Here is a new form I’m playing with. This one is going to be pretty small, next time I’ll try a taller pot, or maybe a bigger round one. I threw a small cylinder and rounded out the bottom. Then, I closed the form at the top. I dried the form on a hardi-board shelf, then when it was leather hard, I trimmed the bottom into a nice round shape. After it was trimmed, I brought it to the table and drew out the pattern, then carved it out very carefully with an exacto knife. The final step was to clean up the edges of the cutouts with knife and sponge.

I think this little pot might have all sorts of fun uses. It could be used as a vase for short-stemmed flowers. Or a toothbrush holder (in a taller model). How about a pencil holder? Or, just a neat decorative piece for a table or desk.

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?

I had loose plans to fire the kiln this weekend, but it isn’t going to happen. I need a free Saturday to fire because it is possible I’ll run out of propane and will have to run to get more mid-fire. So, it has to be done on a day that I am going to be home all day and the propane place is open. I could go get it refilled now, but the bottle is over 1/4 full and weighs a ton. I don’t want to ask Paul to try to get it into the truck when it is so heavy, and I certainly can’t budge it unless it is totally empty. I guess I will have to put firing off for two more weeks, since we also have plans next Saturday. I wouldn’t dare stop a glaze firing mid-way through, but I can get away with it on a bisque firing… and there may be enough gas in the bottle to complete the bisque… but I’d better wait for a Saturday to be on the safe side. I need to just bite the bullet and get a backup propane tank.

This is all fine, I am not on a deadline at this time and have plenty of other things to keep me busy! Life is going to slow down soon and I’ll have more time to devote to the studio. Man, I am looking forward to that! So much to do, so many ideas!

In other news, I worked a couple of evenings this week decorating wax burners. I did this one in red, and am trying to decide if it is over decorated. I’ll be able to tell once it is fired and the colors are brilliant. I just got to putting dots on the piece and couldn’t stop!