Uh...hellooooo..I'm posting...

It has been a while.
I has been a little nutty on this end...
A week ago...
(It feels like 5 years...I really couldn't emotionally type this up before...)
I was just about ready to fire my kiln...
(About 2 pm: The kids would be coming home in about an hour...)
The lid was open.. I was on the other side of the room organizing or cleaning up after all of my glazing, that I did not rush through...
I did some the day before... etc...
The glazes that are (for months, years) stacked up over by my window got tripped up by some UNKNOWN SPIRIT...
OR at least MY spirit must not have made sure everything was secure because I start to sense...
THE TSUNAMI.
Yes.
It was a fricken' "Glaze Tsunami".
Now... it's one thing if ONE bucket falls...
That sucks...but generally it is manageable...
What happened here was a domino effect.

So... a bucket in the back started to fall and the 2 rows of buckets in front and before you know it...
about 18 buckets (we will discuss WHY I have all of these dang glazes later) from 1000g batches to 3000g batches not only flooded my studio BUT SPLATTERED ...
unglazed pots...A little into the just loaded kiln... up on the top shelf to hit my son's recently made and drying PLATYPUS...
Trust me...solids and liquids everywhere...

It was bad...

I start screaming, "HELP!!!"
(My husband had just come home-I could hear the garage under the studio)
I was covered, the studio was covered and YOU KNOW HE was thinking...
"This crap better not flood through the wood floors and ruin...the ...blah blah blah..."
I honestly thought I might pass out...
Needless to say... I was a TOUCH overwhelmed.
So...I just say... "Please get towels..."
He brings me ONE.
I have a moment of..."Seriously? Am I on camera?"
Which escalates into...
"MIKE!!! TOWELS!!! A LOT OF TOWELS!!!!"
and he is freaked...like...a deer in headlights...
He says, "All of our good towels?"
I was FREAKING!!!!
I say... "Yes... I need to sop this stuff up..."

I knew I needed to get the liquids out and go for the solids....
Anyway... After WWIII (now we have had a Tsunami and a War in my studio...not very Zen...),I continued to clean...put on my respirator...he took bags of towels out back which I would later hose off...)
Needless to say... IT WAS A LOT OF WORK...
AND EXPENSE...
When I thought of the Mason Stains alone... and I had JUST MADE A TON OF THESE GLAZES...
SO I WAS SICK...
I survived...
MIKE COOKED DINNER... hmm... a truce...
The kids were sensitive to my feelings...
I was wet and freezing outside hosing off the towels...as much as possible...

I really just felt like...
I should have sat on my hands all day and I would have been more productive.
I wondered if the Universe was trying to tell me...
"ENOUGH with the ceramic work...
It sucks...YOU suck...
Go to the DAMNED mall and spend about $1000 dollars next time because that would be less cost than this fiasco of time and $..."

This IS how I felt.

Now... I don't feel that way anymore.
BUT.
I still wonder..

Needles to say...
(Well obviously I feel the need to say it...)
Everything is in pretty good shape now and I had Mason Stains UPS'd from Ceramic Supply(Lodi, NJ) and began to measure chemicals and remake glazes the next day...
I still need to do a lot of sieving... but I am in pretty good shape...
I put the towels eventually in the wash twice and I didn't ruin THEM!
The studio has some remnants of LE DISASTRE but I feel "safe" again... and I put up an Ikea shelf from a previous booth set-up for some of the glazes... I have a cabinet... but all of the smaller chemicals go in there... so not there is LESS stacking:























I presume that you are wondering why I need all of these DAMNED GLAZES...
Trust me... we are on the same page...
HOWEVER... there is a method to my madness...
I am trying to achieve some interesting surfaces in my work that frankly an electric kiln in oxidation makes it a little hard to do...
BUT..I and making headway..
Layering and interacting glazes are allowing for some positive outcomes...
























































































Keep in mind that I also fluctuate between wanting loads of color and NEUTRALS...
This is my cross to bear but I feel like I am getting a handle on it...

Now at the same time(always nice to have lots of variables changing and moving...) I have wanted more fluidity and freedom in my work, my expression and less preciousness...
So... I have this going on:



































I am altering and allowing more fluidity... and I am still incorporating my other techniques... avoiding being too gratuitous at times...
I am working with a stoneware clay... now... and I have applied some slip of the dark chocolate brown stoneware that I love and I will probably throw with it too...
I am enjoying and exploring and ...
Oh by the way, looking to sell work for the holidays...
So... That's what has been up.

What's happenin' ?

On the shelf...Out of the kiln...


















Working...

















Developing...

A Little Advert...

Check out the ad my work is in in November's "In Jersey" magazine!
It is changing... it is currently 40 74 ...
Fun! Thanks for the include Lynda!

























Click on HERE for the gallery website!

While I wait for the kiln to cool...

Worked on my website and feed today...
Tell me what you think...
and thanks to my buddy Mike Amter for his hard work.
You can find his work...
HERE!

love.

I need to thank June Perry by way of Tony Clennell for the link to this video in which Eva Zeisel(then 94) Now she is....about 104...yes, it appears she remains alive!
Keep in mind, Beatrice Wood lived to be 105....
Anyway, it is so intense, as I have read about her before and truly adore her work, sense of exquisite design. She is from Budapest which my grandmother, Frances Pearl Kronheim Geller's family was from and I can't help wondering if the families knew each other, back in the day...(Frannie only made it until about 92...but she, too was creative and artistic,schooled in art, and in her 60's designed and made semi-precious stone-based jewelry that she sold to Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdales and called herself "The Grandma Jewelry Designer". I miss her.)
I wish this talk was longer!

Things are happening.

I know.

It's a process.

I have been doing a lot of glaze tests and this speckled clay definitely absorbs the mason stains/ glaze and pulls the color out a lot.
Actually the glazes are just totally different some times...
I will also start testing the 266 chocolate brown with the glazes too....
I am making headway and I like the pieces but I think I have a lot more exploring to do and I am trying to teach myself something I have been trying to teach myself FOREVER.

PATIENCE.

Not one of my strong suits.
BUT I tell you, I am seriously working on it, while enjoying the ride.
Because really, isn't that all we really have?
The ride.

Making Lemonade out of my LEMONS!

This is one of the only really good things that came out of the weekend:







Missing the North Carolina weekend sucked.
My cold got wet and drippy...
Apparently all went into default mode (meaning I had to be in charge of everybody's schedule-since I was home)...
BUT....

I glazed and fired these suckers yesterday....
Played with layering and combos and kept good notes...
and I feel like I am on to something that really makes me happy...
It's a process but the yumminess is starting to happen....
Of course my husband immediately says:
"Oh...I like these! are they for us?"
AND I SAID:
"NO!" I need them for my records for now....
****sadness....grumbling exit****
As my thirteen year old would say:
"What EV....".

Sad...but TRUE.

WEll...









Sadly, after hanging out at Newark Airport for 4 1/2 hours...I threw in the towel. LUCKILY... everyone refunded my flight, my hotel, canceled the car rental and I got some knitting done while I waited... met 3 men from Quebec, a woman from Glasgow, trying to get to Cincinnati...Had a non fat chai venti latte... some pretzels and water... and canceled the trip... UNFORTUNATELY I would not have made it in time to the opening and I was beginning to feel like the UNIVERSE was trying to tell me... DO NOT GO.
I know... the universe was telling a lot of stranded people all sorts of things but...
I called it quits. I spoke (ON THE PHONE!!!!) to Meredith, who really busted TUSH to make this happen... and then I spoke to Jen Mecca on my way home from the airport...
Everyone was great and PROMISED to post PHOTOS!!!! VIDEO TOO PLEASE...
I had dinner with my crazy kids and my husband and my friend and her daughter...
My 10 year old spilled his Sprite and the 13 year old tortured me continuously but really...it was very comforting. My kiln under-fired a bisque and we ar gonna run by a cocktail party for a committee I am on that I was to miss...
PLUS AMAZON delivered these:


















So... I guess things COULD be worse...

Take Me Away....

Looking forward to my little get-away on Friday to Asheboro, NC...
I have to say... I really can't wait to see the show Clay and Blogs: Telling a Story... AND I'd love to meet some of my otter friends from cyber space...
But really... I think I just need a get-way...
a CALGON- type of getaway and if that's driving around NC in my rental car and staying at a Holiday Inn...HOPEFULLY TRYING REAL SOUTHERN BBQ,
well... I will take it...
If you are not going to be at the show(or if you are) I would love to visit studios while I am in POTTERY COUNTRY....
Here are a couple of my pieces on display in the gallery(so I guess they arrived safely)that Meredith posted...
I HAVE been working on some changes in my work but I think it will definitely be a process...But I feel like I know where I am going for now... and one thing is... at the moment I am back to using Standard 112 which is a speckled clay... and I'm testing my established glazes, as well as toying with not spraying EVERYTHING... so... we shall see... I am not abandoning the 213 BUT I really want to dig into 266... CHOCOLATE Brown... used to love it and I really am craving RICHNESS...so... I'm on the journey ...discovering... 1 step forward, 2 steps back and all that...
No photos of the new work because I fear I need a little "time alone with the babies to bond..." or throw them out... In due time...

Out with the old...

Well.. I am finally sending off 5 pieces for the Clay and Blogs Show in North Carolina... That I will be ATTENDING!!!
October 1st!!!
I am flying in for it... I really hope a lot of the other potters will be there OR I will spend the weekend in my rental car hunting them down!!!
Here is what I am sending...

CALLING ALL POTTERS!

I am reaching out to you all as I go through some transitioning with my work.
I would love to hear from those of you who worked and developed a particular style for a while and then chose to "switch gears" as it were... move into a new feeling in your work a new direction... perhaps something entirely different than the original work.
My desire is to hear your reasoning behind your changes, your motivation, your take on your own work...
Additionally, I'd love to hear about how you dealt with logistical change...what worked, what did not, how you dealt with it...(changing clay bodies, glazes, firing, forming techniques, etc)
How long did it take for you to put your "new" work out there... ?
Although the change may have been dramatic to YOU, how did OTHERS perceive it?
And lastly, are there any of you who dabbled in the idea of change and then backed off and stayed with your current work or came back to it and why...
I KNOW, it's a lot to ask, but I think these responses may be helpful to many of us...
Particularly those of us who work fairly isolated from other potters/artists..
Like me.

Kiln has been visited by the doc.

Dr. Chris Pilko(well, he's not a REAL doctor but hey...it appears he cured the patient...my girl Bertha...as I affectionately call her...MY KILN).
I shouldn't speak too soon.
I have a glaze firing in there now...
BUT,
I DID fire it yesterday to cone 6 FAST... and everything worked... all cones touched their tips....
So, we cross everything, touch a button, poo poo poo,tuh tuh tuh ...etc.
Tomorrow night... we will know.

Hey there!

Not much to say...
Summer ends today.
Kids start school tomorrow...
Earl may attack us here on the Jersey Shore...
I've been trying to work in between other responsibilities,
kiln problems(Jen Mecca: you are not alone...)
visitors, etc....
Here are some photos...

Kiln bound tomorrow!

IMG00058-20100809-2309.jpg
Originally uploaded by judi tavill

Here's what's happening.
Going in the kiln to dry out and then fire...
Tomorrow...

42's "the new 9"!

Tomorrow's my birthday...8/6/68
double 21.... equals 42...
Not that I pay attention to numbers or anything...
So maybe I should go out and party double the amount I did when I was 21...
It's a thought.
Unlikely though.
My special birthday "gift" is not here yet...may not be here until next week...
BUT it is worth the wait!!!!
If 42's "the new 9", then this gift is perfect...
I am completely "pimping my ride" there will be a basket in the front... and a mirror too ...
OH! and a rack on the back(all the better to take packages to the post office!!!).


































AND along with all of that...
SAFETY FIRST... but...only in this super cool helmet!


















As I enter into this next year of life...I have been trying some different things in the studio...



































So, we shall see what comes of this next year...
The last one was pretty crazy.
Enough said.

OH and I booked ALL of my accommodations to visit Seagrove and Asheboro, NorthCarolina for the
Clay and Blogs opening the weekend of October 1st.
I just decided to go for it... and hopefully pick up some goodies down there...
I have a tendency to sell my work to buy other pottery...
SO... in the spirit of my younger years...
"The future's so bright...I gotta wear shades"....

A little more from the Workshop...

Takeshi Yasuda WIRE WEDGING!!!

Takeshi Yasuda rams head wedging
Originally uploaded by ellen mulligan

This man is amazing...
This just gives you a taste...
I will just post a little at a time...



















This is what i looked like for 5 days...plus mosquito bites.

Back from the workshop!

Super cool... Peters Valley Rocks!
Takeshi Yasuda is phenomenal!
I will post soon...but ...
LIFE CHANGING!
The photo is just I little set I gas fired... has nothing to do with the bigger issues!
More to come...

My 1st time demo-ing... Dare I say...Virgin Experience?

So... this was Brooklyn.
It was great.
Really just fun to be amongst some very cool, creative people.
The weather ,however, was not COOL.
It was Hot... and I was SHVITZIN'...big time.
And then when the nerves set in about doing a demo...
I was swimming in sweat...
I know... very attractive.
The band that was doing a sound check in the court yard chose my demo time to really crank it up...
REALLY?
But I actually enjoyed the day.
































































Below are photos of my set up.
ALL of these photos are from my new friend Nonna who was at the table next to me...
I forgot my camera and had to rely on the kindness of others...
I was NOT expecting the demo photos.

Summer....

I love THIS happy simple summer-y Etsy Treasury that I am proud to be included in!
(That's my bowl-third one over, first row...)























It reminds me of the "SUMMERWARE" show and sale in Brooklyn
I am participating in on SUNDAY!
This Sunday July 11th!!!!
See my side bar...

It is sooooo hot here in the "Garden State".
I am pretty sure my house is under a brown-out effect as some things seem OK...and others are just "not right".
My kiln had an Error sign at the end of the firing and showed that it made it to 1901degreesF instead of 1948degreesF...so... I ramped it back up again...
Of course it's the first time in FOREVER that I didn't throw a witness cone in...
DUH!!!!!
My clothes dryer isn't heating up and the microwave only produced a luke-warm effect.
It's either that or my 7 year old house is haunted...
I'm hoping for haunted. Way cooler...
Speaking of cooler...The AC isn't very effective either...

ARGHHHHH, Photography.

Submissions for a Bowl Exhibition...





















































Need to order a new background...
I spend too much time photo editing the damned scratches...
PLUS I feel like the color, lighting, grainy thing is kicking my but...
I ALWAYS like the work better in person!
NOW I'm tired and cranky.
Grrrrr and Argh.....