I’m a bit fascinated with plates at the moment, since I found a NEW PLATE stand to display them on.  I have 2 clay bodies that are both stoneware so I thought hummmm……

Now normally when you make plates, even if you have combined the clay, you would have a dominate color after throwing.  Pretty much all one color clay plate.

So How did I get this effect? hummmmmm

One is a dark brown stoneware and the other is a lighter tan stoneware.  I guess you could form a plate and then scrape the surface with a tool to reveal the colors?  Well that’s not how I did this. . . . .

Each plate will be slightly different in the design of the 2 clays, so they will be a set, in the sense that they are from the same Family, but will be different.  The sizes will be close to the same, and the thickness, similar,etc.

So how did I do that?  I will reveal this technique later on in by blog…come on back and visit for a while in a few days. . . . Hehehehehe

     Now that I have NEW PLATE stands, well making plates seem fun since I think they will look nicely displayed.  Plus  I was tired of just putting them on an up right stand.

So making plates and mugs. . . . .

So I was at walmart this afternoon, looking for of all things, rubber boots.  We have too much snow here.  Anyway, as I was looking around I found these lovely plate stands.

I have always wanted a way to display plates better, I have seen stands before, but they were always with cheap plates.  I could never just find the stand.  UNTIL TODAY!

And these stands fold underneath each other or they spread out to serve off of.  The Price…ta da….$5.00 each  They fit at least 4 small plates and 4 large plates.

Plus they come in different colors,blk,silver,brown.  Yeah!

When I get bored…well…..BIG BOWLS  Love um and I sold out so I get to make more!  Wooooo Hoooooo

A BIG “Thank you” to my neighbors in Castle Rock.  They have supported my pottery all year and especially this HOLIDAY  Season.  I just finished a Craft show at a local church and Sold very well…..Thank you MUCH!

I am doing the “Happy Dance”, glad to be a potter and a Realtor in this Market.  I am able to pay my bills this Winter and enjoy the Holidays… a bit.

I am very thankful with the “craft” of Pottery and to all the folks on the internet for words of wisdom and help along the way!  WOW  what a year!

Whew!  I have 2 more shows left before Chirstmas, not much inventory ( that has been a struggle all summer though and I plan on taking the months of Jan-Mar to increase my inventory) and I have several special orders before the holidays.

I can get those special orders in with a 2 week turn around time, still in time to ship out of state.

What a blessing this year has been….an opportunity to grow with my skills in the craft of pottery….local selling has been HOT…..keeping my head above water with my bills…..and the ability to FLOAT a bit into 2010!

AMAZING……and I am doing the HAPPY DANCE!  Yippy!

Yikes…Just sold!  Thank you much!

This year I have learned what sells for me in my local market.  This summer I plan on having things  that match last year’s pieces.  So hopefully I will begin to build a customer base and I can share some new pieces to keep things FRESH!

This will be the first year I have been able to do that and I am excited for that focus.. . . . . . Am working on getting an inventory…ANY kind of inventory at this stage would be nice…WHEW!  I am riding the WAVE for sure!  Thank you sooooo Much!

Listening to a little Steele Dan “Black Friday” and yesterday surely felt like a Black Friday.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1ZV4Mx7tw8

Now Black Friday has ALOT of meanings to folks so you can pick which you can relate to……I have decided to have a BLACK FRIDAY sale and OPEN STUDIO on the Sunday of the week-end of Black Friday.  Since Black Friday is a BIG shopping day ( the day after thanksgiving) to kick off Holiday shopping…well I thought that Sunday might make a good BLACK FRIDAY/OPEN STUDIO.

Black Friday was also the CRASH of Stock market in 1929  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wall_Street_Crash_of_1929

September  24,1869 was the Fisk/Gould scandal http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Friday_(1869)

However I am Hoping for a shopping Black Friday sooo this year…….

I have been busy getting ready for 2 shows this month and then Black Friday/Open Studio.  That is my push for the Holidays…after November I will be sliding into December relaxed, a few sales here and there but mostly this Year….I just want to enjoy the Holidays and Cheer.

Than my plan for Jan and Feb is to get ready for Farmer’s Market this summer and just enjoying my time in the studio “creating”playing and trying out some new glazes….

This is my kiln recently…..in prep for BLACK FRIDAY!

SOLD Karen and Dodd Stone for $200.00  Thank you MUCH!

It’s 5am when I took this Photo looking off my deck in the backyard.  Just a weeee Bit of the white stuff and it’s still snowing at 7:21am.

Ok we got SLAMMMED!  My big yellow lab is not into sledding or tunneling so I had to clear a path for him in the backyard. 

My kind neighbors, snow plowed my drive and side-walk last night!  Still have to shovel this am but better than the whole 18 inches or so!  Whew!

Hummmm Trimming something that is bigger than your wheel head, bigger than the biggest bat you have and almost, bigger than your WHEEL?

Well this is how I did it.  I have a round board that this would fit on but I have yet to make little holes for the pins on the wheel head.  So I couldn’t use that yet.

I am always intrigued by BIG for some reason, and when I get the chance, well I GO BIG!  up until now, I have kept my bowls just inside my bats,and wheel.  Not wanting to venture out into the BIG without a plan to trim.  I bought a round board with the intention of putting 2 holes in it but I have never gotten around to that.

I put support in the middle of this platter/wide bowl and turned it upside down on my wheel.  I centered it with just my hands and eyes.  It seems to work for me with a gentle touch trimming.

And no damage to the inside shape of the bowl/platter either.  Mission accomplished!  I really ought to get that round board fitted though, than going BIG won’t be an issue!

Well It’s BIG for me anyways*****GRIN****  I was Playing around tonight, not motivated to do anything for up coming shows,etc.  I just wanted to learn something “new” I guess.  It’s 16 inches, small by most standards, but BIG for me and I am Proud!

Not sure what happened to Emily Murphy?  I think she moved and I haven’t seen her blogging for a while.  Still she had this “trick” called the quarter trick that she learned from Jordan Taylor.  http://potteryblog.com/2008/03/the-quarter-trick/

It’s a lot easier to wedge 2 8lb of clay, instead of like 16 lbs.  I would agree here!  Basically you center your first clay and it’s flat about 1 inch thick or so.  Than you place  a quarter in the middle and center your next one on top of it.  So instead of working with like 12-16 lbs of clay, you break it down into doable sizes.

Don’t forget to remove the quarter though.  I was able to throw a BIG platter on my biggest bat.  It works but I think I need to try it a few more times, took a long time to make, and I had a few air bubbles in between the 2 clays.

I also worked on a serving platter as well.  Hummm I guess tonight was throw it BIG!    This is a slump oval slab that I formed into this serving tray.  Nothing thrown on this all hand built.

What to make?  I have a custom order that is very “general”.  Make something that sells for around $200.00 and that is cool so I can auction it at a fund raiser?  hummmmmm

What to make?  Oh and I need it by Nov 15,2009.  hummmmm????  Something Colorado-like that a lot of people would like, you know something you make very cool????

Yikes ok  hummmm.  I came up with a large casserole dish with a lid or could be a soup tureen/slash chilli bowl?  Crock pot cooking is the rage currently so I was thinkin how Could I fit into that?

I decided on this large casserole dish and 6 soup bowls.  They can do double duty as crockpot bowls/beverage cups.  What do you think?  Should I go a different route?  There’s still time to get something completely different?  Should I add little plates under the soup bowls?

Custom Platter for Samera Baird, She would like this in my matt blue glaze with the light  blue on the rim and handles!

Nicole stopped by yesterday for a wedding gift and some early christmas gifts.  Well I can’t post them or that would ruin the surprise.  Thanks Nicole, I am thinkin I need to set up something to display pottery in my house as I have a few folks that come over to buy prior to the Holidays!  Hummmm I will be giving that some thought!