Pics Before Saying Goodbye

I try to make time to take pictures of all my work, great or small ("Art" vs. "art" if you see my meaning), before it goes off to where it needs to go. So it is with The Halloween Tree plate.

I started this piece a couple of years ago, and had abandoned it a time or two due to time constraints. I dug it out again, this time because I was on a quest to get 'er done!

I can tell I had worked on this two separate times, as the black underglaze is two different colors. (I used two different brands/shades of black.)

A little more progress made...

 A pic of the plate with Joseph Mugnaini's original illustration for The Halloween Tree, pre-first firing. After it came out of that firing, I put several coats of clear glaze on it and re-fired it, hoping for the best!

The finished plate, fresh out of the kiln.

And a quick shot with my camera before I did the shots with the macro lens and the Canon 3Ti. And just to prove that within the same firing, not everything goes as planned:

One of the Christmas plates I was finishing up from last season split right down the middle during the glaze firing. No, it can't be repaired, as it also twisted and it doesn't match up any more.

Since posting the Halloween Tree plate on Facebook, a bunch of people want one, and I told them I couldn't make any more. Not only does it take a ton of time, but it was a one-off. I'd rather develop my own designs, as much as I love Mugnaini's. (There's also the whole copyright issue, which I don't even want to think about!)

Well, onwards to other things! The new kiln comes in this week, the screw comes out of my foot on Wednesday, and due to an alarming burned mark on the plug of my old kiln, I have to schedule an electrician to come in and test my line before my house burns down!

So Darn Busy!

I really have to share that this is the most inconvenient time to have gotten a job, although getting an actual regular paycheck is not inconvenient at all!

A couple of new cups with underglaze only.

Of course, you know that I'm prepping for a couple of shows right now, one with "normal ceramics and sculpture and one Hallowe'en-focused. So I'm up at 4:30 A.M. (yuck-o!) so I can guzzle some coffee and check my email, get into the studio around 5:00-ish, and start getting ready for work around 6:30. I come back home, have lunch around 2:00-ish, and either go back into the studio or sit down at The World's Most Expensive Glazing Table (as Mr. ShellHawk is fond of calling our dining table) and work there. It gives me a break from throwing and gets me out of the hottest part of the day.

In my defense, I work there so I can be in the same room with Mr. ShellHawk, who, for his part, is working on a very important and nearly incomprehensible, and most of all expensive project which will undoubtedly cause him to miss some personal commitments on his laptop. I mean, miss some personal commitments in the future. Not personal commitments on his laptop, which in this day and age, could mean some pretty weird things... He works on his laptop in the living room in front of the TV and next to the dining table... Oh, never mind!

You get the point...

 I've been working on some commissions, like the plate above. Below, I threw the cups, fired them, and started underglazing them once they dried enough. I did the bisque firing, put some clear glaze on them, and fired them again.

They'll be coming out of the glaze firing tonight or tomorrow, depending on how cool the kiln is. If I open it too soon, the glaze could start crazing..

 So here's the second layer of my small kiln as I was unpacking it yesterday morning. I am totally jonesing for a larger kiln like you wouldn't believe! This little one is just not handling the volume I can make, any more, but I'm not quite able to buy a new digital kiln, and I haven't found one on Craigslist. 

As Tom Petty said, the waiting is the hardest part!

Then, this:

It was the first time a plate I threw cracked. I'm pretty sure it's because of the shape of what I had stacked on it. Damn!

But oh, well. I can make another one!

Well, out to the studio, kids. Then on to work. Then home. Then...

Pain. Excruciating Pain.

Meet Gnorman. Gnorman the Skeletal Garden Gnome.
I've been working on Gnorman for nearly the entire semester in my beginning clay sculpture class.
Three to four days a week, six to seven hours a day, on average.
I showed Mr. ShellHawk pics of Gnorman before Gnorman went into the kiln to be fired. He looked at the pictures and said: "That's creepy. You're weird. But I love you." Life is good, right?

I went to school early today. It's the end of term and the last day of school is Monday, so I wanted to start glazing Gnorman so he'd be ready for the glaze firing on Friday.

I got up and got myself to school at 8:00a.m., two and a half hours before class started, as is my habit. When I got to school, the kiln was cooling down. A couple of other students were there, students who were in their sixth semester of the class and thus able to judge when to open the kiln without getting in trouble. It was still at 230 degrees, so we didn't open it. We waited a half hour, then propped it open about an inch and a half.

I couldn't resist. I looked in.

My heart sank. Gnorman was lying up against the side of the kiln. It was obvious that parts of him had exploded in the kiln.

It was agonizing, not being able to throw the kiln open and assess the full damage. It was hours of waiting. Then, the moment of truth came.

This is what was left of Gnorman.The only thing that survived was his hat, which I don't think I'll even bother glazing. My teacher was at meetings today, but she let me know not to pitch him as he may be able to be repaired. She hasn't seen him yet, and though she's the expert, I doubt I can repair him. There are cracks running the length of his body on the inside of the sculpture. Worst of all, he destroyed another student's sculpture when he exploded. So now, I feel guilty and terrible. This freakin' sucks.

I can't even begin to express my disappointment. This was essentially his third build, as I'd had problems both times I went away for an extended period of time. I have tentative plans to make another run at this concept, but honestly, I have projects for my haunt this year that I've put aside for school that I now urgently need to get started.

Where are the damn martinis?