This and that

First off, a reminder that the 15% off promo code SCUTTLEBUTT ends in just a couple of weeks on my etsy site. So get on over there and see what's new.
muddymissy.etsy.com

Even if you want to buy something for a Christmas present and are worried that it won't get to you in time, there are good quality pictures on each of my listings that you can print out, put in a huge ass box to wrap up and give to whomever you are buying for. Still pretty fun and it will be like second Christmas when they get the real thing!

I've been meaning to post the "after" pics of the firing that I talked about in my last blog entry, here they are finally:

I ended up finding a different grill rack to use for firing the ornaments, worked fine but still warped and is unusable for any additional firings. I did come up with a better solution after this that I will be able to use again next year. Just glad to be DONE with the ornaments now!

 It's still so crazy to me how much the glaze changes when heat is applied. It's like a damn science experiment every time I fire. The sun went to Finding Joy along with some ornament sets and more hemp necklaces. Also sent some ornaments, necklaces and shot glasses to Tangled Up In Hue; and of course added new stuff to my website. Here are just a few things you can now find online:

Another thing I hope to make more of is this coaster set that went to Finding Joy:

I bought a bunch of decorative rubber stamps that will add a touch of fancy to future coaster making and if I ever get started on slab plates. I also made three wine aerators that went to the store, didn't get any pictures but I'll be making more and will get some on here, they are pretty cool. You pour your wine through them, there are cross paths so it bubbles and aerates as it moves through and makes your wine taste awesome.

Another new thing that I just started playing with are these herb garden markers:

After plugging away on them for a couple of hours I realized that they would probably be best to introduce in the spring... so I'll probably wait until then to get these out and just take my time glazing them. Also in this picture are some new moon pendants that I've never made before. I think they will be pretty sweet on a hemp necklace.

I'm firing again in a day or two, the kiln is full of shot glasses and saki sets so you'll be seeing those in the stores and on my website soon. That's pretty much it on the creative end of things!

On to dog crap: Our foster puppy Lily is finally being adopted after having her for over 2 months. This will be the hardest one yet! She has really become a part of the family and we will miss her dearly (Buddy especially will), but she found herself a great new home and I am excited for her. They will be taking her after January 3rd so we still have a little time to spend with her.

After that, no more fosters until spring! I will still continue to help SHH with different marketing efforts and I'll help look for new rescue dogs as well. Please consider giving to Secondhand Hounds this holiday season. You will receive a thank you certificate designed by yours truly!
http://secondhandhounds.org/fundraisingdonations/donations-always-appreciated/

Check out their online store as well, lots of cute stuff and another way to support a great non profit organization.
http://www.cafepress.com/shhrescue

I probably won't get another post up before the holidays are over so I wish that Christmas and New Year’s Eve may find you seated around the table, together with your beloved family and cherished friends. Take care and talk to you next year!

Looking inside the kiln (for 5 hours kills my freaking back)

For the past month I've been making a ton of stuff to fire in time for Christmas shopping (I'm already behind). I did a bisque last week and busted my ass to get everything glazed so that I could fire yesterday and work tonight to get stuff ready to go into the stores and on my site. I stayed up until 3am glazing Friday and Saturday and I still didn't finish everything but I had enough to fill my kiln. Here is what the bottom of my kiln looked like before firing:

Shot glasses, cork pots and the first of 4 sun sculptures to survive a bisque fire!

The color of these pieces will look 100% different after they are fired, of course. I will post an after picture eventually.

When loading the kiln for a glaze firing, there are several things that need to be considered:
•  Pieces cannot be touching each other or the kiln floor/shelves - the glaze will melt and they will stick together. (Unlike a bisque where you can stack pieces and they will fire fine.)
•  If there is glaze on the bottom of a piece it must be dry footed
•  All beads and ornaments must be wired and hung separately
•  Space must be used wisely, like-sized pieces should be placed on the same shelves in order to maximize the firing.
There's other stuff, but that's really all that I had to worry about for this one,

It takes quite a bit of time to wire hang beads, but it is the best firing technique I have found. As you can see in this picture of my second shelf, I hang the beads on small metal posts. I also have pendants and color sample blocks on this shelf.

You will notice the 4 tall posts on the left and right of the picture and the "kiln sit" on the left kiln wall between the two posts. I will be talking about that in a minute so keep it in the back of your mind.

My ornaments are long pieces of clay that have been twisted to resemble an abstract icicle. I could lay them down and dry foot them but that would leave a few sharp spots on their exterior that I would have to sand off and they would be pretty noticeable. So I had to find a way to hang them...

I found the rack of a small grill and it fit inside the kiln perfectly. I was able to hang almost all of the ornaments that I made from it and I carefully balanced the rack on the 4 posts. Loading a kiln is all about BALANCING SHIT and because this firing contained so many things that needed to be precisely placed, it took me FIVE HOURS to load my kiln. (Trip to Home Depot to buy more wire not included).

There is a difference between the placement of the pieces on the shelf in the last two pictures, the stuff below the ornaments had to be moved around because a few of the ornaments hung too low and touched them. When removing the ornaments to move things around, one of the posts fell over - knocking a pendant down to the kiln floor. Not cool. I tried taking some wire to fish it out but in the process I knocked a shot glass off its dry foot. I had to remove the second shelf to get the pendant out and reset the shot glass. This happened like 5 times.

Remember when I said to notice the kiln sit on the left side of that picture? Here is another shot of it from the outside of the kiln.

You have to lift a latch and push down a thing that holds it, this moves one of the three prongs inside the kiln up so you can put your cone in between them. When the cone "matures" after a combination of the correct amount of firing time/heat, it will bend down between the two prongs below it. The prong on top will go down with it, shutting off the kiln. Or if when you're JUST ABOUT done loading, you accidentally bump the stupid piece of shit thing on the outside and knock the cone all the way to the bottom of the kiln - you then have to take everything back out so you can reset the cone and reload the kiln. I did this a few times as well. Most frustrating kiln loading experience EVER! I was actually in tears once when I dropped something down to the floor of the kiln because my back was starting to kill me from bending over it for so long and I was getting really sick of taking everything out and putting it back in. I almost gave up but I really wanted to fire yesterday because I was going to donate some ornaments to a United Way silent auction we're having at work that starts today.

When I finally had this f-ing thing ready to go I about did a damn cartwheel. I turned it on low for two hours, bumped it up to medium for an hour and when I checked it after that it was already shut off. No way does it only take 3 hours to fire cone 05, unless it's a high fire which I never do.

You're not supposed to open the kiln until it has cooled because you could wreck what is in it by changing the temperature inside the kiln so abruptly. I however, couldn't resist. I carefully opened the kiln with a hot pad to see what the hell was going on and I wish I would have taken a picture to show you what had happened... The metal rack holding the ornaments warped - a lot - making all of the ornaments shift and tip over to touch each other and the stuff below them. THANKFULLY one of the ornaments also knocked the cone out of the kiln sit, turning the kiln off before it got hot enough to melt the glaze and ultimately wreck everything I've been working on for the last month.

I still need to come up with a high temp metal solution to hang ornaments from... but at least I have the option of re-firing and saving everything. Needless to say I'm glad for that but holy hell is this ever frustrating. Hopefully I will be posting finished product pictures in the next couple of days and be telling you all about the ingenious solution I came up with to fire the ornaments successfully. Until then, please cross your fingers.

Finding Joy and other updates

Few things happening:

1 - Started displaying my work at a local store called Finding Joy, take a gander findingjoyboutique.com.

There is one in Excelsior and a couple of weeks ago a second location in Chanhassen had it's grand opening, my work was included in the event. I gave them some bowls, tumblers, shadow lanterns, necklaces, magnets, cork pots, ummmm I think that's it. Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to take pictures because I had to run everything over as soon as it all came out of the kiln.

I am working on Christmas ornaments and wine aerators for the next batch of stuff I give to them and Tangled up in Hue. Very excited about both.

2 - Put some new stuff up on etsy a few weeks ago. Check it: www.etsy.com/shop/missyjayne. The 15% off coupon code (skuttlebutt) is good through December so don't forget to take advantage! I've made a couple of sales since I got it up and running and it is the best feeling EVER! I am working my ass off to get more stuff on there in the next couple of weeks in time for Christmas shopping, here are a few of the things I've added recently, some of which have already sold =)

magnets

 Also made a cheese and cracker tray for Lauren and Eric's housewarming. I have another one on my wheel right now, will be making a bunch of these.

 I'm loving the wax resist on my wheel thrown stuff. Recently bought some screen printing and sgraffito equipment so those are the next two techniques I will be exploring.


3 - Third and final update, fostering a new dog named Lily.

She was 10 weeks old on the 10th and is a lab/german shepard mix. After this we won't be fostering again until the spring. (I really really need a break). She is so sweet, whoever adopts her will fall in love. http://secondhandhounds.org/2011/10/lillian-10-weeks-german-shepherdlabrador-retriever/

Received an application for her yesterday so just waiting to set up a visit. I imagine whoever meets her will adopt her because she is just awesome.

That's it for now!

SCUTTLEBUTT

My etsy site is up and running! I only have a few necklaces on there right now because I need to photograph a lot more stuff and write up descriptions... I also need to get some shipping materials ordered, but my goal is to have a bunch of jewelry, sculptures and wheel thrown goods, etc. ready to sell by November. Just in time for Christmas (hint hint). Here's the site so far, nothing special but keep an eye on it because I'll be working hard to add more stuff in the next couple of weeks.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/missyjayne

And, just for my extra specials (you:), I have a 15% off coupon code that you can use at checkout through the end of December. It is:
SCUTTLEBUTT

This is all that I have on there right now, really basic hemp necklaces... I'm going to be trying out some new designs this weekend to get more variety.

I know they're not for everyone, they're very boho/hippie looking and not everyone likes hemp jewelry... but I don't make anything that I wouldn't wear myself.

I did a cone 5 firing that turned out some super sweet pendants and cork pots so I'm hoping to get those added soon. Here's a few of the little pots that I took pictures of. Kind of a fun thing to have in your kitchen and store your herbs and spices in, or whatever you want. Who doesn't like a little cork pot?!

Made a bunch of teeny tiny ones too, hoping to figure out how to wrap them into necklaces.

I've done a few more bisque and glaze firings since my last post. Made a ton of beads and did a terrible job of getting them not to melt together. I need to figure out a different firing technique once they're glazed and I'm trying something new tomorrow so hopefully it goes well. Got some big ass bowls ready to glaze, pretty excited about that. Glazed a big sun sculpture which will be firing tomorrow; and next week I'll be working on sculpting a few smaller versions of that because I have a feeling it will be a pretty hot commodity. Moving right along! ...dugga dun dugga dun...

puppies n' clay n' clay n' puppies

My dogs have begun eating dried clay off the floor. Probably not good for them and they don't listen to me when I yell at them to knock it off while I'm trying to throw a pot, and then end up completely wrecking it because the little jerks broke my concentration. I guess it's a sign I need to vacuum the damn floor... 

Fallon the adorable morkie who will forever have a place in my heart goes home with her adopter tonight. I am seriously going to lose it, she's going to be missed big time at our house. Not just by me, she's really grown on Maybe and Buddy too. Even Taylor took a little extra time to say goodbye to her this morning because she will probably be gone when he gets home from work. I am going to take a break after this one, for real this time.

In other news, I get to display my work at Harmony Park's Shangri La music festival next weekend (my shameless begging paid off). Here is a site you can visit to check it out, should be an awesome time and I think there are still tickets available if anyone's interested. www.wookiefoot.com/festivals/shangri-la/home

In order to get a ton of crap done in a short amount of time I've been glazing like a boss all week. I am going to do one more small bisque fire tomorrow I think. I made all of these cool little cork pots that I really want to bring with. I know they'll sell, the hippies in the park will find "something" or other to store in them. So, I'm going to try firing just 2 shelves instead of 3-4 and then will have to fit in probably 2 glaze firings before next Wed. Pray for me. Next post SHOULD have pictures.

This weekend, heading to Shell Lake with Jen, meeting up with Jos and hopefully Beck. Going to the "Town and Country Days" street dance on Saturday and probably having a bonfire at my parents' house Sunday. Thank God I have Monday off to reinvigorate and probably regurgitate. Hope everyone has a great Labor Day.

DROG (drunk blog - you heard it here first, people.)

So the bisque firing didn't go so hot. Things I learned:

1. Don't stack bowls upside down on top of sun sculptures because if there are air bubbles in the sun and it explodes, guess what happens to the bowl.

2. All of the big pots I threw hate my guts. Also, they hate life and not exploding.

3. I shouldn't drink and try to throw pots.

That's pretty much it. Also, I'm better at dealing with shit like this now than I was ten years ago when I was first starting out and Mr. Snakeman's ass blew up in the bisque fire (there tends to be an underlying theme here). I don't cry over it anymore because I can detach from my work in a way that I used to not be able to. Not 100%, I still get pretty pissed off, I'm not gonna lie. But it's actually kind of good for me as a designer to learn how to separate myself from the stuff I create. How'm I supposed to learn that if I never have anything blow up on me?

Example: spending 40+ hours on a project that the client ends up hating and makes me start over on from scratch. It gets even better when they give me creative direction that ultimately makes the entire project look like complete shit. And then, when re-presented with said shit, they love it more than anything they've ever seen before, in the history of their eyes. It evokes a very similar emotion to that of when stuff in my kiln blows up - I want to bust out in a Footloose style punch-kick dance around the office that I share with my boss and administrative assistant, knocking over the paper samples and snacks that we keep on a table in the middle of the room. Maybe even a chair or two. As socially acceptable as you think this may sound, it is actually considered "unprofessional" in the business. So instead I bite my tongue, clench my butt cheeks and thank the client for being so amazing and dropping such useful knowledge on me, so as to make the piece of sh.. I mean masterpiece project a winner. But I digress...

On the tastier side of my poo sangwich, I did get about 500+ different shaped beads and pendants out of the firing, a bunch of smaller bowls, cups and vases which I started glazing last night. Luckily, I am super good at glazing while I drink. And drinking while I glaze. Win win.

Dog Crap

Growing up I was mostly a cat person. We had dogs, but they weren't something I wanted to deal with once I was on my own. In college I got a cat named Lucy who I regret adopting to this day. Not because she was a psycho cat (although some of my former roommates may beg to differ) but because I was not ready or equipped to take on the responsibility that comes along with having a pet.

Long story short, I moved into an apartment that didn't allow pets, got busted, fined and had to find somewhere else for Lucy to live. She went to stay with my parents and being that they live out in the country and I never paid to have my cat spayed - it was only a matter of time before the naughty little harlot found herself a barn cat and got knocked up.... and had ELEVEN kittens which were eventually brought to the local humane society, along with Lucy. Talk about being part of the problem rather then the solution.

Volunteering for rescue organizations and the fostering I've been doing is pretty much a direct result of the incredible guilt I have felt through the years for being pretty much the worst pet owner ever when I was young and stupid. One of the first things I wanted to do when we got the house was foster animals and hopefully find pets of our own through doing so. Taylor wanted a dog and I wanted a cat. Enter "Baby" the cockapoo:

Fostering this freaking dog was almost the death of me. Another long story short, I fell in love with her, converted to being a dog person, decided I wanted to adopt her, almost didn't get to, cried like a bitch, did get to, and changed her name to "Maybe". (note the rhyme factor/Arrested Development reference) She is the snuggliest, smartest, cutest, most awesome dog ever - and that is a cold hard fact, not just my opinion.

Then it was time to find Taylor a four-legged companion, enter Buddy the Brittany Spaniel:

 

This poor guy came to us from another rescue and he was in pretty rough shape. He had just been neutered, had a double ear infection and had one of his upper canines pulled the day before we got him - and he's only 3 years old. We think he was kept in a cage most of his life and chewed on metal, wrecking his teeth. He was pretty skinny and mangy, I didn't really want to keep him but Taylor did and he has since become the second awesomest, cutest, (not smartest), snuggliest dog ever and he is now looking and feeling great.

Our happy puppies

Because I am a complete maniac, I have decided to continue to foster dogs despite the fact that I completely sucked at fostering the first two. Not because I'm a bad foster, but if you look up the word fostering, it distinctly says that you provide a home for a living thing UNTIL they find a permanent home. I did not succeed in this. In the business we call this a "foster failure". Many of my dear ones have expressed their concern about the slippery slope to animal hoarding that I appeared to be on. 

Nonetheless, I have successfully fostered two dogs since adopting Buddy and a third that is with us right now will be going home with her adopter next week after she is spayed. Allow me to introduce them all to you. Say hello to our first successful foster, Allison the mutt:

This little nugget was with us for about two weeks, found her a great home. We still keep in touch. She was rescued from a flood in Missouri with her mom and 4 siblings. They were brought to a high kill shelter and Secondhand Hounds rescued them from there. Here is a picture of Allison and her mom at a Secondhand Hounds adoption event:

I'll use this as an opportunity to say that Secondhand Hounds is the best rescue org I have come across and I hope to volunteer with them for a very long time. Someday I will go into more detail about them.

Next came Mr Rusty the yorkie mix. What a character.

A lot of people ask me how I can let them go after bonding with them and having them at my house for so long. I tell them - having three dogs sucks. I don't know why but two is fine, throw that third one in there and it's a freaking mad house. Also, I cry every time I let one go. Some are easier than others. 

Example: this is the dog I am fostering right now, Fallon the Morkie:

She is awesome. I love the shit right out of her and I know I'm probably going to be a mess for days after she leaves. Just look at that face!

Fallon came from a puppy mill along with 35 other little babies that would have been auctioned off, had we not taken them in, and probably ended up in other puppy mills to be bred until it killed them. She has been an absolute joy to and if I didn't have Maybe I'm pretty sure I'd have to keep her. I am seriously going to cry when I have to let her go.

It's going to be hard to watch someone drive off with her, but puppies are a lot of work and I really need a break from fostering after she's gone. I'm totally going to take one this time too (as long as SHH doesn't send me any more pictures of cute puppies that need to be rescued on Thursdays after I've been drinking with my neighbor).

Fostering has been an awesome adventure and I'm sure I'll have to rant about puppy mills and how you shouldn't adopt from pet stores at some point on here, but for now I'll just say that this experience has made me feel pretty damn good about myself and I will leave you with a website to share with anyone you know that may be thinking about adopting a pet.

http://secondhandhounds.org/adoptable-animals/