Mudd Puppy Pottery

We Concord Boston!

2011-08-01T10:28:00.000-07:00

And no, that wasn't a spelling error - if you pronounce "Concord" like a Bostonian, then you'll get the pun!

So two Thursdays ago I got up at 3:30 AM to start off for the "worst city to drive in" about an 8 hour drive without stops. Picked up two wonderful friends who were kind enough to go with me so I didn't get lost, didn't crash, and could sell my items with ease.

We made it to our hotel in Burlington without much problem. Burlington is only about 20 miles away from downtown Boston, where the DONA conference was. However, we couldn't check in until 3pm sharp, and by the time we freshened up a bit, it was already rush-hour traffic with cars baked up for miles.

What should have been a half hour's drive took us 1 and a half that first evening! Luckily for us, we ended up with a great spot at the show in part because of our lateness :)

Our "parking garage" that first night ended up being a back alley way where the guy parked the cars bumper to bumper and the fact that he kept our keys made one of my friends a tad n

ervous (turns out she doesn't like cities! - I'm so glad she was willing to go with me despite this!)

But all turned out well and we got set up and settled in. However, we knew there was no way we'd get to enjoy our free continental breakfast (eggs, Belgium waffles, etc.) the next two days since we'd need to leave before serving time in order to avoid the hour and a half drive into town again.

But day two went well. The figurines were well-loved, and I sold most of them that second day. After packing up, we enjoyed a dinner at the Cheesecake Factory at the Burlington Mall, after waiting half an hour for a table and then another hour before we were really eating. So we had half an hour to shop!

We hit up the bulk candy store for some lego-shaped candy, then I got a Shot Cake icecream cupcake, and had two minutes to shop in the LEGO store. Oh.My.Goodness. Lego heaven!! I so wanted to have time to look around, but alas, I ended up getting some keyshains for the boys and myself, and a deck of cards and some stickers. For the girls I picked up two fancy folding fans from a cute ethnic shop we perused while we waited for our table for dinner.

Much to our dismay, besides the mall closing at 9pm, our beloved hotel pool also closed by 9, due to a city ordinance, apparently. My two pregnant, tired friends REALLY missed the opportunity to go swimming.

But Saturday we still had to get up bright and early at 5AM for our last day in the harbor city. We did well in sales that day as well, and by the afternoon decided to take a tour of the city. We ended up wishing we had bought the tickets the day before as it turns out the tour was good for two days, and you could board and un-board as many times as you liked at any of 16 stops. It also included a free 45 minute boat ride and a museum admission, neither of which we had time for.

But we still enjoyed the tour of the city and got to see the first post office in the US, the balcony where the Declaration of Independence was read, and one of those city wading pools where little kids and adults alike were cooling off in the 108 degree weather.

But then it was back home, where we waited until we were off the toll road to eat because of the jacked-up prices. It was 10pm by then, so many places were closed for the evening. We were lucky to find a Pizza Hut open until 11, and then we got gas JUST before the place closed at midnight. Very fortunate for us, indeed!

I made it driving home until about 3:30 when I passed the wheel over, though I still stayed awak until we were home. By the time I pulled into my driveway, I'd been up for over 24 hours, and was quite exhausted!

But it was a great time, I made lots of new friends, and I really hope I can do it again!

While at the conference, I bought a little stuffed Lobster, whose tag says his name is, "Baby Rock." So I decided that he should accompany me on any trips I make with my ware, and when people ask me, "What's the Lobster for?" I'll reply, "I'm glad you asked....it all started in Boston!" At least it will be a conversation starter :)

So don't be surprised if you see photos of him in upcoming product pics!

As Long As You Need Me...

2011-02-27T20:07:00.002-08:00

Today, in the midst of being stressed about a messy house, spending money on supplies when I'm trying to MAKE money, and various other personal issues, I decided to finally make a piece which has been in heart my and on my mind for almost a year, now.

One of the biggest motivators for me to get into clay was my first daughter, Amber. For her first Father's Day present, we made Jim a gift of polymer clay handprints, and it was then that I realized I wanted to work in clay. It took a couple more years for me to realize it was ceramic clay instead of polymer clay, but that was the moment that spurred me to where I am now.

And she was a milestone for me in so many other ways, as well. She was not the calm, "happy" baby I had seen on TV or read about. She required either my hubby or me to carry her most of the day, bouncing and walking, and facing her outward. The rest of the time she nursed. I didn't know it at the time, but she led us into the idea of "Attachment Parenting".

Fast forward several years later, and as I sat in church one Sunday, my youngest daughter clung to me while the rest of her siblings, including her twin brother, left for Sunday School. For a second, I felt guilty, as if I was "spoiling" her (though I knew I wasn't, the feeling still crept in). But then as she wrapped her arms around me, I knew that being there for her in that moment was more important than trying to push her independence on her. I knew that for now, she just needed me to hold her - for a little bit longer. And I promised to her, and my other children, "I will hold you, for as long as you need me to."

And so this project is not just another sculpture to me. Like the pregnant couple, or the couple in labor, this piece has my heart all wrapped up in it. The words of my promise are inscribed on the bottom, and I hope they touch the heart of another mother who knows that this time with her children are short, and that holding them just a little longer if they need it, is something she will never regret.

I hope to make several pieces along this line - moments I've shared with my children, in time for Mother's Day. Here, then, is the first:

Fare for the Faire

2011-02-20T20:03:00.000-08:00

Today I had the privilege of opening the kiln after a high-firing. I haven't done as many of these due to the cost and length, so I'm always a little nervous as to the outcome...

Today it was a good opening :)

I was experimenting with some items to sell at the medieval faire in June this year, and here's the results!

Here are the dragon egg shakers after the smoke firing. I absolutely LOVE them! They have speckles, and swirls, and just some great contrasts on them.

And what goes better with dragon eggs than little dragons? These guys are adorable!

I hope to make several more of these by the time June rolls around.

And here are my skully mugs!

Another view of the back and handles.

Here are some castle mugs I made based on a recommendation from last year's faire.

In order to prevent dribbles through the gaps at the top of the castles,
I create spouts to funnel the liquid right to your mouth!

I also added a couple more items to my Etsy shop:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/63644792/pregnant-belly-sculpture

http://www.etsy.com/listing/63645552/spiral-belly-sculpture

http://www.etsy.com/listing/68536232/twin-mama-heart-pendant

Eggs, Eggs, and More Eggs!

2011-02-09T10:50:00.001-08:00

I ran out of my stoneware clay. I thought there was one more bag left, but it turned out to be my sculpture/raku clay instead. So with the little bit of smooth stoneware, I decided to delve into egg-making.

These are actually for the medieval faire. They aren't fired, yet, and I will be smoke-firing them for a blotchy/black/grey sort of look. Perfect for "Dragon Eggs"! As a bonus, they're actually shakers - or maracas.

If I find that enough people like the finished idea, I might try selling some on Etsy, as well. But for now I'm building up stock for the faire so I don't look at amateur-ish as I did last year!

Fresh From The Kiln

2011-01-24T11:04:00.000-08:00

Just a quick update to let you all know what I've been up to. It's less than 5 months until the annual Wild Rose Renaissance Faire!! I know that sounds like a lot of time, but when you don't have much time, and you want to build up a lot of inventory, 5 months is almost nothing! I spent the fall creating inventory for my Etsy shop, and that turned out so well that now I am behind on creating new items to replace the ones I've sold.However, it's now time to focus on this medieval event, and so I have begun by brainstorming ideas and narrowing them down, and then mostly making molds for the pieces I want to create.

Here are a few pics, and just a hint at what you'll be seeing from me soon!

Here's some molds and some whistles (unpainted), and some pendant designs...

These are molds, or else molds for molds...in other words, the positive image I'll be creating a mold from. Lots of hard work, to be sure...

Some pellets for ??? You'll just have to wait and see!

These little guys need some pupils and some glaze, but they've already stolen my heart!

Christmas Gifts & New Year's Items

2011-01-02T19:47:00.000-08:00

I had a really great Christmas and New Year's this year. The kids were a little bit older, understood a little bit more, and no one got sick. So overall you can't ask for more!

I also enjoyed making a few items for relatives. One of which was a set of cute elephant m

ugs. The first mug I ever made when I got my first bag of clay along with the kiln from ebay, was an elephant mug. But I like it so much better when the clay was blank and grey than after I painted it in a safari look. So I decided to try again with a grey look, and this time go a little whimsical with a face. I made a girl and a boy elephant, which I liked quite a bit, though the girl was much taller than the lad!

I also decided to play around with my colored porcelain. I have been wanting to make some bowls with it, as well as play around with some slip. So I did both. The only thing I didn't like was that the bowls were FAR from round, as I couldn't slump them as round as I'd wa

nted. But otherwise I think they're quite charming. I will say, however, that I have to get used to how much the porcelain shrinks. The bowls were MUCH larger before drying and firing!

Last were some family trees for the grandparents. The coloring was a tad too dark, so I got some glass enamel paint to use to try to bring out the type more. They both loved them, but I will make the rest with the lighter brown color...

And for the new year, I decided to make some Arkan Sonn eys.

Fatal Attractions

2010-12-24T06:57:00.001-08:00

I guess it was bound to happen sometime...well, maybe not. But it will guarantee it never happens again.

I'm not sure if it was coincidence, or a direct result of, or just a bad omen. But last night while firing the kiln, we heard something ceramic fall to the floor. My hubby asked if something blew up in the kiln if we would hear it. I replied that Yes, we would, but it would be more of a "pop" sound WITHIN the kiln, not something dropping to the floor.

Turns out it was just one of the peep-hole plugs. So I stuck it back in, and felt very relieved, mostly. But part of me was still a tad worried about things....

Last evening we were watching a show on television called "Fatal Attractions". It featured various people who fell in love with wild large cats, such as lions or tigers, and kept them as pets, and eventually the cat either killed them, someone else, or had to be put down due to its wild nature not fitting in with the context it was living in. In many of the cases, the owner of the animal made just one mistake...but that mistake was all it took for a devastating outcome.

Turns out I was playing with fire as well. Lately I've been pushing the limits as to how thick things are that I make and decide not to carve out. I've heard an inch is a good rule of thumb. So the other night, I made about 10 little creatures about an inch thick that I planned on firing the next day if I could get them dry enough. (Mistake number one....) My daughter also happened to make a thick Christmas tree, which I really SHOULD have carved out, but due to the fact that I was very tired (I stayed up late for other last minute projects), and I had fired other stuff some-what thick, I took a risk.

It's a risk I'll never take again. I woke up, opened up the kiln, and discovered some wayward pieces of bisque-looking chunks on the top shelve where I had my glazed objects. I could figure out where they came from until I glanced down to the bottom of the kiln and saw several more fragments scattered about, and then it hit me - I finally crossed the line and blew something (or things) up in my kiln.

The tree didn't survive, nor did 4 out of my 10 little creatures. On top of that, a Christmas gift I intended didn't quite turn out as I had hoped, so I'll have to think of a way to fix that, as well.

Overall, I know it's not a huge deal. But it could have been prevented. How many times have I mentioned that you must carve out your clay? How many times have I carved out something I didn't want to because I was tired and ready to be done with clay for the day? And yet here I am. I took a chance, and I learned my lesson. No more playing with the limits in this regard again...

New Items For Sale!

2010-12-12T22:20:00.001-08:00

I did a high-firing this weekend, with some Christmas gifts and a few Etsy items. I also did a bisque/glaze firing and experimented with some pendants. They aren't real fancy, yet, but it's a step in trying something new.

Here is the couple I was working on...I really do love this one - just like the couple in labor that I did. It's not real detailed or anything, but the FEELING really comes across for me.

I'm excited that I've gotten a few sales this month due to the holiday season. It does wonders to boost my self-esteem and urge me on to try new things, make mistakes, and get my hands dirty! I never truly give up hope, but there have been days, this past year especially, that I am too fearful to make anything at all, simply because I might fail. But with each sale, I have a source of energy and encouragement that overcomes those dark, negative thoughts. And for this, I am thankful. Even more so than for the money. The money helps pay for my clay. The affirmation keeps my drive well and thriving.

Sneak Peak!

2010-12-03T15:16:00.001-08:00

My latest creation in the works...

What goes into a Smoke Firing?

2010-12-03T14:55:00.000-08:00

I've been working this week on some sculptures that I intended to smoke fire, so I figured I'd show you what exactly goes into a smoke firing that makes it so special...

The first step after creating the piece is to burnish it. There are many different ways to do this, but I use a smooth rock that I found in the local creek, and burnish the clay just before it is dry, but after it is leatherhard. Here is an example of a burnished piece compared to a yet-to-be burnished piece. You can see the visible shine and smoothness of the piece on the left:

After they are fired to a low bisque temperature (cone 010 because it's what the pottery supply store had on hand in cones), I take them outdoors for the REAL fun!This time I decided to try my new trash can which I've punched holes into. Usually I use old popcorn or Christmas tins that are much smaller, but since I have five items and I DID take the time to punch all the holes in the trash can, I'll try something new.

In this case I've taken straw, salt, baking soda, coffee grounds, and miracle grow (hopefully for color) and placed it in the bottom of the can, then the pieces I'll be firing, and then more straw with colorants. Then I light it on fire, and shortly thereafter I smother it.

It smokes for a while, but not very long. I need to learn how to get better results in color by letting it burn longer, but I never seen to be able to control what the fire does or how much it colors the pieces.

After it cools down, I remove the lid, and there are my pieces! Already you can see the variants of color the smoke has left.

After I scrub the ashes and char off the sculptures, I lightly buff them with some bee's wax/olive oil mix, to help bring out the color a bit more.

This type of firing method is very similar to how the ancients fired their pots and art, and I hope to keep experimenting with it!

Holiday Sale!

2010-11-26T10:51:00.001-08:00

Holiday Sale!

Before I get to the (hopefully) resolution of my element dilemma, I wanted to share that from Black Friday through Cyber Monday, you can get 10% off anything in my Etsy shop! Just use the coupon code Turkey10 during checkout!

Okay, on to business. So in lieu of spending $60 per element, when I know that my other elements will probably be failing soon, as well, my wonderful (and handy) hubby and I learned how to heat, twist, and connect pieces of my existing elements together to create a (for now) working element. It took a few hours longer than I had wanted, but in the end, if it saves me $240 for a little while, then it'll work for now.

Eventually (maybe in the summer?) I'd like to convert the kiln to gas, which will not only save money in the long haul, but will allow for experiments in reduction firing, raku, and possibly soda/salt firings.

I also have narrowed down some ideas for both my shop, as well as the medieval faire, so now all I need is some free time - HA!

Always Something New

2010-11-26T10:41:00.001-08:00

EDIT: This post was originally meant to go up November 7...however, I accidently posted it on my personal blog instead. So here it is, albeit a bit late.

I know it's been awhile, AGAIN, since I last blogged. But for the sake of excuses, I'd rather have something TO blog about, than to chat on about nothing in particular.

I promised pictures of my next idea - I've got something even better - the finished product! Here are some recent pieces I'll be adding to Etsy soon:

These are two pregnant women in yoga-like poses, gazing down at their blossoming bellies.

Another two pregnant bellies, this time with just the torso and a hint of appendixes. Both glazed, one clear, the other a Blue Rutile, though I was disappointed that no blue showed up.

Two more bellies with carved designs and smoke fired. The profile of the tree of life one is below:

This is an idea I'd like to expand on - women in labor.

And here are some necklaces that I played around with:

The mothers above are my original designs of attachment parenting concepts.
And lastly, I promise to try to get past my fear of screwing up and start getting my hands messy more often. I have a ton of ideas brewing in my head, none of which are even remotely close to the ideas in this post. Some are great for the ren faire, and some I'm hoping are great for anytime. But the point is, I won't know until I try. So try, I will.

This last picture is of my colored porcelain (mixed with mason stains) soaking in water to become slip. I really want to try sgraffito and other slip methods with these. So here's to not giving up. See you very soon!

It's Elements, My Dear Watson...

2010-11-15T11:39:00.000-08:00

So that time has come. The moment I've heard about, read about, feared about. An element has failed me, finally.

I noticed it when I tried to turn on my kiln for the last firing, and did not hear the normal "humming" sound that indicates the elements are warming up. So I flipped the switch back and forth a couple times, tried the other switches, which DID hum, and finally gave up and fired without my lowest element. Luckily it was just a bisque firing so I knew it would reach temp okay, as long as no other elements decided to kick the bucket, as well.

So today I got brave and decided to make sure it was the element, and not the switch, by checking the continuance of the element with an ohmmeter. It was definitely the element. Checked online for prices for a replacement, and even considered buying enough to replace all of them at the same time. HA! $60 a pop, at 4 elements...almost as much as I paid for the kiln originally.

So, I did the next best thing, and decided to take out the element of the extension for my kiln, which I've never used, yet, and save myself money for the time being. But a stubborn, rusty screw, and one last snap of the wire, and now I have a too-short element. I tried warming it to twist it with another piece, but keep breaking it, instead. So I'm waiting until my hubby can take a gander at it and make it (hopefully) work. I'll also see about splicing some of my other elements as there is at least one other very dark spot that is likely to go bad soon, as well.

It's days like these that I wish I had fallen in love with a much less expensive hobby.

New Items Up!

2010-11-10T21:47:00.000-08:00

You can now view all the new items in my Etsy shop!

The Mother-Load

2010-07-06T19:19:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I took my second expedition down the creek to the location of the clay. I had my parents there to help me carry back another 100 lbs. of clay, which still wasn't easy despite the wagon we used to cart the goods home. At some point in the future I will ask the landowner opposite the clay if we can drive closer to the actual point of the site so that we don't have to carry it several feet through the creek and then up the bank...Anyway, I took pictures to demonstrate how this particular clay looks in a creek and then the large deposit I'm actually mining. Plus some pics of the kids and grandpa swimming ;)First is a glimpse of what I noticed that first day - the small white "stone" in the creek. Notice that initially there's nothing that shouts out "CLAY!"

Next you'll notice a larger chunk of clay, and then a very large streak on the creek bottom. We're getting closer!

And here's the Mother-Load!!! You can see in the creek bank where the clay ends, both on land and in the water.

Here is a second spot just a few feet up stream from the first. You can see how it has been either dug out by other people (some used it for horseshoe pits, others for firing, some for "war paint", etc.) or else the creek is actually carrying it away. I hope it's the former - I'd hate to see all this disappear.

Some fun while we're at it :)

Here's what appears to be a small piece of clay, but once it's dug out of the creek, you'll see that it was just a hidden "iceberg" poking out.

So there you have it - Finding Your Own Native Clay 1o1!

Next time I post I'll have pics of my newest ideas - if I ever find time to work on them! Between vacations, cooling off in the water and visiting with friends, it's hard to actually find time to sit down and create. But I have a ton of ideas I'm dying to toy around with!

Surprise in the Kiln!

2010-06-10T06:16:00.000-07:00

Okay, so most of the time I don't want surprises in the kiln. Not at this stage in the game. One, it was a bisque load, so pretty predictable. But second, until I'm mixing my own glazes and experimenting, most of the work I do I do with an expected outcome, and when it doesn't happen, I'm usually disappointed, not excited.

HOWEVER, today is an exception! I put a small test chunk of the creak-bed-clay into the kiln to see how it holds up to cone 03. Not only did it hold up, but here's how it turned out:

In case you can't tell, it's the red piece of clay (well, brown, but "red" as far as clays usually go) against the gray clay behind it, which is the unfired creak-clay. The gray clay doesn't fire white, as I thought it would, it fires red! I can't believe it! I've never used "terra-cotta" clay before! I'm not sure exactly what kind of clay it is, but the red has a few advantages. One, in smoke firings, red often has pretty cool results. Two, if I can mix it with my earthenware clay, then I can do marbling and other such effects. I'm so stoked!

Of course, there's no guarantee that it will be compatible with my other clay, but I'll do the tests as soon as I can. And, there's the SMALL chance that it will be high-fire clay. Can you imagine!!

Oh, I can't wait to see what else this clay has in store for me!

Native Clay!

2010-06-07T11:08:00.000-07:00

I am so excited! The kids and I decided to take a walk through the creek that runs through our small town (as in wading right in the water), and we went further than we've ever been. Turns out that just past the bend where we often stop to play, there's HUNDREDS of pounds of NATURAL CLAY - just waiting to be dug up and used!

It turns out that most everyone in town knew it was there but me :P And since most people don't yet know that I play in clay, no one thought to offer to tell me about it :)

Anyway, I called the woman who owns the property and she was more than happy to let me dig up all the clay I wanted. So I started out with about 80 or so lbs. of clay, as much as I could get home on the stroller, LOL!

The first step in testing native clay is drying it out and then crushing it to pieces/dust, then you add water to make a very thin slip, then sieve it through some mesh, and then you can dry it out, wedge it, and finally test it in the kiln.

So for now I have a bucket full drying, and put a couple slabs of wood out with some chunks to dry, which I've now crushed and am waiting to add the water when I have a chance to sieve it.

Here are some pictures that show how pure the clay is straight out of the creek. The clay is resting at the bottom of the creek bed, so there's no stones or sand even on top of it. Amazing! The wall is also clay, but will be harder to mine...

It's just so neat how you can see the layers so easily!

This past weekend was the first weekend at the local Wild Rose Renaissance Faire. The fist day wasn't too bad, beautiful weather and a record number of people, but only a few sales for myself. The second day was pretty bad attendance-wise. Only a handful of people braved the rain to come visit, and no sales that day. So I'm hoping for a better outcome the next two weekends.

Now I'm off to my garden to fix some plants that blew over in the bad wind (which also destroyed 5 vendors' tents at the faire...), and hopefully pick some strawberries!

Branching Out

2010-05-21T15:12:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again, sort of. The medieval faire has been moved to June this year so we aren't stuck dealing with snow and really cold temperatures.

However, I wasn't sure I even wanted to do it this year. I didn't work much on my ocarinas after Thanksgiving. Instead I delved into some Stoneware for the first time, making a bowl, mug, bird ocarina and bird water whistle for a friend of mine who lives in Australia.

So when January struck, I knew I only had 5 months before the faire, but my heart just wasn't into the clay. I had made a slight mistake with the stoneware pieces (let some colored porcelain dust settle into the pots right before the glaze firing), and my first-ever porcelain tests proved that the porcelain I bought and was so exited to use was only translucent at 1/16 in. thick, and with NO color in it.

On top of this, I think I had a case of SAD (seasonal affective disorder) and was in a major slump in general until about March when the sun came out a few times and I finally broke out my tools again.

I decided to try for round sound holes this time, and I switched glazes (from Spectrum, which shivered horribly, to Amaco which still works beautifully!) I also bought a high-fire blue-brown glaze that looks awesome.

In addition, I was commissioned by my midwife to make some vase-like containers for an event they were holding. So I made these:

I will definitely try making some more sculptural pieces relating to birth and pregnancy in my store, as many people made kind comments about them.

As I contemplated the direction I want my work to go, I realized two things.

ONE - that I want to experiment more. Ocarinas take so much time and I know in the end that they aren't perfect and won't sell on-line. For a medieval faire they are okay, but I don't want to spend all my time making them.

TWO - I want to work on two major themes in the near future. One being porcelain and translucency, the other being nature and parenting. I have an idea I'm developing that I hope pans out, as I would have a blast working on it.

And finally, after my disappointment with the current porcelain I have, I discovered Laguna's Frost porcelain. Apparently it's the same formula as Southern Ice for the most part, but pugged in California, so it's cheaper than the stuff imported from Australia. It is EXTREMELY translucent and white, and most of the pieces I see and like are made with Southern Ice. So I'm really hoping this porcelain will be all that I'm wanting in a translucent body - because I have also had an idea for a piece for YEARS but haven't found a way of making it.

So I am VERY excited!

Lastly, I made seven of my "faux leather" mugs, but decided to try using stoneware clay with a low-fire glaze. I heard the "pings" as soon as I started unloading them, and they haven't stopped since. So they are ruined. I now have nine more drying to re-fire with the high-fire glaze, and I'm really hoping they'll sell well at the faire, and hopefully even on Etsy.

So here's to trying new things, and to learning!

Trying New Things

2009-11-10T20:05:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile since I've posted, I know. The medieval faire went really well, despite a lack of visitors to the faire.I sold a few ocarinas, traded a few, and even gave one away. Got a lot of compliments, and most importantly got to talk to the other vendors and have fun! It has been moved to June of next year, so hopefully I'll get enough done by then to participate again.

I have decided to try some new things to improve my ocarinas, as there weren't getting any better. One is to focus more on the fipple block, which is the bottom of the airway. I think a lot of my problems start when the airway gets opened up too much and push down too far to direct the air stream in the direction it should go. So one thing I will try is making the mouthpiece separate. I thought this would be harder, but honestly at this point so much time is taken forming the mouthpiece anyway and I'm not getting great tones.

So yesterday I made a triangular-shaped ocarina with 9 holes. It's actually an English-style fingering system, but extended to make it the same as the 12-hole fingering range. It has very airy high notes, but they are there, so I'm excited.

Next I'm going to try a toroid ocarina, as well as a harmonic double with both sides playing in the same key and using a linear English fingering.

You can view my attempt on the 9-hole here.

Chugging Along...I think I can...I think I can...

2009-08-26T20:09:00.000-07:00

This last week has been rather discouraging for me. First I made 5 belly shaped ocarinas (belly-rinas) and they took forever to make right (the voicing part.) Then a good night when 5 more went quite smoothly. Then back to a few circular pendants, and most of them also took forever, and a few hit the recycle bucket.

Then I tried two more sweet potatos, both of which ended up in the bucket after hours of trying to get a decent tone out of them. I have no idea at all why I can get a sweet tone from my English pendants, but not the sweet potato. I know I have had trouble with the larger pendant ones, so maybe it's the same problem. Diagnosing it, on the other hand, is not so simple.

Then there were the two sculptural pieces I was making for a friend. The one was the shape of a woman. I loved the sculpture. But when I tried to tune it, I couldn't get the last not AT ALL. So I tried shortening the chamber, keeping the sculpture the same. This time no low notes, AT ALL. So I shortened it yet again, and now have a soprano with the body of an alto. And you can barely fit your fingers on it.

So I also made a whale pendant. This one should have been easy, but no matter what I did - always airy.

The next morning I tried the woman one, and had lost both the high and low note on it. On half of my belly-rinas I had the shrill squealing high note that I can't seem to figure out where it comes from.

So I tinkered with the ramp on the woman and got it to play again. Tinkered with the belly-rinas, and I'm hoping they will stay okay through the kiln firing.

I wanted to to a smoke firing tomorrow, but we'll be out all day. So unless I can get one going in the afternoon, I'll have to wait until Friday.

I look forward to after the medieval faire when I can spend more time on each ocarina and maybe get this thing down to a "t". I have this idea that the sweet potato is more special than a pendant as more people buy them, and they more resemble flutes and instruments than do the pendant ones.

My friend from Yahoo Groups, Massieko, who received the ocarina I made for the exchange, has offered to make another exchange - one of his sweet potatos for a belly-rina. I'm all up for that as maybe I'll see something I don't see with my ocarinas.

Hotel Candle Holder

2009-08-20T21:09:00.000-07:00

So I took a break from my ocarinas to try my hand at making a candle holder/tea light for my sister-in-law, for the hotel she works at. The owner of the hotel has three large candle holders she got from a potter who is now deceased, and she's interested in getting smallers versions to sell to her customers.

The design on the previous votive was a simple depiction of the hotel, with a few windows carved into the wall, and a water coloring effect of the hotel and trees.

So here is my leather-hard version so far:

It's not perfectly even, but I think once it's colored it will look a lot nicer. Hopefully she likes it and I can earn a little extra this way.

I then went back to my belly ocarinas, and the first five tooke me 4 hours to cut and tune. The next five, a day later, only 2 hours for the same. Then today I went back to more pendants, and made five and threw out 2.

I'm getting very frustrated that I'm still trashing as many as I am. I want each one to work out perfectly, and they're not. When will I learn well enough to make then each sing beautifully???

Getting There

2009-08-12T22:05:00.000-07:00

Well, this week started out on a very sour note (no pun intended.) Our wonderful tomcat of almost 11 years suddenly passed away, and we are heartbroken. Add to that the fact that my three littlest ones have had fevers, I haven't gotten much done in the way of ocarina-making.

I HAVE, however, made progress with the few that I've done. I'm finding that it takes me less time to form the mouthpiece and soundhole just so so that I get a sweet, strong tone from the first note to the last. I'm also finding that for a few I have to lower the ramp just a tad to make those last notes clear.

I made Amber's monkey ocarina, which I think is cute, and the dolphin I'm making for my aunt, which sounds REALLY good. I am too tired to continue with more tonight, and this week is VBS so that's another reason I'm lagging behind.

I tried to buy a kitchen scale this week but Wal-mart was out of the digital ones, so I got a $5 one that says on the box "weighs up to 2 lbs." Well, since I'll be working in very small portions to begin with, I thought that would be fine. Until I got it home opened it, and found that it ACTUALLY only goes to one pound. Well, frankly I'd like it to weigh more, so I'm going to return it and see about getting a digital one.

If I can simply sell enough ocarinas at the faire to cover what I've spent in materials, I will be happy. But since we have a bill from our cat that we hadn't planned on, I'd really now like to make a little more. I am nervous, though, that no one will buy any...

After the fair, I look forward to just playing around with some ideas I have in my head...especially with the colored porcelain and stoneware.

Two Steps Back, One Step Forward

2009-08-05T23:01:00.000-07:00

Okay, so the two halves seemed like a great, easy idea. Except it wasn't, at least not at first.

The problem was that I'm used to being "inside" the ocarina when I form the mouthpiece and sound hole. I can see all the stuff that needs fixed before I put it toget

her.

But when the ocarina is already made, I have to guess where to put the sound hole (can't tell where the drop into the cavity is...), and in this case, the drop was too rounded and didn't meet the mouthpiece exit, so all the air was going...nowhere.

After 7 destroyed ocarinas and many, many tears and shouting later, I finally thought about putting some extra clay in the spot that I squish to make the mouthpiece...and it WORKED!

I made 10 ocarinas tonight, and maybe one or two won't make the final cut. But at least 3 of them simply SANG...like honey! Sweet, sweet, sweet! From the first blow to the last...

Now to hope that someday they all do as well :)

Here's a pic of the older ones I did, painted for the bisque, as I'm hoping to try something "new" with the stamps...

One Step Back - Again

2009-08-03T15:55:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm not sure if it was the size, or the way I cut them, but the larger ocs just plain gave me trouble. I tried imprinting the stamp BEFORE I cut them in half, but then I couldn't cut through the stamp mark, so I tried slicing it a different way, which made it harder to carve out and form the airway...

And then I realized I had completely forgotten something I knew a long time ago from a website that is no longer up and running. Basically you cut out a circle of rolled clay and drape it over half a sphere form, then let it harden a bit. (Two circles, actually, for the two halves of the ocarina)

Then I'll change it up a bit by pressing the space for the necklace cord and also pressing down the space that will become the airway. This way I will not have to carve any clay out, and hopefully they will be basically all the same, so tuning should be so much easier.

But I could kick myself for not thinking of it sooner...so I only did six of my larger ocs last night and today (and took WAY too long to tune...mostly the sound hole just kept giving me trouble.) I recycled the other four I had formed.

So now I have two ocs, one small and one larger, setting up a tad before I do the indentations and hopefully see if I can then tune them up. The stamps took the best in this method as there was a firm backdrop behind the clay, so that's a good sign, as well.

Pendant Ocs

2009-08-02T10:56:00.000-07:00

Well, I decided to try for one weekend at the medeival faire that is less than half and hour from my house. It's a new faire, so there are not that many vendors. Of course, there may not be that many people attending, but I also won't have that much inventory!I settled on doing just one weekend, so I don't have to worry about not selling for 3 weekends in a row, and if I DO sell out, I'm not stuck for 2 weekends without anything to sell! So I'm going to try for the Celtic weekend, and I'm making some circular pendants for the occasion.

I'm trying something new by making a lot of the same sized ocs so I can quickly make the same rough shape several times over, and they'll be roughly the same size. Then I carved them all out at the same time, and then tuned them all. This went much quicker, and I was able to do 10 yesterday and the night before, though I threw one out due to a mistake I made.

But here's a pic of the ocs waiting to be cut - they are bigger than the ones I did cut:

And here are the smaller ones cut open:

Here are some leather stamps I got, which I like, but it's very hard to get them on the smaller ocs, so I'm having to improvise some...

Here are the some finished pendants:

I'm bringing some business cards I made up for the belly-rinas for my doula to try to hand out at the DONA convention, and we'll see how that goes. I'm really hoping for a good response from that.

I've also been tossing ideas around in my head regarding the designs on the ocs and the smoke firings. I think if I underglaze and then matt glaze the design, it will stand out just enough but not too much after being smoked. I hope it will look as good as I visualize....

I might also be making canle votives for a local hotel. I am hoping that by Christmas Jim can make me a home-made potter's wheel for little cost, and that would make that job easier. But it's another source of income if the owner likes what I come up with.

I'm really getting very excited that all this is happening. I hope I'm not putting my head too high into the clouds, but find I can't help myself. The closer I get to my dreams, however, the more terrifying it becomes. Failure is right there beside me, waiting, as well. The "what-ifs" crop up, too. But overwhelmingly the dreams and hopes rise up and take over and I find myself playing the ocarinas for the sheer joy of it...

I am also wondering if there are some books in the library that explain music composition theory...that is, I want to play some simple music on the ocs like the blues, or jazzy music, or celtic sounding tunes, or whatever, without having to have a song. And not necessarily making my own up, but just playing riffs that are familiar enough sounding that they sound good. That way I can demo the ocarina at fairs or festivals and play a variety of music without having specific songs to play.

I'm In Business!!

2009-07-24T22:11:00.001-07:00

I made my first sale tonight, officially. Money exchanged hands...so I'm truly, really, fully, in business. I don't even mind if I don't sell anything tomorrow at the Sale Day here in town...I really think these Belly-rinas will find a niche...

And I am deciding to drop the price of the whistles down to $10 because I just didn't like the glaze. I'm still not sure exactly what happened, but it shouldn't have. I put it on too thick, and they look like it. But the whistles still work and are cute, so selling them is still an option, I think.

I also decided that I'll try for just one weekend at the renaissance faire, and that way I don't have to worry about commiting to the whole 6 days if it doesn't work out, yet I'll still get enough flavor to know how to prepare for next year.

So I need to start making some ocarinas for that, and my aunt commisioned a project from me...I'd like to make my own pendant oc, and one for Amber and Caleb. And then there's the few I need to make for Julie to take with her to the next doula workshop she's holding so she can try to sell them there.

And I don't even know when I need to start keeping paper work and receipts of the stuff I sell - or start charging tax...

But here's a pic of the whistles and ocs with the tag attatched:

I really like the look of the necklace all tied up - it looks professional. I hope the ladies enjoy them and spread the word. My goal? To make enough money to keep pursuing this hobby of mine...

I want to start experimenting with porcelain, colored porcelain, and paper porcelain. So between trying to make money, that is my next project.

Beeswax Finish

2009-07-23T06:37:00.000-07:00

Well I bought some beeswax and melted it, then mixed it with some olive oil. It wasn't very smooth after it cooled, so I did add some more oil last night in the hopes that the consistency is more like shoe polish and won't flake as I apply it to my pieces.

But I polished all my smoke fired pieces, except for the belly-rinas, in case I re-do them again. The color definitely became stronger, though it wasn't a magical effect or anything. There was only a slight sheen as I didn't burnish most of the pieces. The two I did burnish have a nice sheen to them. I'll probably try to burnish every piece I plan on smoking in the future.

I got a few possibilities as for the glaze problem. It was recommended that I sponge down each piece prior to glazing to that the glaze breaks over the moisture instead of bubbling. Also, stir my glaze slowly, not lividly, as I was, which can also create bubbles.

And of course I know not to touch bisque, but since I never had a problem before, I figured I'll just wipe the pieces down...but perhaps there WAS oil from hands that caused the glaze to peel off in spots...which would explain some things.

Only time will tell when I try my next glazing.

I am contemplating trying to sell at a local new renaissance faire. I'd have to sell one ocarina a day for the 6 days (3 weekends) I'd be there, just to break even. After that, it'd be profit. If they sell at the price I'm thinking, that is. The hardest part, besides making a ton of ocarinas, is getting a tent of some sort, getting someone to watch the babies, someone to sell with me so I'm not lonely and can take bathroom breaks...

But the idea is so appealing! I'll have to talk it over with Jim when we get a chance. He's in Akron today for a football camp, and I'm still visiting my family here in Ohio. We'll cross paths tonight before I head for home tomorrow while he stays here until Saturday evening.

Glaze Firing Done

2009-07-17T06:37:00.000-07:00

Well, I finally got all the pieces glazed and fired. I tried dipping some of the dishes for sake of time, but I think I made a mistake because the glaze pin-holed and in some places had large bubbles. On one dish the underglaze was peeling off. I'll have to ask around on my Yahoo Pottery group and see what might have caused that...

I was using a different glaze - Spectrum. Before I had Amaco. This one says to use one to two coats, but Amaco was three. The spots where the glaze was thick also turned milky. Kind of disappointed with that.

And once again, the top shelve of the kiln reached a whole cone higher than the bottom shelve, which is frustrating. I had a cone 04 in the sitter, and only the top shelve hit cone 04...so next time I'll try a cone 03 and see what happens.

I also re-bisqued my lady ocarinas, and smoke fired them again. But once again they turned out very dark...I'll also have to research that.

But otherwise things turned out pretty good, and I'm happy for that :)

You can view the pics here.

Two Steps Forward, Many Steps Back

2009-07-13T20:35:00.001-07:00

I'm creating this blog in the hopes that someday it may benefit others who might learn from my mistakes. Or that at least I will learn from my mistakes, or perhaps that even people who might buy from me will be interested in the process of discovering this wonderful medium of clay.

I recently just started back up with my clay after a two year haitus. It was not on purpose, but surprise twins kind of threw me for a loop for awhile. Before that, I hadn't really gotten into my clay very deeply, either. I had done a total of 3 glaze firings, one at a friends' kiln before mine was hooked up.

So to say that I am a beginner is an understatement, yet it is also true that I have felt clay as my calling since 2007.

Recently I have been making ocarinas (globular clay flutes like the ancients used to make), and even more recently I've begun experimenting with barrel firing (or smoke firing.)

Barrel firing is a technique that allows one to fire clay at a low temperature in a container with sawdust, straw, or other combustables, and let it burn very slowly over several hours, which lets the smoke penetrate the pourous clay and leave shades of gray, brown, black, and even reds, greens or blues if you add colorants.

Well, my first two "test" firings came out terrific, considering it's my first try. But then the "real" one I wanted to do failed...twice. I'm not sure if there was two much air, or what went wrong. I'm using a popcorn tin as I don't have much to fire, and the size is perfect. But I punched holes into the sides, and the seam busted open, leaving a gap. The first time I fired it I used duct tape to keep it together. But this slowly melted and the gap popped open.

So I used a smaller tin this time around, and burnt my ocarinas (what I happened to be firng) instead. Some even had a few melt marks on them...

So after 3 days of trying to get a good firing, I have slightly burnt "pots." I know this is all part of the process of learning, but I also want to make these ocarinas the best I can in the hopes of selling them. It takes hours to make a good ocarina (all practice, I know), and I don't have the time to make them just to let them sit around here all day.

So in order to make myself feel better, I ordered two books today - one on smoke firing, and the other on coloring clay. I am extrememly interested in inlays and other coloring techniques, and even the lady who owns the "local" ceramics supply store doesn't know many people who "marble their clay." Apparently she isn't aware of the tons of OTHER techniques out there that one MIGHT persue besides marbling (which I hadn't even considered as I don't throw pots, yet.)

Anwyay, I'm taking a break tomorrow. But I need to do a glaze firing at the end of this week, so hopefully that turns out okay. And then it will be back to making more ocarinas, and hopefully some stuff for my kids (like ornaments and piggy banks.)