New Arrival

It's a BOY! Cooper Allen was born Friday, 10-15 at 10:15pm and weighed 6lbs 15oz. (Yes, thankfully not 10lbs 15oz - especially since we had a natural, epidural-free birth!)

Yay! Going home from the hospital!

And our little man decided to come 10 days early! I had just shipped out 14 boxes to galleries/clients in 6 states on Wednesday and started my maternity leave, thinking I had 2 weeks to relax and finish up some things around the house. Well, Cooper had other plans....

We are so in love and doing great! I'm taking the next few months off, so I'll see you around.

Cheers!
Meagan

Finding Unexpected Advice

I have to admit I've been a bit frantic lately. With our first Baby due in about 5 weeks, the list of To Do's seems to be getting longer, rather than shorter. Overall, I feel I've managed to stay relatively calm and low stress.

But I found a nice, unexpected bit of advice in the Ethan Allen catalog that showed up in our mail last week... Granted, they are referring to furnishing a living room, but I instantly saw how this could apply to my life.

See, I'm planning to take a 6-month maternity leave. To do this, I'm trying to make sure the galleries I work with are well stocked and ready for the holidays and beyond. This means that I'm trying to make 6-months of work in about 8 weeks. (And finish all the projects my husband and I had started around the house, and put together a nursery.)

250 tile plaques in various stages.
I've been cutting, burning, and polyurethane-ing like crazy!

But, then"Relax. You don't have to do it all at once." Though I understand that life as I know it it about to change forever, I do not have to get everything done before Baby's born. Things will be crazy and new, but we will find our way, settle into a routine, and I will get back into the studio.

making progress...

So for me, unfortunately, posting to this blog is one of the first things to go when the list gets too long. I realize I still haven't written what I wanted to about my July residency in Montana or my more recent classes at Arrowmont and Penland (which were both great by the way!) Or a post on how I made the slab-built tumblers. Or talked about the Fall Open House at CURVE studios & garden in Asheville this weekend. But I'm doing what I can.

So, with that, I'm off to the studio. With the majority of the backings complete, it's time to switch over to making the tiles.

Cheers! And thanks for listening!

Meagan

Best Foot Forward - Ceramic Auction Benefiting Drew Johnson

From Charlie Cummings Gallery - "Best Foot Forward is a fund-raiser for University of Florida Ceramics major Drew Johnson, a junior student who lost a foot in a motorcycle accident. He was hit by a driver who had no ability to pay, leaving Drew with large hospital bills. Drew has a wonderful can-do attitude, is a very promising student, and is now back at school.

Potters, sculptors and clay related businesses have generously donated 191 items to help raise money for Drew. Please show your support both for Drew and for the generous artists whose donations make this auction possible by bidding on items in this auction.

The auction begins Tuesday, September 21st, and ends in the evening on Monday, September 27th. Until then, please check out all the wonderful artworks, tools, subscriptions, and memberships in the preview."

Online Preview - Now through September 20

Auction - September 21-27, 2010.

Hosted by Charlie Cummings Gallery - www.claylink.com

Participating Artists:

Heather Alexander, Dan Anderson, Linda Arbuckle, Posey Bacopoulos, Tiffany Bailey, Marian Baker, John Balistreri, Tom Bartel, Deborah Bedwell, Curt Benzle, Sandy Blain, Catherine Boswell, Joe Bova, George Bowes , Bob Brady, Lucy Breslin, John Britt, Sally Brogden, Bill Buckner, Richard Burkett, Jon Burns, Larry Bush, Doug Casebeer, Donna Causland, Ceramics Monthly, Eva Champagne, Andrew Cho, Linda Christianson, Autumn Cipala, Naomi Cleary, Meridith Coen, Nan Coffin, Elaine Coleman, Tom Coleman, Jim Connell, Pat Coughlin, Charlie Cummings, Malcolm Davis, Chandra DeBuse, Josh DeWeese, Eddie Dominguez, Lynn Duryea, TJ Erdahl, Mark Errol, Jana Evans, Lauren Faust, Kathryn Finnerty, Yoshi Fuji, Erin Furimsky, John Glick, Raymond Gonzalez, Heidi Grew, Chris Gustin, Holly Hanessian, Molly Hatch, James Herring, Pam Herring, Jennifer Hill, Anna Calluori Holcombe, Niel Hora, Ayumi Horie, Steve Howell, Matt Hyleck, Sarah Jaeger, Jeremy Jernigan, Drew Johnson, Mark Johnson, Garth Johnson, Brian Jones, Kristen Kieffer, Michael Kline, Phyllis Kloda, Alix Knipe, Lebeth Lammers, Sandy Lance, Martina Lantin, Fritz Lauenstein & June Raymond, Mary Law, Jim Lawton, Simon Levin, Jenny Lind, Suze Lindsay, Matt Long, Jiri Lonsky, Tyler Lotz, Scott Lykens, Andrew Martin, Missy McCormick, Nancy McCroskey, Kent McLaughlin, Joe Molinaro, Mudtools, Kate Murray, Richard Nickel, Kevin Nierman, Richard Notkin, Kelly O’Briant, Mary Obodzinski, Dandee Pattee, Anne Perrigo, Chris Pickett, Don Pilcher, Elise Pincu, Pete Pinnell, Rainbow Gate Pottery, Jeremy Randall, Beau Raymond, Scott Rench, Lee Rexrode, Lindsay Rogers, Chloe Rothwell, Nigel Rudolph, Cheyenne Chapman Rudolph, Cassie Ryalls, Shoji Satake, Kristin Schimik, Mike Schmidt, JoAnn Schnabel, Bonnie Seeman, Nancy Selvin, Leland Shaw, Jane Shellenbarger, Marge Shore, Sandy Simon, Gay Smith, Nan Smith, Collette Smith, Keith Smith, Kevin Snipes, Jane Spangler, Chris Staley, Stephanie Stuefer, Sarah Tancred, Shoko Teruyama, Julie Tesser, Diana Thomas, John Tilton, Sara Truman, Tom Turner, Rimas Visgirda, Mikey Walsh, Wynne Wilbur, Lana Wilson, Varian Wolf, Stephen Wolochowicz, Jenchi Wu, Rosie Wynkoop, Gwendolyn Yoppolo

Traveling - teaching and taking workshops

Well, I'm off in the morning for another travel adventure. Next week I'm teaching a glass/clay workshop at Arrowmont in Gatlinburg, TN and then the following week I'm taking a mixed media class with Michael Sherrill at Penland in NC. It's going to be an exciting couple weeks!

Michael Sherrill

Where does the time go??! I had hoped to get a few more things done in between coming home from the Clay Studio of Missoula and taking off again. Oh well, my pregnant belly is forcing me to slow down my usually quick pace. Guess it's preparing me for the BIG changes that are coming in about 9 weeks or so!

Cheers!
Meagan

Clay Wedging Table - plaster mixing ratios and guidlines

While I was at the Clay Studio last month, a few of the guys tackled pouring a new plaster top for the studio's large wedging table. It was quite a process to watch. I believe they used around 150 lbs of plaster!Mixing plaster has always been one of those things that makes me a little nervous and hesitant. Earlier this summer I poured plaster for my own new wedging table/kiln shelf storage cart. (Well, technically, my wonderful husband built the table/cart, and my good friend and artist Nigel Rudolph poured the plaster. See, told you plaster made me nervous.)

But today, I thought I would post some plaster mixing ratios and guidelines that I have found helpful....

The following guidelines are copied from a handout posted at the Clay Studio of Missoula:
(original source unknown. I also added a few notes, examples, and conversions)

Plaster Mixing Guidelines

Recommended Plaster: #1 Pottery Plaster

How do I calculate how much water or plaster I need?
Calculating volume for solid shapes
For rectangular shapes: Volume = Height x Width x Depth
For circular shapes: Volume = Pi x Radius2 x Height (Note: Pi is apx 3.14. and that's supposed to be radius squared, but I cannot get the text formatting to cooperate.)

Divide the volume by 80 to find the number of quarts of water you will need to make enough plaster.

How much plaster do I add to water for a proper mixture?
The recommended consistency is 7lbs water to 10lbs plaster. So a 7:10 ratio, by weight 2.85lb plaster to 1 qt (2lbs) water (Note: If you want stronger plaster, you can multiply the weight by 3. Softer plaster, multiply the weight by 2.75)

Example -
Your mold is 5" x 5" x 4" so your volume is 100 cubic inches.
100 divided by 80 =1.25. You need 1.25 quarts of water
Multiply 1.25 by 2.85 = 3.56. You need 3.56 lbs of plaster.

Conversions -
1/2 quart = 1 lb = 16 oz
1 quart = 2 lbs = 32 oz (above example 1.25 quarts of water= 40 oz. Multiply 1.25 by 32oz )

1 lb = 453.6 g

What method do I use to add plaster to the water?
Always add plaster to water not the reverse!

Sift plaster into water with a spoon or by hand. Continue doing so until a small mountain forms and remains above the water level. Once that mountain forms, let the plaster "soak" for 1-3 minutes. The greater the amount, the longer the soak - anything in a one gallon bucket needs only a minute or so.

Once the soak cycle is complete you can mix the plaster for a couple minutes. In order to get the most consistent mix, it is best to mix the plaster with a hand blender for small batches, or a drill with a mixing attachment for large batches. Mixing by hand is possible, but the smaller air bubbles tend not to release in the mix and might appear in the surface of your mold.

If mixed by a mixer, be sure to mix a bit after by hand to feel the consistency. The plaster is ready to pour in the mold once it changes from watery to creamy. Work quickly before the plaster starts to set.

Keri Radasch also has similar notes on her site and a link to Ian Anderson's guidelines as well.

Hope that helps. And if you're like me, the more times you do it, the easier (and less scary) it becomes. I'm actually looking forward to making a whole bunch of drape and slump molds later this month.

Happy Mixing!
Meagan

Upcoming Posts

Getting settled back into life in Florida after my month-long adventure in Montana.

As soon as I'm caught up a bit I plan to post...

• a residency recap and reflections
• the results of my functional pottery adventures
• photos of the great ceramic work I bought/traded for
• plaster mixing guidelines

Looking forward to teaching a private workshop in my studio tomorrow. Today is dedicated to unpacking, cleaning up and additional prep.

More to come!
Meagan

More tiles - layered surface tests

And they're out of the kiln. Overall, I'm still very pleased with the potential of these new lowfire test tiles. I've got to be careful not to overdo the layering or they start to get a little muddy looking though.

They look a little jumbled shown all together like this - seems better to process them individually.

We'll, gotta run. We're off to the Bray Bash!

Cheers!

Meagan