I Guess I Didn't Need to Pack...

Yesterday morning, I decided to take a quick detour on the way to work, to hit Starbucks. Iced white chocolate mocha, breakfast sammich, and a Puppaccino for Grace! Yum!When I got back to the car I saw I had missed a message and decided to play it while I gave Grace her treat.

It was a message from Laguna Clay: You kiln arrived and is on a truck to deliver by noon today!

Wow! Nothing like a little notice, huh? But hey, why complain when your hard work and sacrifice is getting delivered?

I was dancing like a little kid on an epic sugar high on Christmas morning!

And after the combined efforts of myself, my dad, and the kindest delivery man on the planet (which made the trials of Sisyphus look like a walk in the park), the kiln was in its place!

But there was a small wrinkle...

The socket for the kiln was upside down. I texted my electrician (also a standup guy who I would recommend to anyone who needed work done) and asked if I could just unscrew and flip the socket around. He said I could, and offered to come out and do it, which he did. For free. He also trimmed the bottom of the box, itself, to accommodate the giant square plug.

And then there was the glorious moment when the touch screen lit up! YAAAS! And the touch screen is made to tilt so you don't have to squat down to program it!

And there's a lid lifter! It helps lift the lid so it's not too heavy for me to lift!

And I got the rolling stand with an adaptor for the downdraft exhaust vent system.

So today I get to finish prepping it for the first test firing. Vacuuming out the inside and especially the kiln elements, finishing the exhaust vent setup, putting kiln wash on the new shelves... It's going to be a busy day!

But man, what a triumph!

Finally Friday

It's been a busy week here at the nest. West Coast Haunters Convention started yesterday, and I donated a jack-o'-lantern to the auction they're doing for the charity for which the convention is held: The Oregon School for the Deaf.

Of course, since I couldn't make it because of my foot, a heavy production schedule and a heavy travel schedule, Chris Ape had to go, too! His friends at Davis Graveyard had invited him and offered to host him, so he went along with the jack-o'-lantern.

I have to admit to being wicked jealous of Ape. He got to go to the Rocky Horror Picture Show with the crew from the Davis Graveyard, and I didn't!

Ape being protected from the rain during the show...

Afterward, he hit Bar 13 with the gang, and apparently was doing a little bartending for them. If I were them, I'd be a bit concerned about the Rufalin factor...

Meanwhile, back at the home front, our friends at Oak Park Brewing Company are working hard at the construction of the interior space! They got an inspection out of the way this week, and are ready  to pour concrete where the brewing tanks are going to go. 

 I was busy at work at the Most Expensive Craft Table in the World, underglazing greenware to go into a bisque firing.

 I started a kiln load of decals to test them out and see how they'd look. I get to open the kiln tomorrow and find out!

 And the bittersweet moment of my dreams realized, then crushed, again, happened yesterday.

 The new kiln arrived! Hooray!

New kiln base with my little workhorse next to it.

Being assembled, piece by piece!

 The fully assembled kiln! Yay!

Then we turned it on. It worked... and then my breaker flipped. And I discovered one not-so-small fly in the ointment.

I don't have enough juice to run the thing. 

Totally my bad. I thought I heard we had a 60 amp breaker and the right wiring from the box to the garage, which are on opposite sides of the house from each other. That was not the case. So now, in order to use it, I have to get the wiring into the garage, which may cost another several thousand dollars I really don't have right now, since I got laid off in January and I'm still not able to work, yet.

Phooey.

All the stuff I had planned to get done for Scare LA and for Halloween and Vine? Distinct possibility I won't get it done. To say that I was "in a mood" yesterday is to make a massive understatement.

Oh, well. I'll figure out how to get this done. It's certainly not the end of the world!

A Little Help, Please

As you're all aware, my attempt at a new kiln was thwarted, and I was forced to re-sell it. The problem, of course, is that I'm still in need of a new kiln. The one I have is too small to do larger pieces, and I don't have a digital control, which would broaden my range of glazes and effects exponentially!

Well, I am nothing if not persistent (some call it stubborn, but I call it persistence!), and recently discovered that Intuit is having a $5000 giveaway for fifteen small businesses like mine. $5000 will not only cover a new kiln (helloooo, warranty!), but will cover the cost to install the new electrical for it, as well. 

I've submitted my wish here: http://bit.ly/Zpo8gp, so please, click on the link and vote for my wish. It means larger jacks at Hallowe'en for you, you know! :) 

If you can, please post about my wish everywhere you can think of to give me a boost in the votes. The "wish granting" begins on May 6th, so please, vote early! I'm not sure yet if it's a situation where you can vote more than once, but I'll get back to you on that. Update: Yes, you can vote once a day! So please do! :)

Thanks, you guys! I really appreciate your help!

The New Toy

Came in this weekend, thanks to the muscular efforts of Mr. ShellHawk and two great neighbors!

That's the stand to the side and left of the kiln. I'm going to need a stool to load this thing! On the up side, since I can now fire to approximately 2381°, there's a good chance I have a new venue to get rid of evidence when I need to... ;)

Oh, all the lovely things that will come from this!

I'm around 5' 5 1/2", to give you an idea of how tall this is. Mr. ShellHawk and crew said it weighed a ton! (It was only 300 pounds. What a whiner! lol)

Today I get to call an electrician for an estimate. I'm thinking of investing in a fainting couch, first, just in case...

Image via Scoop Web.

Like Sands Through the Hour Glass...

...so does the cash flow through my fingers.

Image via The Drum

Seriously. It's been an expensive week. 

A couple of weeks ago, I broke into the monies that the sale of my beloved Mighty Dodge and purchased a new camera. Our old DSLR was finally due for a replacement after nine years of faithful service. After weighing the pros and cons of spending the cash, I decided the upgrade was worth it. I could use the camera to take better pics of my pieces (after I got the hang of it, of course), so it made some financial sense.

Now, when you have only a very limited fund with which to work, you think very carefully about your spending. When you're part Swiss (and thus spring from a race of bankers) you turn your pennies over many times before spending them. I agonized over the purchase,  wondering if this was a valid expense. After all, I need a website, the ability to send out newsletters, and all manner of other things, not to mention it's time to upgrade my kiln. After all, that's why I sold the car in the first place. (Well, that and some serious nudging from a certain someone...)

So, the T3i arrived, and the book that will help me to decipher the intricacies of my new business tool. I went back to compiling my taxes.

Then the motherboard on my laptop fried. Completely. Irrevocably. Above all, expensively. And in the middle of doing taxes. When else? *sigh* The repair guy said it's a common thing in that brand and model, and when I thought about it, I had the first one replaced within a month of purchase of that laptop.

Research what would make a good replacement. Purchase new laptop. Lament the loss of funds. Suck it up and enjoy the new, larger screen. Use computer to search Craigslist for a new kiln while SATAs to USB cable is in transit so I can transfer the info from my hard drive to my new computer.

Whine at spouse about money going out, no kiln coming in. Spouse tells me to keep looking on Craigslist.

Find kiln. Wait! Find kiln?! WOO-HOO! 

The kiln on Craigslist is actually larger than this one...

Larger. Shiny. Nearly brand new! Only fired three or four times. Sells retail for $2779. Listed on Craigslist for $1500, which is the last of the money from the sale of the Dodge. (Inner cringe.) Look at stats: fires to cone 10 (that means it can go up to 2381 degrees! Cone 10 to ceramics folks...), is digitally controlled (that means I don't have to babysit it like I do my smaller kiln), has a venting system already attached. Simply everything I've been looking for, and is a good brand, too. That means I could do high fire stoneware... And larger pieces... And sculpture! Large sculpture!

I talk to Mr. ShellHawk about it, voicing my concerns that the cash from the sale of the car would be gone before I got the kiln I need. He agreed, and agreed to come with me and take a look at it.

The first impression that I had of it was that it was huge, especially in comparison to what I thought it was going to be. It's taller than what we use at Parks and Recreation, tall enough that I'd have to use a ladder to load it. It gives me concerns about my gimpy back.

We talked to Betty, the lady who's selling it, and got the lowdown on the unit, then went outside to talk it over. Mr. ShellHawk thought it was a good buy, even if it has to be set aside for a little bit while we decide where we're going to wire it. It takes 240 volts, and will need to be hard wired to the wall, and a voltage regulator put it.

Hyperventilation. Heart palpitations. Utter terror at not being able to pay the electric bill. More palpitations at the emptiness of my bank account...

I asked Mr. ShellHawk to do the negotiating. He did, and I have some money left over to buy some shelves for the kiln (which run at $30.00- $40.00 each), but not, unfortunately for the voltage regulator (which I'm told will cost me as much as the kiln) or the electrical wiring. For now, it seems, I will have a very expensive paperweight.

Mind you, I'm not complaining, exactly. I'm just really, really weird about spending large amounts of money in one go. I can blow $1500 in small amounts, over a period of time, no sweat. It's seeing it all go at once that gets the heart racing, even though it's a legitimate and logical business expense. 

It is time to grow, and this is just a growing pain.

But one day, I might, just might, be able to do work like this. Which is why I'm doing this crazy, expensive, time- and -money-sucking venture in which I will almost certainly never be rich.

Several people have suggested a Kickstarter project or something similar to pay for the electrical, but I'm hesitant. Others have suggested a donation in exchange for a piece from the first firings. Again, I'm hesitant. It seems a bit like begging, even though there would be a tangible object in the hands of the benefactor at the end of things. I just don't know that it feels right.

I welcome thoughts and comments on this one.