All posts tagged studio

Heartbreak.

By On May 9, 2010 In Art making With 9 Comments Permanent Link to Heartbreak.Permalink


I made an error yesterday. Programmed the kiln incorrectly. Fatal error.


This guy now looks like -


Ugh.


This one is in the pile too.


And this one… and other one I didn’t photograph.


But many things did survive. Gotta look on the bright side!

I know exactly what I did. I pushed these pieces trying to get them ready for the event next weekend. They were close to dry and probably would have survived had I not programmed the kiln incorrectly. I realized my error around 1000 degrees – too late. So….

Back to the proverbial drawing board. Some of the boxes can be saved. One large box was injured by an exploding Greyhound. The masks, tiles and platter survived.

On to glazing the surviving work.

Win some, lose some.

Out of the kiln

By On May 1, 2010 In Art making With 1 Comment Permanent Link to Out of the kilnPermalink

Unloaded the glaze kiln yesterday. Lots of good results. Opening the kiln is like Christmas morning. There are lots of surprises “Yeah! This glaze turned out Awesome!” and overall the pieces look great. This was mostly tiles in this firing.

I tweaked the glazes a bit. Very pleased with the results. The designs are highlighted in a way that I like. Now to got through all the design block, weed out the designs that should be retired, and get the remaining designs on this web site.

Made a few more masks also. I’m itching to get back to the sand-based clay (verse this grog based clay) and make a some sculptures. All in all, progress feels really good.

Keep plugging along.

By On April 28, 2010 In Art making With No Comments Permanent Link to Keep plugging along.Permalink

Preparations for the Greyhound Gathering in Kanab, Utah are in full swing. The kiln is firing as I write this. Should begin to cool down in a couple of hours. Then onto a glaze marathon.


The sky above the studio is striking tonight. The Greyhounds are playing in the yard – no photos – dead camera battery. The spare was not charged either. What’s the point of having a spare if it isn’t charged? Oh well, the hounds are having a ball.


Several of the tiles from the last bisque load – waiting patiently to be glazed. When the kiln cools enough to unloaded, these tiles will go in. Then fire, reload, and repeat. And there is going to have to be a smoke fire somewhere before I leave for Kanab also. Wish me a wind-free day!

499.

By On April 26, 2010 In Art making With 2 Comments Permanent Link to 499.Permalink

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The work in the studio has been slow and steady. I’m pleased with the results.

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I bisque fired yesterday – the kiln is cooling down and should be cool enough to open late this afternoon. Then into the kiln goes another load of pieces to fire – the lamps will go in there, also the mask above, some boxes and many tiles, welcome signs and gate signs.

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I’m considering retiring this gate sign design – the block has a small crack in it so it’s probably time to go before the tiles begin to lose quality.

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So if the wind decides to cooperate, there will be smoke fired pieces soon. With every tile batch I make, I yearn for a gas kiln. I have big kiln envy lately – a bigger electric for sculpture, a gas kiln for tiles, and a raku kiln too.

According to wordpress this is blog post #499. I know I’ve lost a few through moving from one blogging platform to another (and through tinkering and not backing up first…). In June 2010 will be 15 years of Greyhounds. Huh, will have to do something to celebrate.

Lamps, redux.

By On April 11, 2010 In Art making, Miscellaneous With 7 Comments Permanent Link to Lamps, redux.Permalink

One question I get often is, “Do you have a lots of your artwork around in your house?” Well… no. Not so much. It is hard to keep artwork around here — if a buyer expresses interest in a piece, I usually sell it. Even if I love, love, love it want to have it forever and ever.

Ceramic lamp

Sometimes I make a piece to fit a specific place in my house – and often I sell that piece too. The masks are a good example of this. I made a bunch for the wall in my kitchen. Sold ‘em all. The lamps are another example.

Confession time. I bought a lamp from a super-huge, big box store. Made in China. The whole works. But I loved the shade. The base was nothing to write home about. Looked like a knock-off of a cool design, changed just enough to get by copyright. The idea was to make a base from clay with subtle carved greyhounds – something that would be greyhound-y without screaming “A Greyhound lover lives here!”

Made the bases. Assembled them. Sold them. And nearly 30 of their cousins. Always have meant to make my own lamps but never got around to it.

Did I mention I started the first lamps in 2006?

So I finally got around to making more lamps. These are for me…. at least one….unless I decide to bring them to the Greyhound Gathering in Kanab….

Today, in the studio…

By On April 9, 2010 In Art making With 1 Comment Permanent Link to Today, in the studio…Permalink

Creepy Greyhound masks are drying…

And Greyhound feet are drying…

And I made a small rabbit box with feet.

Too much and a dream.

By On April 8, 2010 In Art making With 1 Comment Permanent Link to Too much and a dream.Permalink

There are times when I feel like the leash in this photo – stretched. Sometimes stress is a good thing, right?

Remember 2+ weeks ago when I wrote about the panic to get ready for the Greyhound Gathering in Kanab. I’ve made exactly 8 small foot sculptures since then and a bunch of tiles and welcome signs. It’s a start. Today I’m hoping to tackle a few wall pieces.

The resource that I lack the most is time. So I turned down a chance to be on a statewide Arts board. I’m only going to one day of the upcoming state library workshops. I’m not going to take on any more website projects, no more extras for a while. Must par down a bit so I can meet a few deadlines and achieve some long held goals.

I wish I could take 6 months off – spend the entire time working on my studio work. Until then, today….

Bisque.

By On March 21, 2010 In Art making With 1 Comment Permanent Link to Bisque.Permalink

In my life, bisque is a ceramic process. Sometimes I wish it was the food. Like now, because I’m hungry.

Lobster bisque. Crab bisque. But seafood can be scary in North Dakota. This is beef country.

Curiously enough, bisque (when applied to clay) is also called “biscuit” – another food.

Did I mention I’m hungry?

Unloading the bisque kiln ©2010 Sarah Regan Snavely

Unloading the bisque kiln ©2010 Sarah Regan Snavely

So yesterday I unloaded the bisque kiln. This wasn’t a full load – I rarely fire a half full kiln, but it had to be done. This piece on the top is going to the Greyhounds In Gettysburg event in April in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Contemplating what color it should be glazed…

Unloading the bisque kiln ©2010 Sarah Regan Snavely

Unloading the kiln - Three Dog Night ©2010 Sarah Regan Snavely

With the Angel piece out, we can see this “Three Dog Night” piece below. Sorry everything looks like pinky mice – the fired clay isn’t pink, but my little point and shoot with flash distorts things a bit.

Unloading the bisque kiln ©2010 Sarah Regan Snavely

Unloading the kiln - Three Dog Night (detail) ©2010 Sarah Regan Snavely

Remember this piece from back in November? I started with the two dogs. Sure am pleased with adding the third dog.

Unloading the bisque kiln ©2010 Sarah Regan Snavely

Unloading the kiln - Three Dog Night (detail) ©2010 Sarah Regan Snavely

The slabs underneath aren’t part of the piece – they are shrink slabs – slabs made and fired with the piece to alleviate cracking. And except for a small stress crack in the tail of one of these figures, we did great. And that tail crack can be patched easily.

Unloading the bisque kiln ©2010 Sarah Regan Snavely

Unloading the kiln - Three Dog Night (detail) ©2010 Sarah Regan Snavely

So overall a good firing. Now to think about glaze. What color should this piece be? I think one color overall. Satin or matte finish. Probably will be gray since I love gray and I love the gray glaze. Something quiet that doesn’t get in the way too much.

Now off to find something to eat….

Test. Test. Is this thing on?

By On March 10, 2010 In Art making With 1 Comment Permanent Link to Test. Test. Is this thing on?Permalink

Glaze firing results
I totally played hooky today – spent this snowy Wednesday playing with my website. Not sure if I like the results yet. This is a test post.

Really the only work I did besides shoveling the sidewalk at the library was unload the second kiln load of glazed boxes (see above photo). Everything looks great. I’ll post a video if I can get youtube to cooperate.

Supposed to drive to Bismarck tomorrow AM for a library meeting. Weather.com says up to 12 inches of snow. Hummm… guess we’ll wait and see if the road will allow travel tomorrow.

Fog.

By On March 9, 2010 In Art making With 1 Comment Permanent Link to Fog.Permalink

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Day 12 of Fog. Maybe it just feels like day 12. I”ll bet it”s been a week, save a day or two.

Weird.

Slow snow melt is good, however. At least that”s what I keep telling myself. Lessen spring flooding. Poor Fargo…

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Meanwhile. I”ve been glazing. This has moved from the studio to my dining room table – in part due to all the clay that is taking up the glazing table, waiting to be pugged. I”ve caught up on a bunch of television through the magic of hulu.com – isn”t that the best way to watch TV?

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Glazing is the most challenging part of the process for me. It”s somewhat tedious and I”m more interested in the form than the eventual color. Always looking for a way to unify these ideas…

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These guys are in the kiln firing right now. The photo below shows a few boxes that were in the first glaze kiln load.

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One more bisque/glaze cycle to go and all the boxes from this batch will be complete. Very few cracks – as of right now – only one box lost out of the 30. Hoping by Sunday all will  be complete and on the etsy store. Should know by Wednesday if this is going to work.

Survival.

By On February 28, 2010 In Art making With No Comments Permanent Link to Survival.Permalink

349 degrees F.

349 degrees Fahrenheit is the current kiln temperature. That””s cool enough to peek inside — which I did. Hurray! We have survival! The boxes survived! (at least the boxes on the top shelf).

Can you feel my sigh of relief? Hurray! They lived.

Kiln will be cool enough to open this afternoon. I willl post more then. Have a good Sunday.

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