Group Show

Very exciting! This coming Friday, October 3rd is the opening of a group show for the Westchase Artist's Society. A local group of artists with different disciplines, paint, photography, sculpture, mixed media, jewelry and of course, me representing clay. This will be my first show that I'll have some of my butterfly photography and I'm excited to see them up on a gallery wall. In addition to three photographs Rosalita my Corporate Greeter will also be part of the show. I figured that she needed some time out and about and what better setting that a show?

The show is going to be at the Great Art and Frame Gallery, which is a wonderful gallery owned by Joose Hadley, a fine painter in her own right. Our openings are always fun and if you're in the area be sure to stop on by.

The Kiln Opening

One thing that potter's share, doesn't matter what type of clay, whether you mix your own glazes or use commercial premixed glazes, whether you form works by hand or throw on the potter's wheel, we all share the joys of a kiln opening.

After working diligently, for sometimes weeks, on a piece the culmination of our efforts comes on the day of the kiln opening. If it's a group kiln load there's usually a celebration that has food as an ingredient. There are oo's and ah's shared and usually an informal critique of what went right and what went not so right.

As a solo potter, I rarely have anyone around with the exception of our dog, sometimes my husband, to share my joy and sorrow over the kiln opening. So, my kiln opening party has to be a virtual one shared with potter friends over the net. Thank goodness for the internet!

Why are we so excited about kiln openings? What's the big deal? Well, for me it's all about working on a piece for sometimes weeks. I often wish that I could just stop after the glaze painting is finished. Sometimes the load is magnificent, everything is perfect and the kiln goddess was smiling down on me. Other times there are problems. So many variables can come into play, heat, circulation, dust in the glaze, venting, and the list goes on and on. We have this point in time when the piece either makes it or breaks it. Stress levels rise even more when there are pieces in the load that are part of an order. If something goes wrong it sets back the schedule and at the holidays this can be critical.

We never want to trash a piece, especially if a lot of time went into it. But one thing that I learned from the college experience is that each piece is a learning process. Even if it gets thrown into the shard bucket a lesson of some sort was learned.

Butterflies Flutter By

Another day of spectacular visitors to our garden. I was in awe of this guy that had to get a belly full. He kept going from flower to flower. The butterfly is a Gulf Fritillary. They are spectacular. The top of their wings are totally different than the bottom and so much fun to watch. This was another pristine butterfly, no signs of fights with wasps or the winds. A real beauty. Enjoy!

The Exotic Teapot

I was contacted by a freelance writer about a possible spot in a blog called the Exotic Teapot. What a nice surprise. Two of my girls were featured in the August 25th post. Here's the link http://www.exoticteapot.co.uk/en/myblog/index.html

If you're a fan of teapots, you'll enjoy strolling though this blog.

For a little bit of background on my two teapots that are featured, the one entitled Humuhumunukunukuapuaa was inspired by a trip to Maui a few years ago. The Humuhumu is the state fish of Hawaii. We went snorkeling at a great spot called Molekini and saw one up close. They're also called Reef Trigger Fish, but I prefer their Hawaiian name. The Blingity Bling Bling teapot was the third in a series of blinged up teapots and the fish that I based her on is one whose picture I took at the Florida Aquarium, it's called the Pixie Hawkfish.

Be sure to check out the Exotic Teapot blog. It's a lot of fun even if you're not a teapot aficionado.