New Offspring Vessels

I just unloaded a new kiln-full of Offspring Vessels and wheelthrown work this morning. I was very pleased with the way the glaze turned out and (thank heavens!) there were luckily no hairline cracks or other problems with this batch. Below are some pictures of the new pieces.

Wall Art Sale!

I just posted a sale on all Wall Art for the entire month of April in my Etsy shop. There is a large variety of Tile art and Mixed-media collages in this section and they are all 10% off. You can check out the sale at www.trpottery.etsy.com.

Now that's more like it!

I opened up the guts of my Skutt cone 10 kiln today to see if I could bring it back to life. After unscrewing a few things here and there, I found the issue to be a worn-out thermocouple. Of all the things that could be wrong, this was the very best option. I replaced the part, screwed everything back together, reloaded the kiln, crossed my fingers, and started it up again. Now, 8 hours later, the kiln is nearly finished with the glaze firing cycle and I'm feeling at peace with the world.

Kiln Woes

I have spent the last month producing a large mass of both sculptural and functional pottery. Over the past week, I spent all of my daughter's nap-times and most of my nights in my lab mixing and applying glazes. With a very full kiln (and still two shelves full of glazed work waiting to be fired), I started my kiln this morning. Three hours later, the kiln just stopped. ERR1, it said. Basically, that means that my kiln is no longer able to heat fast enough. Best-case scenario, I just need to replace a thermocouple. Worst-case scenario, there is something wrong with the heating coils. If there is something wrong with the coils, it means the kiln will be out of commission until I can get the only kiln repair guy in Utah out to my house (yes, there really is only one in the great state of Utah!)

Argh!! Right now, I have to wait until the kiln cools down enough for me to take the stuff out and open up it's electrical innards. It is such a depressing thing to see all the cheery rows of bisque-fired pots with powdered glaze on them and to wonder if they will get to see the inside of a hot kiln any time soon.

My Art Profile

MyArtProfile is a Free website dedicated to Artists and Art appreciators that lets them meet friends and display their works. MyArtProfile is developed with Artists in mind and therefore if Artists wish to buy, sell or swap Art, Myartprofile charges ZERO Commission. This a very nice switch from auction or fixed-rate sales-oriented sites. Artists are free to list their works and then handle the transaction side on their own. Myartprofile facilitates by helping artists/sellers message back and forth.

The site itself has a very modern, professional feel to it and individual artist mini-sites have some nice features. Each artist mini-site has a large photo at the top that randomly circulates through the artist's gallery photos. There is ample space for information about the artist and the ability to create several different galleries that people can browse through. Overall, I was very impressed with the look, feel, ease of use.

To check out my newly created Art Profile, you can go to
http://www.myartprofile.com/trpottery