Cleaned up the studio so it was in good shape as our Thanksgiving guest house; it's been a nice break from the mess of clay. Am looking forward, however, to starting another cycle of work after some glazing, firing, and yes -- a
WillowAK Pottery Open House.
We've decided on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 8 and 9, from noon until 5:00 on each of those days for an open house. Hopefully we can get the word out to those in the area and to others who may have an interest in stopping by to see what's being created in the studio. I've already heard from a couple people I don't know, so this could be a good opportunity to meet neighbors in the Willow area, which would be nice. If you're reading this blog and have time to come by for the WillowAK Pottery Open House on Dec. 8 and Dec. 9, please do. We look forward to seeing some longtime friends and acquaintances as well as folks we've never met.
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| Sour dough proofing |
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| Wood oven used for bread baking and more |
Cold, cold, and more cold in Willow since I last posted. The sun's been shining, but the high temp reading outside our home today was minus four degrees, and the fuel bill sure looked more like a January one than November's. We're warm and comfy inside, however, and the mountain views have been spectacular every day for weeks; would be nice if this counted as our cold spell of the 2012-2013 winter, but that's not likely. Was in Talkeetna on Sunday for a class at
Flying Squirrel Bakery Cafe on making artisan bread, and there was a 25 degree difference between the Talkeetna temp and the temp at our home. Yes, Talkeetna's was the warmer of the two. Lots of similarities between bread making and working with clay. Wonder how my electric kiln would do as an occasional baking oven. Anyone know?
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| Lots of good tips and tricks offered |
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| Some of us at the Thanksgiving dinner table |
Great Thanksgiving with family. Delicious traditional dinner thanks to the multiple food preparers, good times with Taboo, Jenga, doll-making, knitting, reading, screen watching and other indoor activities, plus some skating, skiing, shooting and ice fishing for some. Had a chicken with us this year -- but not for eating. One of Sara's needed special care, so it arrived in a dog kennel and did fine in that during her stay. Five dogs when we all get together. We do feel very fortunate to have children and grandchildren within a comfortable driving distance of our home. iChatting is nice -- and we did it with our Portlanders -- but it's certainly not the same as
really being together as we were last Thanksgiving.
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| Hole for ice fishing, tracks, and walkers |
More news about pottery next time, when I'll probably be getting ready to begin another cycle of making "pieces with personality."
Oh, I did mention earlier how the kiln shelves are now stored using dowels between two shelves of the metal shelving unit; here's a photo of what that looks like when some shelves are in their spaces:
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| Ben practicing his snow sitting! |
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Oh, I did mention earlier how the kiln shelves are now stored using dowels between two shelves of the metal shelving unit; here's a photo of what that looks like when some shelves are in their spaces: