Inspiration....Has Arrived!
Admittedly, I do love making pottery when inspired to do so. It's satisfying to wire off a slice of porcelain from a 25# chunk that has traveled from Tacoma to Alaska. In the past, I would order a palette of porcelain that came by barge to Anchorage, by Span Alaska to Wasilla, and finally to Willow in our Ridgeline. Each 50# box contains two 25# bags of porcelain. Once unloaded and stacked under the studio, I was set with a good clay supply for months. Keith would deliver the bags as needed.
Recently, we shifted to a USPS delivery of only a few boxes at a time, not knowing how long the hands, back and joints will hold up, and not wanting Keith to navigate the outdoor stairs year-round to retrieve boxes of clay from under the studio. So now, it's fewer boxes at a time, stored in the garage for easy access. Although Flat Rate helps, just getting the wet clay to Willow is expensive, but isn't most everything these days? I'm grateful we get it here as easily as we do.
Thankfully, I have wonderful studio space and equipment. My Skutt wheel sits by a huge window that looks out on the lake, and a Peter Pugger clay mixer/ pug mill, along with a trouble-free Shimpo slab roller helps tremendously, as does a reliable Skutt kiln. Once the inspiration strikes, I'm ready to wedge, throw, trim, stamp, carve, alter, fire, glaze, fire again, grind the bottoms, take some photos, post them on this blog, put the pieces on the shelves, and pretend they'll find a new home on their own. Marketing is not my forte. Yes, there's lots of room for improvement on the last part of the process.
There's a little more to my ART story. I did order three boxes of porcelain in the wee hours this morning and am inspired to get new projects underway. Inspired because I just committed to a few custom orders that I look forward to fulfilling. All parts of the creating process I enjoy, especially the trimming and surface design, but once a piece is completed, I tend to put it on a studio shelf and hope someone who sees it will like it well enough to offer it a home, use it, and enjoy doing so! Requests for custom pieces do seem more exciting and interesting, as well as more challenging since there is a specific expectation to be met. I do like knowing, however, who I am making for and that they want the pieces they've ordered. It seems to give more purpose to the studio work.
Oh, if you are near Talkeetna, do visit The Dancing Leaf Gallery, open every day, to see the variety of beautiful art they offer in their awesome gallery; if you're in Willow, do let me know if you'd like to visit the WillowAK Pottery "working studio" to check what is underway and on the shelves here. New orders, sunshine, and longer days have inspired me, so expect some new work to be completed and posted in March and April. Inspiration is a good thing!!
