It's a Process

Just a big ol' photo dump! You guys know the drill by now! 

OK, small explanation here. These guys are all for the Raku firings I do. They get a special type of glaze.

Homemade Raku kiln, below.

The guys above before the excess carbon was scrubbed off after I pulled them out of the post-firing reduction.

These cuties are scrubbed and ready to go! I may end up doing a "mug shot" shoot this weekend.

I actually had to stop before all the firings were done on Sunday, due to simple exhaustion. Multiple Raku firings in one day really take it out of me. But the results are delightful!

Open House Time!

Another year has whizzed by since my last open house, and I really just can't believe it! This is traditionally my last in-person sale of the year, and I know that this year, after this one, it will be time to catch up on long overdue commissions (still!) and start planning and designing for next year.

A couple of the folks from my hood came over to help me set up, which allowed me to get to bed at a decent hour!

After tonight's open house, whatever is left will get put into the ShellHawk's Creations Etsy shop.

  

See you soon, gang!

New in the Shop: Halloween!

For a limited time, I have some nifty Hallowe'en offerings in my ShelHawk's Creations shop, and will be adding more in the coming week!

My more traditional orange jacks will have Raku-fired friends, and some jack-o'-lantern head ghosts, too! I'll be adding goblets, bowls, candy dishes and possibly some Halloween-themed Christmas ornaments, so keep an eye out in the coming week or so!

I'll leave them in the shop for a little bit before I tuck them away for my Halloween and Vine show, but I wanted to give you an opportunity to possess my wares!

Click here to go shopping!

Sneak Peek

 From this weekend's Obvara and Raku firings...

Annual Mug Shot

Hurried annual mug shot, which doesn't include the ones which sold at Scare LA.

Still pretty cool, though, even though I would have changed a few things...

A last Raku firing today, before the show, so there will be more! Mugs are cooling in the kiln, along with some shot glasses...

Yes. It's crazy around here! But it's the best season of all! :D

A New Fan

Last year, while I was seling my stuff at Apple Hill, a couple of ladies came in to ooh and aah over my Raku jacks. They each bought one, and I was delighted my jacks were going home with such nice folks. One of them signed up on my mailing list and promised to get in touch with me this year.

Later on, she told me about her friend's son's reactions to the jacks. He loved them from the first moment he saw them, and she promised him he'd get one for his birthday this year.

 That smile makes all the 18-hour days worth it.

I love being a potter!

New Offerings!

 New in the ShellHawk's Creations Etsy store! Hurry to get it in time for Hallowe'en!

Another Day, Another Raku Fired Jack-o'-Lantern

That's what jack-o'-lanterns look like when they're heated to 1850 degrees Fahrenheit.

The insanity continues. With fourteen hour days the norm, I'm getting things finished up and getting other things started. (I am completely freaked out that I haven't done my segment for Hauntcast, yet! That will get done over the weekend, I suspect...)

Cooling off after getting out of the post-firing reduction process. After they cool,
I scrub off the carbon left on the glaze with a kitchen scrub pad. 

I did manage to get a Raku firing done with Mr. ShellHawk's help, however. I'm actually pretty happy with the results.

I had to include some daylight shots so you could see how the crackle looks in better lighting.

 If these don't sell this weekend at Abel's, I'll put them in my Etsy store on Monday. As usual, the shop goes on vacation from today through Sunday night, so I don't sell the same item to two separate people.

Meanwhile, happy building, peeps!

A Few New Jacks

 I did a Raku firing with the help of a friend yesterday, and got these two out of the firing. I just posted them to my Etsy store!

 This guy, below, I fired in my electric kiln. I'm having fun with the skull-ish faces!

ShellHawk's Creations Etsy store.

New in the Shop

New copper jack-o'-lantern in my ShellHawk's Creations Etsy store. More will be added in weeks to come, so keep an eye out!


And remember, if you're a Hauntcast subscriber, you get a special 15% discount!

New Pumpkins on Etsy!

I only lost one pumpkin to thermal shock this time. The other three are now available in ShellHawk's Etsy store! Free shipping, too.

(Almost Spring) Cleaning



Josey supervises the Great Studio Cleanup 2011

This past weekend, I took some time away from my latest sculpture to clean out my studio space.



Lacking the cabinets I would dearly love to have, this is about as clean as it gets, for now. I can walk without tripping over debris. There's a minimal amount of clay dust, because I washed down and mopped the floor.



Why is that important? I plan to work with clay for a very long time, and the thought of developing silicosis is horrifying. It's an occupational hazard for potters and other folks who work in clay for long periods of time, so I am really conscious of maintaining a low clay dust level in my work space. Dog hair is another, less harmful, matter! ;o)

I managed to go through a bunch of the "mystery clay" I had inherited from the guy who sold me my ceramics setup. The various clays were rock-hard, and though I can reconstitute them by throwing them into buckets of water and re-wedging them, the fact is, I only have so much space to work with. Taking up more floor space with buckets is just not worth it!

The neat thing about going through the old clay was finding the ones I am willing to reconstitute, i.e., the ones with actual labels on them! I ran across a cone 10 porcelain, which is a great find. Maybe I'll get to that later this year.

Meanwhile, I started playing with some new pumpkin pots for the upcoming season. Thanks to my new teacher, whom I love and wish I had known about sooner, I am now able to make some very simple lidded forms. Here's a picture of the ones I threw Sunday, unfinished, of course. They have to dry a bit before I can trim them and carve the faces. These will be Raku jack-o'-lanterns, so start saving your pennies for when they go up on my Etsy store!

More studio adventures to share tomorrow! (And let's face it, if I post about the studio, you won't have to hear about The Great Puppy Saga of 2011! ;o))