Name your pig

 We unloaded the gas kiln in the late afternoon on Sunday. Most of the load was orders and it was a great firing... thank you kiln gods and Jeff, who stayed up all night to get this firing done before his trip.

These are few samples of the "personalized" piggy banks. I was relieved that "Anne" came out perfect. This was a re-do. I totally forgot to add the flowers to the first one, and didn't realize it until it was bisqued. If you know someone named Anne that needs a piggy bank without flowers, I have one ready and waiting for glaze! At least Anne is a common name. I am sure it will eventually sell.

 I had some fun with the underglaze on this piggy. It will be available in my Etsy shop tonight...

I took Jeff to the airport yesterday and he landed in Tokyo in the early morning (our time). He is staying with a potter friend in Naga and will visit Mashiko tomorrow. On Thursday he will fly to Seoul. It was a stressful week preparing for this trip. There was so much to do and we both came down with head colds at the beginning of last week. We felt like we were moving in slow motion. To save our sanity we took some things off of our "to do" list. We postponed the stripping and painting of the kitchen cabinets job. Better to focus on getting healthy. The cabinets can wait until Jeff returns.
I am certain they will still be there, in all of their peeling paint glory.

My consolation prize for staying behind was a shopping trip to IKEA! Since I was already in Charlotte, it was an easy decision. I didn't go crazy but did come home with new towels and shower curtain for the main bath, along with place mats and a runner for the dining table. I will actually NOT have a "photo taking set up" on our dining room table anymore! We have a good size office where we can keep it set up and out of the way. Now to see if we will actually eat at the table...

Name that pig!

I have an order for a couple of personalized piggy banks. It was a nice reprieve after making 30 pigs, all glazed in green and white. The most fun thing with the personalized pigs are the names that I stamp on them. You may remember the "Murray" pig from last fall, that was a fun one. This first order of the year are "Ruby" and "Talulah". Aren't those just great names?

Of course the big talk of the day has been the giant blizzard that is about to fall upon the northeast. I don't even live there anymore and I am excited about it! I had a sudden need to dash off to the grocery store for bread and milk.... except I came home with bananas, a pork roast, and wine... as well as a nice IPA for Jeff. I hope that everyone in the great north weathers the storm, warm, comfy, and safe. Jeff and I will be living vicariously through your facebook posts, enjoying our libations, and not having to get out and shovel.
Cheers!

Here comes the bride...

My good friend Bonnie's daughter was married in June of 2012. They had a small ceremony in New York and didn't have a wedding reception until this year. This wedding plate commemorating their special day, came out of our last firing of 2013... in the nick of time for Bonnie to give it to them for Christmas!

I knew I was making it way back in the summer. I am such a procrastinator. Something I should work harder on overcoming this year.

In the past I would stamp the letters and let the glaze pool into to the recesses. The problem with that technique is that if the glaze was too thick the lettering was obliterated. I have now switched to applying black velvet underglaze to the lettering. I am much happier with how it stands out. Next on the list is personalized piggy banks!