In the Studio: Time for T (Squares)*

Here is the tile for the back splash in our Kitchen, in it's last mold phase e.g.: trying to make it into a functional tile that will work, and not make my Husband crazy when it comes time to put them up. The first mold I made back in November did not turn out great- I used mold soap instead of petroleum jelly to grease the mold- and the tile slid around while I was pouring the plaster in which made it less square and crisp than I needed- luckily I could still press out a couple of tiles- and so I pressed one and then set about fixing it up to re-mold it.

 Mostly I had to smooth out a few spots  and make the Wheat motif a bit thicker- so that it didn't disappear on the edge, and add a ton of clay to make the edges square (ish). You can see in that photo that the bottom of the tile is about a 1/4 inch out at the bottom- which would make it a nightmare to grout- and also not look very good, though I do like the 'not quite perfectness' of the edges and the slight rounding of the corners- It has to be a proper square- otherwise it will bug the shit out of me while I'm cooking, looking up at my mistakes tiled behind the stove. Otherwise the project is moving along- I'm on to trying to figure out the best combo of clay and grog to reduce warping and shrinkage, and perfecting drying methods next... It's starting to get a bit technical- which I love- but which makes things a bit boring for everyone else...like watching clay dry...literally.


* I know it's not actually a T-square in the picture- but for the sake a cute post title- let it go. Oh god now I'm looking at the picture thinking how much better it would be if it were a t-square...so much more balanced...

Garden Planning

My initial must buy list- that has a few things crossed off and some things added,
 after the final tally.

Last years' ridiculously detailed garden plans- I think there's
10 pages detailing different crops- pregnancy makes me crazy.

My big garden plan- the only one I really need- to scale though,
with measurements clearly marked.

Well- it's that time of year- garden plan time- I'll tell you how I do this phase of the garden- though it's by no means the most efficient way I'm sure. I'm a big dreamer, so I tend to go big- and then scale it all down once I get out to the garden, but the big dream part is helpful too- it gives me somewhere to reach to- and helps me to realize my long term plans. So I always start by just looking through the catalogues, and writing down everything I would buy if money was no option (which of course it is- especially when you have two kids under five and one income), I tend to limit this stuff somewhat by thinking of what I actually have time to do in one year/how many fruit trees I want to be watering through the summer, or holes I want to be digging in the spring, but otherwise I just write it down.

Then I go through and see what seeds are left over from last year- and what I can stand to let go- keeping what I really feel we need. I buy seed and plants from a few sources so I also go through each catalogue and see if I'm buying from the most cost-effective source. I like to buy local- and also buy heirloom, but sometimes that's not so important to me, and I'm usually willing to pay a little more if the seeds are actually produced by the people selling them- also if it's something that I can save seeds from easily- like tomatoes- I feel like it's okay to splurge- other things- like broccoli, leeks, onions, I don't want to spend too much on- because you have to buy them over and over. Once I've gone through and pared it all down, (this year my original list was 401 dollars at first go- 200 of that being perennials, and fruit trees, but I got it down to around 350, after I checked through my seeds, and did my mini reality check-( no arnica or sea holly for me- at least not this year, well maybe not...)

The next step is to plan out the garden on paper- making sure that I keep my rotations in mind, I did a super detailed garden plan last year- I'm not sure it was needed- I don't think I followed it at all once the reality of planting set in, but I have it now forever- so I know how far apart I like to plant peppers- for what it's worth- I also write down what worked and what didn't in fall (peppers growing next to corn was not good- not enough sun, summer squash need ridiculously wide rows on either side if we want to till them, the borage, tomato, tomato, borage routine worked well- though I should plant the borage earlier). I keep a simple plan every year so that I know where I planted stuff and I try to rotate as much as possible to help avoid disease and bugs.  This plan is pretty much what happens in reality- and I update it once we're done planting too- but it does have a fair bit of room to move around too- plus a few overflow rows, where I can stash extra plants I pick up on a whim, or can't bear to not let grow.

I sometimes feel like our garden is not the picture of sustainable, Eco-friendliness I'd like it to be because we have so much bare soil- our paths are five feet wide- the rows are three, so that we can till it, and drive the 'gator down the row to harvest. We offset this 'un-greenness' by tilling the weeds into the pathways, so we're essentially green manuring, and also by rotating the paths and rows each year- so each garden row gets a fallow year between growing- it's not ideal, because driving and walking on the soil compacts it- so we have to till in order to aerate it- and that's hard on the soil.

This year I think I may plant five foot rows and five foot paths- to make it easier to rotate them and also because the plants need more space. I like to grow certain plants in blocks- things like carrots and beets, and greens grow in short rows across the wide garden row- so I have 10 short rows growing north/south, in my long east/west row- once they grow in a bit I don't have to weed at all, and they maintain more moisture so that's a real bonus- by July most things have grown in enough that the only weeding needed is in the paths, and only things like peppers, onions and eggplant need grass mulch on them.

We're a bit detailed with garden planning, I think, compared to most people- but we both worked/still work in agriculture research, and that stuff rubs off on you- don't even get K started about straight rows, and marking them, and tilling them, also there's nothing better than anticipating the garden in the middle of winter. The next step is my favorite: planting the seeds. Growing heirlooms usually means starting your plants from seed- which is not as hard as it sounds, but takes a little effort and a good space, I'll be starting some things inside this week- as well as getting my winter sowing on the go too. How do you plan your garden? what tips have you come up with over the years?

5/52

N: A girl and her pony- also called 'girl'. This is the hobby horse I made for Christmas- it was a huge hit- and very simple and fun to make.  I will have to post more photos of 'girl' later.

A: A very cheeky baby- all smiles- this week was full of milestones- two teeth, sitting up alone, pushing up and rocking, moving backwards, this wee one is on the move rather frighteningly for a girl who is only 4 3/4 weeks old! Also she has grown out of almost all of her clothes- the ones I have for N at this size are for warm weather, or people who are walking around. I must be missing a box of clothes somewhere- finding it is today's challenge.

posting along with Jodi at Che and Fidel

In the Studio

the spectacular mess of removing wallpaper-
but this is the last bedroom with wallpaper upstairs! yay!

I love finding the layers of old paper and paint under wallpaper,
this bright teal blue is really lovely. 

It's that time of year again, time to get working on some art (actually it should be that time of year all year right?). I found that doing a studio related post once a week as I did last year, really held me accountable- I had to get something done if only to post about it, and I felt like I made a lot of progress, even if it was baby steps it was nice to have it all laid out for me, so I'm going to start those posts up again.

In keeping with Emily's making it happen in 2013 challenge at  Bluebirdbaby here are my art related goals for 2013:

• make a more consistent model for mugs- I love hand building but I find it hard to get a really uniform product, and while I like the unique quality they have- there is room there for a little more uniformity- there is a fine line between unique and weird- especially in functional ware.
• get my base glazes set- a good gloss and matte base that can be coloured using both oxides and stains.
• Get my studio set up so that I can easily slip into it for a few minutes and make some work. I find that caring for small children makes it really hard to find any solid chunk of time to make work- so I need to be able to work on something for 10 minutes then put it aside and come back to it later. If I wait until I have an hour to devote to something I think I'd be waiting a few years. 
• Get my little ones into a schedule that includes some devoted studio time for me- even if that time is interrupted by forty thousand requests for milk and pee breaks. 
• Set up a space online where I can start to sell a few pieces at a time, as I make them, I think that craft sales and farmer's markets are a great way to sell product, but it does require a large amount of stock that is constantly updated and ready to move. I have a hard time making that much stuff (because of aforementioned milk and pee breaks). Also by the time I make enough product (sometimes a year or two!), It feels like I want to move onto something else, and the older stuff seems not as good as the new stuff, and that is not the type of sale I want to have.

I think that's all of it. This week I'm doing a bit of a face lift in the studio- taking down wallpaper and ripping up carpet- I'm excited to see what the space looks like when I'm done- hopefully I'll get it done in the next week or two, and then I can get down to work. 

Solstice

I usually try to feed some birds on solstice, I don't worry about it too much before that date fro some reason, and it's turning into a nice little family tradition to start it up on the shortest day of the year. This year we made 'Bird cookies'- which will probably feed more squirrels than birds actually, but whatever. They were really easy to make and N really enjoyed helping me hang them up outside.

I hope you all enjoy your holiday season, I'll see you back here in the new year.

Making

 

 

The concentration with which she painted each gift for her cousins was remarkable, I kept asking if she was done, and she would say no, then consider it, and then add one more stroke- just so- and then pronounce it to be done. I was really impressed. And I love the sensibility of the finished product, the way that she chose different colours for each bookmark, and kept to that colour combo for the whole thing, making each one different and complete.

 

There must be a natural way to select colours, something inherent, because she tended to choose complimentary colours; purple and yellow, blue and orange, and I swear I did not interfere. There is probably some basic colour knowledge that we shed as we get older, which is really just there at our fingertips as children. 

Making

 



I've finally had success with the Swiss Meringue Butter cream, I think... last time I thought it was great- but then I tried some after it had sat in the fridge and it was curdled, and it would not come back together. This time I ate two cupcakes before I refrigerated them, just to make sure I had my fill in case it goes wrong, but so far so good. I used this recipe- (which was much simpler, and smaller, than the first one I used)  the only difference being that I heated my egg whites to 160- for some added peace of mind. I usually don't worry about raw eggs, but I figured the few extra minutes of whisking and heating were worth it. Oh and I also accidentally melted my entire pound of butter- then had to harden it in the freezer and whip it back together again, no harm done though.

This is the best icing ever, seriously, I love that it has more egg white and butter than sugar- which makes it seem like a health food when you compare it to regular icing, which is basically just icing sugar. It tastes like sweet buttery air. Apparently it freezes well too- so I stashed the majority of the cupcakes in the freezer.

I've also been making headway on the sewing projects, very furtively answering the question, "what are you sewing mama?" so I don't ruin any Christmas surprises. I'm also toying with the idea of taking the credit for stockings so that I can put handmade gifts in there. We've been pretty discreet about Santa so far- and I think we could just turn him into some guy who represents the "spirit of giving", that you send letters to, and leave cookies out for? hm... maybe not- but maybe the idea of Christmas being a joint effort between Santa and mom and dad is not so out there, any ideas?

clearing out

 

 

One of the many paradoxes of  caring for small children as an artist is that while I'm caring for them I have lots of time to think up new projects or ponder solutions to artistic problems, but very little actual time to carry these thoughts out. I'm not sure how this works, or how to describe the time vacuum of small children, the closest I've come so far is that it feels like I'm busy being interrupted, mostly. It's like they have this orbit that pulls you in and before you know it every thing you do is put off by something else, or your mind is absolutely free to explore but your hands are totally occupied.

Anyhow- I've been feeling like in order to get anything done in, I need to focus on one extra activity only, and I've chosen clay, so I'm putting away the sewing for now. Of course as soon as I've decided this I also thought up about fifty projects I'd like to make ( Christmas presents for the girls, because it's that time of year again) and came across a ton of mending and altering to do.  I also thought that it might be a great time to update my studio- take out the carpet, and rip down the wallpaper and paint and build better storage. So it'll probably be spring before I actually get the studio into shape so I can work on clay, but that's my lot in life right now.

I've been chipping off the small projects that I have piled up too- I finally got these frames up on N's room, and finished the floor pillow I made for her last year for Christmas (she'd been using it but without the button in the centre the stuffing shifted everywhere).  I'm really happy with how the frames look on the wall, and happy to have the blue bird that was my Grandma's up in a safe place.


The tutorial for the floor pillow is this one- it was a heck of a lot of sewing but totally worth it in the end.

Sewing- Faux Chenille baby blanket

Baby Blanket and Kicking bag-
stuffed animal meant to demonstrate- otherwise it looks like a fancy hot water bottle cover

So despite being extremely practical when it comes to handmades for this new baby, I did make a couple of special items just for it- every baby needs at least one new blanket right? I saw this tutorial and fell in love. I made mine with an old flannel sheet I had kicking around because darn it flannel is expensive- and I could not justify spending 8 bucks a metre on something that I wanted to cut up and fray. I was a little concerned that the old sheet wouldn't have the right weave or the bias cut would somehow not work- but it did- so if you want to try this using an old sheet- go right ahead.

I also really love the idea of a kicking bag for this baby- though who knows if we'll need it at all- if it stays this hot here I'll probably just let it roam in diapers. I didn't have one for N and I think it will be handy this fall and winter. It's a pretty loose pattern- the one I read was meant to be knit in the round- but I used straight needles and just sewed up the bottom and sides. I added a little bit width after the ribbing as well because it seemed tight otherwise- and then to hide my yarn over increases, and add a bit of interest I did a row of a miniature leaf pattern with a contrasting yarn. It looks exactly like a large hot water bottle holder (and actually has me thinking that a hot water bottle cover might be a good gift for Christmas- especially out of hydrophobic wool), but once there is a cute baby to put inside it it will make sense- I hope.

Sewing: Camera Case

Last fall I bought myself a new camera- a Fugi- Finepix S- it's a bit bigger style- and has a neck strap- which I find to be a supreme annoyance, but I thought a wrist strap wouldn't quite do the trick as it's quite a big camera. I pondered over it for a while and then discovered that if I slung it over myself messenger bag style- diagonally that is- it stopped that stupid flopping that happened every time I leaned over- beaning my kid on the head more than once and generally making it awkward and hazardous to be around me, and, it also looked a bit cooler. 

So great- problem solved- but the strap was a bit short- making it sit somewhere closer to armpit height than the true waist hiegt I would like, and I remembered that most of my past cameras have been ruined by the lens getting grains of dirt and stuff in it, and seeing as how I usually take photos in dirty settings like a freshly rototilled garden, maybe it would be good to have some sort of cover for it. I thought and thought and finally decided to make a case that would strap onto the camera, and then hook onto the strap, so that I could let it hang from the strap while I took my pictures, and put it back in the lightly padded case while not in use.

I added a section to the shoulder of the strap, and drafted a case around the camera, it's a bit tough to get a picture of in use, but basically the top flap opens with a button, and the camera is sitting in a fitted pocket. The case is essentially attached to the camera at all times by a loop on the strap so I don't have to take it out and put it back every time I take a picture, and it hangs out of the way while I'm using the camera. I've been loving it so far- and it's reversable, and it's been holding up pretty well. It is by no means a completely safe camera case- I do have one of those, but it's not as convienient for around the house uses- but it does act a second layer of protection while the camera is in use- and it's not so bulky that I couldn't put the whole thing into my other camera bag.



In the Garden

Some random garden photos from the last week; bees are loving our no pesticide lawn- the dandelions are flourishing- lovely maple seeds hanging from the trees providing a nice frame for my garden helper- the heart warming blooms of the strawberry plants, can't wait to pick those babies.

All of these photos have been edited in Picmonkey- a very cool and free photo editing program. I haven't played much with this type of thing (outside of photoshop in school- which was not so much fun as it was an exercise in patience- not an easy program to drop into and use without spending considerable time learning how it works). Picmonkey is very easy to use, and  I can see that once you start fiddling with the photos it's pretty addicting. I tried to post a few photos that were just edited in my regular way (we use Irfanview for every day editing- colour adjustments, resizing, cropping etc. but it doesn't have any fun special effect filters) along with the ones that I toyed with, but they looked pretty bland next to the super saturated colours in the filtered ones.

The nice thing about Picmonkey is that you can make things look like a Polaroid or daguerreotype, or give it rounded corners and a vintage feel- and they do all the work for you- but you can still customise the degree of the effects. It takes seconds to use it, and you can also make collages and give people hats and mustaches if you want to- plus loads of other things. Of course I'm still thinking that you've got to start out with a basically decent photo if you want to get any sort of great result, but this program is super easy to use, so it's ideal to play around with every once in a while.

In the Studio

the drying luminaries

the three surviving luminaries, and a couple of carved vases.

It was a glaze firing week- so that means *goody*- some colourful photos on the blog- not just drying clay colour (though I snazzed up the sidebars a bit in an effort to give you something colourful or spring like to look at). Mostly mugs in this kiln, and I was really pumped that I love at least some of them. That's the one thing about Clay- you just never really know if the glaze is too thick or too runny or just right until it comes out of the kiln, and by that time it's usually too late to do anything about it. Unless there's not enough glaze which is easy enough to re-fire, if there's too much, or the wrong colour, or you accidentally had a smidgen of black glaze dust on your finger when you put that otherwise perfectly glazed robin's egg blue platter into the kiln, then too bad- that one black spot will just have to stay there (I think, unless anyone has a solution for that one?????)

So mostly a successful kiln, my glazes worked better over texture a bit thinned out, and I also mostly by fluke discovered an effect that I love- a Watercolour-y looking effect, where one colour sort of runs into another and the brush marks stay defined. I usually glaze by painting on- it's just easier for me to control- I get too spastic wild with dipping or pouring, though my official reasons for painting on glaze is as a nod to my painter's heart; I really love when you can tell how an item was made- you can see a seam on a hand built pot, or you can see the brushstrokes on a painting. I want to see the method used in the medium. I've had this brushy effect happen before- but only on flukey pots, that I couldn't recreate, and so I was thrilled when I found a way to do that on these mugs, and I was conscious enough when I glazed them so hopefully I'll be able to do it again.

I think I've also discovered that I love Plainsman's P370 clay- it's the one that I feel most comfortable with- and it's got a great finished colour, very classy looking clay, and it's a bit firmer so I find it easier to hand build with. I just started working with Tucker's cone 10 Porcelain clay too, I made a couple of vases out of it- which was okay, but it's pretty soft, so I had to let them harden up quite a bit. I did however make these luminaries and I'm hoping they will have a bit of transparency when I high fire them. The plan is for them to be transparent in the lace pattern, and if not them to shine out through the holes I drilled. I made about 50 thousand of them- but only 3 have survived so far- they're pretty thin and delicate.

I was hoping for them to be for a sale- but I suddenly got an idea about making lots and lots of them, and having on the floor of an art gallery somewhere. I seem to be drawn to handkerchiefs right now, and I think I may have to put together a body work with that in mind, maybe including my mom's wedding dress? I don't know it's still embryonic, and knowing that the next grant deadline in in September, and the baby is also due in September- makes me a little nervous, though not enough to stop thinking of it. so yeah...

In the Studio

New Mug sizes and patterns

My first attempt at a gravy boat-
It looked like an ocean liner before I carved it- graceful, but tooo big, but the vertyicals really help to loosen up the shape.

I also love the handle, I think I'll repeat this handle again.

the second gravy boat- a little more flowing

Scalloped Platter

This was a sample for a kids class I taught- I found it, and propped it up by my window, and I love the way it looks with the sun shining behind it. (It's a mini mixed media collage landscape)

So this week I finished up my kiln worth of stuff- it needs to get fired sometime soon, a whole bunch of smaller mugs, and I made my first platter- which I allowed to dry out a bit too much before I stippled the raised areas- and subsequently crippled myself trying to muscle them in. It worked but I couldn't even grate cheese that night. I'm not totally sold on the scalloped pattern on the platter, I think it's either going to be really cool and detailed, or too fussy, It's too early to tell, once it's glazed we'll know for sure. It's also rather small once it's dried down, more like a small side platter, but I am limited because of my kiln size- I can only do a 15 inch platter at most- and this is not that wide. I think I'll have to either search a thrift shop for a larger dish to use as a slump mold, or manufacture a plaster slump mold- ugh!

Also this week I've joined an Embroidery group! I was really happy to go to the first meeting and find such warm and welcoming women, kindred spirits- (despite the expected age difference) who all also talk about hoarding fabric and supplies, and seem to be always learning new things, and willing to teach me. I am amazed at how much easier it is to learn from a person than from a book, and looking forward to learning more surface work techniques with embroidery (I've only ever done cross stitch really). I've got a stack of vintage hankies that I've been buying or saving and I think a little project with some images, either photo transfer or painted, and some fresh embroidery patterns would be really fun and lovely, I'm sure I could work them into some project.

So keep tuned for more embroidery work next week!

Mug Cozies

These big mugs of mine are a little large for Coffee, but actually perfect for tea, and for some reason I find tea much hotter than coffee, well maybe just when it's brewed in the cup. So I fashioned a few mug cozies, and even though as always some changes will be made the next time I make one- I am pretty happy with the results. I love that fabric, with the multicoloured flowers all over it, I used it for the big floor pillow I made N for Christmas, and I love using old buttons for that purpose, I think it's a very tactile way to use them, you can really enjoy them that way. 

At home pants

I've been sewing pants for N to wear this winter, and I think I've got all the kinks ironed now- though she grew out of them the day after I finished them- so I had to add some panels to the fronts of them. I started with this tutorial, and then made some changes as I went- adding a contrasting waistband, 

initially because I made them too short waisted, but then because I liked the look of it. And then I added the flat panels in front (which also have a pleat in them, so that I can unpick it when she grows and they'll last a little longer), because she literally grew out of all three pairs of pants overnight.

They're very slim through the hips which is perfect for her non diapered bum, and they're reversible, with Flannel on one side and cotton on the other, which makes them super super cozy, and easy to bum around the house in. The unforeseen bonus of lining child's pants with flannel is that the pants will also sop up most of the accidents that happen while you potty train said child. In fact they're so absorbent that the pee doesn't even get a chance to hit the ground! (my amazement here proves an unspoken rule- never eat anything off the ground of a house that has potty training kids in it. never. ever.)