Summer doldrums have already set in for me, and it's not even officially summer yet. But I did finally get a mixed kiln-load of pieces finished. (The following info might be too much for an experienced clay artist but possibly informative for a beginner.) What I mean by a mixed load is that part of the kiln (the bottom) is packed really tightly with pieces that are raw clay that has been completely dried; and since they aren't glazed, can be touching each other, even lying on top of each other in some instances. The upper part of the kiln has been carefully loaded with bisqued (prefired) pieces, painted, and glazed. I put the glazed pieces in the top of the kiln so that in the unlikely chance that a raw piece would blow, my glazed pieces wouldn't be damaged. (That has only happened once or maybe twice early in my over 30-year career as a clay artist. Has it really been that long??)
For firing, I set the firing schedule for a slow glaze fire, which causes less of a temperature shock to the bisque pieces. Tomorrow, I'll report on the outcome. A mixed load is not something I normally do, but I have been working slowly lately (retail sales are slow in the summer, and I've already finished my gallery orders for the summer, and I'm spending as much time outdoors as I possibly can because working my gardens is fun). I'll show a shot of the finished kiln either tomorrow or the next day, depending on how cool it is.
Another thing lately that is a little disappointing is that some of my new works aren't receiving as much interest as my standard pieces that I've worked on and perfected sometimes for decades, such as my dog, cat, and fish wall pieces. I still love them all and make them regularly, but I also want to try new pieces that haven't been perfected. Unfortunately, those new pieces just aren't as well received (plus, they're often more expensive). I'll continue to make them, though, because I enjoy doing it, and somewhere out there is someone who is going to find at least a few of them to their liking. It's something I've wanted to do for many years, but for the most part, I was doing only what the public wanted, and they wanted a lot of my standard pieces.
I think I've mentioned that I used to have a quite large wholesale business, including employees, a huge studio to die for, lots of kilns, etc., etc. It probably sounds great, but it was a miserable existence, I must say. "All work and no play ....." And for reasons that I have probably already mentioned, it all came crashing down (coincidentally, it coincided with the 9/11 attack, which just added salt to the wound) After my business crash happened and I got over the shock, which took a while, I slowly and carefully, on a much smaller scale, started selling to some of my galleries again. Only in the last few years have I mostly stopped selling to any galleries (I have only two now, one of which has come on very recently, and there won't ever be more).
This is a rambling post, mostly because it's the "summer doldrums" and because I tend to wander. It's so odd to know what I can safely say and what I cannot say, so I just wander instead. Anyway, I'll report my firing results when I can. In the meantime, check out some of my less standard pieces on Etsy sometime if you like (https://www.etsy.com/shop/DottieDracos). If no one buys them, it's okay; I'll continue to make them anyway and display them in my own house because I think they're adorable. Nothing too edgy; I don't go there, sad to say.
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