What a Week

It's been quite a week in the pottery shop. It's one of those times where you start one thing and can't get it done til something else gets done, then it snowballs into a chain of unplanned happenings.  

Mom ordered an extruder this week. We've been talking about getting one for ages. She brings it to the shop and we are deciding where to put it. In that process, we determine that we need to do some deep cleaning and cleaning out in order to get a better idea of where it needs to go. After two days, we had cleared out shelves, removed furniture, rearranged a little, cleaned out the chemical room, culled the glaze selections and sieved what was left, then finally got the extruder mounted! The fall cleaning did wonders and feels better. 

In case you're wondering what an extruder does for a potter, here's a shot. Depending on the die that is used, we can get all types of things out of it. Tubes, coils, slabs, etc. we can make handles, beads, cylinders, and the list goes on. Basically, I just helps with quantity and speed. Can't wait to get going with it. 

An arid glaze bucket. #justaddwater

A misfortune of the week was opening the kiln to find four exploded pieces! Sad face. I lost two casseroles, a raku lamp, and a cool raku jug. The only reason I can put to it is that maybe things weren't quite dry enough. Hurricane Irma was around all week up here in northwest Georgia. So, even if things sat out all week, the humidity prevented them from completely drying. Such is life. 

The final  hiccup to the week was an accident I had. I caught my toe in my computer cord and came away with some torn fibers inside and many shades of red and blue. Ill spare you the pictures, but let's just say that my big toe has been similar to an abstract painting this week. Ouch! 

To end the week, I am headed down, or hobbling down I should say, to the Roselawn festival in Cartersville, GA. Two potter friends of mine are set up there - Richard Cheatham and Ken Lockhart, as well as some other artists I know. It will be a beautiful day to be outside and celebrating the arts.