Today's Labors

It was hard to work today..my hands were aching and I really just wanted to sleep this afternoon. I managed to pull it together though, it was just too important to make the work today so I can trim and handle tomorrow and have in candling by Monday morning. If I manage that I can have it in the glaze kiln by Wednesday night and out for the Way Fruit Farm Fall Festival this weekend. Phew.

In the middle of the production I had a little fun and made a cut and altered pitcher. It recharged me a bit, enough to go back to work and press on.

Bed soon. I am worn out for the day.

The BEST pie plate ever!

A few months ago I was doing some research on Pie plates and there were a lot of claims that unglazed earthenware made the best pie plates. I was skeptical having heard before that stoneware made the best pie plates and that metal and glass that are so common today really are not good. So I decided to put it to the test. I had already determined that the stoneware plate I had made a better crust than the enameled metal ones I had used before so now I needed to make one from earthenware. So I threw 4 and I gave one to a friend to test, and we tested one. I say "we" meaning Rowan. I didn't peel any apples or make any crust. She made Dutch Apple, and the results were amazing. It's true....the earthenware crust was superior. It was light and flaky and held together nicely while the stoneware one was greasy and messy and didn't hold together well.

I believe the secret is that the earthenware is still quite porous so it absorbed moisture from the crust, keeping it crisp and nice, while the stoneware is vitreous, glazed and doesn't allow any moisture to be absorbed.

These pictures show the difference. It was amazing!

YAY the weekend! Or something like that

Oh yeah.... What's a weekend?

It used to be I would work every weekend.For nearly as long as I can remember I had a job that made me work while others were playing. Most recently it was the Renaissance Faire circuit. Long days of work on the weekends..sometimes from 8AM until 8PM depending on where we were. It's not so bad doing that two days a week for your money, unless you are also the owner of the booth and manufacturer of the goods, then it's 7 days a week no real breaks. Selling on the weekend, making stock all week.All in an endless cycle of rushing. When each fair run ended after 2 6,8 or 12 weeks there was always a shift in orientation where everything slowed down, then the cycle revved up again.

A couple years ago I stepped back from the cycle and booth co-ownership to a consignment role. Now I give up a percentage of sales to cover the costs including commission to our staff. It's good and allowed me to step back a little and focus on keeping us well stocked as well as enjoy more time with my family. My son grew up in a studio and on the road. Our together time was work time. Still good, still family, but there was very little planned leisure in our lives. We had adventures on the road, but rarely was there any fun trips or events just because. THAT got a lot better just before my son became old enough to get a job and be too busy for me. I'm glad we had a little time.

Now that I don't have to go to all the shows, I sometimes have a more leisurely weekend, but for the most part I take my breaks throughout the whole week and don't take any dedicated days off on any kind of schedule. For instance right now I am having a leisurely morning at Webster's drinking coffee and writing this blog. But this afternoon I will be busily throwing many mugs, bowls and other pieces. I may work part of the day, take a nice big break and then go back for more work in the evening. Tomorrow I'll work a lot trimming and put handles on, I want to fire a bisc tomorrow night. I'd better wrap it up and get started. There is a lot of throwing to do for sure..damn.

*sigh* yep it's cool to have my dream job MOST of the time..but sometimes I'd trade it for 9-5 and a paycheck.

Work Hard, Play Hard.

My big deadlines are all this week. Next week there will be more playtime.