Resting fingers n' hands

you know those days when you just know that you ought to take it easy, pull out the chips n' dip from the pantry and make yourself cozy, well, today's one of them over here.

this Easter holiday break has given me more than I could ask for: lots of chocolate, way too much chocolate [so I'm actually sharing it], and sunny days while the thermo drops for us here in the southern hemisphere. geez it's cold.

have been potting away to ready for a few markets and also hoping to someday organize myself enough to list things on Etsy...

but this morning the chill set in and my hands just had had enough. with fingers curled tight and aching, I rubbed on the hand-lotion, let the dogs lick it off--warms up the tips a treat and gets the circulation going, and all done with tons of love;)--made myself a cup of tea and decided the house robe & pj's were staying on until tomorrow. gotta love holidays.

so will leave you with a few snap shots of my latest do's that are drying out for next week's firing. shall drive up to Sydney tomorrow to visit the NSW Pottery Supplies shop for a few finds & chat with their oxide experts. also received a bundle from Bamboo Tools so will play with them tomorrow night when I'm back in my studio.

for now, I've found some crackers and the Brie I picked up at the Cheese Factory in Robertson the other day, yum.

Some have fairies...I've got furries

while some may also include a kiln goddess into their firings...I'm blessed to say that I've got two "furries" called Zulu & Luna to keep the spirits high and the soul soothed.
[you can see my kiln goddess on the top shelf, just to the left in front of a bowl].

Autumn bisquing...

Ran another load in my gas kiln yesterday. There were mostly mid to high-fire pieces in it and a few low-fire bits made for some pals--am keen to glaze and send these off so my friends can enjoy them.

due to the heavy rains we've been experiencing over the past four months, I was concerned about the humidity in the air so I made it a slow firing, leaving my pilots on for several hours before gently letting the temp creep up to 1000oC. It took most of the day and I was SO lucky that just when it hit the mark, I ran out of gas.
Gotta love serendipity.

now to work on my test tiles as am formulating a few new glazes to work with over this next year.

hope you like the images here of what went into that kiln of mine. Shall open it this afternoon and post a few more images of what's to come out...pasta bowls and containers, mugs, plates, platters, soup bowls, and a few butter dishes.

And I got me a new website for my pottery & knitting designs.

ok, here's my new website:

www.sienbluepottery.com

it took some trial & error to find the right format to use so that I could edit & manage it all by my little self using loads of images, and I've finally got it up and running, phew.

i have always had a deep respect for designers of all sorts, and in these times of virtual nano-graphics, I'm impressed by anyone with the patience to put a site together.
it's taken me two years to get to this point but hey! couldn't give up.
and this is what I've got to offer while still keeping things simple:

you can have yourself a little visit, so grab something good to drink and check it out my pages on
pottery
knitting
illustration
pawz
...and my knitting patterns for sale & for free.

everything on it is a work in progress, except my pdf patterns for downloading.
i'll keep posting new ones as they come around each season.
this new website is so much easier to edit as a designer/editor/manager/domestic goddess;) love designing stuff so this has been a really fun n' tough cyber-challenge for me.

enjoy the showcasing of my work at your own leisure;)

Where's Noah?

Its hot, humid, 35C+ and raining!
We get a lot of rainbows in this area and today there are four I can see from the window of my bedroom. I took some photos but am not gifted so they didn't turn out to post here. Just shut your eyes and imagine...try to hear the sound of moaning cows about 600m away as they enjoy the cooling effect the rain offers them.

Tonight a few other artists and I celebrate the culmination of a show we've put on together...well, it really happens tomorrow but tonight we'll share drinks & finger food and lots of stories on why we do this to ourselves.
May there be many more creatives out there doing the same in their worlds. And may they go in two's.
Peace to all.

new studio, new kiln, new firing schedules, new shows, & new web site/design...and still testing it all.

ok, its mid November 2009 and I've got to admit I'm hopeless when it comes to bloggin' on a regular basis. Don't know how regulars do it. My days are filled with just that: daze. Last five have been early 5am's, kiln on by 5:30am to get some work ready for this weekend's show...and not even sure if I should try to uphold a standard to my ceramic pieces since I've had no time to consider one. I'll make the most of the show and sales on Saturday to try a new beer my husband has bought for me;)

Really, this year's been a bit of a blurrrrr, starting with a round the world trip to see family I hadn't shared space with in over nine years, then coming home to Oz to find a new direction and purpose to why I'm here. A few friends and family lost this year added sadness to all the sugar and making a June winter a different sort of hibernation. And now the mad rush to test clays, glazes and make my own mark out of it all over the next one to forty years.

Must get some rest for now. The mind is working on sifting new schedules to fit in a regular blogging habit. Only time will tell if this could be my new pass time.
Am also designing a new website, to be launched sometime next week at:
www.sienbluepottery.com/

Flue's up

I been waiting a long time once again to get my studio up and running... and now that the flue is in place, the gas fitter needs to install some parts--they're being ordered and I'm still waiting--then I can get the gas tanks. It'll be another week or so. Need I say more? So in the meantime am going to share some snap shots of all the progress made on my studio so far.

I know studios are almost never completed but if anyone has some fotos of a studio, any studio that they'd like to let me see just point the way in a comment. Thanks


we had to go up to Sydney to pick up the flue...

then I had to put it together and wait for my father-in-law to install it...

...the roof is being sliced for a good fit

...and this is my new space, waiting for me to move in.

new website: rcFerg

have a new website now:
http://www.wix.com/rcFerg/rcFerg

the past year has been full of great times and new creations for me. i've discovered some new potential in my cyber skills and decided to find an easier web format to work with than the previous one for my website. this also means i had to either keep my domain name or go new.
so am keeping things simple and will no longer be using the alias 'Brightsideknitter' any longer. it'll just be rcFerg from here on.
you can check it out and have your self a gallery visit through my pages on
pottery
knitting
illustration
pawz
and my knitting patterns for sale & for free.

everything on it is a work in progress, except my pdf patterns to download. but i'll keep posting new ones as they come around each season. this new website is so much easier to work on and edit as i'm the designer/editor/manager. love designing stuff so this has been a really fun cyber change for me.

Clay stuff

Well, all I can add to my blog for now are some images of my potting ventures from times past. The recent rains have put a damper on construction for the kiln extension to my studio but there progress in site as of today. That kiln is going to go in soon.

Here are some of my pieces from days when I had a kiln available and set up...





from days when living in Taiwan.
A few from Mittagong.

Kiln travel

Yippee

After years, and I mean years of wanting to set up my potting studio with my very own kiln, the day has arrived. I found a second hand gas one, sized it up, bought it and then spent 14hrs getting it home over the Easter holiday. And now I own my very own gas kiln:) This is a big deal to a potter.


My studio is tiny but will do; am having a wee extension added just for this magnificent firing goddess. Work in progress and firings to happen within the next month. Shall post whatever comes out. So excited!

Am knitting in the meantime...

Allan Caiger Smith

Allan Caiger Smith
Originally uploaded by Martin Beek