Working Vacation

I took a week off from my day gig to get caught up in my studio.

I was so fortunate to have my work accepted into three separate shows in Helena and in Missoula. I got everything out and on time to the galleries and museum, and then realized that I had just sent all my new work out the door! And the holiday gift giving season is right around the corner!! And I had nothing to offer to my customers directly!!!

So I leveraged a couple of holiday days off from my j.o.b. and took three days of vacation to give myself 9 straight days in the studio.

I wanted to share with you what my ambitious goals were and what I actually got done. If you've been following along on TikTok or Instagram, you'll know that I've been teaching myself how to build plaster molds so I can slipcast some basic forms. The idea is that if I can produce multiples all at once, it would do two things: 1. Be easier on my body than doing all throwing and, 2. give me a format to continue to use my dandelion puff imagery but at a very accessible price for everyone.

I'm here to tell you that my learning curve has been extremely steep. And I am, for now, setting that aside so I can focus on what I do very well, which is throw on the wheel. Tuesday evening was when I realized I am not going to hit my slipcasting goal, so I pivoted and started working on new Dinos and Holmos works, larger serving bowls and yunomis. I also started to explore moon-style jars, and I'm in love, so you can expect to see some of those soon.

Work flow images L to R, Top to Bottom: Pieces thrown for 2 D&H sets, 2 large bowls and moon jars. D&H trimmed, assembled and decoration in process. All those pieces decorated and drying for first firing. Yunomis, drying for trimming and decoration.

I also pugged another 75 lbs for today and tomorrow's efforts, I hope to make several more large bowls and moon jars. Ultimately, my hope is I can get these all ready for sale right after Thanksgiving. I'm going to do a Live on Facebook and a concurrent Live on either Instagram (@ZephyrValley) or TikTok (@zephyr_valley_ceramics) for the kiln opening, please be sure you are subscribed to my newsletter (hit up the Contact page to sign up!) and follow me on those platforms so you will know when I'm planning to do that. If anyone wants to make a purchase during that Live, will get 10% off the price because you are saving me time from having to take pictures and set up the item in my web store.

I'm off to go get muddy, I hope you are staying warm and enjoying your November! Let me know in the comments if there's something special you'd like to see from me.