Halloween and Vine

I simply can. NOT. Believe. Halloween and Vine is this coming Saturday!

I always wish for an extra week before a big show like this, I have to admit! I've been working hard--you know me, right? Work really hard, then crash and do nothing, work really hard and then crash again. It seems it's just the way of the artist!

But anyway, the kiln is cooling from a bisque firing of a bunch of jack-o'-lanterns for Raku firing (It's at just a little over 770 degrees right now). I put them in still damp and set my new, super-spiffy kiln for a five-hour pre-heat and a slow cone 04 bisque, and am crossing my fingers that all my jacks will be OK! If so, tomorrow is Raku firing day!



As an aside, I started numbering my jack-o'-lanterns this year, so I could keep better track of them on my inventory list. The last Raku jack I carved on Sunday was number fifty! That's the most I have ever made in one season! And I'll be making more after the show to put online and for my annual Open House, which will be on October 18th (after the Wisconsin Badgers game, so Mr. ShellHawk can watch his beloved Badgers in peace!).

I have a load of "Boo!" cups and shot glasses which hopefully will be getting into the kiln tonight, so I really have my work cut out for me. Thankfully, I have great friends who have been helping me out with entering things into my inventory list and into my GoPayment log.

By the way, are there any artists out there who do art fair type sales? Because I'm looking for a more efficient system for my inventory which still allows me to take credit cards. The system Microsoft came up with has been universally panned, and is also $1000! Why would I spend $1000 on a crappy point of sale system? Call me crazy, but it sounds like a waste of money.

I'm just at that awkward in-between stage where I don't quite need a larger point of sale system, but the old system I devised is not as efficient as it could be!

Anyway, if you're local-ish to Petaluma, California, come on out to Halloween and Vine on Saturday! And if you're local-ish to Folsom, California and would like to come out to my Open House, please send your name and email address to shellhawksnest (at) ya hoo dot calm (Misspelling is intentional to beat the robots. I'm sure you can figure it out!), so I can add you to my mailing list. You'll get a notice a few days before the Open House.

Can't wait to see you Saturday!