covered in mud

Hello dusty old blog, it's been a while

2011-08-30T20:11:00.000-07:00

I've been making TONS of work and not finding much (any)time to blog.

If you're interested in following what's going on in my studio come find me on facebook! Easier to post pictures over there and quick updates for me.

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/pages/Monica-Pharr-Ceramics/149863885091498?notif_t=page_new_likes

Thanks for all of your support!

Glazing time!

2011-06-10T19:51:00.001-07:00

Bottoms are waxed, black underglaze is applied, pots are washed. Now to start dunking in clear!

My kitchen island is the perfect measuring tool, what fits on the counter will fit in the kiln.

Hope to have some lovely hot pots out of the kiln sunday morning and shipping my custom orders and trouble coffee co tumblers off on monday.

it's been a few weeks

2011-06-07T14:10:00.000-07:00

So Hunter is growing so quickly and I've been wrangled back into making work for Trouble Coffee Company. I really like making wares for them, but I get stressed out over the smallest things.

I'm working on a bunch of 8oz to go tumblers (for espresso shots?)and then soon start up on Latte mugs and saucers.

Other happenings:

Custom order wedding plate. I probably wouldn't have taken on this project if it weren't for a friend. It's drying out slowly right now and hoping it makes it in time.

Brooke Noble sent me a tumbler the other day and in return I'm making her some whiskey mugs. Bowling Whale and Octopus. ;) (this might be one of my FAVORITE custom items ever)

new plate

Getting geared up for art walk, will probably have a bunch of whiskey cups and nesting bowls. Pics of those later!

Oh and what's a blog post without a little bit of hunter. (18 months tomorrow)

more custom orders

2011-05-18T18:23:00.000-07:00

These were a custom order 11 teabowls to match the one he bought a few months ago.

I had made a few berry bowls as well and this was the only one to survive.

and bowls for a sea turtle society's auction.

mugs and plates

2011-04-09T13:17:00.000-07:00

and here's hunter having an ice cream party.... 16 months old yesterday. Time is flying!

Whitney Smith is my hero

2011-04-05T08:34:00.000-07:00

http://whitneys-pottery.blogspot.com/2011/04/cost.html

"I keep a blacklist right next to my bed and his name is on it."

Besides having one of the best blogs on the internet, she's so open and honest and wish I could/would write more like her.

tuesday funday

2011-03-29T20:16:00.000-07:00

working on working out this layering glazes thing and thinner lines

and a 6 person dinner set. (bowls, plates, cup, serving bowl)

wish I were at NCECA though. So close yet so so far. It's a 4 hrs drive... but with an attached 15 month old it's just not going to work out. We are at the height of separation anxiety, I'm lucky to pee alone without a meltdown from Hunter.

new ideas floating about, test tiles and pots

2011-03-17T19:20:00.000-07:00

and then some ideas floating about in my noggin.
I'm trying to explore ways of applying color and my drawing style

I think the layering of colors in a painterly way is a pretty decent breakthrough. Adds depth and space. The pictures don't exactly do it justice since the colors I chose to layer are so pale anyway... but I'm pretty excited.

Here are some that didn't look so great. This was the white engobe over clay body and then translucent glaze over it. The translucent glaze is just flat and thick. Perhaps thinner... but the layering underglzes in the above tiles worked so much better.

The (motherhood) balancing act...

2011-03-08T13:02:00.001-08:00

So no surprise that I don't get to work as much as I'd like to, and I have to turn down many custom orders to work on one person at a time. I just don't have the time. I think about sending Hunter to day care or pulling all nighters but reality is I can't do either.

Hunter is 15 months today and I thought it would get easier with time, that I would get used to it, find a routine/rhythm... ha... ha? Little man pulls fast ones, he's like a ninja. He's hit the major separation anxiety stage, which is exhausting.

Good news: I can sketch and lay out plans while playing with him.

Bad news: I'm not in the studio making.

Good news: my sketch book is full and it is exciting stuff.

Bad news: I'm not making.

and on top of everything we are **thinking** about having another baby. I'm so torn. I love being a mom, I want my son to be a big brother and have someone to grow up with. I see larger familes and know that the pay off would be great... just have to give up my art for a little bit.

Jen Mecca, Judi Tavil, any other moms out there.. When were you able to find a balance? How did family planning and your desire to make work out?

Sweet Melissa

2011-02-26T19:54:00.000-08:00

I'm having a DMB weekend and love this song. Also decided to get my hair cut and eat ice cream instead of making pots today in hopes of being refreshed and making better pots tomorrow.

sounds good right?

my plate!!! on plate a day

2011-02-25T12:52:00.001-08:00

http://aplateaday.blogspot.com/

stoked!

new list above my wheel

2011-02-20T18:25:00.000-08:00

SLOW DOWN.

PEOPLE CAN WAIT FOR EXCELLENT POTS

2 great pots are better than 6 mediocre ones.

Lighter.

It's okay to say no. Sometimes it's even fun.

Remember to sleep.

Clean up your space. – CLEAN SPACE = HAPPY SPACE= BETTER WORK

I have felt so rushed since November. I was getting sloppy and heavy handed. Jake brought home some tacks for me (and chocolate- good man) so I could post this list above my wheel.

out of the kiln and straight to first street gallery

2011-02-14T14:02:00.000-08:00

My meeting with the gallery was at 1... The kiln was still at 350 degrees at 12:50. So I didn't get much time with these pots.

Jake calls this one gimpy. I <3 gimpy.

knitting bowls

I kept this one for myself, might enter this yunomi to a yunomi show coming up.

and then enter this one to a show at Mudfire.

So now to clean out my studio and start over.

laying down the glaze

2011-02-11T09:00:00.000-08:00

Is probably my least favorite part. 3-5 layers of brushed on underglaze makes me a little loopy.

but the end result is worth it.

found this ladies card. she looks like such a bad ass. She's a local tree trimmer. I want to see her in action!

and here is little man sorting the mail last night.

mugs in their new homes and new work

2011-02-10T09:31:00.000-08:00

So mugs arrived at Trouble Coffee Company last week. Some drama, but it's all worked out now.

Diana Faytis amazing and went to trouble, took some pics of the cups in their new home.

Diana is the best. <3

These 4 bowls are headed to their new home in portland Oregon today. (colors are off in this pic...)

some new bowls going to 1st street gallery in Neptune Beach along with some new knitting bowls.

and here is not so little man. 14 months yesterday.

super bowls!

2011-02-05T06:26:00.001-08:00

Superbowl weekend is here and my husband grew up in Wisconsin worshiping the packers. So while he is running around yelling go pack go! I'm offering a 10% your entire order in my shop if you order a bowl.

I have some really nice ones in stock.

just enter coupon code : superbowl

husbands birthday!

2011-02-03T12:56:00.000-08:00

It's my husbands 30th birthday today.

No pots today just food.

I looked up how to make frosting, never realized how easy it is. I will never buy store bought frosting again. I got so excited with this new skill that I made 3 different kinds.

whipped peanut butter
cream cheese
and white russian buttercream. (i kept adding vodka and kaluha.. so it's a bit strong, but i'm sure jake will love it)

I'm excited to ice the cupcakes and put the cake toppers on :)

ready to ship em out!

2011-01-31T11:07:00.000-08:00

almost done packing them up. I can't wait to get them to the post.

Here is a whale mug about 14 oz that is in my etsy shop now. I snuck him into the Trouble firing and really like this one.

(click to go to etsy listing)

keep on troublin'

2011-01-28T08:40:00.000-08:00

had to remake all of the mugs. Oops.

I've come to the conclusion anything that can go wrong... will. But these cups are pretty rad. Cross your fingers for no more holdups. They should be done and shipped on Monday.

I made 30 mugs and put decals on them.. ha ha.... ha..... fail. My tester piece turned out well... well I did the other ones.. not so much. The iron in the decals totally burned out and you couldn't read the logo, unless you were starring at them for a little while.

so I hired a babysitter and made new mugs and decided to slip trail on the logo.

fingers. cramped. badly.

I can hardly wait till they are packaged nicely and shipped out.

images from this week

2011-01-20T08:01:00.000-08:00

covered in mugs? now waiting for my underglaze to arrive! (late shipments make me sad)

packages being shipped out

some of the trouble mugs

Custom Whale plate and mug, this was supposed to be a christmas guft but ending up being a late birthday gift. (thanks for understanding heidi!)

Coolest mailbox I have ever seen. I have mailbox envy.

He is so close to walking!

Now back to the studio since it's naptime!

Etsy or Anthropologie

2011-01-19T17:16:00.000-08:00

http://www.regretsy.com/2011/01/19/new-game/

"Lately I’ve noticed that the items being sold at Anthropologie are getting more and more hackneyed. Its clear to me at least that Anthropologie is borrowing heavily from Etsy’s aesthetic, scouring their pages for all the forced whimsy they can find. Then they call up their army of 12 year-old Malaysians, and crank that phukery out all day long."

chug chug chugging along

2010-12-28T19:03:00.000-08:00

Somehow I caught a cold the day after christmas, it's been a fun few days sneezing my head off. But I was getting antsy to start making again so I made two bowls.

and I spoke to Giulietta over at Trouble Coffee Company, we are heading forth with some new mugs. Here are the mock ups. So hopefully at the end of next month, if you're in San Francisco you can pick one up.

I'm so excited about the crab- build your own damn house one.

I did something right!

2010-12-25T18:57:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

I finally worked out my temperature/firing issues. No more melted black pots, no more blow ups.

better pictures later. But On with the show.

and some family love.

man oh man...

2010-12-15T14:53:00.000-08:00

Not sure what is wrong with me lately...

So this last kiln load... over fired. melted... later pots. I've had 3 days to sit in this information and stew. I've never blown up a kiln load or over fired. ever. Now two back to back mess ups.

fun.

So since I only have 3 bowls and 2 plates left, I closed my etsy shop and won't participate in the December north beaches art walk. Bummer.

I haven't had the nerve/heart/energy to go into the studio yet so I've taken this time to do some drawings and work things out design wise in my head. Not sure why i'm never satisfied with what I've got.

Hopefully I'll get back on the horse this weekend and do some testing and test firing. (I fired to cone 5 with a 10 min hold and I only have 4567 cones in the kiln and all of them were down. :/ oops.

So here is what i've been sketching. I'm going to take 2 weeks "off" to do some kiln fixing/testing and working out some glaze color issues.

new mug!

2010-12-13T06:11:00.001-08:00

I bought a new mug. :)

I was so excited to wake up and see what Kyle Carpenter had put on Etsy this morning. http://www.etsy.com/shop/KyleCarpenter I've been admiring his work and reading his blog for 2ish years? So I shouldn't have but couldn't help mysekf and bought this beauty. I'm sure it will be a house favorite.

my pots are still cooling. I should be able to sand the bottoms, take photos and put on etsy during afternoon naptime.

Birthday birthday

2010-12-08T17:28:00.000-08:00

I knew this day would eventually come..he's finally one.

and we had a blast.

It's MY BIRRRRRTTHHHHDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY

He took the cake part out and ate the wrapper.

I'm carving 10 mugs tonight, going to bisque tomorrow night. Hunters party with friends is saturday, tacos and beer for all who come. :) I'll glaze sunday and monday, fire again monday night and hope to have new hot pots on tuesday afternoon and put them on etsy soon after.

better get to making some pots before I pass out from birthday fun

the knitting clock

2010-12-06T06:59:00.000-08:00

is one of the most beautiful objects and ideas I have ever seen.

http://www.ohdeedoh.com/ohdeedoh/the-knitting-clock-133625

blogging before bed

2010-12-03T20:51:00.000-08:00

Ready for bed but I thought I'd post some pictures. I didn't think I would have enough time for another kiln load this year so I'm excited to get some more bowls and mugs out. I'm looking forward to making some different things next year.

glazed some bowls

carved some bowls (narwhal and sea lion are new to the bowls)

and the cutest almost one year old ever waving at you! Hi blog readers!

now to hit the hay so I can keep up with the tornado of destruction. Side mommy talk, now he thinks he is a bonafide daredevil. He can't walk but he can climb up a 4 step step ladder and thinks that standing up in shopping carts is hilarious.

back on the bus

2010-12-02T20:54:00.000-08:00

Okay so after the disaster and working out a plan with the owner of trouble coffee company, I feel much better. Got my babysitter to come for 2 hrs and I made bowls and mugs.

not your ordinary bowls and mugs, these guys are for people who are serious about their food. Big bowls, big mugs. :D not for your dieter...unless you want a big salad or water (boring).

Sending 5 mugs to San Fran, the 5 out of th3 first 30 to survive.

and little man is getting a fohawk.. now to get some gel and stick it straight up!

feels good to shake the kiln disaster off

trouble indeed. more wreck pics.

2010-11-29T18:19:00.000-08:00

The plan was to unload the kiln this morning, add the divers on this afternoon and coat with clear glaze tonight, then fire so it would be ready to ship wednesday afternoon.

kiln gods and my inability to wait till the cups were dry enough turned my beautiful plan into this

Thankfully I have this little spaghetti monster to help me not have a total breakdown.

so.. Hunter summed up this day pretty well.

:( ugh

2010-11-29T10:21:00.000-08:00

so turns out that I can't speed up the process

and make bad firing decisions.

awesome.

Holy Epic Epic Epic failure.

2010-11-29T09:48:00.000-08:00

I tried to hurry things along and everything blew up.

I know better than this. I know better than try to hurry the process along.

Out of the 30 finished mugs, I have 4 that are salvageable.

That's 20 hrs of time I don't have down the drain. Well, suppose the good news is that I only have 4 mugs to add scuba divers to and glaze. :/

I'm going to go hyperventilate and have a heart attack right now.

pictures to come.

the cups continue

2010-11-28T19:05:00.001-08:00

30 cups for Trouble Coffee Company in San Francisco and 3 tests. (I should probably do tests on test tiles and not cups.. I'll learn someday)

Now I need to bisque, add some diver silhouettes, clear glaze, sand bottoms and ship the first batch off to san francisco. I'm exhausted just thinking about it.

we also found some time to get a christmas tree. :)

I also uploaded everything I have on Etsy.. 25 items. I'm so busy with trouble coffee company that I doubt I will have any time to make anything else until late January.

20 cups

2010-11-24T09:21:00.001-08:00

The 9 on the right are waiting to get their feet cut

working during daylight

2010-11-23T12:00:00.000-08:00

I have to send a bunch of mugs off to Trouble Coffee Company in San Francisco

So to keep on schedule I got our babysitter to watch hunter for 2 hrs between nap times. I forgot how awesome it is to work while the sun is up! Holy cow what a difference. I feel guilty for feeling this way, but I'm looking forward to preschool. I'll be able to get so much done and even get some time to teach lessons.

busy busy!

2010-11-16T12:39:00.000-08:00

Been quite busy around here.

Hunter is getting so big and he is almost one. I may have a heart attack. 11.5 months old, where is the time going??? Slow down little one. Before baby I didn't realize how quickly time passes, each month seems to be going quicker and quicker.

I'm making lots of cups. Soon some of my work will be at Trouble Coffee Company in San Francisco. Giulietta is amazing, looks like a fantastic place and someday I'll go vist!

I have a load of coffee cups ready for the north beaches art walk this thursday! Coffee cups and winter are awesome. I have a few soup bowls too. Bowls have been selling like hot cakes.. and I only have 4 left. Oops... better start making some more.

I have a glaze fire going right now, so hopefully i'll have some nice hot pots in the morning!

Anyway, that's my ramble for now. I need to get going before my little tornado of destruction takes apart more of the house. :)

growing and changing

2010-11-01T12:36:00.000-07:00

With ever small kiln load I keep tweaking things and adjusting.

One of the things I'm playing with are drawings on the exterior of the bowl. This came from a lady, who probably doesn't know how much she influenced me with her simple comment while walking by my table at the art walk. This woman picked up one of my bowls and bluntly said "I'd love it if there was something exciting on the outside".

I guess we will find out if the sea anemone and other sea plant life is too much or not. I can never tell until they are finished and glazed.

soup bowl with handle

2010-10-31T08:19:00.000-07:00

decided to try a few of these

dreaming about glazing

2010-10-30T11:41:00.000-07:00

I'm sure others do it too

but I may have had a glazing breakthrough dream last night. Lets cross our fingers and hope it works and find out in 2.5 weeks.

beach days and missing cup

2010-10-28T10:29:00.000-07:00

So it's 88 in late october... so we've been spending some days at the beach. Hunter is fearless when it comes to the water. I had to stop him from diving (crawling) under the waves.

I've also been photographing and uploading some wares on to etsy. Which brings me to the missing cup. I unpacked everything left over from the art walk and seems like I'm missing a tumbler. :/ I hope it's just misplaced. I know I didn't sell it because it was part of a set.. and the rest of the set is here.

Jason Burnett

2010-10-26T07:48:00.000-07:00

Every time I see his work, I swoon.

I also get the urge to learn how to use decals.

listing new work

2010-10-24T20:37:00.000-07:00

Listing new work on Etsy this week. http://www.etsy.com/shop/monicapharr

Also going to work on some pasta dishes and ornaments. yay.

Art walk fun

2010-10-21T18:52:00.000-07:00

That was a lively art walk and I'm ready for bed. Poor Hunter doesn't appreciate staying up so late. Maybe this means that I need to work on other people being able to put him to bed.

Sold my favorite octopus serving bowl to a lovely couple. Gad it went to a good home. Now to list all my new stuff on Etsy!

bye octobowl

my snazzy set up. lol.. :)

and little man, who tried really hard to stay up and not be cranky.

parents and small meltdowns

2010-10-14T19:03:00.000-07:00

So I'm kind of glad that my mom doesn't read my blog, or knows that it exists.

She doesn't understand why I make functional ware, she doesn't understand why I don't just go to target or any other mega chain store. She's starting to try, must give her credit for that, even if she brings her own plates and bowls when she comes over.... :/ I don't understand who wouldn't jump at the chance to eat from our tableware. We have an impressive collection of Ayumi Horie, Brooke Noble, Steven Colby, Ron Philbeck, Jen Mecca, Justin Rothshank, Keith shit.. from Mudstuffing,Judi Tavil, John Britt, Dawn Ferguson, Shoko Teruyuma, Matt Kelleher, Bernadette Curran, Jennifer Allen and the list goes on...

Anyway, I insisted that she eat from one of my new whale bowls tonight and she finally said okay. Once she was done eating, she looked up at me and said "Why do you have to draw whales? can you just keep it to circles and patterns? I hate whales" Oh palm face. Why do I even try?

I just find it so odd that she finds comfort in mechanically reproduced wares lacking a soul and is totally weirded out by handmade objects.

Anyway.. ::sigh:: moving on.

I need to crank out the new work for this months art walk, it's the north beaches 3rd anniversary art walk. The big serving bowls take up so much room in the kiln. I can fire 6 of them at a time, with room for 6 cups. I'm firing right now and not sure how but going to try to make and fire a load by next thursday. :o

I had to play the crazy packing game with the kiln tonight. I might have been a little stressed after dinner. Took 30 minutes to pack a small kiln.... came inside to find some food containers outside of the fridge. I went to put them back in and about had a meltdown rearranging the fridge to make the containers fit. (I might need some sleep)

sgrafffffffito

2010-10-13T08:45:00.000-07:00

The sgraffito part is definitely my favorite part of the process, even if one drawing does take 20-30 minutes. So many little lines. :)

Our big adventure of the day yesterday was trapping a balloon in the laundry basket. I'm pretty sure I blew Hunter's mind. He's still clutched onto the balloon right now. I'm almost positive he's saying up too.

glazing part 1 and pie

2010-10-12T13:24:00.000-07:00

Working on some bowls.

and turns out that it takes me 2.5 days to eat an entire sweet potato pie.

sunday funday beach day

2010-10-10T12:02:00.000-07:00

Spent the morning at the beach and now carving and blogging during naptime.

I love nap time!

serving bowls

Ayumi Horie mug

2010-10-06T12:18:00.001-07:00

Came in the mail today!

Thanks to the pots in action contest, we came in 3rd and got the BEAUTIFUL monkey/bat mug. It's pretty spectacular to be honest.

She has her homesale going on this weekend with Kristen Kieffer and some pots going up for sale on her website soon. after.

website

serving bowls

2010-10-04T05:11:00.000-07:00

Serving bowls are my favorite things to make now. I love throwing them, glazing them, and carving them. It's probably because I have such a large canvas to draw on and I find them really useful, I have several in the kitchen and one in the living room as a large catch all.

I definitely go through phases of what I like to make, for the longest time it was mugs.

and a quick hello from hunter

hot pots and a happy dance

2010-10-02T05:44:00.001-07:00

I'm done experimenting with glaze application for now. I've arrived at my happy place.

Did a 1/4 of a load just to be sure it would work out the way I wanted it to and for the first time ever, I wouldn't change or tweak a thing. This is possibly due to only sleeping 15 min intervals from 1am- 5am and right now anything that isn't a teething baby makes me happy.

Oh on a cool mom note, Hunter can officially say mom, mama and knows what it means :) :) and he can mimic the word Jake. Not sure if he knows jake = dad yet but he can mimic and babbles it all the time. JAKE JAKE JAKE JAKE JAKE JAKE JAKE.

sorry for the bad pictures, I just snapped a quick few (or 10) via cellphone

Pink sperm whale serving bowl

green gray whale serving bowl

gray whale deep bowl

octopus and sperm whale cereal bowls

experimental pendents (some i dig, some i could live without)

4 new teeth (well almost)

2010-09-29T20:15:00.000-07:00

So the exciting news of the day is that the big teething binge we have been on is almost over.

Other than that doing a small bisque tomorrow to test a few things out. Why does it feel like i'm always testing something? I'm ready to fall into a predictable groove. I need to get one of these bowls ready for the North Beaches Art Walk Auction by saturday.

off to bed,

goodnight!

late night fun

2010-09-27T20:40:00.000-07:00

one of these will be donated to the North beaches art walk annual auction

I know I always complain about time, but I do wish I had more of it since these bowls take a really long time to make.

also working on some experimental pendents

ha, wish I had more time to blog but little man just woke up.

BCW National Cup Show

2010-09-24T06:39:00.000-07:00

is now online.

Here- http://www.flickr.com/photos/53978970@N02/

I have 2 cups in there and so honored to be among some of my favorite potters.

I should probably post more

2010-09-23T12:49:00.001-07:00

We've been busy here the last 2 weeks with visiting a bunch of family and teething.

I haven't been in the studio at all, but I am hoping to get in some time these weekend. I'm thinking about Canisters, and succulent vases along with some pendants.

Hopefully I'll have something exciting to post about later.

For now here is a picture of my little man and me at the beach. He borrowed a friends pants, since i was a mommyfail and forgot his at home. (the sand tears his little knees up) But he is manly enough to rock the pink ruffles.

on the move in Miami

finally some fired pots

2010-09-11T17:56:00.000-07:00

I still have a few bugs to work out, but overall I am 90% satisfied.

in the kiln

2010-09-05T11:14:00.000-07:00

bisquing sometime tomorrow.

These are a few of my favorites.

I guess we will see if my modified Diana Fayt technique will be a success or not by the end of the week.

i'm a dork

2010-08-31T13:45:00.000-07:00

I get giddy when people notice my work on etsy

Sold that bowl this morning too :)

In other news: I love dancing with my baby.

penguin and octopus

2010-08-25T19:32:00.000-07:00

Ayumi Horie- Pots in Action contest

2010-08-23T10:59:00.000-07:00

Don't mean to try to sway anyones vote...

but if you'd like to vote for the cutest baby in the world, please do :)
Hunter took his biscuits off of the plate, smooshed them into the carpet and then proceeded to lick the plate.

http://www.ayumihorie.com/photo-contest.html

(scroll down to the bottom 4)

Lots of great pots in action shots.

eating cups

2010-08-22T11:00:00.000-07:00

is one of our favorite activities!

can anyone name that mug?

slowly moving along

2010-08-21T11:38:00.000-07:00

So turns out it takes me about 30 minutes to draw on a plate. I'm obsessed with time because I don't really have any.

The above is a plate i'm working on, the alphabet will get black underglaze to fill them in and they wrap around to the back of the plate.

This is a plate for a friends' daughters' first birthday. The text will be filled in with white underglaze.

new directions

2010-08-20T06:15:00.000-07:00

So here is what I gathered from my workshop with Diana Fayt

Don't be afraid of underglaze
color is good
bold backgrounds go well with my drawing style

I just doubled the time that goes into each piece.

I figure that I'm not a production potter and never will be, if it takes me a month to make 20 pieces, so be it. I'll just fire every other month. I would much rather make few well crafted, highly detailed pieces than rush through a large batch, if that makes sense. (thankfully Jake can support us and any profit from ceramics goes to the rainy day fund)

Here is a piece I made before the workshop. It was dark stoneware with a porcelain slip and underglaze applied to the surface for a little bit of color.

So on a similar path now but substituting underglaze for slip and being less timid with color.

I still need to carve into these, but the background is laid out.

here are some drawings that will be carved into the new work

along with more whales and octopi

So that's what I am up to.

Hunter is still teething so it's hard for me to get any time in the studio. By the time he passes out, I'm exhausted and am ready for bed at 8:30 myself. He's crawling all over the place, people tell you your world gets flipped over when they start to move, man oh man.... yikes. I never thought our house was dangerous until he started moving and pulling up on things! it's like having a heart attack every 30 seconds.

The other day I left him in our bedroom while I went to get a glass of water, when I got back into the room he wasn't there.. He's not a fast crawler by any means (the fat rolls slow him down) but he found his way into the shower and was just sitting there putting his fingers into the drain.

pictures

2010-08-19T18:21:00.000-07:00

These are the cups going to the 2nd annual national cup show at Barrett Clay Works

These are the objects I made in Atlanta

Turned out muddier and darker than expected and I wasn't a fan of my clear glaze over it, the finish was a bit rough.

bad blogger

2010-08-19T13:31:00.000-07:00

I'm on my way out to the Atlantic Beach Art Walk and have meant to blog about my last baby kiln load.

Things turned out different than I expected them. I may not have bisqued high enough or put way too much stain on, but it got the ball rolling for me to be a lot more colorful and graphic with my work.

Besides Hunter teething like a mad man, I did get 2 cups into the 2nd Annual National Cup show juried by Ayumi Horie First show I've ever applied to. Hopefully it goes well.

Time to pack up the little guy. Pictures later. :)

1187 and cooling

2010-08-10T07:11:00.000-07:00

cooling is part of the process, cooling is part of the process. (repeat over and over)

Whenever I'm testing something new I get so anxious to open the kiln pretty much right after it hits temperature.

Regardless of outcome, I don't think I'll be absorbing Diana's technique. I learned some great things and a new way to add color to my work... but the whole etching process is going to drive me insane. Think I'll just stick to sgraffito.

Not that I need to produce X amount of pots because they are flying off the shelf, but the spending a week glazing a small load (it took me 4 days to glaze 10 pieces) will drive me nuts.

almost time to fire!

2010-08-07T18:07:00.000-07:00

Didn't realize how many little 20z jars of underglaze I had accumulated over the years, even though I've never quite knew how to use them.

test tiles on 3 clay bodies. ( didn't have the time to throw them, so slab and cut will have to do.)

I'm so excited. Doing the first firing tonight, then glazing.. and hopefully I'll be ready for the last firing on Tuesday night and have results by Wednesday.

wish me luck

carving away

2010-08-05T09:59:00.001-07:00

Man of wars with mustache
hammer head. (also has manta rays on the side of the bowl)

time

2010-08-04T13:30:00.000-07:00

I need more hours in a day...
or I just need to give up sleep...
or get Hunter to nap longer.

3 days to make 9 pieces.

these are firming up a bit and I'll get to carve into them later tonight.

workshop thoughts

2010-08-03T09:45:00.000-07:00

(Diana Fayt platter for sale at mudfire, unless it has already been snatched up)

The workshop was more than fantastic.

I learned so much in the 3 days. I'm still blown away that Diana would teach a workshop on her technique that has taken 15 some years to perfect and here we are getting the cleaned up,nicely packaged up version.

I went into this workshop wanting to know more about color and adding on layers. I came out with an appreciation for the personal narrative that goes into each object and the dedication it takes to create your own process.

Diana's slide show/lecture was my favorite part and unfortunately I only got to stay for the first half both times. (suppose that is the price you pay when your 7 month old is hungry or sleepy and mr. mom is losing his mind) The back story is so important. You can tell that everything she etches onto her pots means something important to her, every piece of every vessel is informed by her experiences. It was so great listening to the stories behind each drawing.

I've always been a firm believer that a good pot looks like it's creator. You've got to put yourself into it, otherwise.. it's just another object.

Hunter is about to wake up and I have some more thinking (and making!) to do. I had a lot of gradschool flashbacks and need to work through those thoughts as well in another post.

Here are some photos.

and the mandatory Hunter at the hotel shot

I didn't sleep much last night and made some cups/bowls so Hopefully I'll be able to fire these in the next 10 days.

I'm in love

2010-07-31T19:14:00.000-07:00

with mudfire gallery.

diana fayt

eric and luba.

it's true.

Oh and the Georgia Aquarium

going to carve into these tomorrow. First time handbuilding anything. :o

month 7

2010-07-25T16:46:00.000-07:00

Nothing new to talk about on the ceramic front, just getting excited for the Diana Fayt workshop at Mudfire! (we plan on hitting the georgia aquarium too!)

Otherwise Hunter is growing up so quick! He started doing a crawl scoot combo and his first tooth came in.

Hunter and Justin Rothshank

2010-07-14T09:33:00.001-07:00

Simon Leach youtube videos

2010-07-12T06:13:00.000-07:00

This morning Hunter and I were exploring the wonderful world of youtube. We found a bunch of Simon Leach videos and started watching them. Hunter really liked (like giggling his bum off liked) the pulling handle demos and was even imitating Leach's hand movements. :) Hilarious and so sad that I didn't have a camera or filming device!

Diana Fayt workshop!

2010-06-28T19:59:00.000-07:00

1. I love my husband and his desire to support my insanity

2. He's helping me find a way to do the Diana Fayt Workshop at MudFire in Decatur, GA. We are driving up with Hunter and he's going to watch H while I get to be in the presence of some awesome people! ACK!!!!!! I can't wait.

::::happy dance::::: ::::super happy dance::::::

It's nice to have someone who supports my clay addiction and understands it. He loves the fact that everything is handmade in our kitchen. He even knows the names of 90% of the artists. Right now he is drinking out of a steven colby and earlier he had tacos off of our fabulous Jen Mecca plate.

Here are the cake stands and a dinner plate I've been working on. I'm looking forward to soaking in the greatness that is Diana Fayt

potter moms

2010-06-26T02:07:00.000-07:00

are amazing.

seriously, moms are amazing in general, but the ones that can throw down some clay are extra amazing in my book.

It's 5am (better than 3am, I suppose) Hunter is fast asleep again and I'm trolling blog land and thinking about heading to the studio for some "me" time.

I took a year off from clay work because I was so sick during my pregnancy, I thought once the baby was out I would jump right back in where I left off. I didn't realize how much having a child changes you. I could feel a change but couldn't figure out exactly what that was.

Hunter is now 6.5 months. I have been back in the studio re figuring out who I am. I think it shows in my work. I believe there is more compassion and heart in the objects. I am definitely a lot more detail oriented and pay attention to certain things that I never worried about before.

Sometimes I can get sloppy but that is only because I know nap time is almost over and I need to hurry, but for the most part the new sloooowed down work is working for me. Since I can't be in the studio all day, I work out a lot of things in my head and sketch a ton more. It's a very different approach than before, but I like it.

And I have such an incredible amount of respect for people that have survived infanthood and keep making fabulous work.

Some of my favorite potter mom/bloggers/rulers of the universe

Jen Mecca She has 3 kids including twins!! I'm in awe. Sure, i'll be the first to admit my huge potters crush.

Leah Bearce Guerin

Viki Hartman

Heather Dahl

Sophie Milne

Jim Guttuso- special shout out to a potter dad

Linda Johnson

FetsihGhost- another potter dad

Judi Tavil- the woman who inspired my blogging

These are just some of my favorites, sometimes it is a nice reminder that there are other potter parents out there who find the balance for a happy home and happy studio life.

100 degrees- no problem

2010-06-25T13:22:00.001-07:00

Thought I'd share a picture or two from the sauna.

In contention for the messiest wheel ever

L to R- small bowl, dinner plate, bowl for Dylan, experimental cup cake stand, experimental cup cake stand upside down.

i like to do drawings

2010-06-24T17:45:00.000-07:00

It's been so hot here in Florida and since my studio lives in the garage for now... woooooo weeeeeeee hot. So i've taken to slowing down some more (didn't think that was possible eh?)I went to the used bookstore and got the North American Animals encyclopedia.

Here are some of the marine life

it's that time again

2010-06-17T00:30:00.000-07:00

3am. I'm starting to get used to it, I used to loathe it.
I hope Hunter stops wanting to eat at 3am soon.

Anyway, good thing about it is that I get quiet read blogs time and I found a new one that I love!

http://melanie-sherman.blogspot.com/

amazing stuff over there!

new photos

2010-06-16T14:31:00.000-07:00

I like how the whales are evolving.

My local clay supplier was out of the standard dark brown (until august..booooo) so I'm using highwater red something or another. I can hardly wait to get the dark brown back!!

kiln shenanigans

2010-06-15T11:28:00.000-07:00

Uhhhh.... So really, I'm a novice at kilns. In grad school, I wasn't a ceramics major and the tech did all the firing. I got a small manual kiln right out of gradschool... and then decided to invest in an automatic. I just push some pretty buttons and whamo- stuff is fired.

I began a glaze firing at 6am, everything was going great. At 10am I left for gymboree and the kiln was at 1100 and some degrees. When I came home at 1pm the kiln was off due to a power failure. Not sure why that happened.... :/ and it was at 1000 and some degrees, so i'm not sure when it shut off or what that will do to my glazes. Guess we'll find out late late tonight. I'm slightly nervous, but what can you do.

I need to figure out why the kiln shut off...

I have my best load ever in there. I decided to really take a boat load of time on each piece. The etchings have really come together.

I snapped 2 picture before firing, I should have taken a few more just to document the process and have some sort of visual reference in case they die in the glaze firing.

wish me luck!!

On a Hunter note, he LOVES music Gymboree and banging on bongos. Hilarious and I should post a video soon. :)

Atlantic Beach Art Walk

2010-06-10T07:51:00.000-07:00

6 months after having my son, I'm joining our local art walk. I'll be showing at the natural food store- Turtle Island Foods. (363 Atlantic Blvd)

I'm pretty excited because I love their food, and food and handmade goodness make a decent pairing. Jake is looking forward to it as well because they have live music and organic beer. :) Beer also makes everything better.

come visit! June 17th 5-9pm.

fetish ghost clear cone 6 glaze

2010-06-05T13:30:00.001-07:00

I had been looking for a cone 6 clear glaze, I know... doesn't seem that hard but nothing I mixed seemed to be "the one". Well I was reading Fetish Ghosts blog (which i always refer to as fetish goat... don't ask)

anyway his cone 6 clear liner is damn near perfect. LOVE IT!!!

Thank you for posting some of your glazes on your blog.

20 G-200 Feldspar
20 Ferro Frit 3134
15 Wollastonite
20 EPK
6 Talc
19 Silica

It doesn't run, stays in place, great for wax resisting, not cloudy... love it.

DHR the answer to your (my) problems

2010-06-01T12:44:00.000-07:00

I've been stalled out in making anything, so if I can't share about my work, I'll boast about my husband.

He built this site www.dirtyhippieradio.com

not dirty or filled with hippies

It's just a rad internet radio station with great talent who aren't signed up with a major label. The bands (so far 90ish) have great live shows and in my opinion are refreshing compared to what is on the am/fm.

Anyway, I was playing with hunter and needed music.

I don't have much on my itunes so that was crossed off of the list
next I thought Pandora!!! quickly crossed that off because I can't deal with the commercials

then it dawned on me, DHR was the answer and we happily grooved along.

scooting along

2010-05-26T07:08:00.000-07:00

.... backwards!

Hunter can now scoot backwards. Watch out world. Put him down and watch him go (backwards)

it's a start. :)

Nothing to report on the ceramics front. Been 2 weeks without clay time. Man how time flies.

oil leak interactive map

2010-05-23T06:41:00.000-07:00

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/05/01/us/20100501-oil-spill-tracker.html

spill or leak doesn't exactly do it justice.

new wares

2010-05-17T15:51:00.000-07:00

Here are my Hippy Tree mugs and bowl. I'm really excited about sending them to the good folks of Hippy Tree.

And then.. I decided to take the plunge and change etsy shop names. I realized that I've been signing my work with my married last name, Pharr. Kinda confusing if you have an item signed pharr from monica bodnar... so I made the switch. Next step is to change my blog.. :/ lol.

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

next on the list is more whale/alphabet mugs and bowls
most likely some dirty hippie radio
wares
and possibly something awesome for your stroller.

awesome cuteness

2010-05-16T09:50:00.001-07:00

nothing better than your kid holding your work and smiling... then trying to eat it.

I put this mug in the Atlantic Pottery Supply's kiln this week and got a good glaze result, so I'm just finishing up a kiln load of mugs and plates like this one. Should be able to open the kiln in 3hrs. Wish me luck!

hippy tree mug

2010-04-20T13:39:00.000-07:00

one of my favorite organizations is hippy tree

so I thought I would make and send them a cup.

Threw the forms the other day and now that they are leatherhard I get to carve them. It's funny, I used to love throwing and now carving is definitely my favorite part of the process. Probably because I can clean up much quicker and easier than when I'm covered in wet clay and Hunter is waking up from nap time.

their tagline is the best ever- nature is coming.

unloaded small test kiln

2010-04-18T05:50:00.001-07:00

So I've been experimenting with a really dark clay body and colored slips.

It finally feels like me and the feel I have been wanting to go for. Just need to tweak my clear glaze (get a totally new batch, anyone have a good ^6 clear matte recipe?)

I like pictures

some sandwich plates

dip bowl

batter bowl

serving bowl

tumbler

caught hunter watching tv (bad mommy)

rough few days

2010-04-12T13:27:00.001-07:00

man, little man is going through some changes. Suppose his entire life has been some major changes though. Right now if he isn't being held by mommy he has a breakdown. The only thing saving my sanity is knowing that someday he won't want to be helpd by mommy and i better appreciate being needed now.

So i'm a few days late on my AKAR yunomi post. Man, what a GREAT show and online exhibition. Seriously I was drooling. SOOO Much fantastic work.

I need to post my favorites :)and I definitely indulged.. lol. I felt like I needed to since Hunter was having a breakdown and well .. yaknow... this is my kind of retail therapy!

I got these 2

Steven Colby

and

Rose-Angeli Ringor

So excited to add them to my collection.

little man needs me again. sigh.

carving

2010-04-01T19:56:00.000-07:00

got a few minutes today

I'm anxious to see how the colored slip turns out.

Since my husband is a graphic designer and really into typography and right now I'm really interested in the alphabet, I should probably go through some of his typography books.

slow like a turtle

2010-03-31T14:10:00.001-07:00

I'm not sure I will ever get used to this slow pace, but oh well, guess I'm in no hurry and it gives me time to think and rethink. (which is kinda a problem sometimes)

first the exciting part of this post

now, the ceramics.

So the last batch of test work that I wasn't excited about, still not excited about. I liked the imagery, but the feel/coloring not up to par or the feeling I want to get from them. They were kinda sterile for my taste.

I don't want to mess around with glazes since I feel weird about keeping so many dry chemicals in the garage with Hunter around plus.. I HAVE NO TIME to test glazes... unless I want to take a month to make 4 glazes. lol. Making a simple clear was disaster enough.

so now I am trying this.. mixing in mason stains to slip, simple enough. I'm not one for test tiles anymore (bad monica bad) so I just started to experiment on some bowls and tumblers.

SO i've got some light pink slip on the bottom and then blue over the top and then another blue on different spots. More painterly I suppose... and I have no idea what it's going to look like. awesome.

Next I will carve into the slip and add some fun commercial underglaze. I love this dark brown clay. The feet just look so yummy unglazed.

anyway.. wish me luck! This could be pretty neat or a big fat disaster.

6am ramblings

2010-03-29T03:25:00.000-07:00

So it's 6am. Jake and Hunter are asleep and I'm all sorts of stuffy. blah.

I haven't been in the studio for about a week now. (also blah) Hunter was just teasing me with the few day consistent napping. Jake has been really busy so no time to watch the little man. Suppose if I were awesome I'd go in right now.

but instead i'm rocking out to The White Buffalo He is fantastic.

Anyway lots to think about in experimenting and changing my work to where I want it to be. It's definitely not there yet, but I'm hoping someday sooner than later I'll get there.

objects

2010-03-28T04:52:00.000-07:00

with hunter around we just have a lot of stuff.

So i'm trying to find a way to work it into my imagery and visual vocabulary.

left to right
Hunters crib, car Pj's
Hunters room, bib
sleep sac and receiving blanket pile, unopened crib sheets
alligator centipede, bath towel
baby hawaiian shirt, baby blanket
tissue box (which reminds me of Jen Meccas work), crib sheets
Hunter, more crib sheets

blog roll update

2010-03-27T19:23:00.000-07:00

It's nice to be back in the swing of reading blogs. :)

I've updated my blog roll to some of my new favorites. I know I'm late to the party on some of these

Emily Dyer- http://emilydyer.blogspot.com/

Heather Dahl- http://dahlhausart.blogspot.com/

Shawna Pincus- http://pinkkisspottery.blogspot.com/

Aaron Sober- http://welcometotheyard.blogspot.com/

Viki Hartman- http://these2words.blogspot.com/

Leah Bearce Guerin- http://www.leahguerin.com/blog/

etsy

2010-03-23T17:00:00.000-07:00

man.. i am out of etsy shape.

taking pictures (not even good pictures) cropping, uploading, writing a blurb, tagging takes a lot of time. And time is a precious thing :) Hopefully I get faster at this.

but this post gives me another chance to talk about my favorite subject: Hunter!

We had epic tummy time, he lifted his head so high and kept it up!

don't mind the bugger :)

pictures

2010-03-23T12:15:00.000-07:00

I think one of my favorite times is the time I get to organize and learn from the pots.

The above plate is super warped, lol. I would tell you how I did it, but it is slightly embarrassing and a mistake i'm likely not to repeat anytime soon.

Hunter inspired pots. Need more color. I really enjoy the pops of color inside of 2 of the bowls.

name alphabet tumblers for a friend and her husband

mix tape yunomis inspired by my husbands website dirtyhippieradio

I really like the dark brown clay body and sgraffito.

and my little man :)

kiln unloaded!

2010-03-23T06:26:00.001-07:00

Not too shabby, will post pictures later.

I'm not jumping up and down, but do really like them. I'm looking forward from learning and tweaking the glaze applications.

I finally gave up on mixing a clear recipe and used the studios. It took 6 days to end up with a bucket of mystery glaze. Each day I had enough time to measure out 1 ingredient. I had it all mixed, added water... oops too much water. No problem right? just add 500g... by the time i got around to adding 100g of wollastonite I had messed up on writing down what I had already added. :/

sigh. my focus just isn't here. I need a magical glaze gnome to mix and test glazes for me.

going to the beach

2010-03-20T07:45:00.000-07:00

Going to the beach today... someday I'll finish mixing my glazes and get a glaze firing going.

things take sooooo much longer to do now. I have been mixing 1 glaze for 5 days now. Each day I get to measure out 1 dry ingredient.

Oh well. Slow and steady....

plate(s)

2010-03-16T13:31:00.000-07:00

plates are really fun. holy cow I love a big surface. (i may feel differently after glazing)

and my little swimmer