me freedom to explore clay as a beginner again. I want to be in tune with my students, many of whom never touched clay before taking a class with me. I make things I would previously never have the time to make, or stuff that doesn't fit in to my "style" or isn't the type of thing my clients are usually looking for. Like, sponge holders and toothbrush holders and soap dishes. These things take a surprising amount of attention to make them well-designed and functional, and it's fun thinking it through. I love coming up with one-off classes that will entice people into the studio, and trying out techniques that my students bring to me from instagram, and ordering supplies and tools that I've never tried before, for my students of course. I'm learning so much.
I ordered these "crayons" that are made for pottery from the UK earlier this fall. I saw another artist on instagram using them and was immediately intrigued. They give a crayon-like surface and also resist glaze, so it creates a matte texture in contrast to the shiny glaze.
I realized quickly that the clay surface needs to be completely smooth, so my porcelain clay body is perfect for these crayons. The color palette is limited-- I want more colors and what is available does not blend well. These are a new innovation and not widely available yet, and I had fun running an initial test round of these crayons on mugs, which I uploaded to my website. |
Speaking of uploading to my website, I have been adding new items to my online shop as they come out of the kiln. I am competing with my students for kiln space and so doing a big "pot drop" all at once does not work for me right now. BUT if you keep checking back or follow me on Instagram, you can catch the new stuff as it trickles oh-so-slowly out. |
I hope everyone is doing well out there, and holding it together the best they can.
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