New Studio Layout

A few weeks ago, my friend Rachel stopped by with her boyfriend, and I asked them to help me move the piano in my studio. (Don't ask why I have a piano in my studio.) One of the casters is broken, so it's really helpful to have two or three people navigate it safely. Now I have a new space for my wedging table, under the glazes.

Rachel and Peter thought I was crazy not to center the table under the window, but I love this corner space! Clay boxes are up against the wall in two stacks (one for each clay body), misc items are shoved under the table (I promise I will deal with that stuff someday), and I face the window to wedge or perch at the end on my comfy studio chair.

Here's the piano in its new spot. (You can see in the mirror that this is right across from the glaze wall; the window is just out of the picture, to the left.) I finally hung up some colorful items I've been collecting: the scarf is by my friend Jenn and I bought it when I displayed her work in my gallery; the calendar is from my dad and displays larger-than-life photos of fruit with lovely Chinese paintings of birds and leaves in the background; the poster is from the Hyde Park Jazz Festival September 27, 2008, which is the date of our wedding and why I insisted on snagging the poster on our way through Chicago four years ago. I'm really showing off my procrastination skills with that one!

I took down the beautiful photo of the Maroon Bells I bought from Jesse so that I could paint a chalkboard on the wall instead. The chalkboard is really fun and useful for organizing different commissions and ideas for my different retail spaces, and I actually prefer Jesse's photo displayed on the piano. It's a more intimate setting for such a special piece.

Speaking of procrastination, I've finally started a 12-piece dinner set that's long overdue (some of the tumblers & bowls are drying on top of the piano and shown below). My client recently picked the exact glaze she wanted and I'm overjoyed by the results of the glaze tests. I think everything will turn out beautifully.

The covered piece with flowers on top is a wedding gift for my cousin Amy. Her one-year anniversary was in July, so I'm a bit late already, but it wasn't until May that we discussed what exactly she wanted, so I don't feel too far behind. The to-go mugs are for the Backcountry Herbal Apothecary in Frisco. Usually I stamp my mugs with their logo, but this time I'm playing with the leaf theme. Eventually I think I'll do a set of tea cups, each stamped with one of these images. Plus whatever other project ideas pop in my head, as per usual. It's a great logo to work from:

This is also a piece I should have made ages ago. I went off cell phone pics and a general description, but I'd never used a round butter dish before. Now that I've made one, I think it's a great idea! I want one for my own kitchen counter.

Finally, I'm working on two new pieces I absolutely adore. But I can't show pics yet because one is a birthday gift for a good friend of mine. He requested a specific piece I thought was too floral for his personality and decided to design something more gender-neutral. I feel so confident about the design that I'm making two in order to have one to sell. I hope they turn out as well as I imagine they will! But you have no idea what I'm talking about so let's just leave it for now. More to come, mid October. That's when I'll re-open my Etsy shop as well (my final procrastination theme for this post) with beautiful new pieces to sell!