The Texas Clay Festival

This weekend was the Texas Clay Festival in Gruene, Texas, and it was lots of fun! Unfortionately I didn't make it down until Sunday, and while there were still plenty of pots, they were out of my sized t-shirts :( I had fun looking around at everything and hanging out with Ryan, Chris, and Keith, and meeting plenty of new people (and dogs).

I got a couple of pots, first a nice little mug by Frank Campbell and Barbara Buell. I was really tempted by a small vase with octopi carved on it, but I decided I'd rather get a few smaller items and went with these little lizard guys :)

Then I fell in love with this teapot by Randy Brodnax, and ended up using the rest of my pottery allowance on it anyways. But this fishy teapot was worth it!

In other news, I will hopefully get all of my almost finished pieces fired this weekend! Last week Ryan didn't have room for it, but he said he should get it in this time, so that's super exciting! Expect a long post with pictures of those guys. I should be doing some more throwing sometime soon, I've just been working around my regular work schedule and dealing with this lower back problem, but I hope to get some more stuff finished before EAST.

Teapot carved

I got the one teapot carved :)  I am pretty happy with it, but I'm still not sure if carving the lid was a good idea.  I thought it would bring the whole piece together, but now I feel like it may have looked better plain.  We will see, its always hard to really tell how much I like it until its completely fired. 

Speaking of which, Ryan is firing tomorrow, and I'm hoping to get a lot of stuff in this one!  I have a lot of pieces that have been sitting around in the studio for a long time, and it will be great to get them done, if only to get some more shelf space.  Also, I will be going up to Southwestern University (my school up in Georgetown,Tx) for a show that Patrick Veerkamp (my old professor) is organizing a long with Chris Campbell.  It should be fun, and I am hoping to take my finished pieces up to campus to get some pictures of them with their lighting equiptment.

On a less happy note, I was very stupid and forgot to completely cover the little round teapot with the over-the-top handle.  It only went one day, but the handle was pretty cracked around the joining.  It was still not completely dry, so I jammed some wet clay into the cracks and spritzed down the whole teapot, and I am crossing my fingers.  Each time I check on it its had hairline cracks, though not nearly so big as the original ones.  I'm continuing to smear the clay together and spritz it, so I have high hopes that it will make it through the bisque when its dry.  >_<

And Afshans sister was in town with her adorable little dog, Sammy.  Sammy is the fluffiest dog ever, and looks hilarious when he is all wet.  We took him down to the greenbelt, and he was afraid of the water at first, but he eventually got in and had a blast fetching tennis balls.

Teapots assembled

This weekend I finally got all the teapots assembled!  I always forget how long it takes me to get everything pulled, thrown, and assembled :P  I think this one is my favorite so far; even though they are a royal pain to make, I love the way over-the-top handles look!

This little guy is the one I plan on carving in some manner.  I will try not to just make stripes :P

The following two I had to re-do :P  I made the spouts, wasnt sure I was happy with them, then looking at the pictures later that night I realized I really hated them.  So I went in the next day and fixed them up a bit.  The original spouts were just too big for the pots, and made them look really unbalanced.  I am  much happier with the final result.

This one ended up being so tall it should be interesting to see what it looks like with a wicker handle.

This is a special treat for any readers out there, you get to know a secret no one else does!  For a couple years, whenever I make a teapot, I write a little something under the spout, usually 'Bless this Teapot."  I am not particularly religious, but I have always associated tea and teapots especially with comfort and saftey, and I just like the idea of putting a blessing on a teapot :)  It's my little secret, and no one else will know unless they break their teapot :P

Birthday Kitty loves to sleep in places she probably shouldn't sleep.  I broke the mug of Patrick's that I had, and he offered to let me have one of the ones he sent down for Art of the Pot.  After I picked one out, Kitty decided the box with the other two cups would make a great bed, and clearly ceramic cups are comfy pillows :P

Teapots!

I decided to make some more teapots, as I have had a couple people possibly interested in some, and the only two I have right now are really fancy and carved and more expensive.  So I threw a few pots the other day, of various sizes and shapes, and I plan maybe leaving one plain, painting two, and carving one fairly simply.   I will probably carve the cylindrical one, since it will be the easiest to do.  I'm just waiting for these guys to dry a bit, then I will put them all together!

And my adorable kitty sleeping in the sun.  I am so jealous of her; how great would it be to sleep all day.  The worst thing that ever happens to her is getting fed late, or getting stuck outside for a little longer than she likes.