ER Visit & Kiln Openings, What do they have in common? ....ME!

This pottery journey has had so many ups, it's only fair that it has a down or two!

ER VISIT
When I say down I mean...down & out. As some of you know who watch the daily videos on youtube, I had a little ER visit & some down time. If you'd like to know exactly what happened, here's a link to the video (no sense rehashing it all in print form when you can just hear it from the horses mouth..wait..did I just call myself a horse ;)  http://www.youtube.com/user/hobbypotter?feature=mhum#p/u/10/K69brkn_MyI

So....what about 365 DAYS OF CLAY CUPS

That little incident set me back in cups, which caused me to re-structure my little 365 day project.

The original plan was to make a cup a day for 365 Days, this unfortunately hit a wall when I did :) Now, reaching that "specific" goal is no longer an option, yet I am still going to be making 365 Days worth of Clay Cups! In fact, I'm right back on the horse, catching up with my cups and approaching the project from a slightly different angle!

Making Time More Effective
I've rescheduled throwing, handles & glazing into a flow that works for both time & creativity..(creativity...something I felt I didn't have adequate time for before).  You won't notice much of a change with the vlog except slightly different intro's and throwing clips...but I am making my shop time more productive and this has been a big plus!

Kiln Openings - The Good ~ The Bad ~ And the Stuck!
Note to self...kiln wash is like deodorant, you gotta use it for it to work!
For the most part it was a successful kiln opening. I was able to get a good test on some glazes that I'd had in buckets and couldn't recall what they looked like...it was almost like a grab bag! It was real pleasing to see the colors that came from these buckets, the down side was I didn't realize how much they would run. I waxed the bottoms of the cups, but it just wasn't enough to hold back the flow. Live & Learn!

Here's the Kiln Opening Video



Photo Gallery Updated with Before & After Pics. 
http://hobbypotter.com/365-gallery.html

That's it for today! If you have any suggestions for me I'd sure appreciated hearing from you....Thanks so much!!

What's Happening in My Pottery Studio! UPDATE

Hi Everyone! It's been a long time since posting to the blog...where was I in February? Instead of going back and retracing my steps, I'm just going to start fresh with random thoughts and future plans. Of course this blog is also going to be my place to post reminders to myself :) 

Cup #49 "Into The Woods"

1st thought...What am I going to do with all these cups? !
For some reason when I started the project I didn't fully imagine how much space 365 Cups would need. Now that I"m only about 1/5 of my way through the year, space and storage is becoming more of a visible necessity and reality. I'm also wondering what I want to do with the cups when the project is over..hmm. Before the project began, a friend of mine brought up the idea of using the completed cups as an exhibit in her gallery for 2012. Sounds exciting...we'll have to see :)


How Much Clay Have I Used
I'm so thankful I've been logging how much clay was used for each cup! I didn't calculate the crash and burns, just the weight of the clay before I threw each cup.
Here are the current stats:
 - January 2011 -   31 lbs.  4 oz. ( Days/Cups 1-31)
 - February 2011-  23 lbs.  4 oz. ( Days/Cups 32-59)
  Total to Date:   54 lbs.  8 oz 


How Should I Keep Funding My Little Project? 
I've been tossing the idea back and forth about selling some of the other cups I make that don't get into the 365 Day project. To be quite honest, I DIDN'T want to make pottery into a production type business because the whole reason I started working with clay was for relaxation...you know, a hobby... (like I need another business right now...just sayin' ;)!


At the same time I can't ignore the fact that my hobby DOES cost my family money...yes, this is for my own personal entertainment. (Okay, can you tell I'm feeling a little guilty about it?)
So....I've just been pondering the idea of funding this "little project" by selling a small amount of the overflow cups/bowls/whatever on etsy.com. If I do this, it could help buy my next bag of clay or maybe even some high fire glaze ingredients (that's right folks...I want to become a chemist and mix my own glazes...she rubs her hands together with an evil scientist laugh!).


I'm thinking to earn some money from what I make could ease the guilty conscience a little...then again, I'll be making myself another time intensive project (taking pictures, listing online,  packing, shipping )....then again it could ease my guilty conscience ... What to do, what to do? Like I said, I'm just pondering this idea and am still undecided.


Pit Firing
Time to get things ready for a pit firing! 


Well, that's all I have time to jot down for now! Here are some updates you may or may not be aware of:
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Cups to Date Photo Gallery (unglazed):
http://www.hobbypotter.com/365-gallery.html
(haven't figured out how to organize the glazed pictures yet...see those on Facebook)


YouTube Hobby Potter Channel of Daily Vlog/Videos:
http://www.youtube.com/user/hobbypotter?feature=mhum


Friend Me on Facebook to see Daily Updates:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001569625633
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Today's YouTube Video - Day #61