I am not a business man, office supplies, and the loose reputation of decals...

 

Oh sure, it might be small, but tell me that isn't a dragon!  You know what?  You can't!  That is a dragon, wings and all!  And it flies!  Well, glides really; falls with style. Still, freaking cool.

In case you didn't know, today was Tuesday.  For me that means cleaning and paper work.  I am not a fan of paper work.  I am not a fan of the whole business side of running a business actually.  Order sheets and spread sheets and taxes and dealing with customers...that is not my idea of fun.  I would much rather be in the studio.  Unfortunately I have not yet convinced my wife to take care of all that for me.

Today also included packing up a few pots to ship.  This I do not mind as much, especially since it means I am selling pots.  I did not actually get the pots shipped due to a lack of the properly sized boxes, but that situation has since been rectified.  Thus tomorrow shipping pots is item one on the agenda.

How do you all deal with the acquisition of shipping materials?  I have quite a few previously used boxes sitting in my closet, patiently waiting to be filled with purchased pots.  Unfortunately they are seldom the correct size for what I need to ship.  Likewise with packing material I prefer to recycle newspapers and such as opposed to buying massive amounts of packing peanuts and bubble wrap.  This means my packing jobs often look rather messy.  I would like to say this is because I am earth conscious and all that, but really I am just cheap.  It keeps the shipping costs down for customers too, so...there's that.

A week or so ago I made a not so major purchase for the studio, that may (or may not) change how my work looks to some degree.  What is this not so major device you ask?  

I am the major of not so.

 This is a pictorial representation of my new HP laser jet printer.  Why did I purchase this item and how will it change (perhaps) how my work looks?  Any modern potter worth their salt knows that this device, plus magic paper, can be used to create ceramic decals!  For example...

This is a trio of objects I used to test out my new tool.  The plates are for a possible order and the cup is just because squirrels are kind of cool.  Not "awesome" or even "great", but kind of cool.

The decals were ridiculously easy to put on and fire.  That's right decals!  I ridicule you for being so easy!  AND...with a little testing I think I may be able to work decal firings in with bisque firings, so no extra firing just for decals.  This will save time and energy!!  

Here is a close up of the cup before firing.

And here is after.

Every chipmunk finds a squirrel...

...or something like that.

"It tastes a bit nutty..."

Now that I look at them I almost prefer the decals before they were fired.  The sepia tone the iron leaves (let's hear it for iron laden toner for making all this possible!  Thanks iron, your...scratch that, you're the best!) is ok, but the black would tie in better with the black underglaze pencil.  Oh well.  There is still much to be played around with.

And now I must find a book that will teach me how to go potty.

Up next...beat-boxing is awesome!

Tragedy, figuring it out and come buy my pots!

 

When I searched the google for "Timmy Tabasco" this was the second image that came up.  I assure you this is not Timmy Tabasco.

My senior year of high school one of the last projects we tackled in my speech class was to write and produce a short television program.  The show my group developed was a situational comedy about a guy who gets put in the witness protection program.  I believe it was called "Where's Walter?" or something like that.  The plot went something like this.

One day as Walter is walking down the street some mob thugs drop a guy on his dog.  (I was that guy dropped on a dog.  They actually threw me off the roof of the school...onto padding of course.  It was pretty freaking cool.)  After witnessing this mob murder Walter testifies to put Jimmy the Squid (the mob boss) in jail and is put in the witness protection program.  For some reason he has to share a room with someone else in the witness protection program.  This new room mate is none other than Timmy Tabasco, a ex-GI red neck on the run from the Chinese mafia.  I was also Timmy Tabasco.  Wackiness ensues.  There are candy-grams, slow speed foot chases and probably not that much oh so much more.

Granted this was only a crappy high school project, but it was awesome...or at least we thought so.  You are no doubt exceedingly disappointed after three weeks of build up, and I don't blame you.

There is probably still a tape of that spectacular show pilot floating around somewhere.  If Dan, Aaron or Steve happen to have a copy of it (or, even less likely, if they happen to read this), I will give you a large Fortel's pizza for a copy of it.

And now that that foolishness is out of the way...

Tragedy!

There are few things sadder than a broken coffee mug.

The other day my son knocked my Brandon Phillips coffee mug off the table and broke it.  It was probably the mug I used most often...the perfect size for a cup of coffee or whiskey.  And a freaking fantastic handle that was just about perfect for how I hold a coffee cup.  Oh well, so it goes.

For something a little less tragic, here are the results of the red clay experiment.

Wishy-washy spoon rests

Wishy-washy sheep

Wishy-washy wheat

There are obviously a few problems here, beside the collapsible handles.  I think the slip was a bit too thin to begin with.  Combine that with them being over fired and you get a washy, thin look that is not all together pleasing.  Due to the over firing the lids also stuck on the jars.  Luckily I only mangled one while knocking them loose.  Most of the batch ended up on the shard pile. 

I did have a couple that did not make it into that first round, though, so I tossed them in with the next bisque firing.

Add caption

"I pour poorly!"

Neither will be sold due to cracks (not sure why/how those showed up), but they are still structurally sound, so I will  probably hold onto them for a while.  At least the platter.  The lid of the teapot fits a little too snug and traps air when pouring, so it is kind of a pain to use.

I will probably pursue this style again soon, but not until I do a little more research.

Finally, a few shots of the glaze load I just unloaded this morning.

Train!

 

Collaborative piece with my 2 year old son.

This is another piece my wife has been bugging me to make for a while.  One of the custom items I make is a "surprise" mug; personalized on the outside with a figurine on the inside.  Now I will always have an example on hand that I can take to shows.  I would actually like to make a catalog to take instead of just examples, but that is still in the works.

Whiskey cups, lidded jars, bottles...and balloons!

The mark of the werewolf!

It was a pretty small load because I had to get some custom orders done, but I was happy with how everything turned out, especially the reds.  I had been having some trouble with getting the color I wanted, but I think I have the formula figured out now.

And finally (again), if anyone is in the St. Louis region, I will be at a show in St. Charles this weekend.  Mosaics goes from 4pm Friday to 5pm Sunday.  It looks like the weather is going to cooperate, so come up and see me!

Up next...capybara! 

Pickles, ruination and a dog...

 

According to this page, that may or may not be reputable,  the world record for the largest potato is 8 pounds, but an unconfirmed contender may have topped it with a 25 pound behemoth that looks like Slimer,

Now, pots and such.  Actually we are going to start off this week with a bit of putting by.

What are these?  Why pickles, of course.  I planted some cucumbers in the garden this year for the specific purpose of making pickles.  This is only the second batch as I only put in four plants and it has been pretty dry, so not many cucumbers.  These are freaking delicious though, and ridiculously easy to make.  I heard about it on the Survival Podcast, or you can check out the recipe here.

In studios news, I got a load of stuff glazed and fired.  Here are some before and after pictures of the top shelf.  I am really digging the tall oval vase forms.  They are fun to make and create a very nice "canvas" for decoration.  Now I just hope they sell so I can make more.

There were also a couple other new forms in this load...small planters, small lidded jars and garlic keepers.  The small jars are possibly one of my favorite forms thus far.

And the culmination of the red clay (again with these references to stuff I put on Facebook!)...

Before...

After.

This teapot and all the other red ware got a nice coat of white slip before decoration.  It worked out much better for some pieces than it did for others.

Alas!  I shall be resting no spoons!

This spoon rest, for example, I tried to move too soon after dipping it in the slip.  Did you know that if you dip a leather hard pot in slip it will rehydrate and become soft again?  Good, because that is just plain common sense!  Only a foolish individual like myself would forget this and ruin a good pot because of it.

 But wait...there's more...

One of these things is not like the other one... some on, sing!

These mugs looked great after I dipped them, all slippy and just waiting for some sgraffito.  When I came back to check on them though, the handle had broken off every single one.  Not sure why. 

Not all of the red ware broke though; and I really dig how the survivors turned out...more folky than my usual stuff.  I definitely want to give this stuff another shot, but without all the ruination.  If anyone out there has any experience with this sort of work and knows what I may have done wrong, or even if you just have any tips in this area, please give me a shout.

As for the stuff that did make it...

The aforementioned small lidded jars and a couple of spoon rests immediately post dipping.

Jars and teapot after being decorated.

Large (16-17 inch) platter with a crane.

The larger pieces (platter and teapot) were sprayed with slip as they would not fit in the bucket, and that seemed to help the breakage problem, but the handle of the teapot still cracked at the bottom.  Knackers.  

These are all in a bisque firing right now.  I am quite anxious to get them glazed and see what they will look like all finished up.  

Actually I would really like to go to it on these things with an underglaze pencil since the experiments and the stuff in the last kiln load came out so well.  Unfortunately my underglaze pencil is almost used up.  And even if it wasn't, my electric pencils sharpener (which is apparently the only way this pencil likes to be sharpened) is jammed, so I cannot even sharpen what is left of it sufficiently.  Oh well, next time.

Speaking of platters, (We weren't really speaking of platters.  That was just a nice way to switch to a different subject.  It's called a transition; I learned about those in English class.  And even though that was a pretty poor transition, we are going to roll with it.) the platters I have been working on are all scratched up (decorated, that is) and in the kiln.  No pictures yet, other than this one.

The platters were too large to fit in the make-shift spray booth that I normally use, so I had to move operations outside.  Luckily it was not windy at all, so the spraying of slips went off without a hitch...the dog helped.  I enjoyed it so much in fact that I may (weather permitting) continue spraying work out of doors.

And last but not least...Saint Vitus!
Old school doom metal band ala Black Sabbath. 

Up next...Timmy Tabasco!

Post Script:  I have a show coming up this weekend in Belleville, IL.  Midwest salute to the Arts.  It kind of sneaked up on me, so I have been rushing to get some stuff done this week.  If you happen to be in the area feel free to stop by and say hi!

A commercial venture for a commercial holiday...

Those of you who follow on the facebook may or may not know that I participated in a Valentine's day sale yesterday.  A very romantic way to spend a commercially created holiday.  So, a brief sale review.

In short, it was not good.  But to be fair, I wasn't really expecting it to be great.  The sale was an annual Valentine's day sale in the student center of the local college (SIUC).  There were only 20-25 vendors, not all of it handmade, and there was almost nothing for signage directing people to the sale; so it is not like there was a stellar set up to begin with. 
Much as I suspected there was not a lot of buying or even browsing traffic.  A very small number of people coming to the student center just for the craft sale.  Roughly 94% of the traffic through the space were students going to and from class. 
The sale started at 10 and I had a few sales in the morning; but pretty much everything dropped off after noon.  It was supposed to go until 5, but a few people were packing up at 3:30-4 already.  I must say I was very tempted to join them.  By that time even the students had stopped coming through.  I couldn't bring myself to leave early, though.  I always sort of thought of it as a contract when I attend an art/craft sale.  If I leave before the sale is officially over I am breaking that contract, even for those sales that don't specifically stipulate that you must stay until the final bell.  And you never know when that last minute sale is going to come through.
All in all it was pretty much what I expected...not much.  I almost made enough to cover my time and expenses.  As it stands I almost made minimum wage.  Needless to say I will not be attending that sale next year.

And now a few shots of the Valentine's day schlock that didn't sell.

Happy heart jar

Another little happy heart jar

Little heart bud vase

"Heart This" bud vase

"What the f*** is this?!" robot mug

"Cut your heart out with a" spoon rest

I guess I can see why some of this stuff might not have sold.  As I get time it will be posted on Etsy though.

Oh!  I almost forgot the art/craft fair quote of the day!

Elderly female rug vendor reacting to the skull heart jar and human heart spoon rest - "Really?!  Come on now...and I'm not too sure about this one either." (After looking at the rest of my stuff)  "While I'm not into skeletons and bare organs, you do nice work...your flowers and stuff."

Does not liking someone's work give you the right to be condescending toward them?  Oh well; she wasn't really mean, she was just expressing her opinion.  It was actually kind of funny.  Ok, that's all for now.  Until later...

-Rob, Simple, Circle Studios

It is snowing sideways

Thus far the winter season has been mild in southern Illinois to say the least.  Today, though, the high temperatures dropped into the low 30's and there has been a stiff breeze blowing.  I know this is no big deal for most folks north of the Mason-Dixon, but I hate cold weather.  Really hate it.  I would move to Hawaii if I could.  Thus, after going to the post office to mail a package (Yeah Etsy!) I am hiding inside while my trusty little propane heater warms up the studio.

In other news, Judy Tavill posted a blog about the benefits of a blog vs. facebook; a topic that has been on my mind lately.  I have always preferred blogging, but lately I have been thinking that one is not necessarily better, they just serve different purposes.

As I have said before, I was always opposed to facebook, despite my wife's insistence that I get an account.  It always seemed like a waste of time.  I never saw the point in dealing with all the inane bs that people put up on facebook.  No one cares what I had for breakfast or how many times I blew my nose today or how much I hate doing dishes; or at least they shouldn't.  Find something more constructive to do with your time.  Long story short, I have a facebook account...and it still seems like a big waste of time, at least for the most part. 

Facebook can, however, reach a large number of people quickly, which makes it a good marketing tool.  As some people have commented on Judy's post, a blog is good for connecting with other potters; facebook is good for connecting with potential customers.  This is the only reason I have not deleted my account yet. 
And even better, my wife got me a fancy ipod for Christmas.  This makes it very easy to snap a picture of whatever I am working on and throw it up on facebook without breaking the flow of my work day too much.  I can easily get my work in front of people and perhaps get them interested in what I am doing. 

I still prefer blogging to get ideas out into the ether.  I can flesh things out, think them through a little more, etc.  It is more like a nice letter to a long distance friend(s).  Facebook may have its place though.

And finally, some pictures of the last stuff out of the kiln.  These actually came out shortly before the new year, but I didn't want to put pictures up as some of them were Christmas presents.

Rooster Crock,  This seems to be a fairly popular design as I have gotten a few requests for similar items

Dandelion Vase

Plant/Vine Plate.  Just glad this one made it through without blowing up!

Surprise Mugs.  Each of my nieces and nephews got a personalized mug for Christmas.  Fun stuff

And some of this stuff is in my Etsy shop if you want to check that out.

Well, the studio is probably warmed up by now, so I probably ought to get to work.  It is handles and trimming and plates for the rest of the day.  If you find me on facebook you might get a quick shot of work in progress!

-Rob, Simple Circle Studios

At home with the Bub

 It looks like Noah might have pink eye, so he had to stay home from the babysitters today.  Not really a big deal, but it means that I will not be able to get into the studio much; maybe during nap time.  I will be able to get some more business type work done, though.
So I guess on the agenda for today is: finish Christmas presents, get contact info for potential retail outlets, call photographers about getting pictures taken for show application and take pictures for posting stuff on Etsy.

Speaking of Etsy (and Chritmas presents, wink wink, nod nod) I finally have a few things in my shop.  Just posted a couple last night, actually.  As I have said before, it is a laborious process (for me at least) but I suppose it has to be done.  Any way, here are a couple shots from the shop.  Click on the pictures to check it out.

Blue and brown whiskey cup

Green and brown mug

Back to child care.  Until later.

-Rob

How to Fail at a Craft Fair

Ok, I don't really know exactly how you would go about failing at a craft fair as far as what step you would take.  I do know that I was pretty good at it a couple weeks ago, though.

Two weeks ago I had a booth at an art and wine fair near where I live.  It wasn't a big thing; one day, 30 - 40 vendors, but I figured it would be a good avenue to get my stuff out locally.  I was wrong.  During that 6 hour art and wine fair I sold exactly...wait for it...nothing.  I did not sell a single piece.  Now I have had bad fairs before, but I have always sold something, even if it was to other vendors.  Selling nothing was a first for me.  I think the biggest problem was that it was an art and wine fair.  97.4% of people were there to listen to music and drink as many free wine samples as possible, not buy stuff.  Oh well; now I know.

Last weekend I was at a fall festival in Missouri and that went a bit better.  I didn't sell quite as much as I sold there last year, but it was a slow year for the festial all around.  And now I am getting ready for a couple more fairs coming up in November and December.  These are bigger shows (I think) and are closer to the Christmas season, so I have somewhat higher hopes for them. 

Here are a few more shots of the stuff that came out of the last kiln.

Salt Jar (NaCl stamped on the lid)



Bunny mug  There is a carrot on the other side.



Salt & Pepper Shakers  Possibly my favorite color combination.

Cloud Mug  Not really fond of the color, but I dig the design.

More later.  Until then.

-Rob

Recent Work

Here are finally some pictures of the finished work I pulled out of the kiln a couple weeks ago.  Later I will post some more pictures and give a brief account of the two shows I had the past couple weekends.

These oval vessels are fun to make, but they are not extremely functional.

They work ok for flowers if you use one of those green foam block things, though.

These tall-ish squared vessels were originally made as vases, but work pretty well as utensil holders.

This is a mug that I showed in progress a ways back.  Here it is finished.  The black on the rim is a comercial gold glaze that I tried as an accent, but it didn't turn gold, obviously.

I really like this design, but it took quite a to complete.

Until then.

-Rob