The Clay Teacher Blog: Pot Talk, Roadkill Teddy, Class Pics

Wednesday I got the studio cleaned up, the glazing finished and we loaded the kiln. Jim and Kaileigh always come down when it comes time to get loaded….the kiln….. Jim loads while Kaileigh and I wash bottoms….. the pots…..and then Jim and I got it on…. the glaze load….. but we didn’t let it get over 200 degrees until Thursday morning. Two reasons, it was a large load and there is a lot of water and if the kiln goes over 212 when the pots are wet, the steam causes the glazes to crawl. Also there is a lot of wax on the bottom of the all the pots and when it burns off it stinks up the house. It’s easier to air it out when we are not sleeping. I don’t like all the doors wide open all night. We will get a ventilation system on the kiln as soon as we can. The pots are now cooling, 250 F. I had wanted to get them out yesterday, but as I said, it was a large load and it takes a long time to cool. We promised to deliver a casserole dish yesterday, but it was sitting at 900 F at noon, so we have to deliver it on Monday. That kiln load will be all shipped out by Monday. Orders come in and pots go out. The store in the east ordered again. I sent them a sample of the Prairies and they ordered, so I will send them a sample of the new glazes and see what they think. I will send Lila a sample of the new red as well.

Jim was messin’ with fonts and colours and came up with “our “font The Clay Teacher which I can't show you here, you'll have to look at the web page. It has only been three weeks since we started this process and already we have our web site, the wheel, projects and a number of bookings. I have emailed every elementary school in Edmonton and all the neighboring school districts in all four directions. There has been a lot of interest shown. We should do well. All I have to do is get the 100 plus samples made. Kaileigh said she would paint them. She does a nice job and seems to enjoy it. We have few done already. There is a learning curve to making the projects. I was trying to make Teddy Bears. I have two that aren’t ready for prime time. I have Psycho Teddy; all he needs is a little knife in his hands and the EEE EEE EEE music in the background. I also have Road Kill Teddy. He too has stay out of the catalogue for obvious reasons. I know what I did is wrong or right depending on your perspective, but now I know how to make cute Teddies that will not give little ones nightmares. We have a few samples done, but we will be over run with little projects by the fall.

John and I found a suit. He goes for fitting on Monday. We didn’t get the $99 one or the one for $1800 or $2800 or whatever it was. We found a nice one that looks very good on him. It is more than I had intended, (everything is always more than I intended) but he will help to pay for the more than I intended. Shoes, shirt, tie and the little pocket thingy all add up. He is very fussy about his clothes. He has to wear the best, or I should say he wants to. I don’t know where that came from. I have been a potter for years and for me dressed up is clean jeans and it didn’t come from his dad’s side. His grad is next Tuesday, we will take pictures and I will put them here. I will dress up in more than clean jeans and not embarrass the boy.

I have only one adult pottery class left. I am looking forward to not having a schedule for a while. I enjoy teaching, but it is nice to have a break. I will teach two nights in the fall. Here are some shots of pots from last Wednesday night. They are a great group. As I said before, all but one are beginners.

Pot Picks today are all from my students glazing class last Wednesday.