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Out of clay!
Oh no! I’m out of clay. I used up my bag at Pullen, and the last of my bag at home. While cleaning out the garage this weekend, I found several bags of moldy and rock hard clay. It’s a sign of having taken some time off. I need to drive out to Durham for more clay, but I’m not about to make that drive in rush hour traffic. Besides, with as low as the temperature will be dropping tomorrow, I doubt my trusty little space heater will get the garage warmed up. Last night I joined the Triangle Potters Guild. I’ve been eyeing this group since taking classes at…
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Working from Home with Kids Part 2
In the last post, I described my journey to being a work-from-home mom. In this post I’ll share some of the struggles. To give reference, I have two boys – one is now in preschool four mornings a week, and one is in first grade. I’m a part-time temporary hire, which in fancy terms is adjunct professor. I’ve been doing this work since I was first pregnant and have taught every spring and fall semester the past seven years. I currently teach three 1-hr and 2-hr credit courses in the spring and one 3-hr credit course in the fall. This works out require anywhere from 5-15 hours a week, depending on how…
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Handbuilding in the Kitchen
With only two or so weeks until Christmas, I wanted to get in one more batch of pottery for the year. Since the pottery wheel is currently covered in Speckled Brownstone clay, and all I have left to use is Little Loafers, which is a white clay, I’ve moved back to handbuilding inside. I know I could just clean the studio, but baby, it’s cold outside! After glazing 75 ornaments in the last batch, I wanted quick, less tedious work for my hands. Nothing will crowd the kiln shelves quicker than making a batch of serving trays and casserole dishes! I’ve really been enjoying working at the kitchen table on…
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Making Ceramic Ornaments with Cookie Cutters
For several years now, we have made Christmas ornaments from clay. Last weekend I brought my supplies into the kitchen to finish up a couple requests from friends, and my kids descended on the makeshift workspace and demanded clay and all my tools. After a morning of wresting on the living room floor and failed attempts at controlling the noise level in the house, the silence that their focus on the clay brought was amusing, even if it took me five times longer than if should have to roll out a couple Texas ornaments. Basically anyone who has access to clay and a kiln could make charming ornaments with relatively little experience. Several things that…
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Frosty Garden
It was a frosty morning in the garden! I guess it is time to start popping the D3 supplements because it is way too chilly to sit outside with my sleeves rolled up. Pictured below are oregano, some type of choi (bok? pak? I dont’ know), and triple curled kale. Last week, the basil, beans, peppers and cherry tomatoes (the last bit of summer still holding on) permanently bit the dust, so now there’s a good bit of open space on the ground. It only took a month, but some spinach sprouts finally took to the soil, and I’m hoping they overwinter. In other news, I’m three weeks into a pottery class…
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Pottery and Pinguecula
About two months ago I tried my hand at the pottery wheel after not working with clay for nearly eight months. The next week my eye flared up. After a busy summer and fall at the wheel in 2013, my eye had given me trouble but had cleared up when I quit working with clay. Steroid eye drops helped during that season, but the flare-ups only went away after extended time away from the wheel. After having it flare up again at the end of this summer, I’m convinced the clay dust was causing the irritation. Not only that, I had a recurring sore throat, my left wrist lost all strength, and neck and…
