Annie Singletary Ceramics has unique and affordable items that make great gifts for
moms, sisters, aunts, friends or anyone.
Prices from $15 to $175
*Black Mountain Home Show
December 5, 2009
2-7pm
Ann Boyd’s Home
304 New Bern Road
Black Mountain, NC 28711
I have 2 shows coming up that i am thrilled about and am working very hard for.
**”All in the details”, pottery by Joy Tanner and Annie Singletary, at Pottery 101 Gallery, Salisbury, NC, November 20, 2009, through December 2009
**2009 Black Mountain Home Show, Decemeber 5th, 2pm-7pm @ the Boyd Home. Pieces ranging in prices from $20- $250
Hope you can come to one of them!!! Great for Christmas shopping!!!
Or you can order from me online @ anniesingletary.etsy.com
I’ve been working so hard making pots, glazing, firing then doing all over again. I’ve never been able to work this consistently before and it’s coming with great rewards, such as: improving upon an idea, developing ideas to a more completed state and being consistent in a body of work I am producing. It’s so great to be able to really work hard and be proud of what’s coming out of the kiln.
there is a lot here, i guess this is what happens when you don’t blog for a while.
The new stains have been good, however, I’m having trouble with my kiln firing too hot on the bottom. I am there when the cones go down but have not found the magic spot for my glaze, it’s only a few pots that get messed up but it’s strange. Either some pots pinhole because they are not healing over or they run like crazy off the pot. I have lost 2 big bowls from the running and that hurts.
i thought when i started firing electric that things would be easier and more predictable and they are , however, with the computer kiln i feel like i have very little control, so i’m learning about that reading my manual like crazy.
What to do now? Test, test, test. And keep making work. I have checked everything, vacuumed the kiln and now i’m using an ohmmeter to see if some elements are about to go bad. These are things that we have to deal with.
It’s strange but situations like this make me more inspired. I love a challenge and i love figuring things out. This is a good good thing when being a potter…..you have to be resiliently creative.
but….it makes it hard when getting ready for shows.
this form is my new covered jar form which i’m really excited about because it takes very well for the raised decoration I’m doing. I made some stamps of my same pattern i do. These will add some visual interest by deepening the flat surface.
Something else happened this past week that was a wake up call to me. I had applied to be in this shop here in Black Mountain and they decided that my work wasn’t the right fit for them. I was told that their customers are very traditional and that my work was more contemporary. This was hard for me to hear, since I’m just starting to try for some wholesale shops. I guess i thought that different would be good. i understand that where i live there is a large market for traditional and that i’m working with more modern patterns and color.
So, this leaves me in an interesting place. Wondering, where do I fit? I know that all professional potters have to confront this question head on and either you run and hide or you take it on and sprint full force ahead….there’s probably some in between in there but i’m a runner and even though i don’t like to sprint, i like to run long distances and this means i have endurance and can withstand the no’s……at least i’m trying.
So many obstacles and so little time, but this is some goodness that keeps me going.
And there you have it.
Hopefully next time I will have figured out the kiln problem, until then, have a great week.Thanks for reading.
My latest slip is made from loads and loads of frozen Helios slop. All of this precious slop froze a while back because of not having my stuff in one place, I forgot about it. Well, I couldn’t not use it….that clay is so expensive, so I tested it as my slip and it’s awesome. It’s a pain to mix and sieve but after all the hard work is done it’s the greatest slip i have used, so smooth to dip, pour and paint.
So, there you go, something to use frozen clay and slip for.
…ok here’s a little confession. the other night i was out in the studio until about 10 and i came out of the door to find a bear right on the hill in the woods, fortunately bears are afraid of us and so he or she ran around back, well i’m the curious sort so i of course go around back of the studio to see it and there it was right beside my kiln.
I am a little hesitant now to work at night in there. this is not going to work though. ive had a few great suggestions; a paintball gun, a bell to hang right outside the door and a flashlight….what a novel idea to have a flashlight i can honestly say i had never thought of this being a good thing to have….get a clue Annie. I am picturing myself as this crazy potter lady ringing my bell and carrying my flashlight, is this what i’ve become?
my mason stains came in from US pigments and i’ve been mixing some great colors up for accents, zirconium, bright orange, bermuda…so exciting! loaded a kiln with those in today. i leave you with this amazing fabric pattern i’m in love with, from Lost city fabrics.
have a great weekend. don’t you love fall.
