I bought another propane bottle yesterday, and am finally, finally doing a bisque fire today. I hope this is the beginning of many productive months to come, now that I won’t be restricted by a nearly empty tank and the possibility of shutting the kiln down partway into a firing. And, of course, now that school is out for the summer and I’ll have studio time. Can’t fire if there’s not enough to fill the kiln!

I have started to play with photo composition. I find that the sterile background of the light tent does not showcase my work the way I want it to. So, this morning I set our dining room table up outside, set up some pretty props, and practiced with some bowls that have been sitting in my store for a while now. I took the pictures in the shade, but still got a lot of glare. I am not sure how to deal with that, unless I try to photograph earlier in the morning. I think anything that is shiny is going to glare, even in natural daylight. And, maybe that’s not such a bad thing.

Here is my first effort at photo composition using props. Admittedly, the salt shaker needs to be moved next time. I didn’t realize it would come through so white. Otherwise, I am pretty happy with these photos. They certainly show the colors of the bowls better than the photo tent pictures ever did. What do you think?