A wise ceramics teacher once told me that it's good practice to conceptualize a ceramic piece as a finished product before sitting down at the wheel (or starting to build). In other words, know not only the shape and size you want to make, but also have in mind any surface alteration and the glazing you want to do, and this will yield a better result than the alternative. Unfortunately for me, I most often lack the discipline to put this good practice into practice. More often than not, I sit down at the wheel with a lump of clay and ask it what it wants to be. Sometimes it doesn't know and sometimes it doesn't share it with me, but sometimes it yields a lovely result. I stare at my vast array of glazes, looking for a sign, and they usually just stare back at me.

Fortunately, another wise teacher told me that in her experience the best practice for a ceramic artist is to continue to create work. Don't feel inspired? Create work anyway. Feel frustrated with the work you've made lately? Create work anyway. Although a potter can be inspired by anything and everything...and I would guess that most potters have notebooks and binders full of random snippets of ideas...there will be times when you either just don't feel like it or feel you don't have enough time to do it well, or are unhappy with your results of late. Creating work is the thing. Practice makes perfect. Just do it. Use any corny or tired mantra to motivate yourself and keep at it. 

So I create work and more work, some that turn out well and some not so much, trying to gain a little discipline to conceptualize and plan along the way. Of course, having a husband who enjoys experimenting with glaze combinations lets me off the hook when I don't know how a piece should end up. Creating work is the thing. Sometimes it's pure fun and sometimes it feels like a chore. Creating work is the thing.

It's always exciting when the kiln is finally cool enough to be unloaded. What crashed and burned? What came out weirdly better than expected? And glaze really is weird. Other than pigmented varieties, the pre-firing version doesn't look anything like the finished product. For example, the bright blue on the inside of the mugs pictured is a deep orange-red in its liquid form (suspended powder, really). The gold on the little face sculpture is painted on as a dark charcoal gray. I am mystified and more than a little jealous of those people who presumably sat down with their chemistry sets and said, "I think I'll mix this, this and this," and created a deep red glaze that breaks to dark gray over texture. And for now I am grateful to reap the benefits of their hard work. Some day, though, I hope we have the time and storage space to create our own glazes from their element components.

After a brief period without a kiln, it's really nice to be back in pottery production here in Milwaukee. Our little electric kiln has been tirelessly spitting out all kinds of work. In between making special orders and shop pieces, our goal has been to make at least one bowl a week for Empty Bowls, hoping to have 25 ready to donate by October's event. 

It's been interesting changing from the hot and dry climate of Arizona to the cooler and moister air here. The work sure dries a lot (a lot!) slower here, but I find I get a lot less warping because of it. A good trade-off, I guess.