My back is flat against the wall... can't put it off any longer. I've had to create a space where I can take indoor photos. For years I've managed reasonably well using soft shade, but with the idea of creating an etsy store front, the time has arrived to deal with all I don't know about taking digital photos.

Let me say that I can take decent digital or 35 mm photo if I'm photographing people. I seem to have a real knack for capturing human emotion or reaction. None of that ability translates to photographing objects. Add bright lights and an artificial backdrop and watch me kick and scream.

My etsy storefront is waiting for me to figure out the photography part...so, last week with Gene's help I started collecting the possible items I would need. It seemed like a good idea to do this in the house. A good idea until I realized all the piles of junk I was going to generate. Now I'm the first to admit I work in something akin to Pigpen's palace. It takes a lot of "things" to assist in my pottery production. I can live with the disorder of my studio. Every time I start to create chaos in the house, I lose it. I have to keep my living area as orderly as possible.

The last few days I've spent cleaning and relocating many piles of studio junk. I've got a space that I can leave more or less open. The photography supplies all have new storage containers and a cleaned off shelf. Nothing left to do but start the process of learning to take a picture.






The studio is 10 feet wide. The first thing I learned was that I didn't need 100 watt bulbs in those par lights. There was so much light the object turned yellow. The second thing was that the hangers Gene made me to hang my nice gradient background need to be about 3 or 4 inches longer. I changed light bulbs and tried again.




I realize I'm going to need a free floating light source to eliminate some of the shadows. I know I will need to meddle with the photo image. Yes, I can do some things, but I am not a photoshop pro and don't want to be either. We'll see how I deal with this issue.




The light level of this little plate is certainly better, but it's totally floating. The next plan is to employ the longer hangers for the gradient paper. It's obvious some of that darker color needs to be present.




This little plate turned out reasonably well for a first attempt. The color is correct. The background distractions are minimal. A little more paper adjusting will ground some of that free float, but all in all, I might really learn how to do this... in this life time...

Bumblebees for Susan.

It escapes me now what made me go rummaging in the weeds and debris that was piled up outside my studio door back in February. The area to the left of the studio has long been a forgotten space. Whatever it was that I was looking for made me uncover one of the rocks from my long ago rock garden. My studio work was pretty much under control so I decided to spend some time cleaning up this area. Once I had it cleaned up, it just looked bare. The pieces of slate that now look inviting used to be buried under the bird feeders just outside the kitchen window. At the time, it seemed like a good idea to unearth the slate and make myself a nice little area to maybe have lunch on a cool spring day. I spent a couple of days shoveling birdseed hulls, washed up dirt and enough varieties of earthworms to make a bait shop giddy. I had the healthiest collection of earth worms I've ever seen. I'm hopeful that along with relocating the earthworm farm to the back of the firing shed area that I've also relocated the moles that periodically tear up the yard in search of a succulent earthworm. Thanks to my biology lab partner in high school, I don't freak out when I come in contact with an earth worm. (thanks Kenny!) Still wouldn't dissect one however....




Since I'd just about dug up the yard under the kitchen window I needed to devise plan B pretty quickly. I already had one nice azalea so a small bed for another azalea seemed like a good idea. As I started scraping off all the grass I kept finding more buried pieces of slate. I ended up digging all the way to the concrete pad outside our storage building. So, I expanded the bed and planted two azaleas. Now they have room to grow with space for some yard art.




As the azalea area kept growing an idea formed in my mind to expand the existing flower bed in front of the firing shed. So, I got my little shovel and started peeling the grass back. That was something akin to manual labor. A lot of it... As I expanded the bed space I thought about how nice it would be to just make a walk way between the two beds so I kept peeling back the grass (weeds would be more truthful... oh, and I should also mention clover removal) The picture shows clearly the established plants and the tiny new ones. Glad I have rain barrels as I now have more container planters and new plants than ever before.

I figured while I was at it, I might as well have a nicely rocked in area to walk to the studio too. There are numerous tree roots that have always been a hazard. A couple of inches of rocks have made it much nicer. Of course, I had plenty of grass and weeds to peel away in this area too.





I didn't realize when I started bringing home bags of river pebbles from Lowe's just exactly how many bags of pebbles I would ultimately need. Yes, I measured the space and calculated the number of bags according to the chart on the first bag I brought home. No way, that couldn't be possible. Once I buy another five or so bags to fill in the skimpy spots I will have used exactly what the chart said I'd need.... don't you just hate a know it all?




I've used some extra slate as a boundary marker to keep the rocks in place. My next project is to dig out this area including removing the shrub, and making a patio out of concrete pavers. Be certain that I will pay Lowe's to haul those pavers to my driveway. I've always wanted to build a rock wall. This might be my opportunity to learn how to build one. The finishing edge of the patio should have a rock wall don't you think?




This is now my commute to work. The view has gotten much nicer. I've dropped five pounds doing yard improvements. Probably spent as much as a year's gym membership on rocks, plants, mulch and other things I'd just as soon forget about. I'm thinking it was a nice way to spend my leisure time this spring....

No, it's not a mistake... I really did make a mug. Okay, while it's not exactly a conventional mug, it's a close to a mug as I ever intend to make. It's large, holds about 2 regular cups of coffee. Since I'm doing the renaissance faire in a few weeks, I thought it would be interesting to make a few "non Sara" things. I'll probably make a few more to keep this one company. Don't blink because they will be gone.....

I was asked last fall if I would make a container for Molly's remains. Molly was a much beloved dog and her owner was definately grieving. Somewhere around October Molly's owner and I met in my studio to talk about what would be appropriate for Molly's urn. I had just started making the series of cottages that I blogged last year. Immediately it just seemed right to make Molly a cottage. A Scottish Terrier should have a cottage, right? It's a big learning curve from a cottage without a floor to a cottage that can be a sealed container....



I used a completed cottage for the model for what I called the Molly 1. My first idea was to make the roof of the cottage the lid for the urn. In theory that's a good idea except for one thing, okay two things. Number one: I'm handbuilding, not throwing on the wheel. No matter how careful I am smoothing edges and seams, the fit for the lid is dicey. That proved to be exactly how it turned out too. It was fine in the bisque firing, but the glaze firing was a different matter as I had to fire the lid and the bottom separately. Sure enough, the lid didn't fit even though I had carefully trimmed every possible spot that might be a problem. The second reason it wasn't a good idea was in order for the roof to be a lid, it had to have what amounted to a floor built between the walls. It weighed a ton.... although I was pretty sure I couldn't make a second lid to fit, remember I'm handbuilding, I had to try. A pair of calipers will facilitate a perfect fit when you're throwing on the wheel. Because of the irregular nature of handbuilding, it's more of a hit and miss. Two lid attempts missed...



Over the holidays I didn't work on the cottage. Mostly I just thought about what to try next. The only logical solution I could think of was to make the ground be the part to fit and be sealed. So I built another cottage in a more rectangular shape with a sloping roof and fat chimney. We'd agreed that we liked the door slightly ajar. It just seemed more welcoming that way. I made the door handle the shape of a dog bone... and for whatever reason misspelled Molly's name.... I'm still wondering how I managed to do that as I had the other cottage in plain view with MOLLY staring right at me.... Mollie....



I didn't catch the misspelling either...



The day I took the house out of the kiln I was so excited because the top and the ground turned out really nice. I was so excited... I set the house on the table in my studio, took a couple of pictures and called Molly's owner up to tell her the good news. She decided to drive right on over. So I went back to the studio and started to get all the related items together. I took down the original note and there is was in big letters MOLLY. I nearly swallowed my tongue trying to get to the phone to say, wait, don't come, I've made a horrible mistake.... she was very gracious. I made a new name plate for the house that says MOLLY.



Yesterday we took Molly's ashes, her AKC papers, my work notes and a few other things and sealed it all in the cottage. It was a huge learning curve from start to finish....

I invited myself to spend the weekend with my brother Buzz, and my sister in law, Dianne. Dianne frequently gives me wine from Rag Apple Lassie for Christmas. It's good wine and I'm a sucker for the cute cow logo and the story that goes along with the name. With this year's present I asked if maybe we could also go to the winery. Long story short, this was the weekend.



This is the view from the parking lot to the left of the winery. For all you Andy Griffin fans, this is Mount Pilot, otherwise known as Pilot Mountain. Nice backdrop... my brother said Pilot Mountain can be seen from his driveway but I never managed to turn the right way to see it. For that matter, I never heard the coyotes either....



So I opened the door and headed right on in to find the tasting table.



This is the heart of the winery. A great thing to see as you cross the upper walkway. I only tasted five wines. My favorite for the day was Boonville Blanc. That was a real surprise to me as I tend to prefer red wines. They were all sold out of Rockford Red which is a real smooth and easy red. That's certainly a reason to go back when this year's grapes are ready.... The merlot, the cabernet and the syrah were to my liking but I didn't like the kaleidoscope red at all. It tasted like a glass of perfume. Everything else was just fine... Dianne and I managed to fill a cow case with no problem.... she's a member and gets a nice discount on the case price. This is a delightful place to sample and buy some most excellent NC wine....

My brother casually mentioned that Daniel Boone's parents are buried in a small cemetery in Mocksville. That piqued my interest immediately. Changed my travel plans too. I had to find enough time Sunday morning to go to the cemetery in daylight. Since my brother and sister in law live just a couple miles from the main drag in Mocksville, it was easy to rearrange things.





This is a very old cemetery, divided into several sections. The oldest section predates the civil war. A number of the old markers cannot be read any more. I walked around the entire area taking pictures and soaking up the atmosphere. It's a very peaceful place. The only potentially disturbing factor is the number of site flags. Most of them seem to be marking the graves with tombstones that can be read. I sincerely hope this is not an indication of plans to move these graves. It's obvious that Daniel Boone's parents simple graves have been well cared for and have been preserved as a historical site.




I've never seen a child's grave like this one. Unfortunately someone removed the name plate.





This is one of the older headmarkers that can actually be read.



Some of these markers are so elaborate.





Many of these markers read very much like our modern obituary columns.

Now I just need to go back and walk around after dark....

After watching the stacked clay sway in the breeze, I took it all apart yesterday. It took every piece I had except the yellow topper to reassemble it. After some less than flattering commentary from Gene about the yellow topper, I decided I didn't want to use it. I'm not fond of the dark piece at the top, but other than maybe changing that one piece, it's finished.

The latest group of cottages has more of the look that I've hoped for. Also, the size of these three is nearly what I had in mind. I made some design modifications to the roof line, changing the peak to the front of the structure. This has allowed me to texture the roof surface with more interesting patterns. Because of the smaller size, the wall texture seems to be more noticeable as well. All in all, I'm getting closer to a cottage that I'm happy to market.



This one is my favorite because the wall size is just about right, the roof is interesting and the wall texture is strong. I always believe in giving away the one I like the best. It makes me go back to the studio and make more. So Donna if you're reading this, time to toss out the prototype and make space for one of these.

The best cottage news is I have several glaze tests in progress. I've found a couple of really good possibilities to glaze the walls and maybe even the roof tops with. Stay tuned!

After a very long time, the bird is on the wall and finished. The mural even has a nice walnut edging to frame the top of it. Kent, the homeowner, is a master woodworker. He had that framing strip made before I had 10% of the mural grouted today.

But I digress. Let's start at the beginning of this project. Once it's been decided what the subject is for the prospective spot to be tiled, I take pictures of the surrounding room and any pertinent furnishings. Since this beautiful house is sitting right on Kerr Lake, a blue heron was the perfect subject material. My challenge was to find a way to utilize the interior colors in the mural.



I added a line of trees that would appear to be across the water from the bird. Since I needed to use golds, greens, corals, making the trees wear autumn leaves worked just fine.

I can draw most anything on a 3 x 5 index card. The problems start when I have to draw something real size. It took me a considerable length of time to get my courage marshalled enough to attempt to draw out my first sketch.



From that sketch I drew in lines to create the tile shapes. Then I made a template for each tile piece. The next step was to cut out each tile. Most of my tile work is a layering technique. I use at least one layer of clay on top of the tile to create individual images within the picture. If I were sewing, this technique would be called applique.

Wet clay has a memory. If I move it around too much, that memory will cause edges to turn up or entire pieces to warp. What I generally do is cut the base piece out for an entire row then cut the picture parts for each tile. This is very exacting. The tree trunk must match up with the foliage, the bottom of the river grass must met the top. I was mostly successful with this. After a very long drying time, the pieces got bisqued fired.



Fortunately I didn't have to remake but a few tiles at this point. I was familiar with all the glazes I intended to use so it wasn't necessary to do further glazes tests. Once I had open kiln space, I glazed and fired two rows at a time, starting with the second row.



Hello birdie! I knew from making the first row, which is only sky, that my calculation for shrinkage was exact. Imagine my surprise when I laid out these two rows and discovered they were 1/2 inch too wide. Another painful learning curve. Layered clay does not shrink at the same rate as single layer clay shrinks. So, I took measurements, redesigned the outside row, and started the process over.



Back on track, but not without a bit of drama. When I unloaded the kiln to get rows four and five, imagine my horror when I discovered the shelf holding row four had split in half during the cooling and was sitting askew on top of row five. There was minor damage, mostly to my nervous system. However, I'm going to have some serious dremmeling to clean up the shelf that didn't break. At this point I also reasoned that the top row was not going to fit either. So I remade the top row, cutting a bit more off the pattern than necessary.



I spent a day dremmeling the odd edges and generally attempting to make each piece fit a bit better. Then on December 1st it was time to go install the bird. Except for one very stubborn piece, the installation was fairly easy. Good thing I carried my handy dremmel with the nice diamond bits Gene gave me for my birthday some years ago.



Today was grout day. With the help of Judy, the home owner, we grouted all those nooks and crannys and then had to clean out the excess. Truly messy! We ended up using Q-tips and bamboo skewers to clean out those tiny spaces. It was fun to work together. I think they are very pleased with the final product. This was the biggest learning curve ever! It was also the most complicated project I've done... and there are a couple waiting in the wings.



You should also enjoy the view from the kitchen window.

The size of the cottages are about where I want them to be. The next experiment will be to change the roof line. Another wide learning curve in my future. If I bring the front of the cottage up to the classic upside down "V" and let the roof drape down over the sides, I can have a larger front and back space for windows.... sounds like a plan....



I decided a few months ago that I wasn't going to have clay waste anymore. Since I can't afford a pug mill, both financially and space wise, the idea of multi pieced yard art became very appealing. I still have to make the cap for this first clay totem. As I redesign a part of the backyard flower bed this winter, there will be space for several of these. I've also informed my friend Emily she's getting one for her back yard next year... another neat thing is I really fill up all the space on every shelf in the kiln.




Here's the start of the heron... yet another learning curve. Clay that is stacked, that is, fired two layers thick, does not shrink at the measured shrinkage. I'm sure my math friends would tell me I should have paid a little more attention in geometry, but I do roll the slabs on both the X and Y axis... Nothing like firing two rows and discovering that it's 3/8" too wide. So, I get to remake the last tile in every row. This time I'm going to make it about 1/4" smaller than the space so I know it will fit. That's what grout is for, right? But, the end of this project is in sight.