Day Thirty-Three

One month has past since I started working full-time in my studio. Here are things working / not working for me so far:

Swimming in the morning makes me happy: towards the end of last year and the beginning of this month I did not go to the pool and I was tired. My knees that I hurt from too much walking a few years ago started to have a bit of pain again. It was mainly because I was working late, getting up late, and since I prefer to be at the studio earlier I skipped the morning swimming to save time in the morning. I tried going in the afternoon a few times but morning works better for me, and especially when I am busy and feeling tired swimming helps me stay active and generally feel energized and happy. Also I missed seeing familiar faces at the pool.

Going to bed early and getting up early sets me a better daily routine: I like spending some quiet time in the morning before starting the day and waking up early helps me achieve that. To get enough sleep I would need to go to bed early. Pushing myself and working long hours into past midnight means for the next 3-5 days I would be tired and unfocused. It's better to keep a regular schedule and have a rest. 

Alcoholic drinks do not give me a good night's sleep: drink less, sleep well and eat well. 

Night maybe a better time to write: in the beginning I was writing at the end of the day before I go to bed and then switched to morning after the first block of working hours but I want to switch back to night; it is a better time for me to reflect the day.

Writing skills do not improve much just by writing everyday.

Cleaning does not require a lot of time if I do in a small portion everyday.

Negative thoughts come easily when I am physically tired. 

Day Thirty-Two

I did not write yesterday so now I am going back two days. I spent all day packing for the shipment. This part is not my favorite. Luckily the errored firing turned out good glaze results. If the firing failed I would have limited or more likely no options on making the shipment on time. I think I overpacked the kiln. I estimated five glaze firings which I pushed to four. It worked out this time but in the future I will be more careful. I easily forget that when I rush things it rarely brings good results and force things, hoping to get things done sooner. 

Day Thirty-One

My mimd is rushing. It feels like making things is not the most important thing in the world right now. But I don't think we should stop creating. My mind is rushing. I need to finish packing. The kiln was running unusually slow last night taking more than 17 hours where it usually takes about 14 hours. I was at the studio late last night by myself and was started to get worried and thinking how high the temperature it reaches I got scared. 2200F is awfully high. I know the kiln is built to work with it but late at night alone, staring towards the corner of the studio where the kilns are located looking at the red light seeping through the small gap of the lid some scary thoughts came to mind.  I watched the number going up one, very slowly. Although I knew I packed the kiln pretty tightly it was unusually long. The kiln turned itself off with a beeping sound with an error message. I was disappointed but was relieved, for that I did not burn down the studio nor hurt anyone or myself and now I got to go home.  Late night work is not really my best friend. It brings worries and bad thoughts.

Day Thirty

Last night I was planing on leaving the studio early but stayed a few more hours while the kiln was cooling down so I could unload and load another glazed pieces. This morning the studio is warm with the large kiln still running.  On a cloudy day like today the studio has a cool pearly light.  One firing at a time as the finishes pieces come out from the kiln I spend some time staring and examining the finished pieces like I see them for the first time. I knew them so intimately while building them on a wheel. Heat gives them a life and transforms them to something new, which could be a happy surprise, a continuing mystery or a disappointment which sometimes is a lucky one where I would learn to love after a few days or a year but other times is just a process of moving on to the next. 

Day Twenty-Nine

Lots of pots, lots of boxes, lots of small things to do, things to clean, lots of thoughts, wants. I want to clean the studio. I want a quiet place. The pencil cactus that did not grow much for the first few years after I got a small cutting from my friend has increased its volume since it moved to the studio about almost a year ago. It is extending its arms towards the kiln. The spider plant Lois brought in when she joined the studio during last summer has the first small lovely white flower. I love seeing plants growing here everyday, especially when I feel I am not growing much and still doing the similar work since the time I remembered. Once I finish the current projects I want to paint a forest mural on the big wall that was left empty on the west side of the studio. 

Day Twenty-Eight

I am continuing applying wax on bisque ware. The finished products will have patterns where I put wax which resists glaze, leaving an unglazed surface after firing. In the morning I mixed a big batch of glaze and then spent the rest of the day applying patters in wax on bisque. I prefer more active work than painting patterns which is done sitting on a stool. A painting brush works the best turns out to be an organic make-up brush. Since I spend more time in the studio I rarely put on make-up these days and this seems like a much better use for this brush. 

Day Twenty-Seven

I have the firing schedule in place so I know how many of which shape will go in when. I am on the third glaze firing and the fifth bisque. When I work on the schedule I still have to remind myself that I work on it based on the reality and not on hopes. It is not a wish list; I need a reliable plan so once it's made all I do it to follow it not having to worry about it. It gives me a room to think about something else like the future projects and ideas. One of the things I am becoming more interested is visual image making and I've been working on a few ideas that I can build.