I hope that will help someone out.  I really need to mix up a new full bucket of slip soon.  I hate mixing slips and glazes in winter.  I don't have indoor water in the studio so it makes for cold work.

More later I hope.

This jar went up in the Etsy shop this morning.  I need to make some more animal pots.  Over the years I've had dogs, cats, goats, turtles, and rabbits.  

Yesterday I learned that I could be considered for an adjunct teaching position at a nearby community college.  It's a new program and would be two days a week in the ceramics studio.  I don't know the pay yet.

This is causing me stress because I have really grown accustomed to being my own boss, making my own hours, and answering only to myself.  I do love to teach and I get a lot back from the students.  It can be a place of good opportunity and growth as well as some financial stability.  It can also cut into my time that I desire to travel, go to workshops during the school year, and other things that may come up that I just decide to do.  I was so happy when I quit my day job years ago.  Being a potter is really all I want to do. 

Over the past 3 years I've been offered the instructor position for a continuing ed. class at a nearby college and also to take over a semester for someone going on Sabbatical.  I didn't take either job.  

I guess I feel like I need to be doing more.  More making, selling, bringing in more income.  My desire is really to continue be my own boss.  But within that I would like to put myself out there more and create more opportunities to do what I want.

This includes:  

Teaching one or two day workshops around the county.
Teaching a class about Etsy.  Setting up a shop and how to sell.  (I'm actually going to be doing this soon)
Getting some more wholesale accounts.
Growing my Home Sales.
Selling more online.
Having a salt kiln firing workshop here at the studio (I did this once last year and it was great).
Get invited to teach at a craft school such as Penland, Arrowmont, etc.
Get invited to be a guest potter at one of the big Pottery Tours in the nation.

So those are all things I want to do.  I don't really want to teach in an academic setting.  The difficulty with the above list is that it's all up to me as my own boss to make them happen.  It's all work too.  But really I can do it all.  It's just I have to get on it!  I have to put it out there (like I just did).

It's really a list of goals.  Time to start meeting them.

Yesterday's lunch.  Homemade minestrone soup in a Robert Briscoe bowl.  Nice and warm on a cool day.

Making pizza dough to freeze for later use.

I am not going to create new videos to show the turning of the feet for the pots I made in yesterdays videos.  Instead I'll put up these videos from the past that show turning on a bowl and a plate.  It's the same technique I'd be doing if I made new videos.  Also I had someone ask what the underside of the plate looked like after throwing.  You can see that in the Cutting a Foot on the Plate video right at the beginning before I start cutting.

I want to say that I think the feet of pots are very important.  Just like the rest of the pot.  Many folks view them as an after thought or trim clay away just to remove weight from the pot.  Think of the foot as another opportunity to make an expression.  I think the foot should have some harmony with the rest of the pot but that's not a hard and fast rule.  Just like handles, there are many variations of ways to make a foot.  Look at historical pots as well as contemporary pots to find what you like and see if you can incorporate it in your work.

There are over 150 videos of mine on my YouTube Channel. I hope you'll visit by clicking HERE.  You can Subscribe while you are there and be kept up to date on any videos that may get uploaded in the future.

Thanks to Troy Bungart for the great ribs.  These are going to last me years and get lots of use.  You can visit Troy's Online Shop by clicking HERE.

And read Troy's Blog by clicking HERE.

Just going back out now to load a glaze kiln.  Thanks for stopping by. Let me know if you have any questions.

I don't feel like I've done an 'early in the day' post in a while.  Heck, it seems like I used to blog morning, noon and night.  I miss putting things out here, but for the past year or so I've felt like I've said it all before and I worry that it's just boring or pics of pots in progress.  I'm sure I've picked up some new readers so hopefully what I do here is helpful or interesting to some.  Maybe I should just not even worry about that and just write like this blog is for me and let it go from there.  In a way that's how I am as a potter.  I make the pots I want to make and then I hope that someone else will like them enough to want to take them home and have a relationship with them.

Which is a good segue to these photos that my pal Bill in Georgia put up on his FB page today.

It was neat seeing this old salt glazed jar of mine.  It brought back some sweet memories of my early days with that kiln and the simple pots that I was making.   Bill says he keeps his keys and change in it.

Another salt glazed cup that he keeps in the bathroom.

It's neat to see these two spoonrests there on Bill's stovetop along with his vintage salt and pepper shakers.  

I didn't get too much work done yesterday like I had planned.  I started feeling a bit of a head cold coming on.  I did manage to get enough pots decorated to load and fire off a small bisque load.  I'm off to the studio now and I'll get a video shot and then hopefully get some glazing a decorating done.  

So more than likely you'll get an 'evening post' later today.  So come on back.  Have a good day everyone.

I had a fun visit with Amy and Jen last night.  We each brought a few pots to discuss.  I got some good feedback on composition on my deco and how to incorporate elements onto certain forms.

Here's the lastest box I've made

This is really a Michael Simon pot shape.  Michael's Persian Jars are pretty iconic and I don't see me working this into my lineup.  Michael threw both the body and lid of his jars.  I've handbuilt the whole pot.  The lid was made from a very thick slab that I carved out.

I'll be holing up in my studio today to get started drawing on a group of pots.  I'm looking forward to it.  I'll try and get a video shot of the new ribs in action too.  It may be tomorrow before that gets uploaded so check back in.  Thanks!

First. A video from yesterday.  Enjoy.  

Kyle Carpenter turned me on to Troy Bungart a while back.  Kyle had gotten Troy to make some ribs for him and I really liked them so I contacted Troy to see if he could make a bowl and plate rib to my specs.  I sent him the profiles and received these two beauties in the mail yesterday.  Troy has many interests, pottery and woodworking are just two.  You can read his blog HERE to learn more.

These ribs are quite a bit thicker and larger than most.  I was introduced to these type of ribs by Will Ruggles and Douglass Rankin.  I've had a bowl rib or two over the years but none this nice.  I had traced the profile of Will's plate rib (the lower image is the plate rib) years ago so it's nice to finally get one.  I'll be putting these to use in the next day or so.  I'll shoot a video when I do.  

I've gotten the wholesale order I received last week all thrown and slipped.  I hope to get some decorating started tomorrow.  This past week was pretty busy.  My foot is feeling much better thanks to the night splint, insoles and drugs.  I went to yoga twice last week.  I'm really trying to go at least twice.  It's good when I do.  I've also started keeping food journal and lifting some weights during the week.  I know I haven't talked about any of this, but I'm trying to take better care of myself.  We'll see how that goes and maybe I'll write more on that later.

Sarah and I started on our taxes today. That's enough said about that.

I went to see my therapist last week.  I didn't come home and want to spin around in my chair this time though.  We talked about some of my family issues, which come up for me often and which I have explored in various ways over the past 10 years or so.  Progress seems slow in this area of my brain/heart/soul.   Anyhow, it's good to look at it.

So that's all I've got for now.  I'm excited that I am getting to spend some time with my pottery pals Amy Sanders and Jen Mecca this evening.  We are going to have a 'pot on the spot' (critique) party w. pizza and booze.  

Well that's it. A bit of a hodge podge and maybe more than you wanted to know but it's good to get a post up and hopefully I'll get another up soon.  It seems folks are coming by to visit this new site.  I have been checking my stats.  Not too many commentors though.  Which is fine too.  Maybe it would be just as well to disable them.  I have sort of fallen out of leaving many comments for others as well.  

So, see ya next time.

Hopefully it will stay in one piece with no cracking at the seams.  I did hollow out those runners a little.

Also got a good start on the wholesale order I took yesterday.  I'll throw the remaining 14 pieces tomorrow.  I already had a couple of the pots on the shelves so that helped out some.

I hope you all have had a nice Valentine's Day, if you celebrate that or whatever.  I am heading to yoga tonight, Sarah is teaching and then we'll probably have dinner in town.  We had our Valentine's Dinner over the weekend so tonight could just be tacos for all I know. No matter what it will nice to share with my Sweet Wife.

Thanks for checking in.  

Well, today I made my first ever trip to the podiatrist. I hurt my foot skateboarding back in October and it's not gotten any better.  I thought it was just a bruised heel at first but after about 4 weeks and no improvement I felt like it was something else. Yes, it's taken me this long to talk myself into going to the doctor!  I know, already.

So I have plantar fasciitis in my left foot.  I got an X-ray, a cortisone shot, he prescribed some anti-inflamatory pills, hooked me up with some inserts for my shoes and gave me a nicemint to wear at night.  The joys of aging.  Hopefully, this all will really help me.  I've told Sarah over and over that I don't want to be a 'hobbler' in my old age.  

I'm off to a little better start this week in the studio.  Today I got a really great wholesale order and I will get started on it tomorrow.  I'm still working on ideas for boxes.  This video shows the assembled box from the last video, plus a new slab built that I made today.  It's a pretty cool shape, like a house.  I promise I didn't rip Tracey off on this.  (I ripped off someone else!!)

Here's the link to the Ceramic Arts Daily site. Where you can find the image for the divider.

Or if you want you can use this image below which I have changed the contrast on so that it shows up better when printed.  (then numbers are hard to read after printing so you may have to refer to the original and write them in on your copy)

Okay, have fun!