Studio Update: Week of 9/11/23

The agenda for this week included glazing work to load into a bisque by Friday. I had a couple small wet things to finish up at the beginning of the week and I loaded a bisque on Monday. By Wednesday that kiln was ready to unload and I got to work with glazing. It's funny because glazing used to be my least favorite part of the process. It felt messy, uncontrollable, and was always the part of the process that either went wrong or didn't turn out the way I wanted it to. I think I don't like dipping glazes. This last year I did a lot of work on finding the right glazes to use, and figuring out the right application process. I am really happy now with painting on a clear glaze where it's needed, and then using a slip trailer to add colored glaze embellishments. This feels more in line with my artistic practice that dipping glazes ever did as it feels like I have more control over the outcome. It also feels more like another step of decoration rather than a seal to a finished product, if that makes sense. Anywho.. This week came with a lot of personal hurdles and by Wednesday I was so ready to get into the studio, unload the bisque, and glaze a bunch of pieces that say "gaslight" and "boundaries are cool". Add Ashnikko's new album to the mix and it was almost better than therapy!!! This week also came with a lot of really sweet moments to connect with my studio mates. Tuesday night we helped Gh move some of his really large pots and ended up eating crumbl cookies on the loading doc and sharing some laughs. My dog also got a new cone, which looks like a donut, and it has been uplifting my mood for the past two days. He looks ridiculous.

Image 1: Some new plate ideas inspired by a conversation with our resident artist, Sarah Zimmerman. Clay Body Positivity is important too!!!!!

Image 2: My dog in his new cone

Image 3: two little cortado cups ready to be glazed