We wish you a very Merry Christmas!!
Thursday, December 23, 2004
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
Twas Just A Few Days Before Christmas And....
Twas just a few days before Christmas and all through the house, everyone had a gift, even the mouse! Posted below you will find some pics of the finished Christmas mugs and some other pieces we created as well as some of the beautiful gift sets that Cynthia put together. The pics are poorer quality than I like but we will soon take care of that as Cynthia and I have purchased a new digital camera that will allow more creativity and clarity. Hope that Christmas is coming together for all of you bloggers out there! Merry Christmas to all!
Monday, December 13, 2004
The Perfect 72-Hour Day
Cynthia and I enjoyed a long three-day weekend that saw as much productivity as relaxation. Friday was a perfect day as we observed our Annual Christmas Shopping Trip. We have long learned the art of mixing fun with work and Friday was the perfect example of that. After leisurely waking up and spending time together in our cozy covers we made our way to the first of many stores we would go to that day. By lunchtime we had purchased most of the gifts that were on our list (and some items that weren't! lol!) and found ourselves dining at El Chico's in the Promenade Mall. From here we took in another couple of stores and went to see "Christmas With The Kranks" starring Tim Allen. We laughed ourselves silly! From there we went back to the stores and wound up finishing our day out at Starbucks where we enjoyed some lattes to warm us up. The day's enjoyment is hard to tell in writing but let it suffice to say that we had a blast!! We thoroughly enjoy the new traditions we have crafted together and celebrate each other fully! Saturday we attended two Christmas parties, my company party and Scott and LaDonna's party. Both were very enjoyable! It is looking a whole lot like Christmas at the Johnston household and we are more in love than ever as each new day takes us deeper and deeper! Hope your weekend was equally wonderful!
Christmas Mugs' Progress
Just wanted to drop you a pic of the mugs to detail their progress. The handles that I threw under Mel Cornshucker's supervision are turning out nicely. We are hoping to bisque fire the mugs by midweek. From there we will move to the glazing and then on to someone's tree! I will be sure to post the end result.
Wednesday, December 08, 2004
Down From The Mount
Feeling as one of Christ's disciples after the Mount of Transfiguration I have climbed down from the mount with more wisdom than I had going up it! I spent last night with Mel Cornshucker at Boston Artists Gallery learning how to pull handles. He kindly took time out in his preparation for his showing in Phoenix, Arizona to teach me the ropes. With his supervision I pulled 9 handles for the cups that I brought with me. Like the old adage "You can give a man a fish and he will eat for a day or teach him to fish and he can eat for a lifetime." I now feel equiped to pull handles from now on! He was amazing in patiently explaining the process to me and from now on any of my artwork that has a handle will carry a little bit of Mel with it! Of course, I can imagine that none of us are solely ourselves but pieces of all those who have influenced us. A great big heartfelt thank you to Mel Cornshucker!!
Tuesday, December 07, 2004
The Christmas Daze Continues
The daze of Christmas continue at the Mud Hut. We took several Raku pieces over to Boston Artist's Gallery over the weekend and fired them with Mel's supervision. We continue to love the effect that Raku has on clay! You will find some pics showing the finished products below. We are to return to the gallery this evening with 9 Christmas mugs I threw Sunday afternoon to get Mel's help in learning the art of handles. (I've always been told that you don't have to know all the answers to be smart, just where to find them!) Hopefully this mini workshop will help me get a handle on things after all! I will be sure to post some pics soon of the mugs and their progress. We are continuing to find people to match with our pottery for our gift giving this year and busying ourselves in the studio whenever time allows. Hope your holidaze is going equally as well!
Friday, December 03, 2004
Christmas Mugs for Maria
We have received our second Christmas order! One of Cynthia's co-workers, Maria, has placed an order for four mugs. She is to come by this evening to choose the glaze she would like. Guess that I will perfect our handle pulling unless Maria can be persuaded that mugs don't necessarily need handles! Alas, I am sure the hot beverages usually served in mugs will persuade her otherwise, so.....handles here we come! Actually I am looking forward to making the mugs, handles and all. I have some mugs in the works already that I have been working on and look forward to putting into practice the lessons that they are teaching me. We will keep you abreast of their progress and will be providing some pics soon as I hope to throw them this weekend. Remember, in this hectic and busy season, to keep family and faith in sharp focus. These two entities should never suffer lack of attention. Happy merry making in your pre-holiday season!
Monday, November 29, 2004
Santa's Little Workshop
The sound of saws, hammers, and drills cannot be heard in our studio but we are assisting Santa as well as the elves that are so celebrated at this time of year! We found time over the long weekend to glaze and fire quite a few pieces. We finished the Christmas order my co-worker, Carrie Fitzgerald, had placed for four bowls and I shall deliver them to her this morning. In addition several more pieces were brought to completion and are pictured below. We have begun matching up our pieces with the people we wish to present them to for Christmas gifts and are finding that we have more pieces than people! And in addition to that, Cynthia says that we don't have to give everyone pottery for Christmas! Can you imagine that?? LOL! She is right, of course. Thankfully we have learned the art of keeping some of our pottery ourselves. Nothing like eating out of a bowl that you created as Cynthia and I did with our potato soup Sunday afternoon. One day hot in the kiln and the next day filled with hot soup! Now that is what I call "performance art"! Enjoy the pics and let us be the first to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!
Monday, November 22, 2004
Candles, Vases and Decorative Pieces....Oh, my!
Santa's Workshop is busier than ever! We have a dozen candles completed, several vases and decorative pieces completed as well. I have included some pics of the finished product for those of you keeping track of their progress. In addition to these we have about a dozen bowls drying and several more decorative pieces. Three of which are Raku with one of them being a larger folded bowl, a style that Cynthia has perfected. More pics to come! Tis the season to be busy! Ho! Ho! Ho!
Wednesday, November 17, 2004
The Mud Hut Nightshift
Last night found us in the studio as usual. Cynthia glazed a decorative vase with a dark brown covered by a white glaze and fired it to a cone 6 to produce a beautiful bespeckled appearance that you can see in the picture below. I trimmed the Christmas order bowls and we both worked on putting some handles on the mugs I threw the other night. Cynthia also worked on our folded bowl fashioned from the Raku clay. We continue to experiment with glazes, shapes, and designs. Each piece teaches us something new. We have several pieces in the drying stages waiting their turn for bisque firing. Ideally we would always have pieces in each of the various stages: throwing, waiting to be trimmed, trimmed and drying, bisque fired, and finally the glazing stage. Enjoy the pics and let us know what you think.
Tuesday, November 16, 2004
Raku Deja Vu
Raku....again! After getting hooked on Raku at Nixa, Missouri we were very pleased to be invited by Boston Artist's Gallery here in Tulsa to join them for their Raku firing December 4! Once the excitement settled down the work had to begin so I grabbed fifty pounds of Raku clay and headed to the studio. Last night I threw a large bowl, a decorative piece, and a bowl that is to be folded by Cynthia when the time is right. We would like to have several quality pieces ready for the Raku firing and have high hopes that we will. Cynthia went over the Raku glazes available to us through Spectrum and is in the process of making the right selection. Rest assured that pictures will follow this journey. Matter of fact, you will find three pics below indicating the level of progress we are making. Once we get the bowl folded and the pieces trimmed I will provide you with more. So, like the old television announcer used to say while my brother and I sat with towels clothspinned around our shoulders, "Stay tuned to the same bat channel, same bat time!"
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