Monkeys, pie and how not to fix a truck...

 

 The first monkey to be sent successfully into space was Albert II, a male rhesus monkey, who made it to a height of 83 miles (134 km) on June 14, 1949. Albert II was carried aboard a V2 rocket as well, though his fate was not as lucky as that of the fruit flies: a problem with the parachute on the recovery capsule sadly led Albert II to his death from the force of the impact upon landing.

Courtesy UniversityToday.com.

This past Sunday my sweet wife did something unprecedented...she baked a pie.  Scratch that, she baked two pies.  It is not like she never bakes pie, but it is pretty damn close.  If you count the one she baked for me Sunday, I am averaging one pie every five years.  It is ok though.  She made me a pecan pie and it was freaking fantastic.  Which naturally leads to the question, how long does it take one person to eat a whole pecan pie?

The last piece...such a sad, sad day.

I managed to make this one last two days but it took a great deal of restraint.  I probably could have polished it off  as soon as it came out of the oven.

And after she finished making my pecan pie she made a chocolate pie for herself.  The thing I have always thought was kind of funny about chocolate pie is that it is just chocolate pudding in a shell.  Why not just put it in a bowl and save yourself the trouble?  

On a side note, these are the egg yolks she used to make her pie.  Now those are some big, orange yolks...definitely NOT from factory farm chickens.

 And now for the (unfortunately) continuing saga of the truck.  I thought the fuel filter did the trick.  I took the truck for a spin after I switched it out and it ran fine.  The next day I went into town to run some errands and my trusty, reliable truck shit on me again...twice.

Luckily I was right next to the sweet wife's place of employment and was able to swing it into the parking lot.  There it sat for the past week plus; I finally go it home today. 

 Now, it could be fixed.  Since the fuel filter didn't correct the problem, it is probably the fuel pump...or something else fuel related.  The alternator also appears to have gone by the wayside, though.  Again, it could be fixed, but the sweet wife and I have been dabbling with the idea of getting a new truck anyway, so now seems like a pretty good time.  I am actually going to look at a truck tomorrow, so hopefully the saga will conclude by the week's end.

**Wait!  There is late breaking news on the truck front!  My two year old son just said he could fix my truck with prunes...perhaps...perhaps...

In studios news, I would like to again sing the praises of the portable, home made damp box.  I think I did a post on it a while back, but I couldn't find it.  The idea originally came from Meagan Chaney and I have been using it successfully since I read her post.  Basically you fill the bottom of a plastic container with plaster.  When the plaster is set you saturate it with water and add a lid...boom, instant damp box.

I have had a lid in one for a few weeks that was actually too dry to trim when I put it in.  I pulled it out today and it trimmed just fine.  Perhaps a little on the dry side still, but good enough to get the job done.

Compost crock says, "Me eats garbage, me makes good dirt!"

 And thus ends the Simple Circle Studios blog post number...whatever it is.  Now I have to go brush my teeth; good oral hygiene and whatnot.  

Next time...how tall is a kangaroo?

-Rob, Simple Circle Studios

Don't ever say your car is broke...

Kombucha!!!

Go ahead...click the picture.  You know you want to.
And here you thought I was going to go on some SoAD rant.

A little more than a month ago I did an art fair in Paducah, KY.  Aside from it being a little hot, it was a good show.  Right up until I tried to go home.  I was cruising down the road in my gem of a truck when things went awry.  Whenever I tried to accelerate the truck would hesitate a bit, then pick up again when I let off the gas.  Not a good sign.  (Actually it started happening on the way to Paducah, but only once or twice and I had things to do, so I didn't think about it.)  The problem quickly got worse, forcing me to down shift to 4th, then 3rd, then finally to pull off the road where the truck promptly died.  The sweet wife kindly came to pick me up because it was too late to do anything else.  The next day I borrowed my in-law's car to check things out.  A few hours and two tow trucks later the truck was back in the driveway, still not running. 

And there it sat, patiently waiting to be fixed.  Unfortunately I could not get around to doing that as I was getting ready for another show in three weeks. 

Finally this week, after a kick-ass show in Webster Groves, MO (more on that later) I chatted with our mechanic neighbor and came to the conclusion that it was probably the fuel filter that was gumming up the works.  Between yesterday afternoon and this morning, after two trips to the auto store, the truck is running once more!  Turns out it was indeed the fuel filter causing problems; the new one is performing like a champion...so far.  

Now I have almost three months until my next show, so I have a good deal of time to build up inventory, work on the display and post stuff on etsy.  Heck I just might even have time to get some yard work done.  Or at least post on the blog a little more frequently.

Next time...Space Monkies!

One day Tommy ate a bug...

The Yeti!

  A couple weeks ago I was at an art fair in St. Charles, MO. I had never been there before, but apparently they have a quaint little historic main street area filled with various shoppes, boutiques, restaurantes, etc. it was not too shabby a place for an art fair. Traffic was on and off, partly due to the interesting weather that struck Saturday. I always find it odd when the sky gets made enough at you to throw chunks of ice and such. It rained for a brief bit and then turned to quarter and golf ball sized hail. Thankfully it did not last very long and the weather was a bit better Sunday. I was happy with the whole deal and hope I get to go back again soon.  I would have pictures, but I am terrible about remembering the camera and such.

 I am always amazed at how little time artists get in the studio some times. The two weeks before the St. Charles show I don't think I stepped a foot in the studio. I did however build a new display set up featuring a number of pedestals and shelves. I was pretty pleased with how they turned out, but it will take a bit of tinkering to get everything arranged in the booth just so.

Tools of the Trade

The pieces of the puzzle

The end result

They are still a little rough, but they work.  I will clean them up and paint them eventually, but it is not really a pressing matter as they get covered with cloth for the display.


And on top of the new displays, I finally got a new tent! Some shows require a white tent canopy, but the one I have is blue…shazbot. I was originally looking for a high end tent (craft hut, trimline, etc.) and actually found one for a really good price on ebay. Unfortunately the person who listed it had no idea what they were doing and I never got the tent. Thankfully ebay has a buyer protection program, so I got my $1100 back. Later I found a cheaper tent that, while not quite as good, will serve the purpose and last a good while as long as it is well cared for. It will get a test run this weekend as long as the weather cooperates.

And I finally got around to finishing a few teapots I started a number of weeks ago. I tweaked a few things from the last teapot I made, which did not pour quite right. These have narrower spouts, so hopefully that problem is taken care of. The handles are still a little weak; they need to be a bit beefier in the profile.

And last but not least, for anyone who might be in the following areas at the following times, I have a couple shows coming up in the next few weeks. May 18-20 I will be in Paducah, KY at the Lowertown Arts Fair. June 1-3 I will be in Webster Groves, MO (close to St. Louis) for the Art & Air Festival. It would be wicked cool of you to stop by if you can.


Next time…kombucha!

He lives in a hobbit-hole and everybody knows...

Mr. T, of course.
Now, a brief recap of the Dogwood and Azalea Festival in Charleston, MO. (the show I was at this past weekend)....It was not great. I think it was just the wrong market. It was more of a county fair kind of thing rather than an art fair. There was a lot of crafty stuff and imported buy/sell stuff being sold on the cheap, so $20+ pottery was not as sought after. Fine for what it was, but apparently not the place to hock my wares.

On top of that, the weather was terrible. It rained pretty much all day Friday. Saturday it did not rain, but it was still windy and cold. Sunday started off a little warmer, but ended up getting chilly again and raining on and off all day. Suck.

One the plus side I did get to try out my new truck camper. It was acquired last week so I could camp instead of getting a hotel, drastically reducing my overall show expenses. It has already paid for itself, so good deal there.

Here is a picture of my little hobbit hole. You may notice that the back window is taped up and held closed with a ratchet strap. Yes, the camper needs a little work, but it served its purpose so far and will not be difficult to fix up.

On another note, I had an official logo made up for the studio. I think it fits the bill pretty well.

I know, I know..."You're and artist, why didn't you just make your own logo?"  While I have drawn logo designs in the past, I am not a computer person and do not know how to format it to use on a website, business cards, etc.  Since drawing a logo directly onto my computer screen just doesn't work and drawing a logo on each business card would be very inefficient, I decided to go the professional route.  My new logo was designed by Sharon Reynolds Haege.  You can check out her website here.

Speaking of business cards, I just had some made featuring the new logo. Hopefully they will be finished in time for the show this coming weekend in St. Charles, MO. The St. Charles show (7^th Annual Spring Art Walk) is in a much more affluent neighborhood and just features artists. No imported buy/sell stuff, no Ferris wheels or corndog stands...I have much higher hopes for this weekend. Now I just have to make sure my display is up to snuff.
Up next…the Yeti.

A bunch of freakin' stuff

Topic #1: Flies in the ointment
     It really sucks when you have nice pieces that are irreparably flawed in some way.  These are three such items.  The top two are in pieces now, but the designs will undoubtedly be used again.  The bottom one is still usable, just not sell-able.  It will take up residence on the kitchen window sill.

This was an experiment with underglaze and wax resist.  The experiment worked fine; the bits of detritus that settled in the bottom of the cup did not.

The sacred cow had two little pop-outs from bits of who knows what in the clay. 

Unfortunately that light spot on the left is not just a glare.  Apparently part of the slip got rubbed or washed off at some point in time.

Topic #2: The ones that didn't get away.
     I unloaded a glaze kiln today and all in all, it was a good firing.  There were a few bigger pieces and a couple plates in this load, so I didn't get quite as many pieces in as normal.  Thankfully all the orders I had in there came out suitably well.  Here are a few shots of some of the keepers.

Piggy bank...obviously.

Part of a "donation" for an upcoming show.  There was no booth fee, but there was a required donation for a pre show viewing thing.

SETI inspired works just in time for "World UFO Day" celebrated on June 24 (or July 2, depending on your source).

Flies can be cool.

Civet decoration on a coffee pot...wicked cool.

Round two got loaded a little while ago.  It should be out tomorrow night.  The only bad thing about having all this new work is that now I have to take pictures of everything.  That is probably the only part of the whole process that I really dislike.

Topic #3: Living on the edge
     Or on the rim, I guess.  I was playing around with the rim on a couple of ice buckets today, trying to do something more with them than just an abrupt ending. I was pretty happy with the results.

It looks better than what showed up in this picture.  I think I will try this with a split rim too.


Topic #4: The most expensive clay in the world
     I have heard this little quip as a way of describing reclaimed clay.  I have also heard that if you have more time than money you should make (or re-make in this case) it instead of buy it.  Since I unquestionably fall into the category of more time than money, I will continue to reclaim my clay.  To do this I needed to make a new plaster slab as my old one was getting a bit tattered.  Perhaps that was the reason for the little pops on the sacred cow.

I put this frame together today.  I ran a couple1" dowel rods through it to help support the slab as the bottom will be removed once the plaster has set up.  Now all I have to do is figure out how to mix good, strong plaster.

Topic #5:  It's killin' me
     This killin' time, that is.  Or perhaps it is the Easter candy sitting on the counter.  So what do we do while staring at Easter candy, waiting for a kiln to cool?  Make "chocolate" covered pretzels, of course.

To be honest, they are not actually covered with chocolate.  The Easter candy was made out of sugar and oil with natural and artificial chocolate flavoring.  Not really something I need to put in my body, but when combined with little pretzels it doesn't seem quite as bad. 

Next week: Which is better, a turkey or Mr. T?

Why I hurt...

A month or two ago my wife and I purchased a short term membership to Crossfit, a local gym.  We have both been putting off actually going thus far (my wife still is).  Yesterday I bit the bullet and attended my first class...it kicked my ass pretty hard.
Crossfit is not your typical gym though.  They have scheduled classes with short, intense workouts.  Yesterday we did squats, kettle bells, pushups, lunges and something called burpees.  Doesn't sound like much, but we were supposed to do as many as we possibly could of each of these exercises in four minutes.  So the total work out only lasted 20-25 minutes, but everyone was laid out on the floor after it was all said and done.  And on top of all that, I chipped my tooth with a weight bar.
I am a strange kind of sore today; my muscles hurt a bit, but they are more tired than anything.  It was good though.  I am going again tomorrow.

On the clay front, I was accepted to a couple art fairs last week, which is cool.  I was kind of worried about getting accepted to shows for a little bit, so getting into even these two shows is a nice little validation of what I am doing.  I still have to apply to shows for later in the year though, so I have yet to see what will happen with those.
The wife and I are also planning a home show type thing in the next month or so.  We have a lot of work to do to get ready for that on top of making enough inventory to cover everything.

And finally, here are a few pictures so this post isn't so dry.  This is all stuff that came out of the last load, I think.  I just haven't put any of them up here yet.  Most of these and more are on my Etsy page.

Skull butter dish.  Someone asked if I could make one of these, so I did.

Bird and magnolia butter dish

The "Baa Baa" cup

Raven wine set

I guess that is all for now.  Until later...

-Rob, Simple Circle Studios

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

Here be Dragons!

Today I sat outside in a t-shirt and decorated pots.  I know everyone has been talking about the mild winter, so it is old news, but come on.  February 2 and I was perfectly comfortable outside in a t-shirt.  That is some strange brew going on up there in the atmosphere.

Anyway, I have been decorating for a firing coming up next week.  I have some consignment stuff in there, some Valentine's day stuff in there (as previously discussed), and some new designs that I have been hankering to try out (sheep, whales, fish, etc).  Today I also worked on a dragon design. 

I have thought about doing some dragon designs before.  I mean, dragons are just freakin' cool.  They always seemed a bit complicated to put on a pot in any sort of expeditious way though.  This being the year of the dragon, however, I figured what better time to give it a go?

I sketched this guy out the other night at a meeting and put him on a cup this afternoon.  Not too shabby if I do say so myself.  And it didn't take near as long as I figured it would, so good news there.  The question is, do I make it year specific or just leave it a generic dragon tumbler?

Now that I look at it again I think this one will get a "2012" to finish out the design.  There will undoubtedly be more dragons wares in the future though.  

On a completely different topic, has anyone else been getting show stuff lined up for the coming year?  I am probably getting into this stuff a bit late for some people.  There are probably veteran art fair folks out there who already had 80% of there shows applied for and in the bag half way through January.  Oh well.  My goal for this year is to do at least 10 art fairs.  I have two lined up for this fall and am anxiously awaiting responses for a handful in late spring/early summer.  For those who have experience with this stuff, do shows generally let you know if you did not make it into a show, or just if you did?

Well, I guess that is all for now.  Until later...

-Rob, Simple Circle Studios

Selling Out, or Just Plain Selling

Today I went ahead and signed up for a table/booth for the Valentines day sale at SIUC.  (Not a great website, but it gives you the basics I guess.)  It is not a very big thing; it only looked like 15-20 people had signed up so far.  I figured I didn't have anything going on in February though, so I would go ahead and give it a shot.

I needed to get some new stuff done for a wholesale thing before February so I went ahead and made some stuff for the Valentines day sale too.  Now at first I was not too fond the whole kitchy, make things for specific holidays thing.  I had mixed feelings about making stuff specifically for this show, but I did it anyway...sort of.

Not exactly your run of the mill hearts and such, but sort of fits the whole Valentine's day thing...sort of.

I started writing some sort of diatribe about selling out by making stuff you wouldn't normally make for the holidays.  As I was working on it, though, it got kind of convoluted and messy, so instead I will just refer you to a previous post on Ron Philbeck's blog about making Christmas ornaments.  There is some good discussion on there about the perceived pottery class system and making what you enjoy making vs. making schlock to turn a quick buck.  If you haven't read it yet, check it out.

As far as the stuff for the Valentine's day sale, I don't think it falls into the schlock category.  I really enjoyed making (most) of the things I made.  That anatomical heart and the robots will definitely be coming back in the future.  And that was the general consensus on Ron's blog: if you enjoy making it, who gives a shite what other people say about it.

So what is the next holiday, St. Patrick's day?  I think I can work with that.  Until then...

-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