Studio Move-In Finished

My cleaned and remodeled studio as viewed from (nearly) the doorway to the house.

I've finally finished my studio move-in. I've got everything (or, very nearly everything) cleaned and put away. Furniture has been replaced and is where I want it. Drawers and shelves are organized and lots of random papers, tools, etc have been cleared out. I could actually use this space now, if I weren't, like, writing a blog post about it instead.

My studio after the first load of stuff was brought in, and before we received all of the new metal shelves. In the foreground left are some pedestals that are now stored in the lean-to. In the middle ground right are the old wooden and laminate shelves. 

My husband says I'm ahead of schedule; he didn't expect me to have the studio ready until May. When he first finished the remodel, we brought about half my stuff into the studio from storage and left me to clean it, organize it, and put it away. Last Sunday I spent hours and hours working on it. I had paced myself a bit the weekend before.

 

The cupboards were very dusty. I have removed and cleaned everything in the bottom and the far right cabinet, but I haven't finished cleaning the top of the middle and left cupboards--where it is difficult to reach and I don't use stuff very often.

Everything needed to be cleaned because everything got dusty. When my husband prepared the floor, he ground off the glue and that was a very dusty process. Everything that stayed in the studio cupboards was covered in a fairly thick layer of dust, even though the cupboards were shut at all times. Luckily the drawers stayed fairly clean.

The open shelves on the right area clean and organized. The main and lower shelves have some fountains I am planning to test and maybe sell at YVC's clay sale in April.

Everything that was stored downstairs was also coated in dust. While sanding, Sean obviously had the door shut, but we didn't realize until he had been sanding for about 20 minutes that the dust was shooting out through the gap under the door. We plugged it up right away, but the dusty damage was done.

The new metal shelves are much deeper than the older shelves. This is a more logical use of space, at least when the space is organized. The drawers of the metal workbench contain sprigs, stamps, brushes, tools, paint, and molds, all cleaned and organized.

At first, when bring stuff in, we piled all the sculpture, large and small, on the new metal shelves on the right side of the room. I brought in a bin of water and washed every piece, every tool, every sprig, and basically every item that stayed in the studio. The shelves on the left side of the room had towels laid out so everything could dry, but it still took days.

One of four boxes of stuff I threw away during this process. I probably had another two bags of trash besides the stuff I donated, stored elsewhere, or sold.

I also tried to eliminate as much junk as I could from the studio. When I moved stuff in originally, in 2007, we were moving our whole house and we were distracted with new jobs, a new city, a whole new house, and fairly soon a new baby, so there was less intentional organization in the studio. Over the years things both useful and less-so have accumulated in the space. I threw away some old and broken sculpture as well as broken tools and storage containers, sprigs that didn't really work and random junk. I donated duplicate tools to the YVC clay studio and handed down a number of brushes to my daughter.

I also didn't let the old shelves stay in the studio. I had three types of shelves in the old studio. The actual bookcases are now installed in the guest room and in the stairway landing of the house. The two sets of wooden shelves that are easy to set up and take apart are in pieces in the lean-to where they can be used for art shows if needed. The plastic and laminate shelves that also used to be used for art shows were already in bad shape. They wobbled and had to be used upside down because one of the feet was broken off. I donated them to some neighborhood kids who were collecting stuff for a yard sale last weekend.

The main studio work table, wheel, and storage for works in progress. Old work I can't bear to part with (but probably won't sell) is on the top shelf.

Now that everything is clean and dry and I've eliminated a sizable amount of extraneous stuff, I have a fairly good idea of workflow in the studio. It isn't much different than before, but there is a lot more space for storing works in progress in the studio and there is less floorspace devoted to storing stuff that doesn't belong in the studio (including kids art stuff and a basket of yard toys). 

The bottom shelf has photography equipment (backdrop, backdrop support and tripod) as well as a PVC pipe for a rolling pin and my installation grid for my wall bulbs.

In front of the east window is my main work space with clay storage underneath, a high worktable and my main tools in the deep drawer on the left. To the left of the work table and surrounding the wheel is work-in-progress storage. On the floor are two baskets of foam for building on or for supporting or transporting work in progress. The foam also works well as a lure for studio cats if it is placed in front of the window. I used to have lots of boxes and packing material kept under the work tables, but this has been moved into the lean-to on the side of the room (or removed from our possession by a slightly more ruthless cleaner than myself). 

The blue door leads to the lean-to, the light door to the house. The wedging table and extruder match. To the right is clay recycling.

Behind the wheel is Bludolph, my wedging table, with ware boards, bats, and my Giffin Grip and tools. In keeping with the new organized and clean set-up, I made myself a Giffin Grip rack out of some scrap wood left over from a project in grad school (because we don't throw things away in my family). The tool rack replaces a perpetually dirty cup on a shelf next to the wheel.

My homemade rack for my Giffin Grip tools.

I used to keep both clay and ware boards under the wedging table. Clay storage was basically a pile in a bucket next to the wedging table. Bookshelves made this whole area difficult to access. The new set up leaves lots of open space next to the wheel. I've put two recycle buckets here, one for red and one for grey clay.

Clay recycling. Now that I look at it this way I am disappointed that I put the red clay in the grey bucket and the grey clay in the orange bucket. Missed opportunity.

To the right of the central work table I have shelves for glazed work above and shelves for fired pieces below. These pieces are designed to be put together with other ceramic pieces and non-ceramic elements in order to become a finished sculpture. Some of them are ready to be put together, others need some work.

The blue pieces are all meant to be a set, but the physics wasn't working well for me last time I tried to put them together. Maybe now I'll have some time to problem solve.

Sean is very proud of his drywall seams and painting job, so he doesn't want me to hang up anything in the studio, particularly not temporary stuff. I admit I like the clean aesthetic, but I'm not sure how long it will truly last. In the meantime, I have consolidated and edited the inspiration images I had in the studio and I've attached them to the metal shelving on each side of the main work table. This way it is easy for me to see while working, but the studio looks cleaner than when they were on the cabinet doors.

One of my four inspiration pages, including sketches of my own, old work of my own, and artists' cards.

During the cleaning process, I went through a lot of old papers, posters, images, and artist cards that I had kept for many years. I pulled out my own stuff to keep in a smaller box of history. I threw away the ones I no longer cared about, brought a few to school, and made a small stack of ones to look up. It was interesting looking up former grad school classmates to see where they are now. I also kept a small set of images that still inspire me, but I'm thinking I may try to be more intentional about replacing them more frequently than every 13 years.

Updates on Various Winter Projects and Shows

It has been a busy winter, but some of the things I'm doing don't really have images to go with them yet.* So here's a few updates on some upcoming and ongoing projects and shows.

NCECA Presentations (March)

I spent a chunk of time today working on my presentations for NCECA. Yes, I said presentations, plural. Last week I wrote about what I'm planning to do for my Blinc 20/20 presentation: "Grappling with Politics in Art." 

I'm also going to be leading a Topical Networking Group on "Culture's Impact on a Classroom Studio" on Wednesday March 14 from 2-3pm. Here's the program description: 

"Under-resourced students bring different cultural expectations and behaviors to the studio. How can we design projects and approaches that value students’ diverse cultural backgrounds? How can we develop clay studio classrooms that are vital to student’s educational experience and development?"

NCECA is the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts. The national conference features demonstrations and talks by artists and educators and lots and lots of related shows featuring ceramic sculpture and pottery. I went last year in Portland, but apparently didn't write about it. Perhaps because Janice passed away right after the conference. 

YVC photo setup for sculpture

This year's conference is in Pittsburgh. Unfortunately it is also during finals week, so my students and I are going to beta test online submission for glazed work. We've been getting ready for it by starting the firing process early (we unload our first winter 2018 glaze firing tomorrow) and using our photo booth in the studio to document work.

Top Pottery Blog of 2017

While I was waiting for some pictures to load (I got a new phone and am struggling with making all the updates to all the different logins and settings--like iCloud), I finally got around to looking at Pottery Making Info's blog and found my name on the list of Top Pottery Blogs of 2017. Last year I only got honorable mention, this year I'm the tenth (of 17).

Grappling with Politics in Art, the Shows (February & March)

As I've written about a few times, I have work in the Nasty Woman show at Yakima Maker's Space through February 24. I got in there this weekend to take new pictures of the work with better lighting than last time.

first amendment bulbs

When the show closes (open 10-2 on Saturdays), I'll pack up the work and drive it down to Hood River for the "Raising our Voices: Art as Activism" show at the Columbia Center for the Arts. That show opens March 2 with a reception from 6-8pm. This second show runs through April 1.

installation (detail) at Yakima Maker's Space

Studio Cleaning (January, February, and...?)

One of my least photogenic (and probably least interesting to anyone else) winter projects is my multi-month home studio cleaning project. This one has been overdue for years and years. On our first 3-day weekend, I spent some time pulling everything out of my studio cupboards, cleaning, tossing junk, and reorganizing things to be more accessible.

shelves, in order and a clean countertop

The biggest improvement in the use of the space (so far, at least) is the reorganization of my underglaze bottles. I bought some sliding two tier wire drawers. Each drawer fits exactly eight bottles of underglaze and each two tier set just fits inside my lower cabinets. I can slide out each drawer and bring those underglazes to my work space. In the past, I had them in boxes that would break or be too heavy to move. This is a huge improvement in convenience for me in my home studio.

underglazes, in order

I've got a ways to go on the whole studio clean up project, since I pulled junk out of the cupboards, some of it has to find a new home. As long as I was at it, I figured I'd do a thorough job of cleaning the whole room. I figured with two 3-day weekends in winter, there'd be plenty of time. What else am I trying to do this quarter anyway?

egads, I have more cleaning to do

YVC Studio Projects (Fall and Winter)

I've also been working on my flipped classes this winter. I've written about the winter class I'm flipping and the one I started flipping in fall. Last Monday a reporter for the Yakima Herald came to my class to talk with me and the students about flipped classes. It looks like the article was just posted as I was writing this. I haven't read it yet, but it was interesting talking with the reporter about the classes. Talking about what we are doing and what is working so well about it helped me see it from a slightly different perspective even than when I wrote about it.

student work, cut apart for hollowing

Northwest Artists Ceramics Invitational (April)

I've got one more show coming up this April. I was invited to take part in the Northwest Artists Ceramics Invitational at the Robert Graves Gallery on the Wenatchee Valley College campus. The show runs April 2 - 26, 2018 and there will be a reception April 6 from 5-7pm.

a new piece I'll probably bring to Wenatchee

The Slowest Commission Ever (2018-2018)

There's one last thing I want to mention: I started a commission for my Aunt about 100 years ago. I thought I would be able to finish it before Christmas, or maybe before the new year, but I kept getting stymied by the support for these pieces and how to make them stable and weather resistant. The pieces are meant to go into a large vase in my Aunt and Uncle's yard. I made a teeny tiny bit of progress this weekend, but I've got a bit more work to do yet. And then I'll need to figure out shipping for these large pieces.

commission pieces still in progress

*Often the process of writing helps me think. I discover ideas or approaches I couldn't think of before I began to write. Today, as I actually wrote this post, I realized I have a number of events, projects, and ongoing stuff that I haven't posted about yet but that do have some associated images. I guess I'll be posting about them soon.

A Little Time To Glaze

Today I had a little time to apply underglaze.

I did the first layer of underglaze on these 7 pitcher plant forms.

I am teaching online this quarter, for the first time since 2008, and the online format just sucks up all available time, making it tough to get into the studio.

They were a little dusty, so I washed them first so the underglaze would stick.

Earlier this month, I used my tiny bit of weekend time to clean the studio, something it needs badly once the summer ends and the academic year begins.

This is how clean is defined in my studio (the carpets are clean) and there's room on some tables.

This Saturday I used an hour and a half to start some underglazing. It felt good, though I don't have a great deal to show for it.

I will need to wash the extra underglaze off the gear sprigs before I apply a contrasting color.

A reasonable goal might be to underglaze enough stuff for a kiln load this fall. Maybe I could even finish a piece this winter.

New Kiln!

new kiln, just delivered, still in its box!

I finally have a new kiln! I haven't previously paid more than a few bucks or gas to pick it up before for an electric kiln for my home.  One major disadvantage of a small kiln is that large work doesn't necessarily fit and small work has to be divided into small loads.

the complex packing of the new kiln

In about 2013 I decided I needed a new kiln and planned to use my Parker Award money to buy one, but then, on sabbatical, I started building sculpture in pieces and the need became less pressing.

the catalyst for the new kiln

However, this year, I started building sculpture without sparing even a though for my kiln size and I ended up with two pieces that wouldn't fit in my existing kilns. So my husband helped me negotiate a space in the garage and I ordered my "first" real kiln that allows me to make what I want.

last firing in the old kiln

I've been firing quite a bit this summer, since I've been doing so much commission work and so many small pieces. This weekend I unloaded my (probably) last firing from my small, old, used, donated kiln and loaded work into the new Skutt.

new kiln, plugged in and ready to go

I was able to fit both the too-large sculptures, as well as a whole shelf of other work, into the kiln for one firing. The kiln I bought is one of the Kiln Master series, rather than a Kiln Sitter series. Before this year at the new YVC studio, I've used mostly kiln sitters at home and at work. Kiln sitters require hourly manual turn-ups and therefore make it difficult to leave the kiln unattended for more than an hour at a time.

the packing foam around the kiln looks funny

I can still hear my first ceramics professor, in my head, telling me never to leave a kiln unattended and never to trust a sitter, timer, or automatic shut off, but I must say that the freedom to run more than one errand while the kiln is firing is pretty nice.

new work, waiting for glaze

My summer work time is sadly running out, but I have one last batch of sculpture that I hope to finish building and a whole assortment of functional work I hope to glaze and fire before the end of August. Someday, I might even glaze and finish the few sculptures I built this summer.

Spring Firing Results, Organizing, and Underglaze Color Reference Tiles

I have now fired thrice in the last six weeks, meaning I've been eking out time in my studio to glaze and weekend time to load and fire. The firings have been fairly dull so far; just some low fire odds and ends that had been waiting since last summer.

This is a staged shot, I forgot to actually snap a picture when I was unloading the kiln.

I have a new small kiln that my parents brought me from a friend in Wisconsin. It doesn't have more than one shelf at the moment, but I was able to balance a large domed piece on stills in place of a shelf and thus fire, essentially, two layers of work. 

This is the real firing, after I pulled out the dome piece.

The dome on stilts fired just fine, but either the entire kiln or just some of the pieces under it wobbled at some point, probably when I was closing the lid, and fell off their stilts and into one another. 

Oh no, those red pieces are stuck together!

One small piece fell of its stilt and just glazed itself to the stilt. After unloading that kiln, I realized that it would be beneficial to reorganize (by which I mean organize for the first time ever) my fairly massive stilt collection. 

And that weird purple thing is also stuck to the stilt.

That I have so many stilts is mostly a function of how I got the kilns and partly a function of another  donation of stilts from a now forgotten source. Some of them are great, some of them are not, but I think I've only ever actually purchased one small container of metal stilts.

So many stilts, now sorted by size and type.

The size of my stilt collection is roughly the size of my underglaze collection. After sorting the stilts (with some help from the kid) last weekend, this weekend we sorted the underglazes. Sorting my underglazes consists, in large part, of consolidating half full and mostly empty 2 oz jars  and rehydrating quite a few of them. I have purchased numerous 2 oz jars over the years as portable sample sets and because some colors don't come (or didn't used to come) in pints. Unfortunately the pints stay liquid much better than the small containers.

Duncan Cover-Coat Underglazes

I have two different brands of underglazes (and a few odds and ends). The Amaco Velvets are my faithful standbys and what I use most of the time, but I have full box of Duncan Cover-Coats, too. The Duncan line has some colors I like and they are generally cheaper, but I've had a few instances of peeling underglaze in the last year and those seem mostly to be the Duncans. The Duncan 2 oz jars are great for pouring out glaze, but terrible for this weekend's consolidation project, as the neck of the bottles narrows, preventing a tool from scooping out the extra stuff. 

    

Amaco Velvets and Liquid Underglazes (sorted into warm and cool boxes).

After consolidation, I took a full inventory of my underglazes (and the extra precaution of labeling the lids or easier identification in boxes) so I can replace those I am missing. A few years ago I made some reference tiles for my underglazes. I painted the number of each glaze (the numbers are short and easy to find when reordering) and lines with three different thicknesses of application onto bisque tiles. I then striped one section of the tile with clear glaze and fired them. These tiles are a handy way to check which glaze I used on a fired piece, since wet and even dry glaze doesn't always look the same before and after firing.

Some of my underglaze reference tiles.

With these tiles, my consolidated and labeled bottles, and my inventory, I was quickly able to determine that I am out of Amaco Velvet underglaze V-372 (Mint Green). I needed to determine this because last year I inexplicably used V-372 it on most of the bottom of a piece, but not all. Then I fired it so that it is permanent and promptly forgot what I had done. Now I have to fix it, but at least now I know what I need. 

  

First Firing of 2016

Over spring break, a few weeks ago, I was able to spend some time in the studio--enough time to apply underglaze and glaze to about half a kiln-load of work. This week I stole some time in the studio again and was able to prepare the other half of the load. I'm firing today. I'm still quite a ways from having all of last summer's work glazed, but I can almost see the end.

  

two sculptures in process on my crowded workspace

Last summer I didn't really finish any new sculpture during the summer, though I built a few small pieces and started some parts for a wall installation. I spent a considerable amount of my time preparing for the move to the new studio and preparing for, attending, and finishing work from my summer workshop at Archie Bray in Montana. 

my crowded glazing station

The academic year didn't get much less busy, as one could conjecture from the infrequency of my blog postings. I have new administrative duties as head of the art program and there have been some issues with regards to the new building and new studio, our department added a credit to most of our studio classes, and I took on a new-to-me art history series which required fairly massive prep time. But the most exhausting part of my year had to do with the tenure process. This was my third and final year and I was surprised by how emotionally exhausting it was at the end. 

an experimental underglaze decoration on a sculpture piece

Now the tenure process is complete and I have a lighter teaching load this quarter as a balance to the heavier load necessitated by the increased studio credits the rest of the year. I keep anticipating that I will be able to spend a whole day or a whole afternoon in my home studio, but that time is elusive. The academic and administrative duties that require my attention will swell to fill any available time. I need to actively carve out time in my studio, then jealously guard that time or it will disappear into a thousand other activities. 

small flowers to be added to a sculpture from this summer

In light of all this, I think a firing in April is fairly good progress. I'd like to see the results of my glaze application before I finish the last few pieces, but I am optimistic that I might be able to finish my outstanding (in the sense that it hasn't been finished, not necessarily in the sense of quality) work from last summer before classes are over.

glazed sprigs to be added to a summer scupture

This summer, like so often, I wish to maintain my studio autonomy, but I have already said yes to a couple of studio projects that are not my sculpture-making. I think they will be good projects, beneficial even, but not exactly my creative work. I'll write about both of these projects eventually.