Category Archives: stress

hmmm…

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confusing moment today and a minor set back.

first of all, i loaded the tall bush today.  this time i loaded into one of the kilns which i tend to like less.  it has a different computer than i am used to, an orton autofire, and i understood that it needed lengths of time input in minutes.  j was standing by, lending me moral and technical support.  when i went to enter in the 24 hours soaks, there wasn’t enough space on the screen.  it was set up like this h.mmm.  h is hours, m is minutes.  finally j pointed out that a 3 digit soak in minutes could still be long enough so i programmed in a 999 minute soak.  this was after putting in a call to the kiln service and getting no answer.  i also sent off an email to orton, since i didn’t have much luck finding a users manual in the studio or online.  i talked with jamie a bit about what kind of schedules she uses.  at this point i’m still a little unclear, like, why hold at 90 degrees, or 140, instead of 100 or 150, when your going up in incriments of 25?  and why stop and do a major hold at 180 vs. 200 when the boiling point is 212 degrees.  ???  i’m trying to take r’s advice and just talk to everybody, see what they do and then work out my own preferences.

so tall bush is officially firing.  i am working on one more major bush and then i was going to use a big round mold to pop out a few more bases, when, after rolling out the slab for one,  i realized that highwater clay had closed for the weekend and i was out of clay.  totally out.  well, save about 8 pounds which will maybe be enough to finish one of the in progress peices i have going on.  maybe enough.

yikes.  i was planning to work a lot this weekend, and then focus on firing and glazing, but that’s going to have to change since i can’t get more clay until tuesday.  yikes.

i guess this will give me a chance do so some research, and work on the non clay aspects of this installation.

also, i borrowed some plaster slabs from j and starting playing with some slip i had laying around, trailing on the plaster with a 60 cc syringe in octopus like shapes.  ceiling hangy things?  christmas ornaments? we’ll see.

whew!

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finally getting into the swing of things, work wise.  i worked a lot less, this week, and that got me four days in the studio, actually working.  i may be sorry when my paycheck comes, but that’s the way it’s going to have to be.  my bills are pretty minimal and i am able to stay mostly stocked with food by visiting my parents house (yum!) but this month had some major put outs, i.e. buying the 300sd and driving down to west palm to get it.  pretty minimal, you might think, but i’m a paycheck to paycheck kind of girl.  so i’m trying to lay as low as possible this week and hope that my pay covers next months bills.  creative clay gives me a little extra cash each week, though my four hours there are so delightful, i sometimes forget i’m getting paid.  i am hoping to add on a few more hours with there art link program.  one of their member artists and and artist like me are linked up and create a body of work over a period of time (9 months?) and then during the summer there is a show.  i was super impressed with this summer’s show.  two artists i know and there art link partners made some very involved installations, one with found objects and one with sewn dolls.  working on the garden path installation right now has got the wheels in my head turning about how i could work with one of cc’s artist on a full scale installation with clay or found objects. cc is a good combo of “working” and making art with a little bit of hanging out and bonding thrown in.  i’ve definitely noticed when you work with other artists on a weekly basis, you start building a relationship.

anyway, the point was, trying to work less, and make art more.  i’m trying.  whew is it hard though sometimes.  i think i should start taking snap shots each day as i leave the studio and post them here so i can see my progress over time.

of course, i love my job too.  i spent the summer trying to learn as much as i could, and to get as good as i could at it so that when i got this residency i could shift my focus briefly to learning everything about it.  and hopefully a great equilibrium will eventually exist.

ok, i’m out.

stress.

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right now is kind of hard.  i am getting benefits starting dec. 1st.  so i need to work at least 25 hours a week.  usually i am working more, because i need the money, but i am trying to scale back.  i am at the clay studio one day a week and at creative clay one day a week.  at the moment, when i finish working, i just want to chill, and not think about making work.  i’m feeling a lot of frustration.  i want to have a whole day to work in the studio.  and i think i need a whole day to do nothing and to be completely alone but there are not enough days in the week.

i applied and was accepted to kara walker tome’s next show 10 x 10 in west palm beach in mid november.  i am creating a large scale sculpture installation of a garden out of white glazed earthenware.  i have the picture in my head and am so excited to work on it.  on top of the clay sculpture i’m going to add materials like gravel, crocheted yarn, sand, etc.  i just want there to be a lot of layers.  i worked on the mock up tuesday and the main layout is done.  now i just need to create the main sculpture pieces so i can start adding detail.  i am so lazy, i just wanted to do detail work.  i spent a few hours coiling the other day, and then ended up balling it all up and pinching the mock up out of it.  i just wanted to warm up.  once i really took the layout in i realized that i’m going to have to make some temporary slump molds.  i think those big exercise bowls will work and maybe some big trashcans and/or plastic storage bins.