I love when I get to see pics of my nieces, nephews and family as I don’t get to see them all that often. Mom just passed these pics along of Ash and Jen and thought I’d share them. Ash and Jen called mom before valentines and asked if she would come over with her cake decorating kit and help them with their cakes.




The girls fancy mom’s (grandmas) help when it comes to cake decorating, sewing or whatever craft they can come up with. The girls took their cakes to the fair and won 1^st and 2^nd place prizes on their creations. Mom took the pics before the cakes were finished as she had to get back home. So, here’s their work in progress.

We just got home from our errands and had such a successful day. First we both had our eye exam appointments this morning. I picked out my new sunglass frames (my first prescription sunglasses with ALL the bells and whistles) and Bobby got a new pair of frames and lenses as well. Even though we have insurance we still walked out paying over $600.00 for two pair of glasses! I’m so glad my prescription didn’t change as my regular glasses are still good to go.

Then we made our way to Trinity, my favorite pottery supply store in Dallas. I picked out the three glazes that I wanted and Bobby talked me into getting another 4 more. He told me that he wouldn’t mind if I picked up all the colors but I really want to hone in on about 3 to make them my signature colors. A variety is nice and I’m getting so excited to give these new glazes a whirl.

After my glaze run we stopped for Mexican and O was that good. When Bobby asked me how my meal was, I replied “It’s like a mouth full of excitement”, YUM!!!

Now we’re back home relaxing from a day well spent.

Did not have a good firing this time, only one piece was rescued and all the rest will go under the hammer! It’s definitely hammer time! That said, Bobby’s taking me to to my favorite pottery supply store tomorrow. I’m ready to buy my own commercial glazes and look forward to a much better experience with glazing right here at home. As my instructor tells me… commercial glazes are tested time and time again and proven to be the real deal. The glazes at the studio (where I’m a member) are mixed by someone out there using all sorts of chemicals, water and what have you. Not that there’s anything wrong with mixing your own glazes but I suppose I’m ready to move on. It’s pretty pricy buying the real deal but well worth it when it comes to getting the best results time after time.

Bobby’s ‘The Man’ he could tell me to go by myself or find someone else to go along with me, but he’s more than happy taking me on his Friday off. It’s only an hour away but I love his company and prefer his company when I make my trips there. He gives me all the time in the world to browse and he gets into all the pottery tools and gadgets as well. He’ll help look for cool or interesting things and makes for such a delightful trip. After loading the supplies into the truck, we’ll head to our favorite Mexican restaurant near by. There’s nothing better than spending time with Bobby, he’s my best buddy to hang with.

A friend suggested how those broken pieces of pottery would make for some really beautiful mosaics and indeed they would. I’m personally not interested in mosaics as my passion is pottery. And I’m one of those finicky potters who intentionally break my stuff on purpose as I don’t want anyone else to have it, its garbage in my eyes and wouldn’t want my garbage out there floating around. That’s pretty common with all the professional potters I know.

Another great day in my studio. I’ve been working with the same pattern as I worked with a couple weeks ago. I liked the shape of that vase so much and have made a total of 5 using that same pattern. I’ll be working on some more patterns tonight and look forward to changing it up a bit this week.

I used some of the new molds that I made on these pieces. The twig you see the bird perched on was made from a twig in my front yard. I pressed that twig into a piece of clay, bisque fired the clay and now I have a twig mold, that simple. The bird was made from one of my candles that had this bird on it. I simply pressed that bird into my clay and now I have my bird mold. I made 26 molds that way and have a nice stash of them all bisque fired and ready to use. They are so easy to make and use and feel I’m turning into the drama queen of molds and texture.

Empty Bowls by the local Food Bank – Is an annual artful event to help fight hunger. Participants who wish to contribute in this event purchase a $25.00 ticket in advance. In return they are welcome to exchange their ticket for a piece of pottery that has been donated by local potters. It’s also a luncheon where restaurants come in and serve a wonderful lunch and donate their food to the Tarrant Area Food Bank for this event. So for just $25.00 you get a nice piece of pottery and lunch. There were approximately 1500 tickets sold and the event was a great success. Some potters donate valuable art work so there is a silent auction table set up (actually more like 10 tables lined up) where those pieces are sold for much much more. Then there is what’s called a bump table where a person with a ticket can select a piece of pottery from that table but will have to pay an additional $30 for a very nice piece of pottery. I volunteered and was assigned to the bump table and had a great time helping others pick out their pottery and answer questions.

I’ve stained the outside of this piece and I’ll be adding a bright color inside. Something like a harvest gold, emerald, or maybe even an electric blue. The outside will look pretty much the way it looks now after its fired.

I just took the above piece out of my truck and took the pic right there on the concrete for better lighting, please forgive the background.

Over the course of my 3 years making pottery, one of my biggest struggles is in the glazing and having the colors come out even over the entire piece. I’ve taken a hammer to many a piece and continue to get out that hammer out from time to time. As a matter of fact I had that hammer going on a couple pieces last weekend. When Bobby looked in the trash, he thought I accidentally broke some of my pottery and he had this really sad look on his face. I said, it’s alright honey, I broke them on purpose. It would be so easy if I could just dip my pieces but their too big to fit into the 5 gallon buckets of glaze. I’ve glazed with the brush method, the pour method and the spray method. The sprayer works the best but I believe I just found my new glaze method! Last Tuesday afternoon in class I was staining some of my pieces when the instructor gave me a great idea. She loved the way my textured pieces looked with the stain and to be honest I really like the way they looked as well. I’ve done some staining in the past and now I think I’m hooked. Now I’ll just add a nice color of glaze inside to make the piece pop.

She also gave me an idea to select three colors that I really like and use those colors 100% of the time as my signature colors. I’m ramping up to get my things into the galleries next month and I think that’s going to be my ticket. She also said as I become known people will be able to look at the piece and know that I am the artist. There are many potters in town that I can tell whose work it is by seeing the piece and it’s my goal to do the same.

Bobby’s taking me shopping for glazes at my very favorite pottery supply store next Friday (his Friday off). I’m pretty stoked about this new me in pottery! I’ll be glazing at home in no time and that just blows my mind! I finally feel like I’m in business.

Just how I fell in love with my valentine does not surprise me one bit. I’ll never forget his smile, that’s the first thing that melted my heart. His smile punctured my heart very deep right from the start. Then it had to be the way he treated me. He always treated me with utmost respect and like a lady should be treated.

Then his never ending patience with me, it had to be love when he would tutor me 8 plus hours a week in algebra. He never once made me feel stupid when he had to explain a simple procedure that would take over an hour for me to finally grasp. Algebra came very hard for me when I was in college and he never once threw in the towel when it came time for me to study. He never left my side while I was doing my homework and must say he taught me more than any teacher ever taught me. I’ve had great teachers in my life, don’t get me wrong, but I’m one who needs A LOT of extra help in certain subjects. I’ll never forget my light bulb moments with him right there celebrating with me. I’ll never forget my last Algebra exam in college. I was the last student left in the room taking my exam when the professor came back to my desk to see how I was doing. I was sitting there toiling over the last problem when the professor told me I was on the right track and to keep going. He then took the rest of my exam to grade what I had already done. When the professor finished grading my paper he said, you already have an A on the exam even if you get the problem you’re working on wrong. I can never thank Bobby enough for his never ending patience with me. He is such a kind and patient man and I’m so thankful for his genuine mellow personality. Thank you for believing in me darlin’.

Bobby has always been there for me to support my dreams. At the time I was going to college I was studying to get my degree in Graphic Art Design. Bobby was right there supporting me all along. I just loved my computer classes and really got into all of the cool graphics we were doing. I would get to class early so that I would have time to do all the examples in the book, not just what was required. That truly was my passion at the time and there was no stopping me. After our move from Korea back to the states, I was watching a show one day where a lady was making pottery. When Bobby came home from work that day I told him “I know what I want to be when I grow up.” I explained to him about the show I saw and the very next week I was taking pottery classes’ downtown. Within a month he bought me the Cadillac of pottery wheels, then a huge kiln that resides in his garage and whatever it was my heart desired. He’s my number one fan and when he comes home at the end of the day, he wants to see what I’m working on so into the studio we go for a look see.

I’ll never forget one of my friends (from work) telling me before we got married to “just wait until the honeymoon is over” and how relationships are hard work. To this day, Bobby tells me that I’m not a chore and that he does not have to work to love me. He thanks me for not being a nag and I must say the honeymoon is wonderful and we plan to honeymoon for life.

Each and every day when Bobby walks through that door at the end of his day, he swoops me up into his arms and when I ask him “how was your day” he replies “better”. I can’t say thank you enough for making me feel complete each and every day and loving me so completely. There are not enough words to express my love, Bobby, you’re my Beloved Valentine now and always.

I’m no longer in the dark when it comes to the contestant I’m rooting for. Chris Sligh definitely came in first place for me and I will officially be cheering for him as he’s the winner in my book. While doing a search for a pic of Chris online, I came across his blog spot and thought I’d share.

http://frommymindtoyoureyes.blogspot.com/

http://frommymindtoyoureyes.blogspot.com/

After getting through the first huge set of auditions on American Idol, Chris Sligh and Sundance are still my top two picks. I just really like both of these contestants and hope they make it through in the weeks to come. These guys are both two very different individuals and I find it hard at the moment to say who I like the best. At the moment they are both number one in my book.

You’re Consuming too much caffeine were the words I heard from my Dr. about 6 months ago. How could I resolve such an issue as I love my coffee and Diet Coke every day? Well, here’s what I did, I stopped drinking caffeine 99.9% of the time from that day to the present. I started drinking my caffeine free coffee every morning and my caffeine free Diet Coke as well. I must say I never noticed a difference and am for the most part caffeine free. The only time I’ll have a caffeine drink is when we eat out so I’m feeling really good about those changes made. I’m the kind who would drink caffeine all day long and could sleep like a baby that night. When I started on the caffeine free stuff, it never even dawned on my body except for the part my Dr. was talking about. Hopefully this caffeine free stuff is doing a body good.

I have my end of the taxes finished. I was able to get everything the accountant needed compiled together and so glad to say that task is over. We try to make taxes as easy for us as possible by keeping a ‘tax’ folder. We file our important tax papers in that folder through the course of the year so when tax time comes, it helps tremendously. In any case, taxes are a torture but so rewarding when they’re all done.

I’m getting the house all straightened around this morning, then I’ll be off to get my regular acrylic nails done. I think I’ll add the pink tips this time as this is ‘Valentines’ month. I have my hair appoint following my nails and will be getting those grey roots covered and a tiny little trim. After my pampering, I’ll be off to the studio for my afternoon pottery class.

After all my fun during the day is over, I look forward to snuggling up with Bobby for some more fun filled American Idol!

After taking over 30 pictures, I was only able to salvage two. I must have messed with my camera settings because the pictures are blurry as ever. I’ll ask Bobby to help me with it later and may take some more next week. For now all the pieces are under plastic for the weekend and I won’t be back in my studio until Monday morning.

I’ve been a very busy potter lately and hardly have the time to break for lunch. Guess I have the time but I would much rather continue working than take a lunch break. I’ll tell ya, this mud thing is by far better than lunch any day.

I just named the featured piece ‘ruffled feathers’ as that’s what came to mind while cropping this picture. I’ve seen potters roll the top over like so but this is my first go of it. I’m trying new things and enjoy a lot of different styles. I took several other pics but the others really didn’t turn out so I may post some other pieces in the next day or so.

Today I spent a good portion of time making 26 different sprig molds that I will use for decorating my work. After my sprigs dry they will go through 1 bisque firing. I’ll show and tell more after I put them to good use.

Bobby and I were discussing the weather and how we’re having yet another cold snap, not too awfully cold but cold. With that in mind, we both agreed that we were not ready for summer. I think the fall and spring have to be my absolute favorite seasons of all. Spring just may be my absolute favorite as I get so anxious when it’s time for all the lush beautiful greenery to return. And get eager for wild flowers and blooms and all the various colors that present such a picturesque palate that time of year. But for now, I will be thankful for the winter and ponder thoughts of the impending spring.